Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy Explained
Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy Explained
The complexity of modern living, paired with injuries and aging, often yields a body out of balance. We strive for the "work-life" balance, but often glaze over spiritual health and mental well-being.
Clever marketing has a way of tricking us into quick and false fixes, but what about ancient practices, like Yoga and Ayurveda? These two sacred traditions blend together in Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy, placing health and balance at the forefront by modifying yoga and mindfulness practices for the individual. Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy includes time-honored traditions of self-care.
Yoga Today
The accessibility and popularity of modern Yoga bring this ancient practice into everyday life. The corner studio yoga represents the broad strokes of a complex tradition to accommodate the community at large. Spirituality and mental wellness may become secondary to the physical asana.
Missing from some yoga studios is the individual attention and instruction for the uniqueness of each human body and mind. Everyone's imbalances vary! So much about our lives - health, stress, occupation, mindfulness, and lifestyle – may not be addressed in a general Yoga class.
As Yoga has spread across the world and into modern times, the intertwining relationship between Yoga and Ayurveda drifted apart. Ayurvedic Yoga Teaching and Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy bring them back together, which aims to address the whole person.
The Basics of Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy
Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy blends traditional Yoga teachings with Ayurvedic principles of health and healing. The history of Ayurveda and Yoga is rooted in the ancient Vedas, the Hindu scripture guiding philosophy, hymns, and rituals.
The individual is the center of the practice. The uniqueness of each soul's Ayurvedic characteristics will guide appropriate holistic yoga and mindfulness techniques.
These characteristics begin with the five elements making up the universe - space (ākash), water (jala), earth (prithvi), fire (teja), and air (vayu). In each human, those elements combine in different quantities to create the three doshas.
The doshas of vata, kapha, and pitta determine our Ayurvedic constitution. Our doshas guide the best practices for self-care. A more natural balance occurs with yoga practices that support specific doshas. Doshas are such an essential driving force in a person that the same ailment in different souls yields differing wellness plans.
The vayus, or body's forces, also influence the holistic yoga plan. The five vayus describe how prana, the life force, moves within. Apana vayu describes downward and outward movement in our bodies, samāna vayu describes what we ingest, and prana vayu describes inward motions. Udana vayu governs upward movement within our bodies, and vyana vayu draws everything from the outside towards the middle.
A unique and complete wellness plan can take shape when uncovering an individual's doshas and examining the body's forces. Doshas pair with appropriate nourishment, movement, breathing, and even sounds and smells.
Integrating Ayurveda
The Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist will work with a client once their health care provider has cleared them for yoga and mindfulness practices. Because Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy addresses a person's specific characteristics and allows for targeted Yoga practices, health is supported from all angles. Balance begins to restore.
The path to becoming an Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist requires dedication to complete a two-year certification. However, yoga teachers can study to teach Ayurvedic Yoga first – which modifies the practice according to the season, the time of day, and the time of life and intentions of a client. This preliminary certification for Ayurvedic Yoga Teachers can take about 100 hours of study.
Ultimately, an Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist will assist clients with new techniques and lifestyle suggestions to help them function at a higher and healthier level. It begins with addressing the individual as a complete being, and the Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist does just that.
Interested in Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy Training?
If this article has piqued your interest in Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy Training, we’d love to invite you to Prema Yoga Institute’s 100-hour Ayurvedic Yoga Training.
The Ayurvedic Yoga Training is now available online and teaches how to:
· Use Ayurveda to apply the techniques of yoga in a precise and empowering way.
· How to cultivate a healthy Ayurveda self-care routine
· Teach seasonally for better care of your students
· Refine sequencing for all levels of classes
· Refine your yoga practice and teaching for private clients to specifically improve mind/body imbalances
· And more (click here for details)
Additionally, The Ayurvedic Yoga Training counts 100 hours towards the PYI IAYT-accredited 850-hour Yoga Therapy Certification Program (additional prerequisites apply) and 100 hours towards the Pure Yoga 300 Yoga Certification.
Visit Prema Yoga Institute to learn more about our training, which is now available online with interactive trainings through 2022!
PYI is an accredited program based in New York city, teaching students around the globe through online classes. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you advance your yoga practice and teaching!
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