Yoga Therapy | Ayurveda | Yogic Psychology
Yoga therapy is not a wellness practice. It is a clinical discipline rooted in thousands of years of understanding how consciousness, body, and breath create the conditions for healing.
From the tradition
— Joseph Campbell, adapted
What this is
The yogic map of the mind — vrtti, samskara, prana, the Sāṃkhya framework of consciousness — describes in ancient language what contemporary neuroscience is only now beginning to explain.
This is not yoga as fitness. It is yoga as medicine — introspective and gentle, specifically for bodies, minds and nervous systems that have been through something difficult.
I am among the first IAYT-accredited yoga therapists in Europe. My clinical work integrates yogic psychology with trauma-informed care, polyvagal theory, and Ayurvedic principles of daily rhythm. This lineage runs from Krishnamacharya to A.G. Mohan and Indra Mohan among others — from whom I learned directly — to the work I bring into every session.
Does this sound familiar?
These are the experiences I hear most often from people who find this work. If any of these resonate, you are in the right place.
A short reflection — five questions to help you find your next step. Not a test. An invitation to listen.
Yogic psychology
The Sāṃkhya and yoga philosophy tradition offers one of the most sophisticated maps of consciousness ever developed. These are the seven concepts that matter most for working with mental health.
Thoughts, perceptions, and emotional patterns that arise in consciousness. Yoga practice creates the capacity to observe these without being overwhelmed by them. The goal is not an empty mind — it is enough space around experience that you are no longer driven by it.
Deep grooves in the nervous system formed by repeated experience — especially trauma. Every action, thought, and emotion leaves an imprint. Trauma deepens grooves of shame, shutdown, and hypervigilance. But healing also creates samskaras. Every time you ground yourself instead of dissociating, a new groove forms. Consistency in practice matters more than intensity.
The animating intelligence of the body. Breath is its most accessible expression. Where prana is blocked or stagnant, experience becomes fragmented. Where it flows freely, healing follows. Research confirms what yogis have known for millennia: practices that cultivate smooth, rhythmic breathing directly influence vagal tone and autonomic regulation.
The gentle turning inward. Learning to listen to internal signals rather than constant external stimulation. The foundation of self-regulation — and the capacity to distinguish between what belongs to you and what you have absorbed from others. Particularly important for highly sensitive people and those navigating psychotic sensitivity.
The capacity to hold attention steady. Not forceful concentration — a resting place for the restless mind. Central to healing dissociation and fragmentation. When attention can rest on one thing — the breath, a sensation, a mantra — the scattered parts of experience begin to cohere.
The Sanskrit word for health — meaning established in the Self. Not symptom-free. Rooted. Present. Capable of meeting difficulty without being defined by it. This is the orientation point of all yogic healing. The aim is not to eliminate symptoms but to return, again and again, to this ground.
In Sāṃkhya, devotion is the moment prakriti stops serving the small project of the individual self and begins moving in alignment with something vaster — purusha not as my consciousness, but as consciousness itself, impersonal and untethered from the agenda of becoming well. In yogic understanding, this is where practice matures: when the orientation shifts from I am healing to I am being moved — and the practitioner becomes less a subject working toward wholeness and more an instrument through which wholeness moves.
A gift from the lineage
You are always breathing. Even when everything else feels chaotic, your breath continues. This makes it the most reliable anchor you have. These three practices are foundational to everything else.
I.
Natural breath · Foundation
Place one hand on your belly, one on your chest. Breathe naturally. Allow the belly hand to rise and fall. Try to relax the face, shoulders, chest and arms as you keep breathing this way. That is the practice.
Use any time you feel activated, anxious, or scattered. 3–5 minutes.
II.
Ocean breath · Calming
On the exhale, slightly constrict the back of your throat — like fogging a mirror with your mouth closed. A soft ocean sound appears. Audible to you, not forced. The sound keeps your attention inside.
During gentle movement or when you need to stay focused.
III.
Stillness · Surrender
Exhale completely. At the bottom — pause. Don't inhale yet. Rest in that emptiness for 1–3 seconds. When the body naturally wants to inhale, allow it. The pause should feel natural, never strained.
When you want to deepen meditation. Build capacity gradually.
The experience should be sattva-dominant — calm, clear, pleasant, stable. If your breath becomes forced or creates anxiety, soften your approach. Return to natural breathing. The practice serves you, not the other way around.
Read the full guide →Explore the articles
From the science of pranayama to the ancient Sāṃkhya framework of consciousness — these articles map the intersection of yogic wisdom and contemporary mental health.
Work with Anneke
Yoga therapy for mental health, Ayurvedic lifestyle medicine, and yogic psychology — I offer private sessions integrating these ancient frameworks with contemporary trauma-informed care. Online or in The Hague.
Yoga therapy for PTSD & trauma · Ayurvedic lifestyle & nervous system · Pranayama & breath-based practices
30 minutes, no obligation, English or Dutch
Direct access, quiet support, your own pace
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