Roles in CAMHS
Yoga Therapist
About the role...
Children facing mental or physical health problems (and their carers) can benefit from working with a yoga therapist in a similar way to adults. Children who live with pain or physical problems, sensory processing issues or who simply interpret and interact with the world around them a little differently from others can find day-to-day life more stressful than their peers.
Yoga therapists who work with young people facing health challenges are highly trained professionals, who understand which modifications to make to yoga to make it accessible for each individual child – helping them to access its full therapeutic potential.
More generally, yoga can be helpful for all children, and applied effectively in a school setting to reach children from a wide range of backgrounds.
As a yoga therapist, you might be talking to children and young people about their physical and emotional health and lifestyle, teach some yoga postures to target specific health needs, teach breathing exercise, relaxation and visualisation methods and giving advice on how to maintain a good health.
What qualifications do I need?
You can become a Yoga therapist through studying specialist courses or through taking a course with a training organisation approved by the British Council for Yoga Therapy. This usually take at least 2000 hours of yoga teaching and at a least 2 years experience of teaching yoga. An understanding of the anatomy and physiology can be useful too.
You would then join the accredited register managed by the Complementary and natural healthcare Council or the Federation of Holistic Therapists</p>
What experience do I need to bring?
As well as the academic qualifications, you will need to have excellent verbal communication skills, active listening, sensitivity and understanding along with an enjoyment of working with other people. Physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity, and grace would help along with leadership skills and a knowledge of psychology.