Yoga Training For Rehab Therapists

As yoga provides healing benefits for the both the mind and body, therapists working in either injury or illness rehabilitation or mental health-related rehabilitation may benefit from yoga training. Therapists trained in yoga therapy will increase their tools for offering clients pain and stress-relief. Multiple programs in the United States offer yoga training courses and certification programs that rehab therapists can take to learn how to incorporate yoga into their practices.

Features

Trained yoga therapists provide personalized treatment through therapeutic poses tailored to each patient's ailments and level of ability. Yoga therapy training may provide instruction regarding the core concepts and postures involved in yoga therapy, as well as courses in anatomy, the origins and treatments for common chronic pain problems, and training on how to provide yoga therapy in a clinical setting. Some training programs place special emphasis on the emotional and spiritual implications of yoga therapy, providing instruction on how to dialogue with patients during therapy to help them release emotions. Most yoga training certification programs require 200 to 500 hours of training.

Research

Multiple clinical studies have measured the effects of yoga therapy in both physical and mental health rehabilitation. Authors of a study published in a 2009 issue of "Spine" concluded that compared to a control group of chronic low back pain patients receiving standard medical care, patients who received 24 weeks of yoga therapy had reduced levels of pain, depression, and pain medication use by the end of the program. Another study, published in "European Journal of Physical Rehabilitation Medicine," demonstrated the effectiveness of yoga therapy in the rehabilitation of women suffering from osteoporosis. Results of a study published by "Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology" demonstrated significant anxiety-reduction effects of a yoga-based therapeutic lifestyle intervention in subjects with both physical and psychiatric disorders.

Programs

Physical therapists and mental health counselors looking to enhance their rehabilitation services with yoga therapy can choose from various yoga training programs with different emphases offered by schools throughout the nation. Some training programs that certify students in yoga therapy are offered by schools dedicated entirely to yoga. Examples of these schools include Integrative Yoga Therapy and Phoenix Rising. Some university extension programs, such as the Loyola Marymount University's Yoga Therapy Rx Program, also offer yoga training and certification. Some schools offer several levels or types of yoga training corresponding to different yoga certificates, and one school, Integrative Yoga Therapy, also offers web-based yoga training.

Certification

Although various yoga programs supply yoga therapy certificates to students who complete yoga training, there is no national credentialing system for yoga therapy. However, U.S. yoga organization Yoga Alliance provides minimum training standards for certification as a registered yoga teacher, or RYT. While these standards have no official significance, they are followed by most major yoga training organizations. In addition to RYT, some other designations used by graduates of yoga therapy training programs include certified yoga therapist and yoga therapy practitioner.

Considerations

Since yoga therapy lacks a national accreditation system, having additional certification as a therapist in a field with uniform nationwide standards, such as physical therapy or social work, will lend credence to your yoga credentials. Completing a yoga training program that follows Yoga Alliance certification standards and registering with Yoga Alliance for the designation of RYT will also enhance your credibility as a yoga therapy practitioner working in the United States.