Fans Of Yoga Therapy Have Yet To Win Over Doctors

Yoga practitioners often tout the unique health benefits of the ancient discipline -- from relieving stress and pain to improving vascular health -- but most doctors remain sceptical in the absence of hard proof.

Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jun, 2018 ) :Yoga practitioners often tout the unique health benefits of the ancient discipline -- from relieving stress and pain to improving vascular health -- but most doctors remain sceptical in the absence of hard proof.

The International Journal of Yoga Therapy (IJYT) published last year highlighted dozens of studies purporting to show that the practice can help people with eating disorders, soon-to-be moms and women with cancer-related symptoms.

Lionel Coudron, a 60-year-old French doctor, claims he is pain-free thanks to three hours of yoga per week.

"A few years ago, people thought yoga was (essentially) good at combatting stress", said the doctor, who set up a yoga therapy institute in Paris in 1993.

But the benefits of yoga -- including meditation, breathing exercises and posture -- go much deeper, Coudron said.

Jocelyne Borel-Kuhner, former head of an emergency ward in a Paris hospital, agrees.

She set up the very first yoga therapy practice in 2012 with the specific aim of relieving pain for patients, particularly those with handicaps or arthritis.

Yoga therapy "isn't just a course of yoga adapted for people who are ill," but is individual consultation with a clinical examination followed by a care plan using yoga techniques.

The aim is to limit the therapy to between three and five consultations per patient, followed by exercises to be continued at home afterwards.

Six years and more than 2,000 consultations later, more than 800 patients have passed through Borel-Kuhner's practice, with some deciding to cease traditional treatment altogether because the yoga therapy is so successful.