Maria Sichel, RYT, CSYT, and owner of Time For You Yoga, in Cumberland, Rhode Island, originally started practicing yoga over 28 years ago because she felt stressed. “I also had migraines, carpal tunnel and an autoimmune disease,” she recalls. “I had no idea that yoga could or would significantly decrease or dissolve those issues—which it did!” 

Now a seasoned yoga instructor, yoga therapist and studio owner, Sichel often says to her students, “If you have a body, you have stress and tension.” Stress interferes with the body’s natural functions and healing capacity. Decompressing tension through yoga can have a restorative and healing effect.

Sichel teaches Svaroopa yoga, describing it as a deep practice for relaxation and well-being. It is her top choice for healing. “Relaxation produces profoundly healing effects which are an antidote to stress,” she shares also citing emotional improvements: “My mind is quieter. I am more in touch with a deeper sense of myself that is ageless and timeless. It has improved my relationships with myself and others. I am more patient, loving, compassionate and less reactive. I have more clarity, energy, vitality and zest for life.”

Svaroopa yoga is adaptable for all kinds of bodies, ages and activity levels. “It meets your body where it is and uses lots of blankets and props for support,” says Sichel. “This practice is slow moving, meditative and restorative [offering] profound benefits with very little effort. The poses use props and specific alignments that provide deep spinal decompression, dissolving tensions in the layers of muscles connected to your spine.” 

While Sichel is a firm believer that yoga promotes healing and well-being, “It’s not a substitute for medical care. It’s an adjunct to support anyone who is working with a medical diagnosis. When you start to release tension and stress through yoga practices, other modalities you are doing are enhanced.”