Yoga Therapy Reimagined: Merging East and West

At Big Shakti, we approach yoga therapy as the yoga of medicine, a union, and integration of the best of Eastern and Western systems of healing. From the mental health perspective, we can call it the yoga of mental health.

We have found that combining Western medicine with Eastern wisdom practices—including yoga tantra, Ayurveda, and both Western and Eastern psychotherapeutic modalities offers my patients a holistic approach to healing.

This approach acknowledges that modern medicine excels at addressing acute symptoms and managing complex chronic conditions, while yoga therapy provides my patients with something equally valuable: the tools to cultivate resilience, self-awareness, and inner strength.

This integrative self-management approach treats not just the symptoms but the whole person, empowering patients to become active, cooperative participants in their healing journey toward vibrant physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

Merging the Two Systems

Once we understand both the Eastern and Western systems and their approaches, these two worlds can easily merge. Yoga, which means union or connection, is the perfect word to symbolize the fusion of Eastern and Western perspectives and to embrace both approaches as valid and immensely valuable.

Modern medicine and science reveal many mysteries of the brain-mind connection, while yoga and meditation emphasizes the connection between the body, mind, and spirit.

It is the psycho-spiritual dimension of yoga and depth psychology that adds immense value to a modern medical approach to healing. When we speak of the psycho-spiritual, we refer to the ability of yoga and yoga-tantra, in particular, to access the power of the deep mind, the psyche.

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Yoga therapy and yoga-tantra

In its most authentic form, yoga therapy draws deeply from the yoga-tantra tradition—the source of most practices commonly labeled simply as "yoga" today. This rich tradition forms the cornerstone of my healing philosophy, offering profound tools for transformation and self-discovery.

However, it's important to understand that historically, yoga-tantra wasn't primarily designed as a medical system. That specialized role belonged to Ayurveda, India's ancient science of life, which includes a sophisticated branch of psychiatry specifically addressing mental wellness.

Ayurveda, which is based on Samkhya philosophy, complements yoga-tantra perfectly by providing the framework to understand our unique elemental constitution (dosha). It guides us to create personalized lifestyle practices that support our natural balance. When combined with Western medicine, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda offer a comprehensive approach that honors both the spiritual dimensions of healing and the practical needs of the physical body and mind.

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Yoga-tantra

Yoga-tantra is a powerful and sophisticated system at the heart of yoga therapy. It is designed to purify and strengthen both the body and mind while awakening the spirit and consciousness. Its intricate theories of mind and consciousness enable us to manage our karma through an impressive array of techniques and methods.

Yoga-tantra, combined with Western depth psychology, allows us to connect with the meaning and purpose of our lives, which cannot be found in the external world. Rather, meaning and purpose lie buried deep within our psyche. Connecting with this inner aspect is key to achieving long-lasting mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

Limitations of Yoga-Tantra

However, yoga tantra can only offer limited assistance if someone has a significant karmic physical and mental imbalance, as these imbalances often impede progress. Yoga enthusiasts must acknowledge that yoga and meditation cannot accomplish everything.

I believe I possess a bias that yoga is one of the best healing methods, which I must be mindful of. This can become problematic if this bias stops me from recognizing the incredible benefits provided by other systems.

A way to address this bias is to stay committed to yoga and yoga therapy while considering it part of a broader system and approach to mental health. For some individuals, it may serve as their primary method, while for others, it will be supplementary, enhancing and optimizing the benefits obtained from other systems.

The Keys

The key is to see that yoga is primarily a system of awakening consciousness. The techniques used to find health and balance are another part of the yogic approach, which has some limitations. These limitations often occur because mental illness can result from multiple internal and external factors. Illness can also disrupt one's ability to maintain the momentum required to move outside of deeply entrenched, destructive mental, emotional, and behavioral patterns. In Sanskrit, we call this stuckness tamas.

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Karmic Challenges

In our medical and psychotherapy practice, we are open to providing patients with as much yoga and meditation as they wish. However, many individuals encounter various karmic challenges—whether physical, mental, social, or financial—and often have limited experience with yoga. Their capacity, time, and motivation are restricted. They aim to feel better and, if possible, to feel good.

Ultimately, they are indifferent to the methods used to achieve this. Anything that helps them feel better is both wanted and appealing. Nonetheless, karmic factors may hinder their progress, and to maintain momentum, they must confront tamas. Tamas, which signifies inertia or stagnation within the body-mind system, is essential for understanding illness.

The Yogic Framework

The Yoga Therapy framework offers a broader umbrella from which to address karmic challenges and view suffering than Western medicine. For example, in yogic and spiritual philosophies, illness and suffering are considered sacred, essential to life, and even the creation of the great mother goddess. Of course, not everybody will subscribe to this point of view.

Therefore, any treatment plan must be tailored to each patient's unique needs, a hallmark of an integrative approach, and all forms of treatment aim to relieve suffering. In some cases, physical illness cannot be cured, but psychological growth and spiritual healing are possible, according to the karma and nature of the patient.

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Value All Systems

This is why Western medicine and other Eastern healing systems, such as Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, are so essential and beneficial. It provides the means to address karmic biochemical and genetic imbalances.

Of course, yoga also influences biochemistry and genetics. However, when someone faces a serious genetic, social, or behavioral issue arising from a past life, genetics, or early life experiences, it can lead to significant distress and overwhelming feelings that necessitate immediate intervention. The individual requires something that will provide relief and enable them to pursue other methods of mental and emotional rehabilitation.

We regularly use Western medicine and Ayurveda when appropriate, integrating them into a holistic and yogic framework. While medications may not always be the primary focus of long-term treatment, they help patients function and continue their lives, providing them with more options.

The main approaches I utilize to manage mental illness and build mental health and emotional resilience include various forms of treatment, such as meditation, mantras, breathing techniques, visualization, hypnosis, counseling, and psychotherapy.

Western medicine is achieving remarkable advancements, particularly in genetics and biochemistry. Much of this research aligns with Eastern practices. For example, yogis and sages recognized the gut-brain connection thousands of years ago. We are fortunate to have access to both medicine and yoga, enabling us to benefit from the best of both in this modern age.

The Yoga Therapist

In my opinion, to effectively work with moderate to severe mental illness, a yoga therapist should ideally be fully trained in both Eastern and Western psychology and have extensive understanding and experience in treating mental health conditions.

It is crucial to recognize the difference between a mental health professional and the role of a yoga teacher in a class setting. Both are important: the treatment from an experienced health practitioner and the supportive environment of a yoga class.

The Benefit of Ashrams

It is also important to recognize that an ashram, where people are immersed in a yogic culture, provides an excellent opportunity for change and renewal. An ashram represents a unique environment. When it is well managed, living in such a setting can be incredibly therapeutic and beneficial to the mind and soul. A good ashram is like a refuge where change can be accelerated beyond what can be achieved in one's regular home setting.

Yoga of Mental Health Workshops

If you want to learn more about our approach to yoga therapy, combining the best of Eastern and Western systems of medicine and healing, please join us for our Yoga of Mental Health Workshops.