When you come to a yoga therapist for help with a particular condition or for one-to-one yoga training, the first step is usually an assessment of your condition and overall situation. This involves coming for an individual session (60-90 minutes) with a qualified yoga therapist. To save time you complete a questionnaire in advance and post it in.

You will then be directed to a class, course or further one-to-one sessions as best suits your individual needs.

Should an one-to-one session not be necessary we can advise you on the best class or course.

All specialist classes are taught by yoga therapists. These are yoga teachers with a further two years of medically based training.

For an appointment telephone: 020 7689 3040

Yoga therapy utilises practises from India, which date back thousands of years and were part of their traditional healthcare system. These practices are among the most effective known methods for managing psychosomatic, stress-related conditions, which are so common today. This is because they bridge the gap between body and mind, as described below.

Physical exercises: Simple movements and held postures gently stretch and strengthen muscles, improve mobility, flexibility, respiration, circulation, digestion and elimination, and promote a general sense of health and well being.

Breathing techniques: By controlling patterns of breathing, yoga can calm and centre the mind, helping to relieve stress and mental fatigue.

Relaxation: A central element in yoga therapy, relaxation is the body's way of recharging and helps to ease physical and mental tensions.

Lifestyle: By encouraging us to step back and look objectively at our habitual patterns of behaviour, yoga can help us to cope better with situations that put our bodies and minds under strain.

Will yoga therapy work for me? Yoga therapy can help a wide range of medical conditions including arthritis, asthma and other respiratory disorders, cancer, diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, HIV and AIDS, low back pain, mental illness, ME, MS and women's health problems. It is also excellent for pregnancy, childbirth and babies and their mothers.

Yoga therapy starts with very simple exercises. People can begin to practice and benefit right away, even if they have never done yoga before. Commencing with stretching and breathing exercises, students gradually progress in stages to a range of asanas, pranayama and relaxation practices. Yoga therapy retains the basic principles and aims of yoga, working holistically at all levels of the mind and body.

Although clients may come with the specific intention of solving their health problems, they will benefit in many other ways. Indeed, yoga therapy will be less effective if a holistic approach is not taken.

What do I need to do now? People wishing to practise yoga therapy first come to the Centre for a one-to-one session with a yoga therapist (a trained yoga teacher with a further two years training in medical topics and applied yoga). During this