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 One discusses foundational texts and their interpretations; Part Two outlines the biopsychosocial-spiritual and neurophysiological model of integrative health pertinent to yoga therapy; and Part Three 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.
Author(s): Marlysa B Sullivan; Laurie C. Hyland Robertson
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: xvi+260
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
About the Authors
Marlysa Sullivan, PT, C-IAYT
Laurie C. Hyland Robertson, MS, C-IAYT
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Richard Miller
Introduction
How This Book Came to Be
Yoga Therapy as a Distinct Complementary and Integrative Healthcare Practice
On Sharing Yogic Philosophy
Texts That Inform This Book
How to Use This Book
Choices, Biases, and Terms
Notes
Part I: Philosophical Foundations of Yoga as a Therapeutic Practice
Chapter 1: The Path of Yoga
Background
The Nature of Awareness
Conclusion
Notes
Chapter 2: Dharma, Ethics, and Right Action
Dharma: A Framework for Action and Pinnacle Human Aim
Eudaimonic Well-Being Another Practical Philosophy for Living
On Meaning and Suffering
Therapeutic Application
Conclusion
Notes
Chapter 3: Foundations for Discernment: Understanding Prakriti, Purusha, and the Gunas
Samkhya and Its Relationship to Yoga
Purusha and Prakriti
Prakriti and the Gunas
The Gunas in Body, Mind, and Environment
Conclusion
Notes
Chapter 4: Yoga Psychology: Body-Mind-Environment Relationships
Samkhya and Our Experience of the World
Causes of Enmeshment: The Lived and Habitual Bodies
Conclusion
Notes
Chapter 5: The Subtle Body: Exploring Tantra and Prana
Understanding the Subtle Body: The Koshas
The Subtle Body Detailed
A Brief Foray Into Tantra
Conclusion
Notes
Part II: Exploring Theoretical and Explanatory Frameworks for Yoga Therapy as an Integrative Healthcare Practice
Chapter 6: Explanatory Model for Yoga Therapy to Promote Health and Well-Being
Domains of Health and Well-Being and the Koshas
A Closer Look at the Social and Spiritual Domains of Health
Eudaimonic Well-Being and the Spiritual Domain of Health
The Health Effects of Eudaimonic Well-Being
Yoga Therapy as an Integrative Healthcare Practice
Conclusion
Notes
Chapter 7: Neurophysiological Perspectives
Salutogenesis and Pathogenesis: Complementary Perspectives for Health
Fostering Salutogenesis
Mind-Body Practices: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Strategies for Regulation and Resilience
The Autonomic Nervous System
A Deeper Look at ANS Regulation
Polyvagal Theory: Connected and Emergent Physiological, Emotional, and Behavioral Characteristics
Conclusion
Notes
Chapter 8: From Conceptual to Practical Application: Biomedical and Yogic Perspectives on Yoga Therapy
Yogic and Psychophysiological Perspectives
Yoga and Psychophysiological Perspectives on Regulation and Resilience
A Yoga Therapy Framework for Regulation and Resilience
Practical, Specific Application
Conclusion
Notes
Part III: Applied Philosophy and Science for Health and Well-Being
Chapter 9: Setting the Stage for Well-Being: Practices for Cultivating Sattva Guna and Regulating the Body-Mind
Yama and Niyama
Asana
Pranayama
Meditation
Conclusion
Notes
Chapter 10: Cultivating Healthy Sensitivity: Interoceptive Skills and Discriminative Wisdom
Yama and Niyama
Asana as Svadhyaya and Inquiry
Pranayama as Svadhyaya and Inquiry
More Meditations for Svadhyaya and Inquiry
Conclusion
Notes
Chapter 11: Yogic Practices to Support Resilience and Transformation
Three Types of Resilience
Yama and Niyama
Asana
Pranayama
Meditation
Conclusion
Notes
Final Thoughts
Index
