as a necessary part of the healing process.
Chapter 3 is dedicated to discussing the spiritual component of yoga therapy. In India this chapter would be unnecessary, as its cultural background is, in its essence, spiritual, with spirituality permeating the everyday life of the population. So quite naturally, the science of yoga is understood as the spiritual science. Unfortunately, the West still tends to treat spirituality exclusively as part of religion and not as part of everyday life, and there is much resistance, even fear, as we will see, in openly talking about it. (Perhaps this is the reason why yoga is often misunderstood as a form of religion.) There is also much misconception within the ranks of yoga therapists about spirituality, which many perceive as being outside of their scope. However, the body of research on spirituality as separate from religion is growing, with some researchers noting enhanced healing when the spiritual component is included. Even traditional healthcare systems are beginning to recognize the importance of the spiritual component in treating patients. Chapter 3 therefore looks at the existing research, and includes case records outlining the deep personal transformation of some of our patients on a healing journey. We propose that yoga therapy is the only secular complementary modality offering the promise of spiritual transformation as part of deep healing.
Yogic assessment lies at the core of yoga therapy. This fact is often not understood, especially by those who are limited to working only with a medical diagnosis. Yet the yogic way of assessing a patient should enhance, if not replace, medical diagnosis in our work. Chapter 4 is therefore dedicated to presenting a few different assessment tools. Although the appropriate assessment will depend on the nature of the therapist–client relationship and the environment in which the sessions are held, we hope you will find these helpful.
The assessment tools, among other factors, illustrate the level of knowledge and skill required of yoga therapists. And so, having a deeper understanding of what yoga therapy is and what tools we have at our disposal, we are ready, in Chapter 5, to look at who yoga therapists are, what makes them “good,” and how they differ from yoga teachers.
CHAPTER 1
Beginnings of Modern Yoga Therapy
The origins of the philosophical and metaphysical teachings of yoga lie in a timeless history that is said to have originated in Hiranyagarbha, the causal germ plasm itself. This transcultural art and science of humanity grew from the roots of the traditional pan-Indian culture and way of life (Sanatana dharma), with a detailed codification presented by the great sage Patanjali through his Yoga Darshana, said to have been written more than 2500 years ago.
Today, yoga has become popular as a modality helping people to alleviate their physical, mental, and emotional imbalances. It is interesting to note that yoga as such was never meant to be a healing modality—yoga’s goal for a human being is to reach enlightenment, or union of one’s individual consciousness with Universal Consciousness. Yoga helps unify all aspects of our very being: the physical body, in which we live our daily life; the energy body, without which we will not have the capacity to do what we do; the mind body, which enables us to do our tasks with mindfulness; the higher intellect, which gives us clarity; and finally, the universal body, which gives us limitless bliss.
The three major time frames1 of yoga history
Pre-historic (before 500 BC)
In the period before the written word, all spiritual teachings were transmitted orally from master (guru) to student (sishya) in forest hermitages. These are the teachings found today in the Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharvana Vedas.2 The Rigveda talks about unity of the mind with the Divine in meditation (yunjate man ut yunjate dhiyo vipraa viprasya brihato vipashchitah; Rigveda Book 5 81:1); and the Yajurveda tells us that by regular yoga practice, we improve our strength (yoge yoge tavastaram vaaje vaaje havaamahe sakhaaya indramootaye; Yajurveda 11:14).
Historic (500 BC–AD 1700)
In this period, the teachings were transmitted from master to student, using both oral and written traditions. These are the teachings found in the Bhagavad Gita,3 Upanishads,4 and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras5 and Hatha Yoga texts. Even in ancient times, many types of yoga were taught, although the four main pillars were Karma Yoga (path of right action), Bhakti Yoga (path of devotion), Jnana Yoga (path of knowledge), and Raja Yoga (royal path to liberation). Feuerstein6 has described 40 types of yoga ranging from Abhava Yoga (the unitive discipline of non-being) to Yantra Yoga (the unitive discipline of focusing the mind on the geometric representations of the cosmos). Of these, the main ones that have survived into the modern age are the Ashtanga Yoga teachings of Patanjali and the Hatha Yoga teachings of the natha yogis.7
Modern (after AD 1700)
In this period, the spiritual teachings were gleaned from many sources, often only through the written word and with or without the guidance of a living lineage of masters (guruparampara). During this time, yoga and its teachings moved from the East to the West, a phenomenon that is often attributed to the arrival of Swami Vivekananda in the US in 1893. Since then, various traditions, such as Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (B.K.S. Iyengar, T.K.V. Desikachar, and Pattabhi Jois), Swami Sivananda Saraswati (Satyananda, Vishnudevananda, Satchitananda), the Himalayan tradition (Swami Rama), the Self Realization Fellowship (Swami Yogananda), and the Rishiculture (Swami Gitananda) have spread worldwide.
Traditional basis of yoga therapy
In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika,8 yogi Swatmarama states, “One who tirelessly practises yoga attains success irrespective of whether they are young, old, decrepit, diseased or weak.” He gives us the guarantee that yoga improves the health of all and wards off disease, provided we properly abide by the rules and regulations (yuvaa vrddho ativriddho vaa vyaadhito durbalo pi vaa abhyaasaat siddhimaapnoti sarvayogeshvatandritah; Hatha Yoga Pradipika I:64).
The yogic view of health is exemplified in Shvetashvatara Upanishad, where it is said that the first signs of entering yoga are lightness of body, health, thirstlessness of mind, clearness of complexion, a beautiful voice, an agreeable odor, and scantiness of excretions (laghutvam arogyam alolupatvam varnaprasadam svara sausthavam ca ganghas subho mootra pureesam Yoga pravrittim prathamam vadanti; Shvetashvatara Upanishad II:13).
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika echoes these qualities: “Slimness of body, lustre on face, clarity of voice, brightness of eyes, freedom from disease, control over seminal ejaculation, stimulation of gastric heat and purification of subtle energy channels are marks of success in Hathayoga” (vapuh krsatvam vadane prasannataa naadasputatvam nayane sunirmale arogataa bindujayogni diipanam naadiivishuddhir hatha siddhi lakshanam; Hatha Yoga Pradipika II:78).
In Gheranda Samhita,9 a classical treatise on Hatha Yoga, the human body is likened to an unbaked clay pot that is incapable of holding the contents and dissolves when faced with the challenge of water. It is only through intense heat generated by the practice of yoga that the human body gets baked, making
