Certified Yoga Therapist Janet Pearce Foster doesn’t bring a set program of movements to her classes. Instead, she chooses movements to specifically address the needs of those present.

The goal of yoga therapy sessions is not to attain “perfect” postures, but rather to choose postures that serve the individual, said Foster. “By working with the joints, which are often not moving at their full range of motion and allowing them to move more freely and with less pain, an individual can enjoy better posture, improved balance and better quality of life.”

“If the joints are working in the way they should or to their capacity, your balance will be better and your movement will be more fluid, which will lead you to perhaps more confidence in whatever areas of life you are walking through,” said Foster.

Foster will lead a workshop and talk on Yoga Therapy at St. Andrews Village on Thursday, January 14 at 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but because space is limited, please call 633-0920 to RSVP.

Yoga therapy is based on the ancient tradition of yoga. A main difference between yoga taught in a traditional studio setting and yoga therapy is the goal of the class. Yoga therapy takes into account the specific needs of members of the class and tailors movements to address those needs.

“One of the reasons yoga therapy is well received, especially by people in their forties and older, is because by that age we have set our patterns for responding to life and they are beginning to show in our bodies.”

“The basis of my work is a joint freeing series. It works every joint in the body and once the joints are unlocked and they can move in the way they should move, then the muscles can begin to move more freely and in the way they were designed to,” said Foster.

Foster has more than 500 hours of specialized training in integrative Yoga therapy, anatomy, kinesiology and anatomy of movement. She is certified in Trauma Sensitive Yoga through the Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute in Boston MA. Trauma Sensitive Yoga is designed specifically around the needs of trauma survivors. In addition, she is certified in iRest, Level I, which was developed at Walter Reed National Medical Center for veterans.

Janet bases her therapy sessions on yoga traditions and postures that are gentle and supportive and which are accessible to people with limited mobility, while still providing a challenge for those who are flexible. The movements she guides participants through in her sessions are preventative as well as therapeutic.

For more information on Professional Yoga Therapy, please call Janet Pearce Foster at 841-7733 or visit www.professionalyogatherapy.com. For more information on St. Andrews Village, please call Bob Drury at 633-0920.