Picture, if you will, the typical yoga class — a small group of toned, limber athletes finding inner peace while challenging their bodies. Now imagine you’ve had a hip replacement. Or you’re confined to a wheelchair. Or you’re autistic. Something as physically and spiritually enriching as yoga may seem out of reach. At Circle Yoga in Washington, Annie Mahon and Karen Soltes practice therapeutic yoga.
“Yoga is not just about the asanas [poses],” said Mahon, the studio’s founder. “Poses are one of the limbs of yoga, but yoga is so much more.”
Therapeutic yoga includes one-on-one sessions, super-gentle yoga and yoga nidra. One-on-one sessions are the realm of Soltes, a social worker who made the jump to full-time yoga teacher a year ago.
“Yoga is especially helpful for people facing a range of physical and emotional challenges,” Soltes said.
Her clients include children and adults who suffer from anxiety, depression or ADHD as well as those with more severe issues such as autism. Therapeutic yoga sessions aredifferent for each child, depending on his or her needs. Soltes therapeutic yoga sessions are highly structured, ending in relaxation. During her sessions, the clients practice sitting quietly and being mindful and self-regulating.
“Self-regulation is one of the goals of therapy in many people, especially children, facing emotional challenges,” she said. “Therapeutic yoga can be a key part of their overall treatment.”
Yoga nidra can be especially beneficial for people with emotional challenges, such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. A deep relaxation technique, yoga nidra takes us “to that wonderful place somewhere between sleep and wakefulness,” Mahon said.
Physical and emotional challenges can be particularly stressful, and being able to find inner peace through yoga nidra provides an escape from those daily stressors. Circle Yoga is open not just to those with disabilities, either — given the nature of the world around us, we could all probably use that kind of escape.
Super-gentle yoga is a godsend for those with physical challenges. It runs at a slower pace, and students may use certain props to help them take certain poses. Breathing and relaxation also can increase a student’s strength and flexibility.
Yoga may seem intimidating to even the most physically fit among us. Therapeutic yoga is breaking down those misperceptions and, indeed, achieving the mission that Mahon defined when she founded Circle Yoga: “Through gentle movement, meditation and mindfulness, we are helping an underserved population decrease anxiety, make connections, develop relationships and increase their overall health.”
Find a therapeutic yoga provider
» Circle Yoga, 3838 Northampton St. NW, Washington. Call 202-686-1104 or visit circleyoga.com.
» Beyond Postures, Baltimore. Call 410-662-9642.
» Visit iayt.org, International Association of Yoga Therapists.
Sue Saunders is a registered dietitian.
E-mail [email protected].
