Yoga Therapy

Hertford and Hatfield

Yoga Therapy Practice

Yoga therapy is unique as it considers the individual as a whole person by addressing mind, body, breathing, emotions and our purpose in life. A therapy that explores the adaption of yoga practices to emphasise a deeper awareness of what you are experiencing and offers you practical tools and practices in the form of yoga movements, breathing, yoga philosophy and mindfulness to encourage and empower individuals to be an active participant in improving their own mental and physical health.

Throughout life

your body responds to all experiences, holding your stories and history. The tissues of your body are wise and smart, often remembering insights and knowledge which your mind may have forgotten. When you feel joy and love, your body will respond to the emotion, holding the memory or feeling either consciously or subconsciously. The same is true if you have felt fear, trauma and anxiety. Your physical body, breathing and emotions will have respond to these challenging feelings, rooting themselves into the tissues of your body.
If challenging feelings impact or restrict how you are living, yoga therapy can offer you tangible practices and tools to use in your daily life, helping to bring ease to difficulties you feel and offering you a way to move through and past unhelpful experiences and sensations.

YOGA THERAPY IS
DIFFERENT

to a general 1:1 yoga session or class.

Yoga therapy isn’t about being flexible or making fancy postures with your body that you might have been led to believe through the media. Yoga therapy is a prescriptive transformational journey that empowers individuals with practical and helpful tools. You will offered particular practices for their known benefit and during a session we may explore elements or a combination of breath work, mindfulness, focus practices, physical stretches to release tension, meditation, lifestyle reflection, journaling, voice work and relaxation techniques. Tangible yoga tools to ease difficulty in mind, body or emotions, into a welcomed state of calm and balance, helping you to feel good, in control, and regain the joy of life again.

Yoga therapy can support

Anxiety

 Arthritis
Adults with autism
Anger management
Back pain
Bereavement
Breathing / respiratory issues
Carers
Chronic fatigue syndrome/ME
Dissociation
Depression
Fatigue
Frozen Shoulder
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
Health anxiety
Irritable bowel syndrome
Long covid
Peri / Menopause
Panic attacks
PTSD and other trauma-related issues
Sciatica
Sleep disorders /insomnia
Stress
Tension headaches
Those affected by cancer

For session fees and bookings please reach out

HERE

Learn more

What to expect when you book a session
Before our first session, I will email you a questionnaire to gather relevant information about your current condition(s), including but not limited to your history of medical illness, injury, past and current treatments, information about your activities, diet, sleep as well as historical family information which may be relevant.

In our first session together

We will have conversation for us both to learn more about what you're experiencing and holding onto in your body, breathing, mind & emotions. We will explore your priorities for yoga therapy and form the beginnings of measurable positive outcomes that you would like to gain from the sessions and how yoga therapy can best support you. During this initial session I will also assess your physical movement and breathing patterns.
From there, we will begin the wonderful journey of yoga therapy.

At the end of each session

I will offer you practices to do at home if, of course this is something you're keen on.
Further sessions will be for 55 minutes at the same time each week.
There are no fixed number of sessions. However, it is suggested a minimum of 6 sessions is required for individuals to begin to understand the nature of how yoga therapy can help, as the body and mind need time to build new neural pathways and feel the profound benefit of yoga therapy.

Q & A

How is Yoga Therapy
different from general
yoga classes and
1:1 session?

A trained Yoga Therapist can register with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), who follow a code of practice and standards which allow the NHS to refer patients. CNHC is the holder of an Accredited Register by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care, a body accountable to Parliament.
General group yoga classes have teachers who thoughtfully prepare sequences which offer many modifications to accommodate the variety and level of experience of those in the class. The group will practice ‘as one’ while explore the same breathing and postural practices together. The same is said for general 1:1 session to learn yoga.
A yoga therapist takes a very different collaborative approach between the yoga therapist and that one client to meet their individual needs and priorities through a tailored yoga framework to help their current physical, emotional and mental health needs. A yoga therapist will have experience in a wider range of health conditions, such as but not limited to trauma, anxiety and life affecting illnesses. Yoga therapy brings knowledge and shares specific techniques and tools tailored to the individual to empower them with coping mechanisms to move through and past difficult experiences that are arising in body, mind, breathing and emotions.

What is Therapeutic
in yoga?

Yoga is therapeutic to some degree. However, not all teachers or classes could be considered therapeutic or yoga Therapy. With a plethora of classes and teachers available from ashtanga, hatha, flow and dynamic yoga to yoga YouTube, it’s helpful to know the difference between yoga therapy and all the other wonderful yoga practice offerings.
A yoga therapist works with a specific problem and applies their knowledge and experience of yoga techniques to help alleviate the issue (whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual). A yoga therapist will work with people who are managing conditions like insomnia, depression, PTSD, recovery from surgery, chronic pain, anxiety and cancer amongst others.

What to expect from
a yoga therapy session?

No prior knowledge of yoga is necessary. Before your first session you will be asked to complete an in-depth health questionnaire which serves as the basis for our first session. During the first session together, we will have a conversation for us both to learn more about what you're experiencing and holding onto in your body, breathing, mind & emotions and how you would like support through yoga therapy.
A typical first session might involve looking at a person’s posture, movement and how they are breathing while setting priorities and forming short-term measurable, positive outcomes. From there, we move into specific yoga practices which might include elements of stretches, breathing work and relaxation practices. At the end of the session you will be given a copy of the practices from the session to continue your practice at home.
Further sessions will be for 55 minutes at the same time each week.

Yoga Therapy Venues?

All yoga therapy sessions are from venues in Hatfield and Hertford.

Hertford
Located in the town centre at Hertford Counselling Services where I work along side a dedicated team of qualified counsellors and psychotherapists who provide a full range of talking therapy. Location

Ellenbrook, Hatfield
Located in a small, private and welcoming yoga studio at Hey Karma yoga in leafy Ellenbrook, Hatfield. I offer yoga therapy, general 1:1 sessions and small group classes. The studio is fully equipped with plenty of yoga mats, yoga bricks and blocks, eye pillows, bolsters, yoga belts and blankets and there is ample parking on the drive. Location