Yoga As Therapy
What about the
student who can't bend their knees, lift their arms over their head, or even
pick themselves off the floor?
That's where yoga therapy comes in.
Yoga Therapy
After teaching more traditional Iyengar yoga classes for
several years, Susan began to notice an entire category of potential students:
those with binding physical issues. Often, doctors suggest their patients take
up yoga as an alternative and beneficial road to recovery after a major surgery
or illness; however, these people are often fragile and, while they so badly
need the benefits of yoga, they are unable to attend just any yoga class as
they, more than likely, won't be able to keep up and could potentially cause
further damage.
As a Certified Yoga Therapist (CYT), Susan expertly develops
a yoga-based wellness plan tailored to each individual student based on his or
her particular ailment, selecting methods and practices along the way that will
stabilize all areas of imbalance, resulting in the reduction of pain and a
better quality of life. Susan's natural ability to read people's bodies, along
with her extensive knowledge of physiology and therapeutic yoga, has enabled
her to experience great success with her regular clients.
If and when she feels a client is ready, Susan also incorporates strength training which proves to be especially beneficial for those with certain types of arthritis, scoliosis, multiple sclerosis, and the list goes on and on.
Active Isolated
Stretching (AIS)
Susan became interested in AIS when she found she was often
unable to open her clients' muscles and joints as deeply as she would like.
Developed by Aaron Mattes, AIS is a dynamic stretching
procedure clinically proven to safely return the joints to their original range
of motion while avoiding the risk of injury. According to Mattes, "a proper
stretching program should yield the benefits of restoring function, optimizing
performance, and maintaining a flexible, healthy body, [without] inflicting
pain and injury."
Performed on a massage table in a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere, AIS helps the client find and utilize a long, rythmic breathing pattern which is then used throughout the session. For maximum safety, the musscles and connective tissue (fascia) are stretched to the degree where the myotatic (stretch) reflex is activated and moved slightly beyond the point of irritation. The AIS therapist stretches gently for about 2 seconds, providing less than one pound of resistance, releases the pressure, returns to the starting position and repeats the prescribed number of repetitions. Releasing the pressure on the tissues being stretched at the point of light irritation helps prevent the reversal contraction of the tissue triggered by the stretch reflex.
Benefits of AIS Include:
- Remarkable reduction of muscle spasms
- Quicker or more efficient muscle response
- Accelerated trauma recuperation
