Therapeutic yoga will help you to stabilize in difficult situations and show you new perspectives Yoga unites body, mind and soul and brings us into balance. Yoga improves the feeling of well-being and helps to preserve or restore health. By practicing yoga, muscles, joints, glands and nerves and the cardiovascular system are strengthened and activated. On a psychological level, yoga will give us relaxation and a higher consciousness – not only for ourselves but also for our connection to other people and the universe. Yoga enables us to be in the here and now and to overcome our fears and worries. It also helps to control our thoughts and to purify our mind from negative thoughts. Therapeutic yoga is always focused on the needs of my clients. Yoga in cases of emotional disorders, traumatic events and addictions Emotional disorders and addictions are often caused by traumatic events and deep-seated fears. The will to repress memories, to feel numb and not having to see certain things causes a flight behavior. Suppressing feelings and events is often connected to shame and can result in self-denial with strong emotional fluctuations and serious addictions. Such an addiction or self-harming behavior seems to bring a momentary improvement of one’s situation. But it does not necessarily have to be drugs or alcohol. In our days we can become victims of addiction to almost everything – Facebook, infomania, computer games, and sex chats can make people addicted as well as alcohol, drugs or medicine. Self-harming behaviors such as cutting oneself, burning oneself, bulimia, binge eating and anorexia or being addicted to plastic surgery are only a few examples. In addition to that more and more people suffer from depressions, sleep disturbances or anxiety disorders. If people are aware of their situation and seek for help, they will get psychological therapies, and other therapies to treat their addictions etc. But they can often not be healed completely. It takes a lot of courage, persistence and a strong will to get rid of bad behavior and to find a new way. The core of all problems is located inside everyone and can only be treated there. Yoga will bring you to your innermost self. If you allow it, you will find rest and safety which will give you the necessary balance in your life. Yoga helps us to feel and to accept the awareness of the present while knowing that we have the power to make a change. Yoga in cases of stress and fears There are various reasons for stress and fears Events from the childhood Mobbing Overload at work Fear of losing one’s job Problems in relationships Fear of sexual failure Identity crises – can often be found in the changed gender roles. In the past, there was a clear divison of responsibilites regarding men and women. But these days there are often big insecurities in respect to behavior, society or relationships. Financial problems Fear of failure or rejection Fear of diseases Too many negative thoughts and information And much more… Furthermore, there is the general overload regarding information – the need of being always available and up to date in this fast-paced, modern world. Focusing our thoughts on threatening situations makes it impossible for us to relax. Traumata, stress and fears affect us in an overwhelming and exhausting way. Not only our brain but also our cells, organs, muscles and glands save our experiences and events. Stress and fears can cause symptoms such as high blood pressure, muscle tensions, restlessness, insomnia, panic attacks and depressions. If we have these feelings for a longer period of time, they are followed by inflammations, migraine, cardiovascular problems, cancer and other diseases. These symptoms are a warning that something must be changed – and should be taken seriously. Yoga is an effective method to reduce stress and o overcome fears and traumatic events. By practicing certain poses and meditations tension in the subconscious mind can be relieved. And this often happens without having to think of certain events – you will simply feel a calming feeling and relief. Guided breathing and gentle movements will give you a feeling of rest and safety within seconds. Yoga will help you to love and accept yourself and your wishes – that is a very important aspect to overcome fears, traumatic events and stress. Yoga in cases of childlessness The amount of couples having problems getting pregnant increases. But infertility or sterility are extremely rare. The way of life has a very big influence. Too much alcohol or coffee, smoking and a wrong diet can have a negative impact. But also underweight, overweight or medications can influence the fertility of men and women. But psychological aspects, such as the fear of failure, an unconscious fear of pregnancy or the responsibility connected with having a child as well as all kinds of stress can be the reasons for childlessness. Especially couples, whose biological clocks are ticking, get the fear of not being able to have children after a few unsuccessful months. That causes internal tensions, the body loses it balance and escapes into a kind of protection in which reproduction is hardly possible. Relaxation and meditation as well as yoga poses, which focus on the activation of sexual organs and hormonal glands help to balance the reproductive system and the mind. Yoga increases the blood circulation of all organs – also of the genitals. Yoga therapy can, in this case, be practiced as a couple. Practicing yoga regularly together strengthens the energetic connection and creates a deeper awareness towards each other. Yoga Therapy in cases of diseases Yoga Therapy is a very effective method for people with acute diseases trying to get well again. The diagnosis and the related medical treatments are often a shock for ill people and give them a feeling of powerlessness. So these diseases are often followed by feelings like fear, insecurity and worries, which again cause more and more negative thoughts. Yoga helps to reduce the stress and gives new energy and confidence in such difficult situations. Yoga brings you to your innermost self and gives you rest and awareness. This is followed by a deep relaxation which activates the self-healing powers of body and mind. Yoga therapy is focused on feeling the body and letting go of what is detrimental for you. Therapeutic yoga combines invigorating poses, gentle movements, breathing exercises, deep relaxation and guided meditation techniques. The muscles and the connective tissue get stronger, you will become more flexible and nerves and glands are activated and strengthened. The metabolism is activated and the hormonal balance is improved, which has a positive effect on our well-being and our health. During yoga therapy the exercises are individually selected in respect to the participant’s needs and condition. Yoga offers an effective way of self-help when we have physical or psychological imbalances. It was scientifically proved that yoga is a very effective method for emotional disbalances and addiction treatments. Yoga Therapy in cases of Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson Parkinson and Multiple Sclerosis are the most common neurological diseases. They have similar symptoms such as degenerative processes or the change of structures in the nerve system, shaking, mental disorders or metal fatigue. But physical exercises and mental relaxation help to reduce these symptoms. Yoga can reduce the fatigue connected with MS and Parkinson, it strengthens the muscles and the nerve system. Certain poses activate the glands and the hormone function – so that, for example, more dopamine and endorphins are produced which reduce the stress hormones. Physical poses, breathing and relaxation exercises will give you new energy and help you to be in the here and now and to overcome negative thoughts and fears. It is important that the exercises are practiced regularly and with an adequate intensity. If the participant is too weak for physical exercises, the therapy will focus on breathing and relaxing exercises and on the activation of nerve pathways. Yoga Therapy in cases of Diabetes Diabetes is a disorder of insulin response. By practicing yoga the organs and glands can be activated, which regulate the production of hormones. A specific program for diabetics consists of physical exercises and breathing exercises focused on pancreas, thyroids, adrenal glands, hypothalamus, hypophysis and the liver. Practicing yoga regularly lowers blood sugar, blood pressure and weight. Yoga reduces the stress hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol in the blood, which also has a positive effect on the insulin response. Moreover, yoga has a detoxifying effect on our organs. If you practice yoga, you will get to know your body better and you will feel what is good for you and what not. This helps to change the diet, which is very important for people suffering from diabetes. How Yoga can support people suffering from cancer The diagnosis of cancer immediately changes the life of people. The person concerned suffers from shock, fear, helplessness and powerlessness which can also lead to sadness and depression. The question ”Why me?” is often followed by feelings of guilt, anger, rejection. Worries about the future and what the best healing method might be leads to further stress. Stress, fears, worries and rejection cause psychological and physical tensions and weaken the immune system while moments of rest and relaxation help to strengthen the immune system, to see clear and to be in the here and now instead of having negative visions about the future. Yoga therapy for people suffering from cancer focuses first of all on breathing exercises, which help to reach a safe and relaxed emotional state. They also help to reduce pain and to handle unpleasant treatments. Breathing and yoga exercises help to transport toxic substances out of the body, which is very important for cancer patients due to the conventional medical treatments. Yoga strengthens the vitality and the will to live, practiced regularly it can increase the quality of life and give the patients a new awareness of themselves.