09/09/2026
As I sit down to organize my re-certification as a C-IAYT today I remembered that on international yoga therapy day I was in the beautiful batu caves. After climbing colorful steps, attending puja, dodging bold monkeys, on the way to eat at banana leaf… I saw the sign for the Sivananda ashram on the road. It was so lovely to see a home away from home on that journey. The first book on yoga I read as a child was the sivananda yoga book. Later studying at integral yoga in NYC, becoming a teacher, teacher trainer, and yoga therapist in this lineage has been a long journey too.
I’m reminded that this deep practice cannot be replaced despite any efforts to do so. While I am firmly against the proposed/ tabled new mini credential for medical providers, I decided to renew. I do feel we need actual yoga therapists who did and do the work to be where we are within the IAYT to continue to have a voice there. I can’t forget the many case studies I wrote, research papers I read, and transformation I witnessed watching clients find balance & connect with their true self in a chaotic illusory world of quick fixes.
The world continues to need yoga therapists who aren’t there to fix the part, or extract the problem. We need guides to stand with us as we face challenges, professionals that accept us as we are without judgement, recognize that we aren’t broken, and recognize that needing support is not a sign of weakness but rather a natural part of the human condition. The healthcare system needs us, we fill gaps that aren’t always identified, and provide a service that isn’t otherwise offered in any other profession.
I can’t say I’ll continue to renew year after year but I’d like to see improvements especially as a yoga therapist living outside the USA. So for now I am back at it with the recertification paperwork while dreaming about my lovely time in Malaysia traveling & learning from Carolyne Anthony.
