Yoga Therapy: The Science of Joy
“I think once you experience what we call sattva, that place of peace, that place of expansiveness and spaciousness within yourself and caring about others, you can’t go back.”
Dr. Amy Wheeler was one of my first teachers when I started my 3 year-long Yoga Therapy training. She generously shared opportunities for me to teach my classmates about Ayurveda and my perspective on integrative medicine, which eventually became the basis of my book, The Health Catalyst, and the premise of The Healing Catalyst podcast.
Since then she’s become a mentor, a dear friend, and one of my biggest supporters–for which I am so grateful. I was so happy to finally bring Amy to The Healing Catalyst to talk about yoga therapy and movement as medicine.
Beyond exercise is peace.
Dr. Wheeler went to her first yoga ashram looking for physical exercise. She knew exercise. Not only was she a college athlete but she’d received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in health promotion. Her clients included Olympians and professional athletes alike.
She expected to focus on the movement of her body and the postures of yoga. But she said, “we did meditation, we did sound, we talked about lifestyle, we learned yoga philosophy, and I just ate it up.” She quickly discovered a sense of peace and harmony that she’d never encountered after exercising.
The science of joy.
I love that Amy calls yoga therapy the science of joy. She describes it as a set of tools where you coordinate movement with breath and mental focus. Amy goes on to explain that yoga happens slowly and mindfully so you can know your body and mind more deeply.
This philosophy is closer to the original intent of yoga than what you find in most yoga studios in the United States. In traditional yoga practices, you work closely with a teacher who looks at your whole life including your health, your gifts, your difficulties, and the circumstances of your life. Then your teacher designs daily practices and habits to help you find health and joy.
Kindness is the core of healing.
Dr. Wheeler also underlined the importance of relationships in our conversation. When speaking of her teachers, she noticed that “they really have a philosophy that optimism, care, consideration, kindness, and sweetness are the core of healing.” When you feel safe, seen, and held by another person, they contribute to your healing.
This is why I encourage my clients to take an inventory of their relationships as they work toward healing. Ayurveda teaches us that illness and dis-ease are caused by a build-up of toxins. And toxins can come from anything we digest–literally and figuratively. Relationships that suffer from lack of communication, boundaries, and kindness increase toxins. Sometimes, we’re not even aware that a relationship has become a source of negative energy. By turning our minds intentionally to the people in our lives, we get the chance to repair and heal together.
Movement as medicine.
I am so honored to share Dr. Amy Wheeler’s expertise with you. This blog post is just a preview to all that she has to share. Listen to our conversation on The Healing Catalyst to hear more about:
How we begin changing the commodification of yoga in the West
What Dr. Amy learned in India about our illusion of control
Regaining our joy through Yoga Therapy
And if you’d like to learn more about movement as medicine, check out other posts in this series:
Be well,
Avanti Kumar-Singh, MD
