New Study, Co-Authored by SCU Research Director, Identifies What Yoga Therapy Needs to Advance as a Healthcare Profession

A survey of 360 yoga therapists in the United States and Canada reveals key opportunities to strengthen professional education, employment, workforce diversity, and healthcare integration.

People managing chronic pain, cancer treatment side effects, mental health concerns, and other complex conditions often need support that addresses more than the disease itself. Yoga therapy may help meet some of those needs, yet many patients and healthcare providers remain unfamiliar with the profession and how it differs from a general yoga class.

Yoga therapy uses individualized assessment, goal setting, lifestyle guidance, movement, breathing, meditation, and other yoga-based practices within a therapeutic relationship. Depending on the client’s needs and the practitioner’s scope, it may support general wellness or complement conventional healthcare.

A new peer-reviewed study coauthored by Steffany Moonaz, PhD, C-IAYT, Director of Clinical and Health Services Research and Research Professor at Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU), provides an updated look at the professionals delivering that care.

Published in the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, “Characteristics of Practicing Yoga Therapists in the United States and Canada: An Update” examines the demographics, education, training, employment, income, and practice settings of 360 yoga therapists who completed a workforce survey in 2024. The research builds on the first known North American yoga therapy workforce survey, published in 2017.

Dr. Moonaz served in a mentoring and supervisory role for both studies, helping support the first authors as they developed their scholarship and contributed new knowledge to the profession.

Professional Standards Have Advanced, but Employment Has Not Kept Pace

Since the original study, yoga therapy has developed a stronger professional structure. The field now includes more certified practitioners, accredited training programs, a certification examination, and updated standards for education and practice.

Students are also entering yoga therapy through more formal pathways rather than transitioning into the profession gradually after years of teaching yoga.

Despite these advances, only 4.4% of survey respondents reported working full time specifically in yoga therapy. The vast majority combine yoga therapy with teaching, research, administrative responsibilities, other healthcare positions, or work outside the field. The researchers describe this model as a portfolio career built from multiple roles and income sources.

“What surprised me most is how little actually changed despite more formal professionalization, and that even our more nuanced questions left us with further questions,” Dr. Moonaz said.

Many within the profession had expected certification, accreditation, and clearer standards to create more jobs in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and other healthcare institutions. The findings suggest that professional infrastructure alone has not yet produced a stable career path for most practitioners.

Public and provider awareness remains an important part of that challenge.

“If no one knows what yoga therapy is and what it offers, it doesn’t matter how many excellent providers we train,” Dr. Moonaz said.

Training Must Reflect the People Practitioners Serve

The study also identified gaps between what some yoga therapists learn in professional training and the health needs they later encounter.

General wellness, chronic pain, mental health, and musculoskeletal concerns were commonly addressed in training. However, some respondents reported working with people affected by autoimmune diseases, cancer, hormonal conditions, and pediatric or geriatric health needs without receiving preparation specific to those populations.

Dr. Moonaz said the limited focus on children and older adults was particularly notable because yoga therapy may offer valuable support at both stages of life.

The findings point to a need for clearer agreement about what every yoga therapist should know before entering practice and what should be developed later through specialization or continuing education.

As certification requirements evolve, Dr. Moonaz said programs must avoid narrowing education to material that appears on an examination. Training should prepare students to understand a broad range of health conditions, contraindications, and professional boundaries while preserving yoga’s individualized approach, philosophy, and ancient roots in South Asia.

What Yoga Therapy Can Add to Patient Care

Yoga therapy can be a powerful complement to medical and/or behavioral healthcare, supporting whole-person well-being without replacing clinical diagnosis or medically necessary treatment.

For a person undergoing cancer treatment, for example, a yoga therapist might provide individualized practices to support comfort, stress management, and coping with symptoms or treatment side effects.

In an integrative clinical setting, a yoga therapist might collaborate with a broader healthcare team to determine whether breathing or mindfulness practices might help support a patient receiving dialysis.

These examples show how yoga therapy can address a person’s experience of illness while conventional providers treat the disease itself. The practitioner’s contribution may focus on movement, coping, comfort, and daily function within an appropriate scope of practice.

Building a More Representative and Accessible Workforce

The surveyed workforce remained predominantly female, middle-aged, White, and highly educated. Among respondents, 91.9% identified as women, 86.9% identified as White, and 91.1% held a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Dr. Moonaz said broader recruitment is important because many of the profession’s pioneers are approaching retirement. Younger practitioners will be needed to continue the field’s development, while greater cultural representation may help reduce misconceptions about yoga and broaden understanding of who can participate in and benefit from yoga therapy.

Geography also affects access. Practitioners are concentrated largely in urban and suburban communities, leaving fewer services in rural areas where other wellness resources may already be limited.

Virtual care could help reach some of those communities. Tele-remote practice was the most frequently reported setting, used by 41.4% of respondents. The researchers noted that virtual delivery may extend services to people who face geographic, transportation, or other access barriers.

Preparing the Field for Its Next Stage

The study recommends that educators and professional organizations strengthen preparation in areas including business management, interprofessional collaboration, virtual care, emerging research, and treatment protocols. It also calls for more intentional recruitment and stronger networks connecting yoga therapists with other healthcare professionals.

Together, the findings show that credentials and standards are only part of what an emerging healthcare profession needs. Education, public understanding, employment opportunities, workforce representation, and integration with other providers must develop alongside them.

Dr. Moonaz sees significant potential in connecting the growing evidence supporting yoga with broader access to individualized, whole-person care.

“The use of yoga is growing dramatically, as is the research evidence on its effectiveness for managing diverse health conditions,” she said. “Increasing awareness and access to yoga therapy could be an avenue for achieving greater Whole Health among diverse clinical populations and the general public.”

Through Dr. Moonaz’s participation, SCU is contributing research that helps educators, healthcare leaders, and professional organizations understand how an emerging integrative health field can better prepare its workforce and serve the public.

Frequently Asked Questions About Yoga Therapy

What is yoga therapy?

Yoga therapy is an individualized approach that applies yoga-based practices to a person’s specific health and wellness needs. A yoga therapist may use assessment, goal setting, movement, breathing practices, meditation, and lifestyle guidance within a therapeutic relationship.

How is yoga therapy different from a general yoga class?

A general yoga class typically teaches a shared sequence or practice to a group. Yoga therapy is tailored to an individual or small group and considers each client’s health concerns, goals, abilities, and appropriate scope of care.

What did the new yoga therapy workforce study examine?

The peer-reviewed study examined the demographics, education, training, employment, income, and practice settings of 360 yoga therapists in the United States and Canada who completed a workforce survey in 2024. It updated the first known North American yoga therapy workforce study, published in 2017.

What were the study’s main findings?

The study found that yoga therapy has developed stronger training pathways, certification processes, and professional standards. However, many practitioners still rely on multiple jobs or income sources, and the profession continues to face challenges involving public awareness, workforce diversity, employment opportunities, and alignment between education and practice.

How can yoga therapy complement conventional healthcare?

Yoga therapy may support areas such as movement, stress management, comfort, coping, and daily function while medical professionals manage diagnosis and treatment. For example, a yoga therapist might help someone cope with cancer treatment side effects or collaborate with a healthcare team to explore breathing and mindfulness practices for a patient receiving dialysis. Yoga therapy does not replace medically necessary care.

What education and workforce needs did the researchers identify?

The researchers identified a need for stronger preparation in interprofessional collaboration, virtual care, business management, emerging research, and treatment protocols. They also recommended broader recruitment, including younger and more culturally representative practitioners, and stronger professional networks connecting yoga therapists with other healthcare providers.

Why is this research relevant to Whole Health?

Yoga therapy applies a mind-body approach that considers how physical symptoms, stress, movement, coping, lifestyle, and overall well-being may interact. Dr. Moonaz said that increasing awareness and access to yoga therapy could help advance Whole Health among diverse clinical populations and the broader public.