Understanding Yoga Therapy

Applied Philosophy and Science for Health and Well-Being

Marlysa B. Sullivan, Laurie C. Hyland Robertson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781138484542
• eBook ISBN: 9780429016738
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Ciencias biológicas
• Subtopic: Salud mental en psicología

Understanding Yoga Therapy offers a comprehensive and accessible perspective on yoga therapy as a complementary, integrative route to promoting whole-person well-being.

Readers will come away from the book understanding how the philosophy, texts, and teachings of yoga benefit a wide range of health conditions. The book is split into three helpful sections: Part I discusses foundational texts and their interpretations; Part II outlines the biopsychosocial-spiritual and neurophysiological model of integrative health pertinent to yoga therapy; and Part III focuses on practical applications separate from the more familiar diagnosis-driven models. Experiential activities and case studies throughout the text illuminate how yogic practices can be incorporated for optimal health.

Bridging the ancient and modern, philosophical and scientific, Understanding Yoga Therapy offers a clear explanatory framework for yoga therapists, physicians, allied and complementary healthcare providers, and their patients and students.

Part I

Philosophical Foundations of Yoga as a Therapeutic Practice

1

The Path of Yoga

Background

The wisdom tradition of yoga represents a complex, evolving system intended to help us develop insight into the causes of suffering and its alleviation. The tradition includes both a rich philosophical foundation and specific practices that serve as a methodology for this exploration.

Often, yoga is thought of as a set of practices consisting of some combination of physical exercises (asana), breathing techniques (pranayama), and forms or stages of meditation. However, these practices are situated within a historical and philosophical context that must be understood for optimal application. Performing the practices without knowledge of their context, intention, or goal is akin to trying to find your way to a dinner party without knowing the location, or trying to cook a meal without knowing what dishes you were trying to cook. Recognizing that these practices are part of a comprehensive methodology is essential. Within this context, specific teachings can be placed along the way as markers to help practitioners on the path toward the alleviation of suffering.

Historically, yoga has been described as a state characterized by freedom from suffering and realization of our essential nature, as well as the practices that lead to that goal.¹ Yoga scholar, teacher, and creator of iRest yoga nidra meditation Richard Miller describes yoga as both the action of awakening to, and a description of, our underlying undivided essential nature.² Part I of this book explores yoga as this realization that enables us to mitigate suffering. The later sections of the book describe the methodology and practices that lead to this aim.

The word yoga is sometimes defined as unity. This idea of union often includes some combination of body and mind or body, mind, and essential nature/spirit. Recognizing yoga as more than a set of practices—as an experience of unity to which the practices direct us for the alleviation of suffering—is essential to applying the philosophy and practices for therapeutic purposes. Understanding this overall intention also helps to clarify the many types of yoga being taught. Just as there are many paths up the mountain, many sets of practices can lead practitioners to this aim of yoga. Each individual must find for herself the practices that cultivate unity. The texts on which we draw offer diverse practices—with most including asana, pranayama, meditation, and yama and niyama (ethical principles for conscious living)—all applied to the goal of liberation from pain or suffering.

Yoga teachings offer insight into how practitioners can change their reactions and relationships to body, mind, and environmental phenomena in pursuit of unity. This process empowers us to notice and change habitual reactions that perpetuate suffering. The practices elucidate ways of interacting with body, mind, and life that ease or even resolve suffering. Yogic philosophy is practical and intended to be both contemplated and applied to everyday life.

Teaching Through Story

Oral traditions were the primary method of disseminating ideas before writing became the dominant form of communication. The use of story provides an ideal format for teaching the nuances of yogic wisdom. Both story and metaphor enable sharing of complex ideas through symbolism. Listeners are then able to determine personal meaning and application to their own circumstances. As symbols and story can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, they offer a means of sharing essential teachings across time and cultures.

Yoga therapy has this rich yogic tradition as its foundation, underpinning a distinct and unique perspective. Understanding the intentions behind the stories and texts of yoga allows yoga therapists to translate between ancient wisdom and the modern context of their clients. We can consider the symbolism offered in the stories, listen deeply to the client’s own narrative and needs, and discern how to best apply the philosophical foundation to an individualized practice for balance and well-being.

Personal Transformation

The Bhagavad Gita exemplifies one of these powerful stories through which we can explore certain themes, common to many yoga traditions and texts, in their applications to yoga therapy. The Bhagavad Gita illustrates a yogic path of transformation.

The Bhagavad Gita is part of a larger story called the Mahabharata, an epic that arose from the oral tradition. The Mahabharata is a prime example of a fluid narrative that evolved as stories, including the Bhagavad Gita itself, were added.³ Both works offer a multitude of anecdotes on the situations that inevitably arise on the journey through life and through which practitioners may consider yoga’s teachings.

The Mahabharata tells the story of a group of brothers, the Pandavas. Each brother represents essential parts of ourselves, including the ways in which we respond and orient to circumstances and events. We must recognize and understand each of these aspects of ourselves to effectively work with the vast array of body, mind, and environmental stimuli that arise throughout life. Central to these teachings is the idea that each experience may lead to or perpetuate an experience of suffering; alternatively, as we learn to find other ways to relate to these events we can find a greater sense of peace, contentment, and ultimately well-being in response to life.

Yudhisthira, the Pandava brother who is the son of Dharma, often plays the part of wisdom or the discerning mind. Bhima, the son of Vayu, the wind, represents will and strength. Arjuna is the Bhagavad Gita’s main character and the archetypal warrior—the disciplined part of ourselves that demonstrates the utmost integrity in the face of any obstacle. As circumstances arise throughout the Mahabharata, we can see the response of each character and the strengths and weaknesses of their approaches to life. Interestingly, earlier sections of the text highlight the approach of Bhima, of strength and will; the central portion, including the Bhagavad Gita, concerns Arjuna, or discipline; and finally we turn to Yudhisthira, or dharma. Many will recognize the truth of experience in a path from the will with which we often approach life in our younger years to a more disciplined approach and ultimately one of greater wisdom and discernment as we mature.

The Bhagavad Gita’s action takes place right before the central battle of the Mahabharata. This battle represents those moments in our lives when we face the turmoil of change and transformation and must work with whatever obstacles arise. When we arrive at these moments, our old ways and habits have taken us as far as they can; to change our relationship to suffering, we must confront whatever is limiting our progress. Arjuna represents our discipline to approach transformation with strength and wisdom.

The Bhagavad Gita begins with the scene of battle being described to a blind king, Dhritarastra. Leading up to this conflict, the king had many opportunities to see the truth, speak up, and take action that could have prevented the suffering that arose in the story of the Mahabharata. Instead, he was blinded to the truth and unable to discern the right actions to take, his vision clouded by emotions and beliefs he was unable to face. Dhritarastra plays the part of ourselves that has been blinded to understanding of what must be done to alleviate suffering or bring about peace. He comes to the battle from this clouded place, able to watch what happens only through another, who helps him “see” clearly. This partnership between the king and his advisor reminds us that when we bring ourselves to battle to confront a truth, we must often rely on others for support. In times of challenge, those we trust may support us by offering clear sight along our path.

This teaching is relevant today as we learn the importance, to health, of social relationships and connection. Historically, the biomedical explanatory model has underemphasized the social aspect of health, although its importance is gaining recognition. Chapters 6 and 7 of this book elaborate on the connection between this social dimension and health and well-being in terms of both physiological and psychological mechanisms and implications for yoga therapy. From the yogic perspective, the concept of connection is essential to the alleviation of suffering.

As the moment of battle arises, Arjuna comes to the middle of the field to look at both sides. He regards the “wrongdoers” who have acted in ways full of jealousy, arrogance, and greed—against everything that is “right.” In them, Arjuna sees his teachers, uncles, cousins, and friends. He realizes he will have to fight those who have supported and taught him, those he has loved and been loved by. At the crossroads of transformation, we will encounter aspects of ourselves that have served us but that we now have to let go. Ways of thinking, beliefs we have held, and ways of understanding ourselves and the world that have kept us safe will shift in this process of change. In the same way that Arjuna realizes he will have to fight these people who have brought him so much, transformation brings the realization that our old ways of being may need to fall away to allow space for change. The beliefs that strengthened us at one time may be the very ones limiting us. Our work to alleviate suffering—or to change our relationship to its nature—may entail a release of the identity to which we cling.

When Arjuna realizes that this process of change includes parting ways with and “killing” friends, family, and teachers, he falters. He turns to Krishna, who represents the highest expression of teacher and spirit within, and laments:

My limbs sink, my mouth is parched, my body trembles…I cannot stand still, my mind reels…I do not want to kill them even if I am killed…The greed that distorts their reason blinds them to ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• About the Authors
• Acknowledgments
• Foreword by Richard Miller
• Introduction
• PART I: Philosophical Foundations of Yoga as a Therapeutic Practice
• PART II: Exploring Theoretical and Explanatory Frameworks for Yoga Therapy as an Integrative Healthcare Practice
• PART III: Applied Philosophy and Science for Health and Well-Being
• Final Thoughts
• Index