Poses, Props and Modifications for a Lifelong Yoga Practice

Some of the most famous images in yoga are of a silver-haired and wrinkled B.K.S. Iyengar in an advanced posture just a few years before his death well into his nineties, or a pink lipstick-wearing Tao Porchon-Lynch displaying incredible feats of flexibility before she passed away earlier this year at 101. While most of us see these images and shake our heads, lamenting our own muscle flexibility lost and aches gained over the past decade, they teach us a great deal about the practice itself.

Yoga, as most of us know, was not intended as purely a physical exercise, but rather a holistic practice comprised of eight limbs, culminating in samadhi. In this way, yoga lends itself to being accessible through the many stages of life and the necessary modifications that result. While many forms of exercise and sports can be so physically demanding that they either frequently lead to injury or are difficult or unsafe to practice as we enter a new life stage such as pregnancy, injury, illness or old age, yoga asana – and especially therapeutic variations – has a response to each of these. 

Here are some common poses, props and modifications to address some of the most common challenges that arise in the course of adulthood and ways to leverage the asana practice as a healing mechanism.

Chair yoga – Whether due to challenges with balance, restricted movement, or for clients just beginning a yoga practice, chair yoga is a starting point. So many common asana poses – twists, Warrior series, triangle, backbends, forward folds and more – can be modified to be done from a chair, whether seated or standing behind it and using it for support. All you need is a firm, steady folding chair. You can start to build strength in the chair and then eventually explore poses without using it.

Walls – As we age, the risk of falls increases. The National Council on Aging reports that one in four Americans over the age of 65 will fall each year, often resulting in the need to be treated in the emergency room. Thus, cultivating balance is critical. For clients who struggle to maintain balance, whether because of vertigo or ageing, the best modification is to find the steadiest prop possible and use that for practice – think the wall or floor. These props do not move no matter what, so should be used in poses that can challenge the balance. Think keeping the big toe on the floor during tree pose, or leaning back into a wall for triangle pose.

Yoga for low back pain – Low back pain is the second leading cause of missed work, second only to the common cold. Nearly all of us have awoken at one point or another with a stiff or sore lower back, not knowing what to do about it. The tricky part about low back pain is that its causes are many, and its treatments are just as diverse. Certain causes, like a ruptured disc, ask us not to forward fold, while others, such as sciatica, call for spinal twists. The key, if you are experiencing low back pain, is to visit a physician who can order tests and examine you to assign a proper diagnosis to your pain, and from there, you can work with a yoga therapist to ease your symptoms. Dr. Loren Fishman is a great resource on yoga for low back pain and has contributed greatly to the field of therapeutic yoga through his work.

Patience – Over time, the connective tissues that hold together our muscles and bone structure can dry up and become brittle. A key practice to maintain flexibility, which helps enable pain-free movement in the body and prevent common injuries, is yin yoga. Yin involves holding stretches for three to five minutes, getting deep into the connective tissue, to keep it healthy and supple. Interestingly enough, yin does not require deep flexibility to begin with, but rather asks us to stretch only to about half of our full capacity and utilize props to keep each pose supported, making it a sustainable practice for varying stages of fitness. That’s why you’ll be encouraged to bend your knees slightly in a yin-style forward fold or to back out of the most intense version of a posture to achieve lasting results over time.

These are just a few of the most common challenges we face as we age, and ways to modify, support, and explore them in the yoga practice. Finding a skilled yoga therapist to work with can help you find more ways to adapt your asana practice to your changing needs as you age.

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Hannah Slocum Darcy is a yoga teacher and a student at Prema Yoga Institute. She specializes in accessibility and adaptive practice for many life stages and scenarios.

So You Want to Be a Yoga Therapist…

I’m willing to bet you remember the first time you realized the healing benefits of yoga. Maybe you came to the practice to build strength or gently restore movement to an injured body part. Maybe you noticed how it can help to alleviate the aches and pains many of us accept as part of life, or you noticed the deep sleep or calmer mind that came after a yoga class. Whatever it is, most yoga practitioners can identify healing properties of the practice. 

That feeling is the gateway to the practice of therapeutic yoga. Therapeutic yoga aims to maximize these benefits and apply them consciously when an imbalance or injury is present. It is a way of applying the eight limbs of yoga in support of mental and physical wellness.

Who are Yoga Therapists?

Above all, a yoga therapist must embody the belief that yoga can be used in support of healing. A yoga therapist never takes the place of a doctor, nurse, or other licensed medical professional, but should be open to working with these individuals as part of a client’s team. Yoga therapists do not diagnose, but instead use our skills to help support healing.

A yoga therapist may work privately with clients, such as those who are recovering from an injury or dealing with a mental or physical health condition that makes practicing in group environments not possible. Increasingly, you can also find yoga therapists in clinics or hospitals. Of course, many yoga therapists also teach in yoga studios, often blending therapeutic principals into their hatha yoga classes. It’s always a great idea to practice with a yoga therapist, as you’ll likely minimize your chances of being injured through uninformed instruction or touch.

Some of the populations yoga therapists work with include: seniors citizens, individuals struggling with addiction, incarcerated individuals, cancer patients, cardiac patients, individuals suffering from PTSD and other mental illnesses, survivors of sexual assault, athletes recovering from injury, and more.

How to Become a Yoga Therapist

Most yoga teachers in the West have completed a 200-hour accredited training program. These programs vary widely in depth, lineage and quality. To become a yoga therapist, however, is a far more in-depth process. Yoga therapists start out with a 200-hour certification, and then continue their studies with a program overseen by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), the governing body that works to promote the practice of therapeutic yoga and establish and maintain standards for yoga therapists.

IAYT requires that students undergo an additional minimum 800 hours of education in therapeutic aspects of yoga. These hours can include education in topics such as Ayurveda, anatomy, yoga for trauma recovery, meditation and more. Most students will also complete a practicum in which they study individually with a teacher in a specific area of therapeutic yoga and produce a thesis or other observation that supports the work they are doing. 

There comes a point when many yoga therapists in training – myself included! – realize the immense commitment an IAYT certification requires. Many of us juggle families, jobs and a loaded teaching schedule, all while making the significant commitment of time and money to complete this training.

That said, we yoga therapists are a unique and committed bunch. We’re pioneering to bring an ancient Eastern practice and apply it in a context of Western illnesses and treatments. We are the holders of a healing tradition that is just in its infancy in terms of being recognized as a complimentary healing modality in the U.S. The field of therapeutic yoga is small but growing; yoga therapists are increasingly being accepted as part of patients’ care teams, and physicians are increasingly prescribing yoga to patients of all kinds.

Next Steps

If you feel called to contribute to healing through yoga, here are some steps to take:

• Get clear on your “why” – have you experienced yoga healing yourself or someone else? Is there a particular population you feel you can help as a yoga therapist? It is helpful to have this front of mind as you move through your training.

• Take stock of your resources – we all come from unique backgrounds, and we all have experience that can help us as yoga therapists. Perhaps you’re a doctor who works with a certain population that can benefit from yoga, or you’re a social worker, or you’re the parent of a child with special needs. Know what you have going for you so that you can apply what you learn.

• Make the commitment – Becoming certified as a yoga therapist is a big commitment – I like to think of it as an alternative master’s degree – and most schools require that you complete the required courses in a couple years’ time. Be sure you are in a place in your life where you can reasonably make that commitment.

• Find a yoga therapy school – There are yoga therapy schools throughout the world, with most in the United States, Canada and India. At the time of publication, there were only about 50 schools worldwide that have earned the prestigious IAYT accreditation – the gold standard of university-level education. You can learn more by contacting us at Prema Yoga Institute, or you can start here. 

In the words of T.K.V. Desikachar, who is widely thought of as the founder of therapeutic yoga, “Taking an intelligent approach means working toward your goal step by step.” Will you join the rest of us on this intelligent approach to becoming yoga therapists?

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Hannah Slocum Darcy is a yoga teacher and a student at Prema Yoga Institute. She specializes in accessibility and adaptive practice for many life stages and scenarios.