The Yoga4Health Social Prescribing Protocol
Hundreds of patients in the UK have benefited from a 10-week course of “yoga on prescription” designed to equip them with the skills and confidence to lead happier and healthier lives.
Earlier this year Drogheda yoga teacher Susan Roth successfully ran an evidence-based pilot programme in the Barbican in Drogheda Town Centre in which one man and 13 women of the ages between 72 and 40, participated.
They were highly committed to working on improving their physical and mental wellbeing and the 12 who finished the course echoed the findings of the UK study: being better able to manage their own wellbeing, reduced stress levels, feeling happier, feeling more socially connected and for many of them their physical health showed improvements.
“The Yoga4Health protocol was commissioned by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) in 2016 and created by the Yoga In Healthcare Alliance (YIHA), a charity dedicated to integrating the benefits of evidence-based yoga into healthcare. The programme’s benefits have been validated by Westminster University” Susan said.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has reminded us that infectious disease can still wreak havoc on human populations. However, it remains true that the biggest killers are non-communicable diseases, such as cancer and cardio-vascular disease (heart attack, stroke). The risk of getting these diseases is related to the way we lead our lives. Stress, anxiety, depression, social isolation, obesity, lack of physical activity, smoking and too much alcohol all raise risks of becoming chronically ill.
“The programme has a second purpose. A high percentage of GP appointments involve patients who feel ill for reasons that would be better addressed via support and lifestyle change rather than drugs or a clinical procedure. Programmes like Yoga4Health have the potential to make our health care system more sustainable by reducing the number of appointments and lowering the drugs and treatment bill. It is win-win: the patient feels better, and the Health Care System works more effectively and efficiently.”
In the UK people can be referred into the programme by a GP. This is not yet the case in Ireland, but Susan is hoping that this will change soon. She finds that GPs in Ireland are now looking at supportive therapies and looking at lifestyle and active participation of patients rather than just prescribing medication.
“It is still early days in this country. So far, this programme has only been offered by four teachers in counties Meath and Louth. The Yoga4Health Ireland Organisation was founded this summer to promote more Yoga4Health teacher trainings and to facilitate courses everywhere in Ireland.”
Susan’s next Yoga4Health course will commence on Friday, 27th of September. Classes are held in the Barbican from 10 a.m. -12 p.m. over 10 weeks with a break during the October school holidays. Places are limited to 15 participants who meet one of the following criteria:
- At risk of cardio-vascular disease or Type 2 diabetes
- Suffering from stress or mild-moderate anxiety/depression or from social isolation.
The Yoga4Health course is an EARLY INTERVENTION/PREVENTION programme aimed at supporting people at risk of becoming chronically ill. It helps them to make lifestyle change based on a daily yoga practice. It does not replace medical care.
The course provides weekly two-hour tuition by Susan Roth and in addition intensive support via daily home practice resources with 50 practice videos and meditation audios, a 100-page manual with home practice sequences and other information, ongoing support throughout the 10 weeks via telephone, text, email and finally an extensive list of resources helping the participants to keep up their new lifestyle.
Susan is an experienced, fully insured yoga teacher with over 600 hours of training. She is teaching accessible Hatha yoga in Drogheda (mainly in the Barbican) since Autumn 2022.
“Through my own life experience and my training as a yoga teacher, I have discovered how much power we as human beings have to influence our wellbeing and even to heal ourselves. I want to share this knowledge and passion with people in our community through the YOGA4HEALTH programme” she said.
Susan explains: “I am actively looking for funding to make this course accessible to people in need of better health and wellbeing, especially to those who do not have the financial means to attend a regular yoga class. I would love to offer this course at a reduced rate. Unfortunately, I can’t do that without funding.
However, if there was a donor out there, who wanted to sponsor the Barbican’s room hire rate we could offer the course to up to 10 participants with limited funds for half price.”
The investment for the 10 week course are an affordable 120 EUR. To book your place, call or whatsapp Susan on 087 255 17 21.
