Why Ayurvedic Yoga Therapists and Why Now?

Area of Science:

• Integrative Medicine
• Yoga Therapy
• Ayurveda

Background:

• The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) has advanced yoga therapy as a recognized healing profession.
• The National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA) has explored an Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist (AYT) professional designation for five years.
• An AYT designation would align with and expand upon IAYT's established yoga therapist standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To articulate the significance of establishing an Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist (AYT) designation.
• To demonstrate how an AYT designation supports and broadens the IAYT's mission.
• To advocate for the timely development of competencies, standards, and scope of practice for Ayurvedic yoga therapy.

Main Methods:

• Discussion paper analyzing the integration of Ayurvedic principles into yoga therapy.
• Review of existing yoga therapy standards set by IAYT.
• Exploration of the rationale for a distinct AYT professional designation.

Main Results:

• The proposed AYT designation offers a complementary framework to existing yoga therapy standards.
• Integration of Ayurvedic principles can enhance the therapeutic offerings in yoga.
• There is a clear need and opportune moment to define AYT competencies and scope of practice.

Conclusions:

• An Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist (AYT) designation is crucial for professionalizing Ayurvedic yoga therapy.
• This designation enhances the mission of yoga therapy by incorporating Ayurvedic wisdom.
• Establishing standards for AYT is timely and essential for the growth of the discipline.