Therapeutic yoga is the application of movement, breathing exercises, cognitive strategies, education and the establishment of a genuine compassionate relationship.
In the above video is Clint, who is a T8 paraplegic, practicing yoga as tailored to his individual needs.
Private yoga instruction is certainly more rare these days. Most people assume yoga is synonymous with "group exercise classes", when traditionally it was taught on a one-to-one basis for most of its history.
In Krishnamacharya's biography, Desikachar outlines his approach to theraputic yoga:
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"What Krishnamacharya understood so well is that to treat an individual as a unique, whole entity... All possible knowledge of that individuals physical, mental, family, social, cultural, and religious circumstances must be brought to bear.
Krishnamacharya emphasized that such healing relationships must be on a one-to-one basis. Once he began working with a student, he wouid see him or her usually once a week to monitor progress and to change the program as needed.
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The one-to-one relationship between teacher and student is essential not only for the suffering individual but, eventually, for any serious student of Yoga. This is because progress beyond a certain point requires the total concentration of teacher and student in the learning situation. There can be no distractions."
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Further on Desikachar states:
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"Yoga must be changed and adapted to individual needs and to different settings and societies. At the same time, there are aspects of this tradition which must be preserved because they offer insights into the nature of healing, enduring wisdom that can help us in ever-changing circumstances. It was one of the challenges that preoccupied my father-what to preserve, what to adapt."
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Interestingly, this is absolutely not how B.K.S Iyengar was taught by Krishnamacharya. In fact, almost the converse was true. There are many complex reasons for this, but perhaps that is for another post.