Yoga therapy benefits are far reaching, which makes it an important branch of ayurveda. This is because ayurveda’s focus is on holistic healing, which focuses on all aspects of your wellbeing: the mind, body and soul. And just like ayurveda, the main focus of yoga therapy is taking a holistic approach.

Yoga therapy allows to exclusively assess your individual needs and focus on improving your health: physical, spiritual, emotional and mental. These are the biggest differences and yoga therapy benefits compared with yoga classes and yoga practiced at home. Yoga therapy benefits from focusing on you and developing the best pathway to recovery and restoring balance in your life. Think life coaching with the added advantage of improved health, energy, and spirit resilience.

Yoga therapy has only fairly recently become a phenomenon in Western culture and medicine. Even now, when thinking about yoga, we tend to picture a yoga class led by a teacher, or a yoga session at home by yourself (often assisted by YouTube videos).

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Most of us don’t associate yoga with medicine per se. However, medical yoga therapy is growing rapidly – in the US alone, the number of registered yoga therapy practitioners tripled in the past three years! This is due to the numerous yoga therapy benefits.

Why is yoga therapy good for you?

Yoga therapy helps people who might be suffering from health, mental or spiritual issues, or a combination of three. Sure, yoga classes and practicing yoga at home can help you relax, strengthen your body and increase the clarity of your mind. However, yoga therapy is designed to help individuals who might need expert medical help in overcoming some difficult issues. This is especially common for people who have had a major physical injury, or are suffering from severe mental health condition, such as depression.

If you feel overwhelmed by a physical, spiritual, emotional or mental pain, yoga therapy benefits from being one of the best ways to help you get back on track.

Nevertheless, there are numerous perks in practicing yoga not only through therapy, but also in class or at home. To help you choose the best pathway to recovery and regaining balance, we looked at different ways of incorporating this extremely beneficial exercise into your life. Have a look at the list comparing yoga therapy benefits with in-class and home yoga below and choose your path to recovery! And if after reading you’d like to discuss your individual case and get advice on what kind of yoga therapy is best for you, feel free to contact our expert yoga practitioners based in our Melbourne clinic.

 

Yoga therapy benefits

Pros:

• Yoga therapy benefits from being tailored to your individual needs. Expert yoga therapy practitioners assess your case and shape the best yoga therapy pathway toward your recovery.
• Yoga therapy combines yoga practice with healing for body (after injuries) and mind (suffering from mental health issues). It is a powerful recovery tool.
• By entering a yoga therapy, you’re looked after by experts. Doing yoga at home or in class doesn’t give you the chance to discuss your individual needs with experts, whose main aim is to get you back on track. Yoga therapy does exactly that.
• By being mentored and supported by yoga therapy practitioners, your road to recovery is faster and more manageable.
• Yoga therapy benefits from being very flexible. There are no set class times as with in-class yoga, which means that you often can’t make the class due to other commitments.    Yoga therapy practitioners set meeting times with you and adjust to your schedule.

Cons:

• Yoga therapy can be more expensive than yoga classes or doing yoga at home. However, by being led and mentored by experts, the health benefits are more substantial and recovery is faster.
• Yoga therapy can be time-consuming. This is because you might need to go through a few-stage process, including assessment, therapy planning and then implementation. Full recovery sometimes takes only a few days, but it can also take up to a few weeks or months depending on your individual case.

 

Class yoga

Pros:

• During a yoga class, your teacher will help you practice the poses the way they are meant to be practiced. This is a big advantage over home yoga.
• You can meet new people at yoga classes. For some people this is the main reason why they attend!
• You can use professional yoga equipment provided by the gym or yoga studio you’re attending the class at.
• Yoga classes are often held in the mornings, evenings or during lunchtime. If you’re a working professional with a schedule, attending regular classes can help you keeping up a routine. Moreover, having such structure in life can be beneficial to your mental health.
• Yoga classes are often developed for different levels, such as beginners, intermediate and advanced yoga practitioners. Depending on your needs and experience, you can attend a class which is most beneficial for you.
• If you’re a beginner, attending a yoga class will give you an insight into what each pose entails and how to practice yoga by yourself in your spare time if you wish.

Cons:

• Sometimes you might not feel like doing yoga around other people, and this is where yoga classes can be intimidating.
• Yoga classes are not tailored to help individual needs of each attendee. They focus on general fitness and most common health issues, such as back pain. If your case is unique and needs to be assessed and supported individually, attending a yoga class is not enough.
• Yoga classes have set times which means you might not be able to attend due to your own time commitments.
• Yoga classes might be held in locations not close to you, meaning you might need to travel far to attend.

Home yoga

Pros:

• If you’re a solitary person, yoga at home can work well. Some people prefer exercising by themselves as it helps them focus and clear their minds of unnecessary thoughts. This can improve mental health and resilience.
• Practicing yoga at home gives you more time flexibility – you don’t have to go anywhere to do it! This can be a great solution for people with unusual schedules, or people who live far away from the nearest yoga therapy clinic or studio.
• Some people might feel anxious exercising in front of other people. Doing yoga at home can help increase self-confidence before joining a group yoga class.

Cons:

• If you’re inexperienced, practicing yoga at home by yourself can actually pose a threat to your health. As you might not know what each pose entails and how to do them properly, you could strain your body.
• You might not have yoga equipment at home, which can stop you from doing some useful exercises.
• You might not benefit from yoga practice fully if you’re not supported by a professional. For example, if no one is checking your yoga poses, chances are you’re not doing them properly, and the physical benefits are limited.
• Practicing by yourself can get lonely!

 

Hopefully you have a better insight into different ways of practicing yoga after reading our article. Once again, the best yoga pathway will depend on your individual situation. We strongly recommend yoga therapy for people who are facing serious physical and mental health issues. Further, if you want to have a recovery process tailored to your needs, yoga therapy is the way to go. Practicing yoga in class or at home can be beneficial, however it might not lead to a full recovery.

If you’d like to find out more about yoga therapy in a Melbourne-based ayurveda clinic, contact our expert yoga practitioners today.