Yoga on Prescription

Paul Fox is a former BBC Radio 4 Journalist who has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 20 years. He is Chief Operating Office of the Yoga in Healthcare Alliance and was chair of the British Wheel of Yoga from 2016-2018. He lives in Cambridgeshire, UK.Heather Mason created the Yoga in Healthcare Alliance and is the founder of The Minded Institute. She is a C-IAYT yoga therapist and specialist in yoga for trauma and PTSD. Heather has played a leading role in establishing a voice for yoga in the UK parliament, in the NHS, and with the College of Medicine. She lives in London, UK.

• Introduction. 1. The Social Prescribing Revolution. 2. Yoga on Prescription - the Yoga4Health Protocol. 3. Changing Your Mind. 4. How Breath Supports Health and Wellness. 5. The Yoga4Health Protocol. 6. Learning to Relax. 7. Reflective, Practice and Learning. 8. Your Lifelong Journey in Health and Happiness. Conclusion.

In Yoga on Prescription, Paul Fox and Heather Mason provide a timely response to the mental and physical health consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. In their readable book they outline a succinct yoga intervention program that may profoundly benefit those whose health has been disrupted by the pandemic. The book provides the public health justification for their intervention, which can be efficiently implemented on the chair or the mat, as well as a plausible explanation of how yoga would enhance health. As society recovers from the pandemic, as the high percentage of survivors have persistent symptoms, we are witnessing the limitations of medical care in dealing with chronic disease. Post pandemic medical care by necessity will need to shift from the treatment of a pathogen defined disease to treatment of the chronic disorders associated with being infected. Covid long haul symptoms, like other chronic ailments, reflect a body in a chronic state of defence. Fortunately, the medical community is beginning to acknowledge the effectiveness of yoga and other strategies that incorporate movement and social connection as portals of treatment.