Integrated Yoga Therapy™
- Yoga Therapy integrated with Ayurveda, Mindfulness and an understanding of how yoga really works! British Council for Yoga Therapy accredited graduates join the CNHC register! IYT is currently seeking accreditation with the International Association of Yoga Therapy Yoga Therapy has become prominent as a form of therapy in the western world. In the UK, this move takes place against the backdrop of changes within the NHS towards ‘patient-centred’ health services and the integration of complementary therapies. These shifts, noted in the Darzy Report, are supported by the regulation of complementary therapies. One of the fundamental tenets of this transition within health care is the empowerment of the patient. IYT fully supports this shift to helping all beings learn how to care for themselves and the world. We seek to understand how yoga really fosters healing, teaching this to patients so that they may better care for themselves and others through kindness. Sometimes, we simply use breath, movement and/or touch. At other times, understanding is encouraged through using questioning, meditations and teachings to foster awareness and insight. Our primary concern is the patient, their empowerment and well being. Finding the right practice, words and intentions, honed specially for a patient at the times of our engagement with them, and in accordance with their needs, is the art of IYT we seek to empart. For details of 2014 Course, please click here. Dates: September 2014 - November 2016 Venues: Non-residential weekends at Samye Dzong in Bermondsey, London; Two residential retreats, venue TBC Delivery: Weekend and retreat sessions + webinars and recorded teachings for remote access. An IYT application form is downloadable for postal return. It may also be completed and returned electronically. Applications Are invited now Interviews To be arranged The Vision The shifts within the health care services towards primary, preventative health care coincide with a growing interest within other forms of health care such as yoga, Ayurveda and mindfulness to serve the health needs of society. The Integrated Yoga Therapy course seeks to build links with the NHS to offer an integral, functional facility that serves the real needs of patients and health service providers alike. This component of the vision is built into the programme. Integrated Yoga Therapy is premised on the ancient teachings of yoga, Ayurveda and mindfulness, but is developed and delivered for application in a modern western context. While these approaches to healing span thousands of years, research into their appropriate application in the modern world show benefit and efficacy allowing them to serve all interested in living fuller, richer, healthier lives. Why Ayurveda? Ayurveda provides the logical medical basis to yoga therapy. It emphasises healing rather than curing and is interested both in the patient as well as in the disease or condition with which they may be suffering. In other words, Ayurveda sees the patient as a whole person, aside from any imbalances or disorders. It sees healing as a process of becoming whole, of living fully, of realising our human potential. While restoring balance to the organism (the body and mind), Ayurveda treats the condition within the broader context of harnessing the patient’s health and wellbeing. Why Mindfulness? Mindfulness, often considered a form of meditation, is broadly-speaking a way of being that has been shown to reduce stress, increase happiness and foster well-being. Mindfulness involves the cultivation of kindness and tenderness, not as ends in themselves, but as the means to tuning into life and its many insights and intrigues that go unnoticed. It involves a careful and systematic training that allows us to see ourselves more fully. It shows us our habits and patterns, indicating how we tend to react to situations, often losing energy in the process. Through careful skilling and training, we learn the depths of our potential, how to live fully and how to choose an appropriate response in the most difficult situations of life that serves both ourselves and others. In the context of IYT, mindfulness trains therapists to become more finely attuned to their insights and perceptions. It hones not only external but also internal senses so that interaction with patients occurs at a deeper level. This way of working promotes a constant flow of self-realisation and self-development of both the therapist and the patient, serving both, detracting from neither. In fact the very process of interaction fosters healing beyond the concerns with eradicating illness; it promotes healing in its deepest sense of becoming whole, learning to know ourselves and learning to live completely. The training The IYT training is thus a practical programme framed by rich, ancient teachings. The tools of yoga, Ayurveda and mindfulness, work both from the outside in through breath and movement, and from the inside out through meditation and mantra. Our work is focused as much on the inner as the outer body. The tools of Socratic Questioning taught both in Ayurveda and Mindfulness are employed and perfected. In keeping with the sentiments within health care, the patient remains central to the healing process, and compassion and kindness are the foundations of our work. For further information, please click here to find Course Materials. |