Phenomenological inquiry into Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy

Abstract

There is growing recognition within psychology and other disciplines that body experience may be as important as cognitive and emotional experience. However, mainstream psychology has few psychotherapeutic interventions to support the integration of mind and body within therapy. Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy (PRYT) is a form of mind/body therapy that uses yoga posture, touch, and therapeutic dialogue to facilitate growth and healing. The current study explored the phenomenological experience of four women who received five PRYT sessions. The following themes emerged from the data: mindfulness, self-awareness, mind/body connection, in-vivo experience of new behaviors, client directed, empowerment, and life changes. Phenomenological case studies were also generated for each of the participants. While these results are not generalizable, they offer interesting theoretical implications for embodied interventions and the use of touch in psychotherapy.