What Is Yoga Therapy?

Yoga therapy is a personalized, whole-person approach that uses movement, breath, meditation, mindfulness, relaxation, and other yoga-based practices to support your health and well-being.

Unlike a general yoga class, yoga therapy begins with you: what you are experiencing, what feels difficult, what you hope will change, and what is realistically accessible in your body and your life.

You do not need to be flexible, physically fit, experienced with yoga, or able to get down on the floor. Yoga therapy can be practiced in a chair, standing, lying down, or through breathing, meditation, and guided relaxation alone. Every practice is adapted to the individual.

The goal is not to perform yoga poses correctly. The goal is to explore practices that may help you move with greater comfort, understand your body more clearly, regulate your nervous system, and participate more fully in your own care.

Yoga That Begins With the Individual

In a typical yoga class, everyone generally follows the same sequence. A teacher may offer variations, but the overall practice is designed for the group.

Yoga therapy is different.

In a yoga therapy session, we take time to understand your individual needs, health history, daily routines, physical abilities, challenges, and goals. From there, we work together to develop practices specifically for you.

Your session might include gentle therapeutic movement, breathing practices, mindfulness, meditation, rest, education, or simple tools you can use at home. It may look very different from what people commonly picture when they hear the word “yoga.”

Sometimes the most helpful practice is a small, comfortable movement. Sometimes it is learning how to notice and respond to tension before it becomes overwhelming. Sometimes it is finding a position in which the body finally feels supported enough to rest.

Yoga therapy is collaborative. You are not being pushed through a predetermined routine. We explore what feels useful, appropriate, and sustainable together.

What Can Yoga Therapy Support?

People seek yoga therapy for many different reasons. Some are managing a specific health condition. Others are experiencing stress, exhaustion, pain, or a sense of disconnection from their bodies.

Yoga therapy may be a helpful complementary practice for people experiencing:

• Chronic pain or recurring discomfort

• Back, neck, shoulder, hip, or joint tension

• Fibromyalgia and other persistent pain conditions

• Stress, anxiety, or difficulty relaxing

• Burnout or nervous system overwhelm

• Sleep difficulties

• Fatigue or low energy

• Changes related to aging

• Limited mobility, balance concerns, or fear of movement

• Recovery following illness, injury, or medical treatment

• Neurological conditions or changes in coordination

• Grief, major life transitions, or emotional strain

• A desire to reconnect with the body in a safer and more compassionate way

Yoga therapy may also support people who have been told to exercise or manage stress but have struggled to find an approach that feels accessible.

It does not replace medical care, physical therapy, psychotherapy, or other appropriate treatment. Instead, it can work alongside the care you are already receiving.

What Happens During a Yoga Therapy Session?

Your first session includes time for conversation and assessment. We will discuss what brings you in, what you are currently experiencing, relevant health history, activities that feel difficult, and what you would like support with.

We may also explore simple movements or positions to better understand how your body responds. This is not a test, and there is no expectation that you move in a particular way.

Based on what we learn, your session may include a combination of:

Gentle, Therapeutic Movement

Movements are adapted to your body and may be practiced in a chair, standing with support, lying down, or transitioning between positions when appropriate.

We often work slowly and with curiosity, paying attention to sensation, effort, breath, and comfort rather than trying to achieve a particular shape.

Somatic Awareness

Somatic practices help you notice what is happening inside the body.

This may include recognizing patterns of tension, bracing, fatigue, numbness, or over-effort. Developing this awareness can help you make more informed choices and respond to your body with greater care.

Breath Practices

Breathing practices may be used to support relaxation, concentration, energy, or a greater sense of steadiness.

There is no requirement to breathe in a specific way. Practices are introduced gradually and adjusted based on what feels comfortable and appropriate.

Meditation and Mindfulness

Mindfulness helps us relate differently to thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and stress.

Rather than trying to clear the mind or force yourself to relax, you learn how to observe your experience with greater steadiness, curiosity, and compassion.

Rest and Nervous System Regulation

Many people live with a nervous system that rarely feels fully at ease.

Supported rest, guided relaxation, grounding practices, gentle movement, and breath awareness may help the body shift out of habitual tension and into a greater sense of safety and regulation.

Personalized Home Practices

When helpful, we may create a short practice for you to use between sessions.

This is not meant to become another demanding task. A home practice may be only a few minutes long and can be designed to fit naturally into your day.

You Do Not Have to Be “Good at Yoga”

Many people hesitate to try yoga because they believe they are too stiff, too old, too injured, too anxious, too out of shape, or simply “not a yoga person.”

None of those things disqualify you from yoga therapy.

Yoga therapy is not about flexibility, athletic ability, appearance, or performance. It does not require special clothing, complicated poses, or the ability to sit on the floor.

You are welcome to come exactly as you are.

A practice can be created for someone who is active and mobile, someone who uses a chair or mobility aid, someone experiencing significant fatigue, or someone who is primarily interested in meditation and nervous system support.

The practice adapts to the person. The person does not have to adapt to the practice.

Yoga Therapy and Chronic Pain

When pain has lasted for months or years, it can affect much more than one area of the body. It may influence sleep, energy, mood, concentration, confidence, and your willingness to move.

It is understandable to become protective of the body when movement has repeatedly caused pain.

Yoga therapy offers a gradual and non-forceful way to explore movement again. Rather than pushing through discomfort, we work to recognize the body’s signals, reduce unnecessary effort, and find movements that feel manageable.

The intention is not to tell you that pain is “all in your head” or that yoga can cure every condition. The intention is to help you develop practical tools, greater body awareness, and a more supportive relationship with movement.

Yoga Therapy for Stress and Anxiety

Stress is not only something that happens in the mind. It can show up as shallow breathing, muscle tension, restlessness, fatigue, digestive discomfort, trouble sleeping, or a constant sense of urgency.

Yoga therapy may help you notice how stress appears in your body and develop practices for responding to it.

Depending on your needs, this could include grounding exercises, gentle movement, breath awareness, meditation, supported rest, or learning how to recognize early signs of overwhelm.

The goal is not to eliminate every stressful thought or force yourself to feel calm. It is to build the capacity to meet difficult experiences with more steadiness and choice.

Yoga Therapy for Aging and Changes in Mobility

Our bodies change throughout our lives. Strength, balance, coordination, energy, and mobility may shift because of aging, illness, injury, surgery, or neurological conditions.

Yoga therapy offers an adaptable approach that can meet you where you are now.

Sessions may focus on maintaining comfortable movement, improving confidence, supporting balance, reducing fear of movement, or creating practices that can be done safely at home.

Chairs, walls, bolsters, blankets, blocks, and other forms of support are used whenever helpful. Rest is part of the practice, not a sign that you are doing it incorrectly.

Yoga Therapy, Private Yoga, and Physical Therapy

These services may overlap, but they are not the same.

A private yoga lesson usually focuses on learning or refining yoga practices in a one-to-one setting.

Yoga therapy is organized around an individual’s health-related needs and goals. The practices are selected and adapted in response to the whole person rather than around completing a standard yoga sequence.

Physical therapy is a licensed healthcare profession focused on evaluating and treating injuries, movement impairments, and physical function.

Yoga therapy does not diagnose medical or mental health conditions and does not replace care from a physician, physical therapist, psychotherapist, or other licensed healthcare professional. When appropriate, yoga therapy can complement those forms of care.

A Gentle, Collaborative Approach

You are always encouraged to share what you are noticing during a session.

You may pause, change a movement, rest, ask questions, or decline any practice. There is no expectation that you push through pain or discomfort.

I do not believe that one method works for every person. Our work is an ongoing process of listening, observing, adjusting, and discovering what supports you.

Some people notice that a particular movement helps them feel more comfortable. Others find that breathing or mindfulness practices are the most useful part of their sessions. Your practice may change as your needs change.

What Yoga Therapy Is Not

Yoga therapy is not a quick fix, a guaranteed cure, or a substitute for medical or mental health treatment.

It is also not about correcting everything that is supposedly “wrong” with your body.

Your body is not a problem to solve.

Yoga therapy offers a space to become more aware of your experience, explore supportive practices, and build skills that may help you navigate your health and daily life with greater confidence and compassion.

About Your Yoga Therapist

Maile Wicklander is a Certified Yoga Therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists and a Qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher.

Her approach brings together therapeutic yoga, gentle movement, somatic awareness, mindfulness, meditation, breath practices, and nervous system regulation.

Maile has extensive experience working with students and private clients with a wide range of bodies, abilities, health concerns, and levels of yoga experience. Her teaching is gentle, collaborative, and grounded in the belief that yoga should be adapted to the individual.

She is the founder of Tula Yoga Studio in Chicago, where she has taught yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and teacher training since 2011.

Is Yoga Therapy Right for Me?

Yoga therapy may be a good fit if you are looking for a practice that is:

• Individualized rather than one-size-fits-all

• Gentle and adaptable

• Supportive of your current medical or therapeutic care

• Focused on awareness rather than performance

• Accessible with limited mobility

• Sensitive to pain, fatigue, stress, or overwhelm

• Grounded in collaboration and personal choice

You do not need to know exactly what kind of practice you need before you begin. That is something we can explore together.

Begin With a Private Yoga Therapy Session

Your first session gives us an opportunity to talk about what you are experiencing, explore your goals, and begin identifying practices that may support you.

You are welcome whether you have practiced yoga for years or have never tried it before.

Come as you are. We will begin there.