Major governmental health services including the NHS in the UK and the NIH in the US already recommend yoga for various health conditions.
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) in particular has made positive steps to towards yoga’s inclusion in healthcare to provide its workers with access to yoga classes, in a bid to stave off rising absences from sickness and the stress of long hours.
While there is much being done, there are still significant strides that can be made to bring yoga into healthcare.
Yoga in Healthcare Alliance, or YIHA, is a charity at the forefront of making this change. It started with its flagship yoga for social prescribing programme Yoga4Health and now it supports NHS staff via its Yoga4NHS programme. YIHA works tirelessly to deliver yoga programmes that complement the evolving needs of health services, educate the public on how yoga can positively influence health, and educate health professionals about the value of yoga in the treatment of chronic conditions.
Many of The Minded Institutes Yoga Therapists began their journey training with YIHA and have gone on to support the NHS bringing yoga therapy into healthcare.
Paul Fox, who runs day-to-day operations at the YIHA charity, has been working hard to roll-out Yoga4NHS staff wellbeing programme accredited by the Royal College of GPs. Last year he delivered the 6-week course to 376 NHS staff as a volunteer to pilot the programme. In recognition of this work, he is a finalist in the Skills for Health/NHS England Our Health Heroes Awards. Please consider voting for him online to boost the profile of YIHA within the NHS!
Are you a health professional, interested in yoga to support yourself and your patients. Book an interview with Heather Mason to discuss how you can become a yoga therapist, bridging the gap between yoga and the NHS.
