These are sessions where the practice is tailored to suit individual needs. We will ask you to fill out a form in advance of your first session to be able to offer you the most suitable approach and to understand your needs. An initial assessment consultation will consist in gathering information about your case history, carrying out a physical assessment and developing a practice and intervention plan.
The content of our subsequent sessions will vary according to your needs. It will consist of psycho-education, performing postures, breathwork, self-regulation techniques according to your individual requirements, yoga therapy, mindfulness meditation – grounded in neuroscience approaches – and deep relaxation.
During the session we work holistically with postures (Asana) to balance body and mind through the physical body. The postures help you gain flexibility and strength in the body and each one is performed in combination with breathing, comfort and awareness.
Breathing practices (Pranayama) work on an energetic level to bring calmness and clarity. If we are breathing incorrectly, we are hampering our potential for optimal health. Pranayama, means the “science of breathing” or “control of life force” – it is the yogic practice of breathing correctly and deeply.
Deep relaxation (Yoga Nidra), which is a ‘yogic sleep’, a state of conscious deep sleep. Developing awareness of the body to induce complete physical, mental and emotional relaxation.
Developing self-regulation skills means gaining the ability to monitor and control our own physical sensations, emotions or thoughts, regulating them in accordance with the demands of the situation. This will enable you to play a role of self-intervention whenever it is required in your daily life.
Self-awareness and mindfulness meditation is a method of watching and better understanding our thoughts and feelings, including during the practice of postures, breathing techniques and deep relaxation . Mindfulness has been defined as ‘paying attention on purpose, non-judgementally, and in the present moment’ (Kabat-Zinn, 1982).
Psycho-education is a very effective treatment of a wide variety of conditions, evidence for which has emerged in both clinical trials and community settings. The flexibility of the model, which incorporates both condition-specific information and tools for managing health-related circumstances, has broad potential for many forms of ailments and various life challenges.
A minimum of six sessions enables you to acquire a basic ‘embodied memory’ of the key techniques. The practical usefulness of the treatment increases in proportion to the client’s familiarity with the techniques taught, and familiarity comes through repetition and variation on a core range of practices. This is particularly important in relation to the breathwork, stretching, strengthening and introduction to meditation.
You will be encouraged to follow up the session with home practice such as self-relaxations and exercises designed for your particular needs. You will learn valuable tools to practise in your daily life.
What is Yoga Therapy?
Yoga therapy tailors yoga practices to individual needs, whilst taking medical considerations into account and is considered more effective than general yoga practice as a safe means of treating medical conditions. Yoga Therapists are qualified general yoga teachers who take additional specialised training to work with specific conditions. Yoga therapy is applicable to a great variety of conditions, including anxiety, low back pain, arthritis, hypertension, heart conditions, hyperventilation, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia as well as mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, perinatal care and stress management.
It is a growing area of research in the field of complementary therapies.
Yoga therapy can be practised in conjunction with medical treatments you are already receiving, and also in tandem with other complementary therapies.
No prior experience of yoga is necessary before starting.
Yoga therapy is accredited by The British Wheel of Yoga, the governing body for yoga in Great Britain. The Yoga Biomedical Trust is a charitable trust dedicated to the development of yoga therapy as an integral part of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Some considerations when starting yoga therapy
No prior experience of yoga is necessary before starting.
Yoga Therapy can be practised in conjunction with any medical
treatments you are already receiving, and also in tandem with other complementary therapies.
Yoga Mats and Blankets are provided at appointments.
Please wear loose comfortable clothing.
It is recommended not to eat a full meal for at least 2 hours before your session.
Customized Program
An additional service we can offer to complement the one-to-one sessions is to record a personalised video to assist you in your own yoga practice, should you wish to practise on your own in between our one-to-one sessions.
This involves putting together a yoga practice session tailored to you – we will then carry out the session together and make a professional video recording of it. While recording the session, we will place a particular emphasis on correcting and adjusting your posture and alignment. The benefit of this is that you will then be able to self-correct your own posture while practising alone, by observing the position of your own body on the video, ensuring you can derive maximum benefit from your practice and train good postural habits.
We can also make a personalised Yoga Nidra audio recording, tailored to your particular needs and areas of interest. Yoga nidra is a deeply relaxing guided meditation, experienced in a supine position (lying down, face up), which can form part of a one-to-one yoga session. Our personalised audio recordings enable you to also enjoy the benefits of this practice whenever and wherever you like, and will incorporate the elements of yoga nidra that you find particularly enjoyable and beneficial.
