Yoga stretching can help you change the shape of your body in several ways. It’s important to attend a class so that an instructor can help you maintain the proper form for the best results. It’s also important to start slowly, even if you are a strong athlete.
Yoga therapy advocates believe that since yoga is a holistic discipline — teaching that the mind, body, and spirit are connected — yoga therapy can go beyond the results that are possible with physical therapy.

“Yoga therapy is very much about the whole person,” says Janice Gates, president of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and author of “Yogini.” “It is complementary to physical therapy, but we take into account that back pain may be related to an emotional element, or it may be from lifestyle, some pattern that is not serving them, physical movement patterns or other patterns.”