Yoga therapy can help you improve your mental health.
Yoga therapy isn’t the same as traditional yoga. But they both incorporate yoga poses, mindfulness, and meditation.
Research shows that combining traditional therapy and yoga therapy is best. Yoga therapy on its own isn’t a treatment for mental health conditions.
If you’ve been feeling stressed, and it’s taking a toll on your mental health, yoga therapy might be able to help. Even if you’ve never done yoga poses or paid attention to your breathing, this therapy approach along with talk therapy might make a difference for you.
Yoga therapy and your more well-known yoga practice are different. There are different types of yoga, and each has different intentions. Usually, yoga combines physical poses, breathing exercises, meditation, and mindfulness. While yoga therapy also does this, it takes an individualized approach to addressing your specific concerns. While yoga can generally improve your mental health, yoga therapy focuses specifically on mental and physical health. And unlike yoga in a group setting, yoga therapy is typically led by a yoga therapist who works with you one on one.
How yoga therapy works
A yoga therapist’s credentials go beyond what a yoga teacher can do. A yoga therapist will ask you about your health concerns and look over your medical history. From there, they can figure out which yoga movements you can safely do and how each pose will likely impact your body and mental well-being. During treatment planning, you will work collaboratively with your yoga therapist to create a plan that works best for you. You don’t have to bring anything to yoga therapy other than comfortable clothes. Your yoga therapist might use different aids like a chair, blocks, or blankets to help you get the most out of your sessions.
Once sessions begin, your yoga therapist can help you find positions that promote relaxation, manage pain, and settle your mind to help you find peace. A session can include breathing exercises, physical postures, and meditation with an emphasis on relieving symptoms.
If your mental health feels better after a yoga therapy session, you’re probably not imagining it. People usually turn to yoga therapy for help with their depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia.
You can also think of yoga therapy as a way to learn mindfulness, which can bring down your stress. If you find your mind racing often, yoga therapy can also help bring more calm. Yoga therapy requires practicing moves at home in between sessions which will help make it a daily practice.
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What yoga therapy can help with
Yoga therapy is an opportunity for you to address health concerns — physical and mental — with a professional.
Yoga therapy isn’t a treatment on its own. But when used in addition to treatments like talk therapy, it can help with mental health conditions like:
Anxiety: A yoga therapist might teach you breathing exercises, calming postures, and meditation practices to help manage anxiety symptoms.
Depression: Yoga therapy may help people’s nervous systems relax. This can bring down cortisol levels and reduce depression symptoms.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Mindfulness, a key component of yoga therapy, can also help adults with ADHD. If you experience inattentiveness, impulsiveness, or emotional dysregulation, you might want to explore how mindfulness can soothe ADHD. Yoga therapy has also been shown to help manage ADHD symptoms in children.
Speaking with a mental health professional can help you decide if yoga therapy would be a helpful addition to your current treatment plan.
Types of therapeutic yoga for mental health
Like talk therapy, yoga therapy has different types. For example, pranayama is a type of therapeutic yoga that focuses on breathing. Pranayama can be used in part to address anxiety disorders.
Yoga therapy, like yoga, uses physical poses called asana. When it comes to mental health, these movements are believed to stimulate the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve influences mood and helps the brain to emotionally regulate. Emotional regulation can help you handle challenging emotions better and deal with stressful situations more calmly.
Research shows that asana is equal or better than resistance exercises, like weight lifting, at improving mental health.
Some poses your yoga therapist might ask you to do include:
Easy pose: This pose involves sitting cross-legged and with a straight spine. It can help with anxiety, depression, and ongoing stress.
Downward-facing dog pose: This pose involves being on all fours and lifting your spine to the sky with your hands on the ground. Like the easy pose, it can help with stress and anxiety.
Upward-facing dog pose: This pose is the reverse of the downward-facing dog pose. Not only can it help manage anxiety and depression, but it can also act as an emotional release.
Tips for getting the most out of yoga therapy
Research shows adding yoga therapy to cognitive behavioral therapy can be a helpful combination.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective type of talk therapy to treat anxiety and depression. A therapist will guide you to notice your thoughts. You’ll learn to recognize negative and untrue ones and build to transform them into empowering thoughts.
Yoga therapy also pairs well with dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). DBT is the first-choice treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD). It also helps people with substance use disorder (SUD). Some research suggests trauma-informed hatha yoga can help people with both BPD and SUD have less anxiety and stress.
Sessions typically last between 30 and 90 minutes. But to get the most out of yoga therapy, you’ll want to practice what you learned at home in between sessions. Putting reminders on your calendar can help you establish this as a habit.
How often you go to yoga therapy depends on your goals, mobility, and schedule. Your yoga therapist can help you figure this out while prioritizing your needs.
People usually have questions when it comes to insurance coverage and therapy. Most of the time, insurance doesn’t cover the cost of yoga therapy. But ask your insurance provider what your specific plan covers.
When deciding if yoga therapy is right for you, consider how connected you feel to your body. And whether you’re open to movement or breath-based practices. If talk therapy helps but doesn’t fully address stress or trauma that shows up physically, yoga therapy may offer a supportive body-centered approach.
Ashley Ayala, LMFT
Clinical reviewer
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Yoga therapy uses yoga practices to help address mental and physical health symptoms. It can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and even improve sleep. While not a treatment alone, adding it to traditional therapy can help you make progress with certain mental health conditions.
At Rula, we’re committed to delivering a comprehensive behavioral health experience that helps people feel seen and understood so they can get back to feeling their best.
Rula makes it easier to find a licensed therapist or psychiatric provider who accepts your insurance so you don’t have to choose between affordable care and excellent care. With a diverse network of more than 15,000 providers, 24/7 crisis support, and appointments available as soon as tomorrow, we're here to help you make progress — wherever you are on your mental health journey.
Siobhan Neela-Stock
Siobhan Neela-Stock is a writer and journalist who focuses on health, particularly mental health. She earned her master's in journalism from Northwestern University in 2018 and worked at Mashable for over two years where she focused on social good reporting.
Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, SELF, Fortune, Verywell Health, among other publications. Neela-Stock also teaches writing and journalism at several universities.
She enjoys traveling, dancing, playing dodgeball, and spending time with her loved ones.
Ashley Ayala, LMFT
Ashley is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in generational healing and family dynamics. Ashley has worked in schools, clinics, and in private practice. She believes that people’s relationships, including our relationship with ourselves, greatly shape our experiences in life.
Ashley is committed to empowering others to show up authentically and deepen their self understanding. This passion stems from taking a critical lens on her own life story and doing inner healing. One of her favorite quotes is “Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.”
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