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Reasons for combining Psychology and Yoga


Hila Naftali Psychologist and Psychoyogi

Everyone who studied Psychology at any University knows it’s a long and hard process till you start to work in your field. After a few years, you understand why you learned so much and that it helps you to value process in general. As Psychologists, we must value process because we rely on it every day. Every day we encourage people not to give up and trust in the process. Another important lesson for me was learning how to analyze people's behavior to understand who they truly are. Thus, I can reflect to them who they are and why they choose to behave the way they do, so change would become possible for them.

I realized that:

  1. Empathy

  2. Transparency

  3. Explaining psychological cycles

  4. Combining body mind and soul would be necessary for me to help people heal and change

I started to ask myself what it means to have a healthy body? The psyche I knew well because I spend time and effort studying but what part plays our body and what effect does it have on our psyche?

Because I worked in a gym to pay myself through college I had the perfect opportunity to start researching what relationship people have towards their body and how it connects with our psyche. I started observing and talking to people at the gym, worked out myself and tried all different kinds of workout. I realized that working out does not mean our body is healthy or that our relationship towards our body is positive. Why?

  1. Most people work out because they believe they should to be more attractive. Thus, they are unhappy with themselves and train sometimes harder than they should. The consequence is pain and illness.

  2. Some people go so far as to starve themselves or forget to drink enough water. They exhaust their body and soul and their stress level rises.

  3. Some people work out their aggressions and tensions of their daily lives only at the gym. Thus, they train over their limits and suffer injuries that could be avoided would they be more gently with their body.

The main idea in combining Psychology and Yoga is to help people understand the connection between the psyche, the mind and the body. In other words, we must consider all three to heal properly. That’s why talking a lone in therapy is not enough. It is important to realize that we should learn to relax our body and mind through simple breathing exercises to connect and start being gentle towards body, mind and soul.

Psychology allows us to look at our psyche and understand how we can change and end our suffering.

Yoga allows us to look at our body and understand how we can avoid injuries, pain and illness.

Psychology and Yoga have the same basic principles:

  1. Inner focus – Drishti

  2. A strong stomach – Bandha

  3. Release stress by breathing and excepting that change is a process – Pranayama

  4. Stay in motion, because change doesn’t happen by standing still - Vinyasa

In my Therapy sessions, my personal Life and my yoga practice these 4-basic principles guide me and make sure I won't forget the importance of the connection Body-Mind-Soul.

Hila Naftali - Psychologist and Psychoyogi

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