Couples yoga therapy is when 2 people in a relationship want to use a body-based approach to enriching or improving that relationship. Unlike talk therapy which relies on conversation to gain perspective, a somatic approach connects your mind and body. Allowing you to see your relationship from a new perspective, and gain new insights.
1. Strengthen your relationship
Couples yoga therapy can help strengthen your relationship. When you experience a couples yoga therapy session you engage in conscious breathwork, mindful movement, and embodied awareness. These tools allow you to see yourself, your partner, and your relationship from a different standpoint. Allowing you to gain a fresh perspective. What is revealed during a session can help you gain new insights into your relationship. And thereby is a tool to strengthen bonds
2. Improve your communication skills
Strong and healthy relationships are built on good communication. To communicate well you first have to learn to listen. Listening is more than hearing. It’s about understanding what your partner is trying to communicate to you. In couples yoga therapy you work together, you learn the tools needed to communicate well.
3. Spend time together
Spending time with each other allows you to have shared experiences which strengthens the bond of any relationship. Life can be busy. It’s easy to put your relationship on the back burner while you deal with other priorities. But will be a mistake you realzie later on. Carving out “us” time to take a couples session sets the intention to spend time with your partner NOW.
4. Create something together
Making something together is another way of having a shared experience. But you are making something tangible. Creating something together can be a powerful experience. Making yoga poses together can make you laugh and sometimes make you cry but the experience is something you get to share. The yoga poses in couples yoga therapy are created by 2 people coming together to form one pose. You co-create a shape. The shape is created by communicating with your partner and together you find the shape that fits your 2 bodies best.
5. Connect deeply with your body
When you connect with your body in a yoga pose, you notice thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Connecting to your inner self lets you be present in the moment. Here you feel what is true for you right now. You can see any unhealthy behavior patterns. During a couples yoga therapy session, you will be coached to become embodied in your poses. Embodiment is when you are in a state of focused awareness, feeling fully present and grounded in your body. Here you connect deeply with your body and can deepen your connection with your partner.
6. Rediscover intimacy
When co-creating shapes and poses you will see each other in a different light. You might be reminded of your partner’s positive qualities. Their strength, their humor, or their ability to be vulnerable. Sitting together, breathing together, and being held creates a special sort of intimacy.
7. Yoga helps you to set boundaries
Setting boundaries allows you the space you need, to flourish. In a relationship setting boundaries allows each partner to carve out the space needed for mental and emotional well-being. And to agree on what behavior is appropriate in your relationship. Setting boundaries helps you know when to walk away from a toxic situation. In a yoga practice you model boundary setting. Stopping before a stretch is beyond your limits. Reigning back if you feel you have gone a little far in a posture. Your body experiences the feeling of space and freedom in certain poses. This feeling in your body can help reinforce a behavior.
8. Yoga lets you just be
Being able to just be with what is. Being accepting of yourself for who you are. Accepting your partner for who they are. Accepting the situation you are in right now. Rather than passively accepting and doing nothing about your situation. You are taking stock, mindfully seeing things for what they truly are, and letting go of judgment and ego. Only then can you see your situation with a newfound clarity. From this new stance you can make healthy changes and move forward in a meaningful way. The practice of acceptance comes up time and time again in yoga poses. Accepting limitations of flexibility, strength and balance is all part of the yoga practice. What you practice on the mat you can take away with you and use in your life.
9. Yoga can release trauma
Trauma lives in the body. Yoga can release the energy or trauma trapped in your body. In a yoga session, you may notice thoughts, feelings, and emotions while you are in a posture. This is because our bodies, minds, and nervous systems have been present throughout our whole lived experience, so it is not surprising that some events from our past may still be residing in our body. The more embodied you are, that is the deeper you have dropped in, the more likely it is that emotions will surface. Couples yoga therapy is a safe space for you and your partner to explore what comes up for you during a session. When emotions, or events from the past arise, this is the space where you can make sense of things.
10. Learn self-love through yoga
The yoga mat is a great place to remind yourself, your body and mind are strong. Here you may experience gratitude for your body working through the poses, and appreciation for the breath that keeps you steady and grounded. You start to form a connection with your body that is one of appreciation and gratitude. It is easy to take your body for granted. It’s the same in a relationship. It is easy to take things for granted and sometimes forget how much love you have for each other.
Try couples yoga therapy
Fay Dwyer c-IAYT offers online couples yoga therapy therapy at Pure Yoga Therapy
@Wildheartyogi