The discipline of yoga is whole and indivisible. However, it allows five different approaches to be distinguished.

These five approaches should in no way be confused with the different schools of yoga, the appearance of which is relatively recent in the history of this practice. Traditionally, yoga is a: a discipline that meets the diverse physical, physiological, emotional and spiritual needs of individuals of all ages. To this end, the teacher-therapist knows how to migrate surely but imperceptibly between five approaches. This pedagogical fluidity allows him to adapt yoga to each individual, wherever they are on their unique life path.

This article will discuss the therapeutic approach in yoga, the cikitsa krama.

Other approaches include:

promoting optimal growth;
the development of endurance and strength in adolescents;
maintaining existing health;
Spirituality.

The teacher-therapist will know how to apply and dose tools such as posture, breathing and meditation; intensifying or adapting them depending on the chosen approach.

Cikitsa Krama: therapeutic yoga

I would like to talk here about the importance of observing the individual. Yoga therapy will only be effective if we provide the right solutions at the right time.

This article mainly deals with therapy on a physical level, we will talk more specifically about emotional therapy in a future article.

The healing process generally follows four stages. Yoga therapy wonderfully supports a natural process, allowing an active experience for the practitioner who wishes to take charge, unlike passive care systems.

The first stage is that of acute suffering. Here we find, for example, joint blockage, osteoarthritis or lumbago.

The body naturally seeks to recover through rest, and in yoga, we will simply accompany the body's request. Rest will be favored by lengthening the exhalation, visualizations, and massage. Very short practices will be repeated two to three times a day.

When we arrive at the second stage of healing, the suffering is eased but the person remains fragile. Very gently, it involves very respectfully soliciting the area that was painful. Well-chosen postures will create micro-movements. It is the beginning of a return to freedom.

Arriving at the third stage, the person no longer suffers. She has already found a certain ease in the movement. She will be able to return to her work and other activities.

And for her yoga practice, it’s the “rehabilitation” phase. The therapist will choose the postural function that will correct the cause of the problem. The practice will prepare one or two main postures which will relate to this corrective function.

Fourth and final step: the person is completely rested and rebalanced, they are ready to tackle muscle strengthening. At this stage, the practice will require more endurance, and it will strengthen the weakened area very precisely.

It is obvious that these four steps can only be applied in individual lessons, this context allowing a real personalization of the practice, a time for discussion and a precise diagnosis. The individual course also allows the therapist to best assume his role as “taxi driver”, who will accompany his client where he wants to go, without imposing his own choice of destination.