On the Alignment of Yoga Therapy with Palliative Care

Beyond Correct Postures and Flexible Bodies: Exploring the Relevance of Yoga in End-of-Life care

Since the mid-twentieth century, Yoga has emerged as a multi-million US dollar global fitness industry. It has drawn worldwide followers to practice postural and breathing techniques. However, the fitness model only elucidates how to live well and not how to die well. This article contends that the body-centric approach has little relevance to those who are dying. It espouses that yogic values like transcendence, holistic healing, harmony, and death-acceptance that qualify a 'good' death are regrettably lost in modern times. In conclusion, the soteriological aim needs to be retained in the modern yogic discourse to live well and die gracefully.