Yoga therapy: the synchrony of art and science.

field of yoga therapy is growing at a phenomenal rate. An estimated 1,000 yoga therapy studies have been published since 2000. This represents a nearly fivefold increase since the previous decade. The benefits of yoga as therapy are no secret to the millions of yoga practitioners in the East who have e mbr a c ed its ri ch tr a d iti ons for thousands of years, yet in the West yoga therapy remains relatively novel and, for some, enigmatic. The field of yoga therapy is faced with the necessary task of defining itself to inculcate an understanding of its benefits for individuals regardless of their age or ability level. During the past several years the International Association of Yoga Therapists has spearheaded the mission to establish yoga therapy as a credible and respected complementary practice by developing educational standards for the training of yoga therapists and soon through the accreditation of schools that offer such training. This process of self-definition has required careful scrutiny and considerable discussion as individuals from varied traditions grapple with what defines yoga as therapy. This will likely remain a dynamic dialogue as the field strives to meet global consensus about how the ancient practices of yoga therapy are translated into modern health care. Yoga the r apy re searche rs also face the mandate of eng agi ng in sc i e nti fic svadhyaya, that is, a proc e ss of inqu i ry re g ard i ng what is be i ng stu d i ed, the rati onale for doi ng so, the me thods be i ng used, and the pr agmatic util ity of th is re search for yo g a the r apists. It involves exam i n i ng wh i ch aspects of the r apy can be measu red, how th is may be accompl ished, and whe ther what is be i ng stu d i ed is re pre se ntative of the depth and brea dth of yoga as the r apy. As with mo st cl i n i cal disc ipl i nes that involve i nte rpe rsonal proc e sses, yoga the r apy re search faces the he r-cul ean task of measu ri ng what may in the end be immeasu r abl e. Indra Devi, a renowned ambassador of yoga, contended that …