Phoenix Rising yoga therapy

1. Introduction

Version followed: Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy (PRYT) as described in its founder's current public programme descriptions (USABP-hosted PRYT pages and the PRYT Essentials workshop listing), supplemented by a training overview (YogaUOnline, 2015, updated 2023), a published client account (Yadegaran, 2008) and the only formal study located (Sneed, 2017; 2018). The founder's book (Lee, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy: A Bridge from Body to Soul) and the PRYT training manuals are the primary texts for detailed procedure; their contents are not reproduced here and step-level detail beyond the published descriptions is marked [uncertain] or [synthesis].

Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy is a one-to-one mind-body practice founded in 1986 by Michael Lee (MA, Dip.Soc.Sci, Dip.T., C-IAYT, E-RYT 500), an Australian-born teacher and behavioural scientist who moved to the USA in 1984 and studied for two years at the Kripalu Center [source: USABP PRYT page]. It draws mainly on Kripalu Yoga, with influences named from Iyengar, Bikram, Yogananda and Satyananda teachings [source: YogaUOnline]. A session combines "practitioner assisted yoga postures" with a dialogue described as "client-centered, open-ended and non-directive" [source: USABP PRYT page]. PRYT describes its own paradigm as "the intersection of Yoga, Buddhism, Psychology, and Neuroscience" [source: USABP Essentials listing].

Core idea of change, as PRYT describes it: the client is guided out of habitual story-telling ("narrative referencing") into direct, present-moment, body-based experience; from that state of "self-awareness and inner presence" insight can arise, and whatever arises physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually is then related to the client's daily life, with the stated aim of practical, action-based life change [source: USABP PRYT page; USABP Essentials listing]. The practitioner does not diagnose or offer disease-specific treatment; the client decides which issues to work on and what to change [source: YogaUOnline]. Spiritual aims (the "soul" of the book's title, attunement to "a deeper level of knowing") are the school's own framing and are reported here as such, not as fact.

Who delivers it: practitioners certified by the Phoenix Rising School of Yoga Therapy. Graduates include yoga therapists, yoga teachers, holistic health practitioners and psychotherapists [source: YogaUOnline]. A psychotherapist may therefore deliver PRYT after completing the school's certification; whether they may combine it with psychotherapy for the same client depends on their own professional code, licence and insurance (see Section 3, "Touch", and Section 5) [synthesis]. PRYT is not psychotherapy: a published account quotes the view that it "cannot replace psychotherapy" although it works in a similar way [source: Yadegaran, 2008].

2. Framework

PRYT is a single-practitioner method with a recurring session form rather than a staged protocol. No phase model with entry and exit criteria is set out in the published descriptions; the structure below is assembled from them [source: USABP PRYT page; Essentials listing; Yadegaran, 2008] with gaps marked.

Formats [source: USABP PRYT page]

Individual sessions (the core format): assisted postures plus non-directive dialogue.
Theme-based therapeutic yoga classes.
8-week group series.
"Therapeutic life mentoring" sessions.

Typical course. A series of sessions is often recommended, although PRYT states that significant change has sometimes occurred in a single session [source: USABP PRYT page]. In the one formal study, each participant received five sessions [source: Sneed, 2017; 2018]. Session length and frequency are not fixed in the published descriptions [uncertain].

Shape of an individual session (as published descriptions and a client account report it)

Intake and written consent; the client brings an intention or theme [source: Yadegaran, 2008; YogaUOnline].
Settling into present-moment awareness, seated, eyes closed [source: Yadegaran, 2008; Essentials listing].
Practitioner-assisted postures, with the practitioner physically supporting the client in some of them [source: Yadegaran, 2008; USABP PRYT page].
Within postures, the practitioner asks what the client is experiencing; the client answers in brief words; the practitioner reflects the words back [source: Yadegaran, 2008].
Exploration of whatever arises - sensation, emotion, memory, thought, spiritual experience - without the practitioner steering or interpreting [source: USABP PRYT page; Yadegaran, 2008].
Relating what arose to daily life and to practical action [source: USABP PRYT page; Essentials listing]. How the session formally closes is not described in the cited sources [uncertain].

Moving on. Movement between sessions is client-directed: the client chooses what to address next and when the series ends [source: YogaUOnline; Sneed, 2018 theme "client-directed"]. Criteria for ending or for referral are not published in the cited sources; Section 5 gives [synthesis] criteria.

Training route (as sources state it; check current details with the school)

Entry: the online PRYT Essentials workshop, 16 hours, open to yoga therapists, yoga teachers, mental health professionals and others, prerequisite some yoga experience; continuing-education credit may be available for counsellors, MFTs, psychologists, social workers, nurses and others on request [source: USABP Essentials listing].
Certification: three certificate levels, delivered online with in-person intensive retreats [source: USABP PRYT page]. An earlier description gives an eight-month distance-learning programme plus an applied practicum, 174 contact hours plus mentor supervision, training largely experiential, with topics including assisted postures, body psychology, dialogue techniques, breathing techniques and body mechanics [source: YogaUOnline, 2015/2023]. Hours and fees may have changed.
Accreditation: the YogaUOnline overview states NBCC (National Board for Certified Counselors) accreditation; the PRYT page hosted by USABP describes one programme as an "IAYT accredited program" without naming the level. The International Association of Yoga Therapists' own accredited-programmes list (updated 26 February 2026) does not show a Phoenix Rising programme, and IAYT notes that some member schools have programmes under evaluation. Treat IAYT accreditation as [uncertain: sources conflict] and confirm directly with IAYT and the school before relying on it.
C-IAYT (held by the founder) is IAYT's credential for individual yoga therapists; IAYT describes two pillars, accreditation of programmes and certification of individuals [source: LA Yoga, 2014]. It is a professional credential, not a government licence: IAYT states that it is not a licensing body and that yoga therapy is not a licensed healthcare profession in most jurisdictions [source: IAYT Scope of Practice 2020]. Yoga therapy is not a state-licensed profession in the cited sources; a PRYT certificate does not confer a licence to practise psychotherapy [synthesis].

3. Guiding principles

Client-centred, open-ended, non-directive dialogue [source: USABP PRYT page]: you ask and reflect; you do not interpret, advise or lead toward a conclusion.
The client directs the agenda [source: YogaUOnline; Sneed, 2018]: the client chooses the issue, the change and the pace; you follow.
No diagnosis, no disease-specific treatment [source: YogaUOnline]: you do not diagnose or claim to treat medical or psychiatric conditions within a PRYT session.
Present-moment experience over narrative [source: Essentials listing]: when the client drifts into story or explanation, you gently return them to what is felt now in the body.
Witnessing, not drilling [source: Yadegaran, 2008, describing the aim to bear witness without "drilling you for answers"]: your questions open attention; you do not press for content.
Whole-person exploration [source: USABP PRYT page]: physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual experiences are all admissible material; spiritual content is the client's own and is not interpreted through any doctrine [synthesis].
Insight leads to action in daily life [source: USABP PRYT page; Essentials listing]: each session aims to connect what was noticed to a concrete step the client chooses.
"We are all already healers" [source: YogaUOnline, describing the training's premise]: the practitioner trusts the client's own capacity rather than positioning as the expert.
Attribute tradition-based concepts [synthesis]: where you or the client use yogic or Buddhist ideas (for example chakras, prana, "soul"), name them as concepts of yoga or of the school, never as anatomical or clinical fact. Some practitioners link postures to chakras [source: Yadegaran, 2008]; this is a practitioner's tradition-based choice, not part of a verified PRYT protocol.
Touch only with explicit consent, before and during; the right to stop at any moment; never sexual [source: USABP Code of Ethics, Section VIII; synthesis for PRYT application]: consent is obtained before touch, re-checked during it, documented, and withdrawable at any instant; genital or other sexual touch is always inappropriate. The body-psychotherapy codes (USABP, EABP) regulate touch explicitly; mainstream counselling and psychology codes (BACP, UKCP, BPS, HCPC, APA, AAMFT) contain no explicit touch clause but all prohibit sexual contact and require you to practise only within your training and competence.
Safety before depth [synthesis; NCCIH; MedlinePlus]: physical screening, modification of postures and stopping on pain take precedence over any experiential goal.
Know the boundary with psychotherapy [source: Yadegaran, 2008; synthesis]: PRYT is a mind-body practice that may complement but does not replace psychotherapy; trauma processing, risk management and treatment of mental disorder belong in a properly contracted psychotherapy.

4. Intervention inventory

Interventions 4.1-4.11 follow a PRYT session and its formats in order, from screening to closing; the step-level instructions are a practitioner-ready rendering of published descriptions, and detail not stated in a source is marked [synthesis]. Interventions 4.12-4.15 cover ongoing touch consent and the psychotherapist's role around the method. PRYT's training manuals define the exact technique taught; certified practitioners follow the version they were trained in [uncertain: manual content not published].

4.1 Physical and psychological screening

Purpose / when: before the first session, and again whenever health or mental state changes. Required because the method combines postures, touch and emotional material [synthesis; NCCIH; MedlinePlus].
Steps:
1. Ask about current health conditions and tell the client to consult their health-care provider first if they have one; MedlinePlus advises this for anyone with a health condition and lists pregnancy, high blood pressure, glaucoma, sciatica and arthritis as conditions where poses may need avoiding or modifying [source: MedlinePlus].
2. Ask specifically about pregnancy (NCCIH advises evaluation by a health-care provider first and modification, for example avoiding long periods lying on the back) [source: NCCIH], recent surgery or injury, osteoporosis, joint hypermobility or replacement, neck or back problems, balance problems, epilepsy and medication that affects blood pressure or balance [synthesis].
3. Screen psychological readiness: current trauma symptoms, dissociation, panic, psychosis or mania, active suicidality or self-harm, eating disorder or severe body-image distress, substance use, and history of sexual or physical abuse that may make touch difficult [synthesis].
4. Ask about previous experience of touch in yoga, bodywork or therapy, positive and negative [synthesis].
5. Record findings, any medical clearance, and postures to avoid or modify [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Before we start, I'd like to know about your body and health so I can adapt anything we do. Is there any condition, injury or recent surgery I should know about, or anything your doctor has told you to avoid?" / "This work sometimes brings up strong feelings or memories. Is there anything in your history, including experiences of being touched, that you'd like me to know, in as much or as little detail as you choose?"
Watch for: vague or minimised medical history (ask for clearance); a client who wants the work mainly to process trauma or abuse (consider psychotherapy first or alongside); current crisis (defer PRYT). Working: the client knows which postures are off the menu and has named any touch preferences.

4.2 Intake, written consent and setting an intention

Purpose / when: opening of the first session (consent) and of each session (intention). A published session began with a signed consent form, and the client arrived with a goal [source: Yadegaran, 2008]; the client decides what to address [source: YogaUOnline].
Steps:
1. Explain what a session involves: assisted postures, hands-on support, eyes-closed awareness, open-ended questions, and that emotions or memories may surface [synthesis].
2. Obtain written consent covering touch (where, how, why), the right to decline any touch or posture and to stop at any time, confidentiality and its limits, and that PRYT is not psychotherapy or medical treatment [synthesis; USABP Code VIII.2 recommends written consent before touch].
3. Invite the client to name an intention or theme for the session in their own words; do not shape it [source: YogaUOnline; synthesis for wording].
Example language (illustrative): "What would you like to explore today? It can be something in your body, something going on in your life, or simply to see what's here." / "You can say no to any posture or any touch, before or during, and I'll stop straight away. You don't need to give a reason."
Watch for: an intention that is really a request for treatment of a disorder (clarify scope, refer); a client who signs without reading (go through it aloud). Working: the client can state, in their own words, that they may stop at any time.

4.3 Settling into present-moment awareness

Purpose / when: start of each session, and whenever the client drifts into story. PRYT distinguishes present-centred awareness (direct experience) from "narrative referencing" and guides the client into a meditative state of "self-awareness and inner presence" [source: Essentials listing]. In a published account the client sat with eyes closed throughout [source: Yadegaran, 2008].
Steps:
1. Offer a comfortable seated or lying position; invite (never require) eyes closed or a soft downward gaze [source: Yadegaran, 2008; synthesis for the eyes-open option].
2. Guide attention to the breath as it is, then to sensations in the body, without changing anything [synthesis]. Do not set breath counts, retention or forceful breathing.
3. Ask what the client notices now; accept any answer, including "nothing" [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Let your attention come to how you're sitting... noticing the breath, just as it is... What do you notice in your body right now?"
Watch for: eyes-closed work increasing anxiety, dissociation or flashbacks (offer eyes open, orient to the room, see 5.3); a client who intellectualises (gently return to sensation). Working: answers shift from explanations to short, present-tense descriptions.

4.4 Practitioner-assisted postures

Purpose / when: the core of the individual session. The practitioner guides the client into yoga postures and physically supports the body in some of them, so that the client can rest attention in the experience [source: USABP PRYT page; Yadegaran, 2008]. A published account describes a stretch held to a "mildly uncomfortable" edge as a point where feelings and memories may surface [source: Yadegaran, 2008; the article's description, not a verified PRYT instruction].
Steps:
1. Choose postures in light of the screening and the client's theme; in one published session the practitioner used dolphin, fish and camel, chest- and throat-opening postures [source: Yadegaran, 2008]. These are examples from one account, not a set sequence; dolphin places the head below the heart and fish and camel extend the neck and spine, so they need particular care or avoidance with glaucoma, blood-pressure problems, neck or back conditions, osteoporosis or pregnancy [synthesis].
2. Before each touch, say where and how you intend to touch and ask permission; touch only where agreed; use broad, supportive contact on non-intimate areas [synthesis; USABP Code VIII].
3. Support the client into the posture at an intensity the client controls; the client, not you, decides how far to go. Do not use force, do not hold the client in place, and do not set hold times [synthesis].
4. Check in about sensation and comfort during the posture, and release support immediately on request or on any sign of pain, distress or freezing [synthesis; MedlinePlus: stop on pain or fatigue, do not push beyond comfort].
5. Ease the client out of the posture and allow a resting pause before speaking about it [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "I'd like to place my hands on your upper back to support you as you lean back. Is that OK?" / "Let me know if you'd like more support, less, or none at all." / "Only go as far as feels right for you; we can come out any time."
Watch for: pain (stop), breath-holding, shaking, light-headedness, sudden stillness or collapse, a client who goes further than is safe to please you, flinching at touch. Working: the client stays in contact with sensation, reports feeling supported, and adjusts or declines freely.

4.5 Non-directive present-moment inquiry

Purpose / when: during and after each posture. The dialogue is "client-centered, open-ended and non-directive" [source: USABP PRYT page]; the practitioner asks how the client feels at each posture [source: Yadegaran, 2008].
Steps:
1. Ask short, open questions about present experience: sensation first, then feeling, then any image, thought or memory [synthesis for the ordering].
2. Allow silence; accept brief, one-word answers [source: Yadegaran, 2008, where answers were words such as "Happy," "Open," "Free"].
3. Do not interpret, suggest meanings or ask "why" [synthesis consistent with the non-directive stance].
Example language (illustrative): "What are you noticing now?" / "Where in your body is that?" / "And as you stay with that, what's happening?"
Watch for: leading questions slipping in ("Is that sadness?"); the client searching for the "right" answer; mounting distress (move to 5.3). Working: the client's descriptions become more specific and self-generated.

4.6 Reflecting the client's words

Purpose / when: throughout the dialogue. In a published account the practitioner repeated the client's words back, helping the client notice their meaning [source: Yadegaran, 2008].
Steps:
1. Repeat the client's own word or short phrase, in a neutral tone [source: Yadegaran, 2008].
2. Pause; let the client add, change or stay with it [synthesis].
3. Do not paraphrase into your own vocabulary unless the client invites it [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): Client: "Open." Practitioner: "Open." (pause) "...and as you notice 'open', what else is here?"
Watch for: some clients find repetition irritating or condescending at first [source: Yadegaran, 2008]; explain its purpose, or reflect less often. Working: the client deepens or refines their description after a reflection.

4.7 Exploring what arises, including emotional release

Purpose / when: whenever sensation, emotion, memory, thought or spiritual experience emerges. PRYT explores whatever arises "physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually" [source: USABP PRYT page]. In published accounts, grief, anger and sadness surfaced during postures, sadness in one case linked by the client to back pain and asthma [source: Yadegaran, 2008]. Participants in the formal study reported noticing how cognition and emotion affect the body and associating different emotions with different body areas [source: Sneed, 2018]. These are client reports, not evidence that memories are stored in particular tissues.
Steps:
1. Stay with the client's experience; ask where it is felt and what it is like [synthesis consistent with 4.5].
2. Let the client decide whether to stay with it, ease the posture, or come out; offer to reduce or remove physical support [synthesis].
3. Keep arousal within a tolerable range: slow the pace, invite eyes open and orientation, return to the breath as it is, or to contact with the floor [synthesis].
4. Do not interpret the emotion or its cause, do not encourage cathartic intensification, and do not suggest that a memory is real or recovered [synthesis].
5. If trauma material, suicidal thoughts or dissociation emerge, follow 5.3 and 5.4 and refer to psychotherapy [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "There's something strong here. Would you like to stay with it, or ease off?" / "You can open your eyes and look around the room whenever you'd like." / "You don't need to work out what it means right now."
Watch for: escalating distress, numbing or "going away", age-regressed speech, shame after tears, a client who believes they must release emotion to have had a "good" session. Working: feelings are felt and named at a bearable intensity, and the client stays oriented.

4.8 Breath awareness

Purpose / when: throughout, as an anchor for presence. Breathing techniques are a named training topic [source: YogaUOnline] and breath work is named as part of the method [source: Yadegaran, 2008]; specific PRYT breathing practices are not described in the cited sources [uncertain].
Steps:
1. Invite the client to notice the breath without changing it [synthesis].
2. If offering any breath practice, keep it gentle, client-paced and optional; do not use breath retention, rapid or forced breathing [synthesis].
3. Stop breath-focused work if it increases panic, dizziness, tingling or dissociation; screen for epilepsy, panic disorder, psychosis, pregnancy and cardiovascular or respiratory disease before any deliberate breath practice [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Just notice the breath, however it's moving right now."
Watch for: breath-holding during postures, over-breathing, chest tightness. Working: the breath steadies naturally and the client uses it to stay present.

4.9 Relating experience to daily life and choosing an action

Purpose / when: after the posture work, toward the end of each session. PRYT relates what arose to the client's daily life, aiming for practical, action-based life change [source: USABP PRYT page; Essentials listing]. The formal study's themes included "in vivo experience of new behaviors", empowerment and life changes [source: Sneed, 2018].
Steps:
1. Invite the client to recall what stood out in the session, in their own words [synthesis].
2. Ask whether it connects with anything in their life now; do not supply the link [synthesis].
3. Invite the client to choose one small, concrete step, or none [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Looking back over today, what stands out?" / "Does that connect with anything going on in your life?" / "Is there one small thing you'd like to take from this into your week?"
Watch for: the practitioner proposing the action; large, impulsive life decisions made immediately after an intense session (suggest time and, where relevant, discussion with a therapist). Working: the client names a link and a step that is their own.

4.10 Closing the session

Purpose / when: end of each session. How PRYT sessions formally close is not described in the cited sources [uncertain]; the steps below are [synthesis].
Steps:
1. Allow time to rest, then to sit up slowly; check for light-headedness.
2. Invite eyes open and orientation to the room; check the client feels ready to leave and travel.
3. Ask for feedback on the touch and dialogue, and note any changes to consent for next time.
4. Mention that feelings may continue after the session and say what to do if they are strong (contact details, the client's therapist, crisis lines).
Example language (illustrative): "How are you feeling as you get ready to go?" / "Was there anything about the support or touch you'd like me to do differently next time?"
Watch for: a client who is spacey, tearful or unsteady at the door (extend grounding, delay departure). Working: the client is oriented, steady and clear about follow-up.

4.11 Group formats: theme-based classes, 8-week series, life mentoring

Purpose / when: PRYT also offers theme-based therapeutic yoga classes, an 8-week group series and "therapeutic life mentoring" sessions [source: USABP PRYT page]. Content and structure of these formats are not described in the cited sources [uncertain].
Steps: follow the structure taught in PRYT training. In any group, apply individual screening (4.1), make hands-on assistance opt-in for each person (for example with a visible sign that each participant can change at any time), and offer verbal cues and props as alternatives to touch [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "If you'd rather not have hands-on support today, just let me know or turn your card over; you can change your mind at any point."
Watch for: group pressure to participate or to share; emotional material emerging in a group without a follow-up route. Working: participants opt in and out freely and leave with a plan for anything stirred up.

4.12 Ongoing touch consent and trauma-informed adaptations

Purpose / when: every time touch is used. The USABP Code of Ethics (Section VIII) asks practitioners to assess whether touch is appropriate for each client, obtain informed consent before touch (written consent highly recommended), monitor and re-record consent because initial consent may not reveal problems the client is not yet aware of, respect the client's right to refuse or end touch at any time, use touch only for the client's benefit, and never engage in genital or other sexual touch [source: USABP Code of Ethics]. The EABP guidelines require clients to be informed beforehand that physical techniques may be used and require explicit communication about body work [source: EABP Ethics Guidelines, 2020]. A published account notes that touch is uncomfortable for some clients and that boundaries are "a big issue" in this practice [source: Yadegaran, 2008].
Steps:
1. Ask before each new touch, every session, even if agreed before [synthesis consistent with USABP VIII.3-4].
2. Agree a simple stop signal (a word or a raised hand) and honour it instantly without asking why [synthesis].
3. Offer alternatives to hands: props, verbal guidance, or the client supporting themselves [synthesis].
4. Never touch the genitals, breasts, buttocks or inner thighs; never touch with sexual intent or in any way that could be experienced as sexual. Any pelvic or pelvic-floor concern is referred to a regulated clinician such as a pelvic-health physiotherapist [synthesis].
5. Offer a chaperone or the option of a support person, and work in a room with a clear exit, where the client prefers or where the client has a history of abuse [synthesis].
6. Document consent and any change to it [source: USABP Code VIII].
Example language (illustrative): "I'll check before any touch, every time. If you want me to stop, say 'stop' or raise your hand and I'll take my hands away at once." / "Would you prefer a blanket or block to support you instead of my hands?"
Watch for: freezing, holding the breath, sudden compliance, a fixed smile, looking away, saying yes while the body withdraws. Treat these as a pause signal: stop touching and check in. Working: the client sometimes says no or asks for changes, which shows consent is real.

4.13 Psychotherapist's role: when to suggest PRYT and how to choose a practitioner

Purpose / when: when a client in psychotherapy wants a body-based, self-directed practice alongside talk therapy. A published account suggests it may suit clients who over-analyse, who feel too exposed in talk therapy, or who already have a meditation or mind-body practice, and may not suit those uncomfortable with touch [source: Yadegaran, 2008, reporting practitioners' views].
Evidence status: the formal research located is qualitative: one phenomenological dissertation and article with four women receiving five sessions each, reporting themes of mindfulness, self-awareness, mind-body connection, new behaviour, client direction, empowerment and life change, with the authors noting the findings are not generalisable [source: Sneed, 2017; Sneed, 2018], and a single case report [source: IJYT case study, "The Call of Spirit"]. No controlled trial of PRYT is known [uncertain]. Evidence for yoga in general suggests it may help manage anxiety and depressive symptoms and stress [source: NCCIH]; this does not establish PRYT's effects. PRYT is not a treatment for any physical disease or for a psychiatric disorder; practitioner claims (for example about stress-aggravated conditions such as fibromyalgia) are opinions reported in the press [source: Yadegaran, 2008].
Steps:
1. Discuss the client's goals and whether a touch-based, eyes-closed practice fits their history and current stability [synthesis].
2. Help the client check a practitioner's PRYT certification level, any other professional registration, insurance, written consent and touch policy, and complaints route [synthesis]. Yoga therapy is not a licensed profession in most jurisdictions; C-IAYT is a professional credential and the school's IAYT accreditation should be confirmed directly (Section 2).
3. With the client's written consent, agree what information you and the practitioner will share and how to contact each other if concerns arise [synthesis; EABP 6.b asks practitioners to consider and discuss with the client the implications of parallel services].
Example language (illustrative): "Some people find that working through the body helps them notice things that are hard to get at by talking. This approach uses supported yoga postures and some hands-on contact. How would that feel for you?"
Watch for: the client seeking PRYT to avoid difficult therapeutic work, or as a substitute for medical care. Working: the client makes an informed, unpressured choice and knows they can stop.

4.14 Psychotherapist's role: preparing the client and integrating the experience

Purpose / when: before a client starts PRYT and in therapy sessions after PRYT sessions [synthesis throughout].
Steps:
1. Preparation: rehearse saying no and stopping touch; agree grounding skills the client can use; for clients with trauma, dissociation, eating disorders or body-image distress, discuss which postures, body areas or kinds of touch may be activating and how to tell the practitioner.
2. Integration: invite the client to describe what happened in their own words, what they felt in the body and what, if anything, they want to bring into therapy; work with the material using your own modality.
3. Keep the client's ownership of meaning: avoid re-interpreting their experience through the practitioner's or your own theory, and avoid treating emotions or images that arose as recovered memories.
4. Respect the client's spiritual or cultural framing of the experience; where the client has Hindu, Buddhist or other religious connections to yoga, explore what a modern Western yoga-therapy setting means to them.
Example language (illustrative): "What was it like to be supported in the postures?" / "You mentioned a lot of sadness came up. Would you like to explore that here, or leave it for now?"
Watch for: new symptoms after sessions (nightmares, intrusive memories, dissociation, self-harm urges, worsening eating-disorder behaviour), idealisation of the practitioner, confusion between the two relationships. Working: the client uses PRYT insights in therapy and reports feeling more in charge of their body.

4.15 Psychotherapist's role: recognising harm and delivering PRYT yourself

Purpose / when: whenever a client reports a problem with a practitioner, and before offering PRYT within your own practice [synthesis throughout unless cited].
Steps (recognising and passing on harm):
1. Ask directly and neutrally about injuries, touch the client did not want, touch of intimate areas, pressure to continue, sexualised remarks, secrecy, or a practitioner offering to act as therapist or guru.
2. Treat any report of sexual or non-consensual touch as serious: support the client, document, and help them use the practitioner's school, professional association or (where the practitioner is licensed in another profession) their regulator, and the police where a crime may have occurred; follow your own safeguarding duties.
3. Refer physical injury to medical care.
Steps (delivering PRYT yourself):
1. Complete PRYT certification (Section 2) and supervision with someone experienced in both psychotherapy and touch-based work.
2. Check your own professional code, licensing rules and insurance. Body-psychotherapy codes (USABP, EABP) explicitly permit touch within ethical limits; mainstream codes (BACP 2018 and 2026, UKCP 2019, BPS, HCPC, APA, AAMFT) contain no explicit touch clause, prohibit sexual contact and require you to offer only what you are trained and competent to deliver [source: USABP Code; EABP Guidelines; BACP; UKCP; APA Ethics Code]. Do not combine psychotherapy and hands-on work unless your code allows it and you hold the training.
3. Contract clearly: is this session psychotherapy, PRYT, or a defined combination? Consider offering PRYT only to clients who are not also your psychotherapy clients, or referring them to another PRYT practitioner, to avoid dual-role confusion.
Example language (illustrative): "Has anything happened in those sessions that didn't feel right, even something small?" / "Today is a PRYT session, not a therapy session; if something comes up that you'd like to work on in therapy, we'll agree where that happens."
Watch for: reluctance to criticise a valued practitioner; your own pull to add touch to therapy without training or code permission. Working: concerns are named early and roles stay clear.

5. Handling problems

The published descriptions of PRYT do not set out problem-handling procedures; apart from the cited points, the guidance below is [synthesis].

5.1 Client stays "in the head" or nothing seems to happen

Normalise: "Nothing" is a valid answer and is itself present-moment experience.
Return to simple sensation (contact with the floor, temperature, breath) rather than asking about feelings.
Reduce the number of questions; allow more silence.
Clients who over-analyse are described as a group the approach may suit [source: Yadegaran, 2008]; expect this to take several sessions.

5.2 Irritation with the method (reflection, eyes closed, touch)

Some clients find repetition of their words annoying or condescending at first [source: Yadegaran, 2008]: explain its purpose, reflect less, or use the client's word once and then pause.
Offer eyes open, fewer or no hands-on assists, and more choice of postures.
Treat the irritation as information, not resistance to be overcome; ask what would make the work more useful.

5.3 Overwhelm, panic, flashback or dissociation

Stop the posture and remove touch at once (unless the client asks you to keep a supportive hand where it is).
Orient: eyes open, name the room, the date, feet on the floor, a neutral object to look at; speak calmly and slowly.
Do not push for emotional release or ask for details of memories.
When the client is settled, decide together whether to continue with lighter work or end the session; after the session, encourage contact with the client's psychotherapist, or refer to one.
Review screening: repeated overwhelm suggests PRYT should pause until trauma-focused psychotherapy has built stabilisation skills.

5.4 Risk: suicidal thoughts, self-harm, psychosis or mania

Pause the PRYT work; assess risk using your own profession's standard risk-assessment process if you are a psychotherapist, or follow your agreed referral route if you are not.
Agree a safety plan, involve the client's clinicians with consent (or without it where risk to life requires), and give crisis contacts.
Resume only when the client is stable and their treating clinician agrees.

5.5 Physical pain or injury

Stop on pain or fatigue and do not push beyond comfort [source: MedlinePlus]. Unsupervised or poorly guided practice is associated with higher injury risk [source: NCCIH].
Modify or omit postures; for conditions such as pregnancy, high blood pressure, glaucoma, sciatica or arthritis, follow medical advice on poses to avoid or modify [source: MedlinePlus; NCCIH].
Record any injury and refer to medical care where needed.

5.6 Touch-related difficulties

Client cannot say no or complies automatically: practise saying no to small things ("Would you like the blanket?"); make no-touch sessions an explicit option.
Client asks for touch the practitioner judges unhelpful or unsafe, or for touch of intimate areas: decline clearly and warmly; such touch is never part of the work [source: USABP Code of Ethics, Section VIII].
Erotic feelings or attachment arise: name boundaries plainly, take it to supervision, and refer on if the relationship cannot be kept professional; sexual contact with clients is prohibited by every code cited [source: USABP; EABP; BACP; UKCP; APA Ethics Code].

5.7 Non-attendance or dropping out

Since the series is client-directed, missed sessions may mean the client has got what they wanted, or that something felt unsafe. Ask once, without pressure, and leave the door open.

5.8 Rupture with the practitioner

Name what happened, take responsibility for your part, and ask what the client needs to feel safe again.
If the rupture involves touch, offer to continue without touch, with a chaperone, or with a different practitioner.
If the client is also in psychotherapy, support them in deciding whether to bring the rupture there.

5.9 Confusion between PRYT and psychotherapy

PRYT "cannot replace psychotherapy" [source: Yadegaran, 2008]: when a client treats PRYT as their therapy for trauma, depression or another condition, explain the difference and refer for assessment.
If you are both practitioner and psychotherapist, separate the contracts (4.15).

5.10 Spiritual or cultural material

Clients may describe spiritual experiences or use yogic concepts such as chakras. Reflect their words, keep these concepts attributed to the tradition, and avoid promoting any belief system.
Some clients may have religious or cultural objections to yoga, or feel that its Hindu and wider Indian roots are being used without acknowledgement; respect the objection, acknowledge the tradition, and offer alternatives where wanted.

Sources

Web sources:

Books:

Lee, M. (1997). Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy: A Bridge from Body to Soul. Health Communications Inc. ISBN 9781558745131 [details: bookseller listing]. A later edition carries copyright 2010, ISBN 9780757397233.
Lee, M. (2005). Turn Stress into Bliss: The Proven 8-Week Program for Better Health, Relaxation, and Stress Relief. Gloucester, MA: Fair Winds [details: library catalogue record].
Wiener, D. J. (Ed.). (1999). Beyond Talk Therapy: Using Movement and Expressive Techniques in Clinical Practice. American Psychological Association. The USABP PRYT page lists a contribution by Lee on PRYT in this volume; chapter title and pages [uncertain].

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