Yoga, once an Eastern form of exercise and meditation, has planted itself firmly in the mainstream of the West – everyone from babies to seniors are doing it and benefiting from it, and leaning more about this practice may even help those in travel therapy jobs. You already know every muscle and tendon and how the body works, so learning how to incorporate yoga into some of your care regimens may make you an even stronger travel physical therapist.
Like physical therapy, yoga is a healing practice, and can also be a preventative care method. Yoga and physical therapy share many of the same goals – enhancing strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, posture and alignment, as well as reducing pain – and require much of the same knowledge of the body’s mechanics, according to Advance for Physical Therapy & Rehab Medicine. If you are interested in adding yoga to your travel physical therapy skill set, there are a few steps you can take.
Read up on yoga
Sometimes, simply learning more about this ancient practice and trying some poses yourself can help you incorporate it into certain care plans. Search online to learn about some of the principles of yoga, such as deep breathing and body awareness, and try to think of some ways these features could improve some of your patients. It might also be a good idea to find some yoga classes in your area. Almost all studios allow drop-in students and welcome beginners. Talk to the teacher about your interest in the practice – he or she may be able to offer some tips for further education. You don’t necessarily have to become an expert to start incorporating beneficial aspects of yoga, such as deep breathing, into some of your PT regimens.
Become yoga certified
You can be a bonafide yogi and know which poses are good for what types of physical problems, but until you have a certification, some of your patients may not want to try your suggested yoga moves. Earning a yoga certification is one way to make yourself more marketable as a travel therapist, and this type of continuing education may also appeal to a wider range of patients, especially those who already practice yoga and would like someone to teach them how to do it in a way that could benefit their specific injury or ailment.
You may even become so interested in yoga that you become what is now known as a yoga therapist. According to The New York Times, this is a role that is becoming more and more common as yoga gains popularity. Although commonplace in India, yoga therapy is relatively new in the United States. Therapists in this field work either privately or in small groups, using yoga poses to treat musculoskeletal problems, chronic diseases or other ailments that have been diagnosed by doctors. In this role, you would use your anatomical know-how alongside your understanding of the stretching and breathing of yoga to offer your patients a truly unique physical therapy program.