Medical yoga without esotericism
A blog article for therapists who don't need to explain yoga - but want to apply it
By Florian Hockenholz, physiotherapist, osteopath & yoga teacher
Yoga is in. And that's a good thing.
But hand on heart: hardly any other term is used in so many different ways - and so quickly overloaded with clichés. Incense sticks, mantra kitsch, spiritual teachings. For many therapists,this is off-putting. And for patientswith chronic complaints, pain or psychosomatic stress, it is often simply inappropriate.
Medical Yoga takes a different approach: well-founded, therapeutically effective and free of esoteric overload.
What is medical yoga?
Medical yoga is body-centered, evidence-based yoga practice in a therapeutic context.
It is not about religion. Not about enlightenment. Not about spiritual self-exaltation.
But about that:
Improve functional mobility
Promote vegetative regulation
Train body awareness
Harmonize breath, posture and nervous system
Healing through experience, not ideology
Why do we need yoga - without myth?
Many of our patients are chronically overwhelmed: muscularly, emotionally, nervously.
They are looking for methods to get back into feeling - without being lectured, converted or judged.
Medical Yoga creates:
Simple, comprehensible structures
Safety through repetition and mindfulness
Clarity about physical processes (diaphragm, fascia, vagus, breathing patterns)
Space for physical experience, without a spiritual superstructure
And it works:
Whether for long Covid, fibromyalgia, back pain, irritable bowel syndrome or insomnia - body-centered yoga is a door opener to regulation.
What medical yoga is not
❌ No dogmas ("Only if you can stand on your head are you advanced")
❌ No spiritual pressure ("Open your heart chakra - otherwise...")
❌ No promises of miracles ("This exercise heals everything")
❌ No performance thinking ("Hang in there - then salvation will come")
Instead:
✅ Therapeutically sensible movement
✅ Language that accompanies - not evaluates
✅ Breath as a tool, not a test
✅ Structured repeatability instead of mystical revelations
Who is Medical Yoga suitable for?
For all those who say:
"I want to use yoga - but please do it clearly, professionally and without incense sticks."
For people with chronic complaints
For therapists who work in a body-centered way
For doctors who think holistically
For yoga teachers who want to provide therapeutic support
Medical yoga is regulation in motion - and therefore a valuable addition to physiotherapy, occupational therapy and pain therapy.
Conclusion
Medical yoga is neither religion nor gymnastics. It is a space in which the body comes into its own - and people can develop confidence in movement again. Without esotericism. Without dogma. Without pressure.
Only with one goal:
Making healing tangible again.
📅 Want to find out more?
At www.hockenholz.com/yoga you will regularly find free webinars and specialist training courses on medical yoga, pain regulation and therapeutic bodywork.
Accompanying, practical, in-depth - and completely without incense.