As yoga therapy starts to be introduced into mainstream healthcare, we must not fall into the dangerous trap of claiming that yoga is a miracle that can cure everything. Such statements do more damage than good—this “puts off” the modern medical community more than anything. They then develop a stiff resistance to yoga instead of becoming more open to this health-restoring science. As the use of yoga therapy in medical centers is still in its infancy, we must be cautious with our conscious and unconscious thoughts, words, and actions.

This is not to downplay the potentiality of yoga because it does have a role in virtually each and every condition. We must realize, however, that although yoga can improve the condition of nearly every client, it doesn’t necessarily translate into words such as “cure.” Modern medicine doesn’t have a cure for most conditions and so, when yoga therapists use such words, it creates a negative image that does more harm than good.

The need of the modern age is to have an integrated approach, one that is open to using the best from all traditional and modern forms of therapy. We must try to integrate concepts of yoga in coordination and collaboration with other systems of medicine such as traditional, complementary, and integrative (TCI) medicine, allopathy, Ayurveda, siddha, and naturopathy. Physiotherapy, osteopathy, and chiropractic practices may also be used with yoga therapy, as required. The advice on diet and adoption of a healthy lifestyle is very important irrespective of the mode of therapy employed for the client. US longitudinal research confirms this.27 Eleven thousand people were tracked for over 20 years, concluding that a healthy lifestyle can give women an additional ten years and men seven years of life free of cancer, heart problems and type 2 diabetes.