Yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; it is to be lived. Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; it cares about the person you are becoming.
How I Survived Lockdown
Yoga therapy to heal stress and create more love and bliss. Based on a mix of modern neuroscience and ancient yoga knowledge.
Winnie Bothe took yoga therapy online to treat health issues under lockdown when people were stuck at home. A time when many of us were under stress and isolated from family and friends. People felt nervous, irritable and oppressed by dark thoughts. Such feelings left unchecked can develop into anxiety and depression over time. Direct help was not possible so yoga classes were moved online.
Yoga Therapy is blend of neuroscience and ancient knowledge of the yogis and can relax your body and get the energy flowing freely in your body again. You will feel the difference straight away!
During an online Yoga Therapy class, you learn how to release the physical tension from your body and calm the mind. Replace anxiety with peace and positivity. Feel rejuvenated!
The damaging effects of stress
Like a garden hose left lying outside all winter, blocked with leaves and mud, stress blocks the flow of energy in your body. That hose needs flushing out with water and, similarly, you need to clear out the blockages in your body and mind. So, in my classes, we go to work on your blood flow, muscles, nervous system and your mind.
Yoga therapy is a fusion of modern neuroscience and the knowledge of ancient yogis. Winnie Bothe, the founder of Yogi Living Ashram, explains:
In western medicine, you are considered healthy when you cope in spite of physical pain or mental exhaustion. Imbalances are seen as a chemical issue and treated with chemicals (aspirin, sleeping pills, anti-depressants etc.) or studied by psychologists. In contrast, eastern traditions define good health as feeling happy, energetic and relaxed. Yogic science views mental and physical problems as arising from an energy imbalance. Recent brain research suggests the yogis may be right.
Do not settle for simply being not unwell. Changing how we think about good health helps us move toward a happier more fulfilled life. As a result, we can reduce the need for external support in the form of counselling, medicines and pills.
Yoga therapy online and the vagus nerve
The vagus nerve is one of the core structures of the parasympathetic nervous system. A large body of science has shown the central role of the vagus nerve in fine-tuning our health. Energy impulses travel from the brain along the vagus nerve and regulate how relaxed we feel. And may even affect our ability to feel love and compassion.
Activating the vagus nerve helps lower heart rate, helps you relax, reduces inflammation and improves digestion. Stress indicators like headaches, neck and shoulder pain are also reduced, as are symptoms of inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS). Stimulating the vagus nerve can improve or even prevent health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and heart conditions. New research in the Journal of Aging even suggests vagus nerve therapy may slow down ageing.
There are many other known benefits of vagus nerve stimulation.
Western research stimulated the vagus nerve using small electric shocks. If you do not like the idea of electric shocks you may want to try online yoga therapy instead.
Create More Love and Less Stress
Many ancient yoga practices appear to activate the vagus nerve. Practices include meditation, mindfulness, yogic breathing, pranayamas, kriyas, calm asana practice and yoga nidra (sleep yoga).
Online Yoga Therapy uses what we know from modern science to choose yoga practices that activate the vagus nerve. It is a type of therapy that helps you create a positive, happy and stress-free state.
We use simple yoga postures coupled with stimulation of vital points of the vagus nerve in the ears, throat and eyes to send relaxation impulses into the body. Grounding, mindful meditation, yogic breathing and pranayamas activate the vagus nerve via the breath. Deep trance yoga nidra relaxes the body through the subconscious mind. As a result, you move easily into a deeply relaxed state and feel more calm and positive.
Do you have a stress-related condition such as high blood pressure, irritable digestion, low energy or anxiety? Online yoga therapy could be exactly what you need to get your life back on track.
You gain the knowledge to create a life free of stress, negative thoughts, pain and worry. Plus you are likely to see reduced chronic symptoms and improved well-being over the long term.
Yoga therapy is not a magic pill
My life has moved from a place of stress and chronic fatigue to one of more energy, natural vitality and self-love.
But yoga therapy is not like taking a pill, it is a lifestyle. To get deep healing you have to use the methods you learn in your daily life.
When I went to India for Yoga Therapy teacher training I did not know I was carrying years of internalized stress in my body. I had found little help from doctors and psychologists, who just gave me pills or internalized my problems. I had to work on the link between body and mind. After a few weeks, my migraines and back pain left me. I began to feel inner bliss. People said I looked 10 years younger and that is how I felt. As a result, I am convinced of the healing power of yoga. My sincere wish is now to share this blessing and has led me to teach Yoga Therapy.
Summary
The pandemic and lockdown prevented me from being able to be present when teaching people, and so Yoga Therapy Online was born! My approach is to teach you how to heal stress, negative thoughts and anxiety. From the mat on your living room floor. Join me!
October 7, 2024 
