The Integrity of Yoga Therapy

In this article, Rebel Tucker shares her perspective on preserving the integrity of Yoga Therapy within modern healthcare. With over 30 years working alongside traditional medicine, Rebel reflects on the risks of diluting yoga’s depth through shortcuts and under-qualified offerings, and advocates for robust standards, collaboration, and clear scope of practice to protect both clients and the profession.

In addition to being a senior yoga teacher and Yoga Therapist, I’ve worked in traditional medicine for over 30 years as a naturopath. Over the years I’ve often wondered why the practices – the ones I know help people feel and function better – aren’t more widely embraced in mainstream healthcare.

I’ve seen some highs and lows: our services welcomed into health insurance rebates, then stripped away, then fought for and (soon to be) reinstated. I have watched the popularity of yoga grow over the years. I’ve been part of its emergence as a recognised therapy. I’d love to see yoga and Yoga Therapy integrated into healthcare – properly.

Getting private health rebates back is a step in the right direction. And, if we want Yoga Therapy to have a respected place in healthcare, we need a pathway that is clearly defined, ethical, and honours everyone’s scope and responsibilities.

Shortcuts Risk Undermining Us All

Recently, I have seen ads targeting allied and other healthcare professionals, offering them a ‘short course’ so that they can bring ‘therapeutic yoga’ into their practice. One of them was a 10-hour online course – apparently qualifying them to offer yoga! I was shocked.

Who’s offering these things? It makes no sense to me. I wonder how allied health practitioners would feel if a local yoga teacher did a short course in their field of expertise and promoted themselves as such. They would not stand for it! All professionals work hard to obtain and maintain their credentials. We protect our positions, and we shouldn’t carve up and sell off pieces of techniques for other practitioners to use without proper foundations and the weight of experience.

Yoga and Yoga Therapy is not a bunch of techniques that can be picked up, pulled apart, and inserted into another profession. It’s a system steeped in thousands of years of experiential evidence collection and transmission, cultivated and held to modern professional standards. It is our responsibility to protect that.

Bhagavad Gita says, “Yoga is skill in action.” (2.50), and that word – skill – matters. Yoga Therapy is about skilful action applied with professional integrity. That takes the investment of our time and money, mentoring and supervision, and commitment to keep learning.

There’s no law stopping anyone from calling themselves a Yoga Therapist. However, there are well-accepted international standards for training and ethics. I’ve seen what happens when yoga teachers get called out for over-stepping a line that they didn’t know was there! We all love yoga and want to share it with the world, but we need to remember there are advanced courses and extensive trainings to educate us to these commonly accepted standards. In fact, over 650 hours are required, on top of the 350 hour Level 1 Teacher Training. Quite simply, being a ‘therapist’ or even offering something that is ‘therapeutic’ comes with a responsibility that requires proper training and dedication to professionalism.

Why This Matters For All of Us

Insurance: I have been a member of my natural therapy association for over 30 years and a member of Yoga Australia for over 10 years. Why? Because these organisations hold me to professional standards. These standards protect not only my clients, but myself. Most allied health or healthcare professionals are not insured to deliver yoga therapy unless they hold a recognised, stand-alone yoga therapy qualification. If you’re offering pieces of Yoga Therapy without that, you’re likely outside your insurance coverage – and that leaves you and your clients exposed if something goes wrong.

Scope of Practice: Everyone has their skillset. Occupational therapists, physios, psychologists – all highly trained in their own right. Yoga Therapy isn’t a knickknack/gimmick/quick fix to add to your toolbox. It’s a standalone field with its own standards and ethics, born of rich traditions. When we blur those lines, we  confuse clients and risk diluting everyone’s professional credibility.

Respecting the Profession: When bits of yoga therapy are pulled out and offered without full training, it chips away at the trust we’ve worked hard to build as qualified Yoga Therapists. It can also undermine the profession’s standing in healthcare at a crucial time – just as the evidence base is growing and more people are realising Yoga Therapy’s true value.

Client Safety: Many people come to yoga therapy with complex conditions – chronic pain, trauma, mental health challenges – and they need practitioners who know how to handle that complexity safely and gently. One ‘bit’ of training doesn’t prepare you for that.

So, How Do We Work Together Well?

It’s simple: stay in your professional lane, stay ethical, and collaborate.

• Keep your offerings within your scope – join a professional association that sets clear standards.
• If you have a client that needs specialist yoga therapy, bring in a qualified yoga therapist as part of the care team.
• Keep your referral pathways open. Let your clients know who does what, and why. Refer when needed.
• If you really want to incorporate Yoga Therapy into your professional scope – excellent! Commit to the requisite 650 hours of specific training.

When professional collaboration works well – no one oversteps, no one misrepresents, and the client remains well-supported and enjoys wonderful outcomes.

Let’s Keep Yoga Therapy Whole

Yoga Therapy is not an add-on. It’s an ancient tradition held up by modern standards. It’s a true profession. Our clients deserve the best of us – and that means staying honest about what we’re trained and qualified to do.

Yoga Sutras remind us, “Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break, and in all earnestness.” (1.14). That’s our responsibility – to honour this practice with that same dedication and respect.

So let’s keep building bridges with healthcare – but let’s do it properly, honouring the depth and breadth of the discipline with integrity and clear scope. Our clients deserve nothing less.