Yoga therapy is a new and burgeoning area that straddles the fields of yoga and naturopathy.
And yoga therapists are highly trained in looking at every part of a client’s life to discover and diagnose issues and help the client to use their own natural capability to improve health and well-being. Learn More about Online Yoga Therapy Training!
Here is just a list of the approaches a yoga therapist may use to address their clients’ needs:
- Meditation(here are some online meditation courses)
- Visualization
- Breath Techniques
- Movement
- Physical Posture
- And, if the therapist also takes an ayurvedic (Eastern holistic healing based on yogic teachings) approach, then:
- Herbs
- Food
- Changes in lifestyle
- The avoidance of either hot or cold temperatures in food or the environment
How to become a certified yoga therapist?
As someone who has gone through yoga teaching certification, there is a lot of studies involved in any yoga teacher training. You will not get your certificate overnight. But know the process will not involve dry lectures and cramming in a dusty library. Whether you’re studying primarily online or in person, there is a lot of hands-on teachings. And, you and your classmates are all in it together.
Make sure you have a regular practice. Study your 200-hour yoga teacher training materials again, especially if it has been a little while since you took your classes. And don’t forget to study your anatomy.
What is the difference between yoga and yoga therapy?
Teaching yoga, helping the students craft their own practice, through movement, breathing, and meditation. Some of the students were striving to gain flexibility. Others were trying to find peace in their lives by developing a meditation practice. And still, others were trying to achieve mindfulness through learning yogic breathing. And, we, as yoga teachers, were ultimately allowing our students to discover their own yogic paths.
Yoga therapy, however, is more about you addressing your clients’ needs. Yes, just like in yoga, people are coming in to alleviate a variety of problems. But your average yoga therapy client’s problems are much more acute. A client will come in with a specific issue and it’s the yoga therapist’s job to listen, inquire, and appropriately touch the client to develop a solution to the issue.
As a yoga therapist, you may hold sessions for one client or a group of clients with the same issue. Your clients may be having problems with insomnia, pain, or fatigue. And, according to Yoga International, the yoga therapist’s job “is to empower clients to take a more active role in their self-care.” You will be tasked with discovering, along with your clients, solutions to their issues using yoga processes.
And then, you will work with them to implement those solutions. It won’t be an overnight process. It may take time. You’re sending them down a path to regain their health. But, compared to teaching yoga, when you are a yoga therapist, you’re not focused on teaching yoga techniques. You are instead, working with clients to tackle and solve their issues through yoga techniques, and also to help your clients regain independence and move forward.
How much does a yoga therapist make?
Yoga jobs pay very well. There is a wide variety of opportunities to make your own schedule and to teach/conduct therapy in person and on different online platforms.
We’ve done some research and found that as of February 2020, the average yoga therapy position pays $58,000 to $65,000 per year. It really depends on your geographical location and the nature of your practice. We found yoga therapy positions that paid as low as $18,500, and as high as $128,500.
Not only geography and the type of practice can determine how much a yoga therapist will make per year. Working for a hospital will not only give a yoga therapist a nice yearly salary; they’ll also be eligible for insurance benefits.
However, if you set out on your own to open up shop as a yoga therapist, you’ll have to pay for your own insurance, as well as rent on a building, advertising and marketing, website, and a whole host of items needed to run a business. You may even have to pay staff, if you hire associates, a receptionist, etc.
The 6 best yoga therapy training certification courses online:
- MyVinyasa Practice – Clinical Yoga Therapy
- Circle Yoga Shala
- The Mindfulness Center
- Breathing Deeply
- Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy
- Mount Madonna Institute Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy
you could guide them to make their life changes from meditation, mindfulness, herbs, or yoga practice
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