YTTC Yoga Therapy Modular Diploma Course Introduction – What is Yoga Therapy? Yoga comprises a wide range of mind/body practices, from postural and breathing exercises to deep relaxation and meditation. Yoga therapy tailors these to the health needs of the individual. It helps to promote all-round positive health, as well as assisting particular medical conditions. The therapy is particularly appropriate for many chronic conditions that persist despite conventional medical treatment.

This therapy originated in the age-old tradition of yoga that emerged from the Indian sub-continent many millennia ago. Yoga has been used to complement traditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda) for thousands of years. Yoga therapy is, by comparison, in its infancy having been created by a union of traditional medicine and yoga some eighty years ago. The pioneer of this process, Swami Kuvalayananda, applied the methods of modern medical science to study the physiological effects and therapeutic applications of yoga in the early 1920’s in Bombay (Mumbai). In the ensuing decades these practices spread throughout India.

Why train to be a Yoga Therapist with the YTTC? The YTTC Yoga Therapy Modular programme is guided and supported by the British Council for Yoga Therapy (BCYT). The BCYT is responsible for setting and maintaining Yoga Therapy training standards and code of professional conduct. Attendance on individual modules also satisfies the requirements for undertaking Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training. CPD enables the teacher to develop teaching skills whilst at the same time deepen their knowledge and understanding of yoga. Yoga therapists are trained to understand the nature of medical conditions diagnosed by a patient’s General Practitioner or Hospital Consultant. They design individual programmes of yoga therapy that complement and support each patient’s medical treatment, and work with the patient, usually on an individual basis, to enable them to practice appropriate yoga for their condition. The yoga programmes are holistic, aiming to treat not just the condition, but also the whole person, empowering them and involving them in their own health care. YTTC yoga therapists have sufficient knowledge of medical issues, and the specialised applications of yoga, to enable them to work safely and effectively with people suffering from a wide range of health conditions. They are also equipped with the skills necessary to communicate and liaise with medical practitioners.

Course Structure and Content The modular therapy programme recognises that many practitioners wish to attend individual modules without having to commit to undertaking the full therapy diploma course. To facilitate the therapy programme each module is presented as a stand-alone course, introducing the teacher to clinical skills, working within the therapeutic situation, case histories, pathophysiology, asana modification, restorative posture work and yoga philosophy. The therapy modules will enable the yoga teacher to work on a ‘one-to-one’ basis or within the general class situation and include the anatomy of yoga, yoga injuries and rehabilitation.

Entry Requirements The modular diploma programme has been designed for yoga teachers who hold a recognised yoga teaching qualification. Applications from yoga practitioners who are studying for a teaching qualification recognised by the YTTC, yoga students and other complementary therapists with a proven and strong yoga practice will also be considered. It is a requirement of the Yoga Therapy Modular Diploma Course that each participant brings a minimum of one bolster, two firm blankets, four blocks and one yoga belt (labelled with name).

Course Tutors All course components will be delivered by qualified university-level lecturers, medical practitioners, experienced yoga therapy practitioners and other complementary medical professionals.

Course Components The modular diploma course consists of:

(a) Ten Core Modules:

1. The Back: Sacrum, Shoulders & Spine
2. Muscles, Bones & Joints
3. Women’s Health
4. Respiratory System: Asthma, Colds, Flu, COPD, Allergies
5. Nervous System: Skin, Stress, Headaches & Migraine
6. Heart & Circulation: Stroke, Blood Pressure, DVT, Heart Attack
7. Digestion & Diet: IBS, Ulcers, Hernia, Indigestion, Diarrhoea, Haemorrhoids
8. Immune System: Fatigue, Low Immune, Cancer, AIDS/HIV
9. Special Needs: Learning Disabilities, Mental Health, Acquired Disabilities
10. Hormonal System: Chakra-Endocrine Complex, Diabetes, Obesity & Thyroid

(b) Additional Modules:

1. Men’s Health
2. Pregnancy

(c) Completion Weekend

(d) Modular Examination

(e) Case Histories For those teachers who undertake all ten core modules, modular examinations, the submission of a required number of case histories and the completion weekend, a Diploma in Yoga Therapy will be awarded.

Aims and Objectives: Those who come to a yoga therapist seeking to use yoga as a means of contributing to their own health and healing, will (most likely) have already been to see their G.P. and been given a diagnosis. A yoga therapist should be able to design a balanced initial yoga programme which is suitable for the needs of each individual, adapting it as the client’s experience of yoga increases. It should incorporate practices for the whole body, not just those specific to a medical condition – clients should not be given just ‘asanas for heart disease’, ‘back asanas’ or ‘asanas for asthma’, but a balanced programme incorporating suitable practices for their condition. The skill in yoga therapy is in being able to design and modify such suitable programmes, knowing what to include and what to omit.

The therapist must understand the nature of each posture, and what it is trying to achieve, before using it in the therapy situation. One should not use any yoga practice as therapy until one fully understands it well in one’s own personal practice.

By the end of each module each teacher should:

(a) Be able to plan a Yoga Therapy programme to suit the needs of the individual.

(b) Have an ability to modify postures to suit the needs of the individual, in relation to the medical condition that is under consideration.

(c) Be able to take and record, the case history of each individual.

By the end of the Therapy Course be able to:

(a) Have the ability to listen and hear, what is being said without personal input.

(b) Be able to plan a course of six therapy sessions with a view to including the philosophy of Yoga.

(c) Be able to record and file records of case histories.

(d) See how someone can be integrated into a general yoga class. Modifications, adaptations, recommendations and limitations will be covered on each of the core module weekends.

1. Asanas

• Pawanmuktasana series (anti-arthritic movements)
• Marjariasana (cat pose) and variations
• Shashankasana (hare pose) and adaptions
• Suryanamaskar (salute to sun) and modifications
• Adho Mukha Svanasana (down dog) and adaptions
• Tadasana (mountain)
• Vrkasana (tree)
• Trikonasana (triangle)
• Garudasana (eagle)
• Utkanasana (squat)
• Uttanasana (standing forward bend)
• Prasarita Padottanasana (intense leg stretch)
• Gomukhasana (head of cow pose)
• Vajrasana/Virasana (hero)
• Dandasana (staff pose)
• Sukhasana (easy x-leg)
• Baddo konasana (cobbler)
• Setu Bandha (bridge)
• Bhujangasana (cobra)
• Salabhasana (locust)
• Ustrasana (camel)
• Matsyasana (fish)
• Paschimottanasana (seated forward bend over two legs)
• Balasana (child)
• Apanasana (knees to chest)
• Supta Padangusthasana (reclining leg stretch)
• Bharadvajasana (twist)
• Ardha Matsyendrasana (spinal twist)
• Marichyasana (spinal twist)

2. Restorative Asana

• Supta Virasana (reclining hero)
• Savasana (corpse pose)
• Paschimottanasana (supported seated forward bend over two legs)
• Janu Sirsasana ((supported seated forward bend over one leg)
• Salamba Balasana (supported child)
• Salamba Sukhasana (supported x-leg)
• Salamba Bharadvajasana (supported twist)
• Viparati Karani (legs up the wall)
• Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (supported bridge)
• Supta Baddo Konasana (supported cobbler)
• Viparati Dandasana (variations on supported back bend over support)

3. Pranayama

• Diaphragmatic & Sectional Breathing Mahat Yoga Pranayam (complete breath)
• Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing)
• Savitri Rhythms Bhramari (humming breath)
• Ujjayi (victorious breath) Hasta Mudras (hand gestures)

4. Relaxation

• Savasana (corpse)
• Breath awareness
• Mindfulness
• Rotation of consciousness
• Visualisations
• Body sensations
• Yoga Nidra Marma points
• Introduction to Meditation/Meditation
• Mantra/Affirmation

5. Philosophy

• Union of Body, Mind and Spirit

6. Anatomy and Pathophysiology

As relevant to each weekend

7. The Therapeutic Situation 8. Medical Conditions 9. Clinical Skills 10. Case History Taking Course Fees & Dates A completed application form, accompanied by a non-refundable deposit is required to secure a place on each module, with the balance payable on the first weekend.

For dates and modular fees please contact S.Cooper on +44 (0) 28 37551089... or 07761 292484... The organisers reserve the right to withdraw the modular diploma course should insufficient numbers enrol