Yoga in Healthcare: A Question Worth Exploring

This study, "Yoga Professionals' Opinions about Yoga in Health Care" by Christiane Brems and colleagues (2026), did not investigate whether yoga is effective in healthcare. Rather, it explored what nearly 1,900 US yoga professionals think about yoga's role in healthcare and whether additional training or credentialing should be required for those working in clinical settings.

What I found most interesting wasn't the support for yoga itself, but the discussion around training.

Teachers with more advanced qualifications and those already working in healthcare settings were much more likely to believe that additional specialist training is needed when working with people facing health challenges.

So, what makes someone qualified to work with people in a healthcare context?

Is it:

More hours of training?
More certificates?
More experience?
Mentorship?
A healthcare qualification?
Or the ability to adapt yoga skilfully to the individual sitting in front of you?

As someone influenced by the Krishnamacharya tradition, I'm reminded that yoga was always intended to meet the needs of the individual. Yet working with people living with cancer, trauma, chronic pain, heart disease, or mental health challenges clearly requires knowledge, humility, and appropriate boundaries.

So, if you're a practitioner and not a teacher, what qualities do you look for in a yoga teacher when dealing with a health challenge?

For teachers:

Where does your scope of practice begin and end?
What experiences have most prepared you to support students with health conditions?
Is a 200-hour training enough for healthcare settings?
What does "competent" actually mean in yoga?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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Yoga in Healthcare: A Question Worth Exploring

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