Yoga Therapy is quite a new discipline, combining the Ayurvedic Science and modern medicine, along with the traditional form of Hatha Yoga and meditation. Why Hatha Yoga specifically, you may wonder?! Because this type of yoga tailors to the individuals’ needs of people with health problems, with simple postures (asanas), breathing, relaxation and meditation practices, while considering the medical diagnosis and holistic factors. It emphasizes Mind – Body integration, extended awareness and the cultivation of a sense of harmony with the rest of life. Yoga Therapy can be applied to many chronic conditions, along with other complementary therapies. 

Yoga Sessions vs. Yoga Therapy

What Yoga Therapy actually is? All Yoga is Therapeutic by Essence. However, there is a difference between yoga sessions and yoga therapy. Yoga therapy is the adaptation of Yoga to a particular set of people with health issues, such as Coronary Heart Diseases, management of Diabetes, Hypertensive Clients, Obesity and all the other Common Disorders i.e. Hormone Imbalance, Sleeping Disorder. Yoga Therapy tailors yoga to Individuals, while taking into consideration their medical condition, constitution, and life situation. While Yoga Therapy is rather a more specialized field, it still goes along the basic principles and aims of Yoga. Therapy Yoga is based on the holistic therapeutic concept, which includes a balanced set of practices that calm and vitalize the mind and body, as well as acting on diseased parts.

According to Ayurveda, India's traditional medical system, each one of us has an inborn constitution, or prakruti, that shapes our bodies, minds, and predilections. Most yoga teachers have some knowledge on Ayurveda and the notion of the basic constitutional types (doshas) of kapha, pitta, and vata. According to the Ayurvedic Practitioner Swami Shivananda, the Sanskrit word "dosha" literally means "that which becomes imbalanced." Disease begins with the accumulation of one or more doshas. 

The three doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, are three mind-body operators that govern the body's functioning. Though at the basis of the physical body, the doshas themselves are not physical — they are principles of intelligence. When the three doshas are in balance, the person enjoys good health. However, through imbalanced diet, lifestyle, and exposure to stress and environmental  factors, one or more of the doshas can begin to become imbalanced. The first stage of this imbalance is that the dosha increases in quantity, or "accumulates." Ayurveda also holds that people of different constitutions are prone to diseases that reflect the ways the doshas become imbalanced.

The intention changes in yoga therapy sessions for individuals or groups with specific conditions. After an appropriate intake and assessment, therapists will often focus on the specific symptoms that trouble their clients and identify methods to help them manage symptoms like pain or sleeplessness. Additionally, the therapist empowers clients to take a more active role in their self-care. The therapist’s job is less about teaching yogic techniques and more about helping clients to overcome their challenges and gain independence. The job of the therapist here, represents a different focus, a different kind of education, and an exceptionally different skill set.

Yoga is used for the treatment of cancer patients to decrease depression, insomnia, pain, and fatigue and increase anxiety control. Yoga's ability to improve cognitive functions and reduce stress makes it appealing in the treatment of schizophrenia,as well, because of its association with cognitive deficits and stress related relapse. In one study, at the end of 4 months those patients treated with yoga were better in their social and occupational functions and quality of life.

Overall, studies of the effects of yoga on heart disease suggest that yoga reduce high blood pressure, improve symptoms of heart failure, enhance cardiac rehabilitation, and lower cardiovascular risk factors. Long-term yoga practitioners have reported musculoskeletal and mental health improvements, as well reduced symptoms of asthma in asthmatics. While yoga by itself can alleviate a number of problems, it is particularly effective as a complement to other alternative and conventional forms of health. Studies suggest, for example, that yoga therapy can subsidize the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatments for people with cancer and facilitate faster recovery after bypass surgery. In clinical trials, many patients with asthma, type II diabetes (formerly known as adult-onset diabetes), or high blood pressure who began a regular practice of yoga were able to either lower their drug dosage, or eliminate some pills entirely.  

Yoga alone should not be  substitute for appropriate medication or psychotherapy. However, in situations where a patient is at risk of an illness but does not need intensive therapy, yogic practices may forestall or even prevent progression to the point where medical therapy is needed. It is also important to remember that not all yoga is appropriate for all patients and that yoga therapy is different than simply taking a group yoga class where the yoga instructor may be unaware of an individual student’s health concerns or problems. Most certified yoga teachers, or instructors, have received some training in anatomy and physiology; however, this training can be quite varied and is not equivalent to the training required by the yoga therapist or healthcare practitioner. As noted previously, yoga therapy, different from a yoga class, starts with a detailed history and physical examination and assessment from the health practitioner.

Here you can also enjoy a video on the health benefits of yoga and yoga therapy:

-       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU3HuPNsyG4

-       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n5TocWEtXo

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Your online Yoga Teacher Training course

The call of yoga

The first thing I did when lockdown was announced in London, where I live - even before running to the supermarket, stocking up on ridiculous items and frantically looking for toilet roll and hand sanitizer - was getting in touch with the yoga school in my hometown of Buenos Aires, where I started practicing 15 years ago. It was a one-line long email, with a subject that said it all: “Streaming?”

Less than 48hs after that I found myself moving the furniture around and logging into what would be the first of many zoom sessions, an action that quite soon became a non-negotiable in my daily life and, quite probably, the reason why I didn’t entirely lose my mind during the bleakness and despair of lockdown or, as the French so poetically call it, le confinement.  

As days turned into weeks and months the effects of the daily practice started talking to me loud and clear: my body became stronger; my emotions calmer; my mind clearer. And then a question arose: had the time come to take my practice to the next level?

The more I thought about this the more sense it made and, at the same time, I was finding it increasingly difficult to keep interest in what up until then had been my “day to day” life. Quitting my job was easy; finding my ideal yoga retreat not so much: planning in the year of the pandemic is no small feat, and what was possible and feasible kept shifting and changing constantly to the rhythm of governments and border restrictions all around.

Nevertheless, and as it happens, the perfect chance came. As soon as Carmen & Dietmar’s yoga reset retreat came up on my screen I knew I’d found my place. And yet the combination of holistic treatments, the beautiful surroundings up in the Greek mountains and the twice-daily yoga sessions in the stunning marble studio took me by surprise, and by the time the end of the week-long retreat came I knew that my time there had not been enough. I left full of bliss but, more importantly, eager to come back a week later to embark on my 200h yoga teacher training course.

There are probably as many reasons to sign up for this sort of adventure as there are yoga teachers around the world. Mine were a combination of opportunity, determination and the courage to finally pursue something I’d always wanted to do. I wanted to deepen my knowledge of yoga, acquire a better understanding of the discipline that quite literally changed my life and get to know myself a bit better along the way. 

The training delivered all of that and a lot more. Sitting with Carmen I learnt about chakras, ayurveda and the asana’s sanskrit names, but I also developed a deeper understanding and respect for what makes yoga not only a practice and a philosophy, but an entire way of life. 

Training as a yoga teacher is a beautiful journey from which one comes out armed with strong tools but, more importantly, empowered with utter and pure freedom: freedom from the constraints of society; from the established and all-so-common sources of stress and despair and from one’s own often limiting states of mind. And as it happens with all freedoms, this one also comes with a responsibility, which is that of transmitting this knowledge to other people, to help them become free too. Whether you chose to do this from a studio in a big city, up in the beautiful surrounding of the mountains or from the comfort of your own home is entirely up to you, but if you feel the call of yoga into your life the 200h yoga teaching training course is without a shadow of a doubt the right choice for you.

Namaste.

Julieta

Have you heard of Yoga Skyros Academy and Therapy Center, in Glyfada Seaside, Greece? Well, it's the only place so close to the City Center of Athens and Nature, where you can join and enjoy All-Year-Around programs of restoration, as well as to be taught and get certified as a Yoga Teacher and/or as a Yoga Therapist, in a traditional and authentic way, alongside the Masters Dietmar and Carmen Hellmann. It is the same Authentic Teaching done originally in India. 

The Spirit of Yoga Skyros Academy and Therapy Center is “ Stay-A-Live” within all the Turmoil around us it did not touch the Yoga Skyros Academy and Therapy Center. Here you do not feel the outside World around us. 

In Yoga Skyros, we respect your Privacy and Well-Being. You will have the time and space for yourself in our beautiful and luxurious place and the Areas around Glyfada Seaside. Here, we aim for and achieve high quality of the 3 T’s -Teaching -Training -Therapy, not only for the Body but for the Mind and Spirit as well. As BKS Iyengar has stated ''Health is the state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit''.

Yoga Skyros is different; because Dietmar and Carmen teach all courses by themselves, which shows the amplitude of their knowledge, love, persistence and inner power. Their approach to teaching and learning is ''baby steps''. They are here to support you along the way, with Patience and Love and as Carmen says ''The Body will always adapt to the demand, we put on it'', so there is no need to rush or doubt the process. Additionally, because quality is above quantity, and each class has maximum 10 students, each individual gets to develop a traditional and authentic ''Master'' to Student Relationship, where they are connected for life no matter how many miles apart.

We strive to share the ancient knowledge, practices and our light within the modern world. We can all heal ourselves and one another. Join us and feel the difference for yourself.

 ‘’ 0 becomes 8 ’’

Ashtanga - Patanjali - The Path

Patanjali the Father of Yoga, was the first one to write the first Yoga Treaty with his Yoga Sutras  200 years A.D. Patanjali defines yoga as yoga chitta vritti nirodhah – yoga is the cessation of the thoughts in the mind. Chitta is the place in our mind where our thoughts reside, and vrtti is the modification of this. It is the development of our thoughts that creates a or desire and brings us out of our natural state of peacefulness. Ashta is the Sanskrit word for eight. If we think about it 8 is also the number representing infinity. The second part anga translates to limb, fold or part. Continuing my previous stream of thought, zero also becomes 8 if we fold or twist it. So, this is suggestive that the path to infinity and realization, is along the lines of the 8-fold path. Patanjali’s yoga sutras describe an eight-fold path to help cultivate a life of meaning and purpose, to free the physical body from its permanent constraints of adaptation with the external environment and the emotional body, will allow the connection between the body and the mental.

The 8 limbs of Yoga are the following: 

1.     The Yamas: These are constraints, moral rules of the society and individuals’. Without it, will reign chaos, violence, lies, theft and greed. These include Ahimsa (non-violence), Saty (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (abstinence) and Aparigraha (non-greed).

2.     The Niyamas: This is discipline, meaning rules of conduct for the individual. These are Sauca (purity), Santosa (contentment), Tapas (austerity), Svadhyaya (study of Sutras) and Isvara pranidhana (meditation).

3.     The Asanas which are not only gymnastic exercises; they are postures bringing solidity, health and lightness of limb. A stable and beautiful position gives mental balance  and prevents the unsteadiness of mind. 

4.     Pranayama: Prana means breath, breathing, life, vitality, wind, energy and strength. Ayama means length, expansion, elongation or restraint. It represents, the time, the expansion of the breath and its control.

5.     Pratyahara, in which the 5 senses are controlled.“IF THE REASON OF A MAN SUCCUMBS UNDER THE PULL OF HIS SENSE, HE IS LOST”

6.     Dharana: ,Meaning total concentration on a unique point.

7.     Dhyana. Meaning contemplation.

8.     Samadhi: This is union, integration. When you finally reach the final stage of Ashtanga, your focus will be merged and transcend your ‘self’. You will feel the connection to the source, the divine  will feel a connection with all living things. These realizations will give you feelings of bliss and fulfilment as you are at one with the world. All of these limbs of yoga do work off one another. When you commit to it fully, you will understand life’s true purpose. Feelings of joy, abundance, and inner fulfilment along with the freedom to find out who you are without the mind trying to interfere. This is what is called Samadhi (Enlightenment/ liberation), and that is what yoga does when you honour all aspects of it.

Should I do it or should i not?

For some, just by reading you might think ‘’Oh, I cannot do this, or that, I disagree’’ and you will reject it at once, because you will feel as if you are restricting yourself or you think it is a lot of work to abide by ‘’rules’’. Keep in mind though, that is your ego talking and not the true self.  Other may feel like this is the natural path and it is only logical to follow, because the self remembers. So, what if you take it into consideration? What if you would give it a try? There is a path leading to the cessation of suffering. This is ancient knowledge, which is still alive and has living proof, once you open all eyes and make a conscious choice to see it. Most of the yogis and their students do follow Patanjali. Some people even follow such a path without even having studied the sutras, and that is because their body, their soul remembers that wisdom and what is real. Truth will lead you to where you’re looking to ‘’go’’; back to your ‘’self’’. ‘’Start turning the wheel for you and the rest will follow!’’

Did you know?

As you can imagine, yoga has many benefits and it affects your whole essence, your whole being. It helps with stress management, mental and emotional health, quitting habits that do not serve us and reprogramming these into new healthy habits. It helps with sleep disorders and generally with one’s balance. Now more than ever there is science behind it supporting all arguments, which suggest that yoga helps with overall wellness, relieving stress and anxiety , musculoskeletal pain, and depression, weight loss and chronic diseases. Not only that, but it also promotes self-care and self-love, which is the root of many of the problems aforementioned.This way one consciously opens the Wisdom in order to gain an unconditional Love For Life.

What does the science say?

According to Dr. M. Javnbakht, from the Psychiatry Department from Islamic Azad University in Iran, taking part in yoga classes for two months can immensely reduce anxiety in people with anxiety disorders. In their paper, which was published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, the researchers say that ‘’yoga can be considered as a complementary therapy or an alternative method for medical therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders.” Another study on the same paper, by the Division of Yoga & Life Sciences at the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation in India, explored the effect of yoga on lower back pain.They did a seven-day randomized control trial at a holistic health center, with 80 patients who have chronic lower back pain. They made  two groups – yoga therapy and physical therapy. Their results showed that practicing yoga is more effective than physical therapy at reducing pain, anxiety and depression, and improving spinal mobility.

i. On physical level, it helps each bodily cell to revitalize itself; it facilitates digestion, it makes inspiration more efficient and improves circulation of blood.

ii. On mental level, it proves to be applied method to train the mind to concentrate; it offers way to treat serious psychosomatic illness without drugs.

iii. On the emotional level, the strengthening of conscious reasoning controls reactions to environmental conditions and behavior of others.

iv. On spiritual level, regulation and transformation of blood chemistry through proper synthesization of neuro-endocrine secretions, dispassionate internal vibrations leads to attain the power to control the mind and to become free from the effects of external forces compelling one to lose equanimity.

Especially nowadays, there are lots of centres and teachers providing yoga classes, but few are the ones who possess the spiritual, the physical and the scientific knowledge of yoga. In Yoga Skyros centre, we can provide you with such knowledge cater to your physical, mental and health needs. Here are some of the programs offered for your well-being,

●      https://www.facebook.com/events/264357104702574/  →  7 Days Pure Yoga Retreat in Paiania

●      https://www.facebook.com/events/532903900718845/→  7Days PrimeTime Health Retreat in Paiania

●      https://www.facebook.com/events/176056063624602/ → 4 Days Intensive Self-healing Workshop & Yoga Holiday In Paiania

You can also find more programs and events in our facebook and official page: Yoga Skyros - Home  https://www.yogaskyros.com/