PROPOSAL
YOGA CLASSES FOR MENTAL BALANCE &
WELLNESS
- within Psychiatric Care establishments
(N.B. the words; patient, client and student are used interchangeably here to refer to the
consumers of mental health care. How they are referenced depends on what they are
primarily engaging in at the time, i.e. yoga classes, case management, therapy and or
patient care.)
WHAT IS YOGA?
Yoga is a practice that does not depend on the body. It is a practice where we
happen to use the body to affect deeper levels like the breath and the mind.
This can have a lasting impact on Mental Wellbeing.
Yoga can be done in a myriad of ways to suit everyone and is not exclusive to
those young, fit or flexible.
The yoga classes referred to in this proposal are in a gentle style. Chairs are
used to facilitate those who are suffering tiredness or exhaustion. The
practice is low risk physically and highly approachable. It is focused on
cultivating contentment, making peace with wherever you are at in life and
fostering community. It has benefits physically definitely but this is not the
goal. The goal is to enhance ones positive feelings and experience of life.
AIM
A program of Yoga included in the care of Mental Health patients is designed
to have a number of outcomes. These could include any number of the
following:
 Increased presence in the physical body
 A better relationship to the medication used in their treatment
 An increased desire to move toward wellness
 A less critical/self effacing mindset
 A greater ability to recognise negative thought patterns
 Increased recognition of ones own cycles, moods & behavioural patterns
 A greater acceptance of life and ones present situation
 Increased awareness of & connection to reality
 Increased awareness of other people
A program of Yoga would enhance other care programs, not replace them and
benefit not only the patient but also the carers and staff who deal with the
patients on a day-to-day basis.
VISION
I firmly believe yoga practice provides the opportunity for people to inhabit
their bodies and own their experience. The non-competitive spirit of a yoga
practice allows participants to take responsibility for their own practice, with
the potential to expand beyond this and begin to take responsibility for their
life.
My vision for this program is that it will improve the benefits of the care these
people are already receiving; increase their independence and sense of
personal responsibility.
DESIRED OUTCOMES
 Compliance with recommended medication and lifestyle treatments
 A faster pathway to wellness and integration into the community
 Increase in self care
 Increased awareness of relationships to others
 Increase in patients sense of self worth
 Enhanced ability to engage with other care and support
 Greater acceptance of responsibility of ones own treatment
TEACHERS
Sarah de Graaff is the main yoga teacher. She is highly qualified in yoga.
Sarah has taught in a variety of settings but is passionate about programs such
as the one we are proposing here. She is also a mental health consumer who
has much personal experience to draw on. Sarah is an advocate of finding the
right medication, treatment and combination of supports. She is stable and
has been for many years now, however continues to get treatment and take
medication at a low dose. Sarah is adamant that yoga is not just an elite form
of exercise, but a pathway to better understand the mind. She is making it
her main focus to share yoga with this specific group of people and those who
can’t easily access yoga schools.
Sarah continues her education in Yoga and in the area of Mental Health. Not
only from the perspective of a consumer but also of someone who works with
mental health consumers.
Sarah has volunteered for research projects with Blackdog Institute, regularly
attends seminars on Mental Health by the Garvan Institute and has completed
a Mental Health First Aid course. She is currently being mentored by a trained
Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Yoga Therapist and Yoga teacher who himself is in
the process of a PHD in Yoga and Mental Health.
Sarah speaks to the experience of living with a Mental Health challenge and
fosters an inclusive community in her classes.
Supporting teachers assist the students and help in any special situations.
They are Penelope Gill, Gemma Soul and Reiku Morello. They all have a
special interest in teaching yoga to groups with a wide range of special needs.
COMMUNITY
Yoga offered as a specialised class makes it more likely that people with
anxiety, lack of motivation, depression or reluctance to participate in a
regular group class will feel is appropriate for them.
If the class is in a Mental Health care facility people are more likely to attend
as it easy and they don’t have to go far.
If the class is opened up to outpatients who have been in the facility
previously, it fosters a community where people can see a pathway to
recovery and integrating back into the community. The experience of a
‘Mental Illness’ can be very isolating so having a healthy activity the person
can be a part of can reduce feelings of being alone.
Yoga in this specialised setting also allows the opportunity to break down any
misconceptions people may have about the yoga practice and the perceived
idea that they can’t do it. It fosters a feeling of accomplishment and
empowers the individual, as they learn to listen to their own body and
develop understanding of their own experience within the framework of a
safe space.
# N.B. The idea of a safe space is central to the yoga setting. The teacher
spends time at the beginning of the class to explain that whatever happens in
the yoga session is ok. There is no right and wrong. If agitation comes up the
student is free to rest, walk around or sit down either in their chair or at the
back of the room. This is also the reason for the presence of the assistant and
support staff, they can maintain the space for the other students if and when
a situation arises.
PAST PROGRAMMS
Over the last 4 and a half years Sarah has worked with two main groups of
individuals with psychiatric challenges.
REDFERN PROGRAM
The first program was run at the Redfern Community Centre. It was opened
up to clients of 121 Employment, a Disability Services centre in Redfern. The
clients had to get themselves to the class. The clients were long-term
unemployed, all on DSP (Disability Support Pension) mostly due to psychiatric
illness but sometimes including other illness/disability.
Clients were referred to yoga when they had psychiatric challenges but were
at a point where they were fairly stable. For the teacher’s benefit and safety
(there was no assistant on this class, however there were other people in the
community centre at all times, but not in the room), they were only referred
when not in crisis.
The program ran over 12 months. The yoga class was free to attend in the
beginning and then after about 6 months the participants expressed that they
wished to contribute a small donation to allow them to feel independent. It
was usually $5 or less.
There were 5 main students. They came almost every week. All the regulars
were male and over the year there were a few (perhaps 3, including one
woman) who tried the class but did not continue.
The teacher Sarah, was not paid for these sessions, and the venue was
provided free of charge. Sarah taught out of a belief in the teachings of Yoga
and to encourage clients towards wellness.
Testimonials from these students demonstrate how effective the practice was
in helping them make small positive changes in their lives.
ST. GEORGE PROGRAM
This program was a partnership between St. George Mental Health and
Aftercare. It was a funded project and over the duration of the program to
date the funding has come from different sources.
The students came either from Aftercare, from St. George Mental Health
Service or from the Psychiatric Unit of St. George Hospital.
Aftercare is a not-for–profit that helps outpatients of St. George Hospital
Psychiatric ward transition to living in the community again. Aftercare is also
a contact point for those living in the community facing Mental Health
challenges.
St. George Mental Health is the NSW Government Department Health Service
in the South Sydney region.
Sarah de Graaff again was the teacher of the classes. In the first group of
funded sessions, a staff member either from Aftercare or from the St. George
Mental health team supported Sarah. As the funding continued and more
students attended the sessions it was agreed by all involved that with range of
needs presented Sarah and the students would benefit from assistance in the
class. At present the funding includes one paid assistant per session and a
staff member from St. George Hospital attends as well as at least one staff
member from Aftercare.
The class is held in the Arts Centre Hall in Kogarah. Inpatients of the hospital
are escorted to the venue. All the other students make their own way to the
venue.
The Yoga sessions are no cost to attend. This is specifically so that people on
low incomes and Government support can participate.
The attendance of this program has been extremely successful, which is very
positive for this group of people as they often have difficulty with motivation.
A core group of participants attended almost weekly and others continued to
attend at regular intervals.
EVIDENCE
Students attending the yoga sessions had to fill out a ‘Client Information
Form’ at the first session they attended. This made it clear to the teacher the
extent of the needs of the students. It is attached at the end of this proposal
and included questions about medications, diagnosis and physical limitations.
As part of this project each week the teacher wrote a report and the students
were encouraged to record their names on an attendance sheet. They were
also encouraged to fill out evaluation forms periodically, the results of which
have been complied and are attached. We initially used the DASS but
progressed to a slightly simpler evaluation the facilitators formulated
together.
Overall the students expressed that they enjoyed the sessions. They all
wanted them to continue and experienced feelings of being more in control
and feelings of calmness during and after the yoga session. A portion of them
also said they used some of the yoga exercises in their everyday lives to calm
them down and ‘ground’ themselves.
# N.B. The demographic of this group meant that collecting this sort of
information was challenging. There were a few issues with understanding the
forms not only because of concentration difficulty but including language
barriers.
AFTERCARE
http://www.aftercare.com.au
ST.GEORGE MENTAL HEALTH
http://www.sesiahs.health.nsw.gov.au/mental_health_services/about_our_services/st_ge
orge_mental_health_services/stgeorgemhs.asp