The Meeting by Johannes Itten
by Beth
My last two posts What is Yoga Therapy? and Yoga Therapy: A Deeper Dive covered an overview of yoga therapy, what it is and who can call themselves a certified yoga therapist. In this post, I’ll share what you, as a client, might expect when you make an appointment with a yoga therapist. Most yoga therapists will follow a protocol recommended by their training school. The protocol in this post is the Four-Step methodology for yoga therapy recommended by Integrative Yoga Therapy founder Joseph Le Page.
Step I: Description of the Condition/Population
When you make your first appointment with a yoga therapist, they will ask you to share your reasons for making an appointment. They will take your information and do general research on your condition or issue before your appointment. This will give them background and context from both the Western allopathic model (for example, your demographics, description of your condition or issue, body systems affected, any symptoms and treatments that may apply) and add in aspects from the yoga tradition they have training in (for example, the koshas , Ayurveda ,and the chakras) This helps your yoga therapists develop a background to better understand how this general information might apply to you as a unique individual.
Step II: Evaluation and Assessment
As the time of your appointment approaches you may be asked to fill out an intake form and/or agree to an interview to gather additional and more detailed information about what you as an individual want help with. In addition to physical or health concerns, you will be asked about any stress you may be experiencing on all levels (body, breath, and/or mind). Here the yoga therapist may use the general information they’ve researched to develop questions for the interview or intake form. As a client it will be important to provide complete answers so the yoga therapist will be able to meet your needs.
Here’s an example of what can happen when clients or students leave out key information on intake forms or during an interview. Early in my work as a yoga therapist, I was facilitating a therapeutic class for eight women transitioning through menopause. I gave each an intake form to fill out prior to the class and double-checked with each of them before the first class to make sure I had the information needed and that they knew what to expect. Everything went as planned until the final relaxation. As they lay on their mats, I first worked on encouraging relaxation of the body part by part, then moved to slowing and relaxing the breath. When I moved to a visualization, I asked them to see themselves rising from their bodies and observing the room, the other participants, the walls, the ceiling, etc. and then move outside to feel the air and the ground under their feet. Next I had them retrace their steps, and then relax on their mats to music. When I brought them back to sitting and asked them to share their experience, one woman said she’d been fine during the body and breath scan but did not like the visualization and asked that I “never do that again!” Two others spoke up in agreement. Of course, I was taken aback but immediately asked why that had upset them. It turned out that those three women experienced anxiety and panic attacks and had a hard time staying in their bodies when fully alert and that taking them out had made them uncomfortable. That information had not been provided in either the prior intake forms or conversations. When I asked them why they had not given me that information, the women told me they didn’t think it was important!
So as a client it is important to share all key information about your health issue or situation to your yoga therapist. Needless to say, going forward, I made sure to ask for this information more than once or twice!
Step III: Selection of Wellness Objectives and Yoga Tools
As your appointment time approaches, the yoga therapist takes the information gathered about your concerns from steps one and two and develops a list of ideal wellness objectives to be shared and discussed with you when you meet for the first time. Some of the objectives your yoga therapist might look like this list:
- What would optimal healing look like for the client?
- What do I want to help the client accomplish?
- What does the client want to accomplish?
From that general list your yoga therapist might come up with specific objectives such as:
- Helping you see your situation/condition as an opportunity for personal growth
- Helping you reduce symptoms and manage stress
- Providing accessible yoga tools/practices for you to practice on your own
Step IV: Organizing the Session/Class
According to this protocol, your first session will likely contain the following components as appropriate:
- Intake/Check In
- Intention/Education
- Centering and Body Awareness
- Breath/Energy Awareness
- Warm-Ups
- Asana
- Guided Relaxation
- Relaxation/Savasana
- Pranayama/Mudra/Meditation
- Final Sharing, Feedback, and Plans for Follow-Ups
Keep in mind that the yoga therapist will change or adapt their program plan on the spot depending on your needs and state of mind when you arrive for the appointment. The yoga therapist’s goal will be to meet you where you are and give you:
- Some of what you may want (stress management and symptom relief)
- Some of what you may need (self-awareness on all levels of being)
The amount and content of what your therapist will provide will depend on where you are in your journey and what you are willing to work with, accept and integrate in any given moment.
Beth’s self-awareness newsletter is published six times a year. It features informative, inspiring and entertaining tips for finding clarity, contentment, and resilience in a complicated world. For more information and to sign up for the newsletter go to www.bethgibbs.com.
• Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook and follow Nina on Instagram •Pre-order Yoga for Times of Change: Practices and Meditations for Moving Through Stress, Anxiety, Grief & Life’s Transitions here. • Order Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being here.
Leave A Comment