Roughly a third of Americans live with chronic pain. Even more people are dealing with a chronic health condition. As the opioid crisis continues, new treatments that focus on lifestyle changes like exercise, rehabilitation therapies, yoga, and cognitive behavioral therapies are rising in popularity. A new form of yoga called Kaiut Yoga is one such therapy.

Julia O’Shea, a respiratory therapist at the UVM Medical Center, and practitioner of Kaiut Yoga, discusses how this form of yoga is offered to patients at the Medical Center, as part of integrative therapies. Kaiut yoga is offered at the UVM Medical Center on Mondays, 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. To learn more, please contact Julie O’Shea at Julia.O’Shea@uvmhealth.org.

What is Kaiut Yoga?

Julia O’Shea: Kaiut Yoga is all about biomechanical health (or said another way, your freedom of movement).

It has been designed to work through chronic pain & injuries, general aches & stiffness, and work for the inflexible, hyper flexible and the aging body.

It’s truly Yoga for every BODY. The practice is done mostly on the floor at a slower pace while focusing on the joints.

This style of yoga was developed by Francisco Kaiut, who is a Brazilian chiropractor. His story is that when he was younger, around six years old, he was accidentally shot in the hip. The injury obviously changed the course of his life.

Growing up, he was dealing with chronic pain from this injury. This led him to the path of becoming a chiropractor, where he studied many different types of healing modalities, eventually coming across yoga. His study of yoga lead him to teach to his chiropractic patients and from what I understand this evolved into Kaiut yoga.

Kaiut Yoga is typically done at a much slower pace. Most of the class is done on the floor. We use the body as a leverage system to get into the joints. Physiologically there so much that moves through the joints: the blood vessels, ligaments, lymphatic fluid, and the muscles.

By getting into the joints, we access the way to communicate to the nervous system. By doing this, we can allow the body to go into a restorative or a repair mode. It sounds very relaxing, which it is, but it’s also quite challenging because we’re holding poses for a longer amount of time.

How is it different from other types of yoga?

Julia O’Shea: It’s different than other types of yoga because I feel it better designed to match our modern lifestyle. Which ties into the biomechanical health. Kaiut yoga helps to support the body to work through the restrictions thus increasing mobility.

This type of yoga is for every body type. I have people coming to my class with various backgrounds and histories or conditions. Some are very stiff or rigid, and some are hyper-mobile or hyper-flexible. I work with all sorts of different body types and ages.

• I feel that what makes Kaiut stand out is that is taps into our own nervous systems potential to heal from within.

What is your advice for people who are new to yoga? 

Julia O’Shea:I think a good place to start is to ask yourself why are you coming to yoga, or why are you looking to yoga as a solution? Western society often sees yoga as a type of exercise, which is not what it was originally designed to be. I would ask yourself if you want to explore yoga for fitness or to connect to what is happening inside your mind and body. I would advise if you are dealing with a chronic condition, or you are not sure where to start, look more towards gentle practices, or therapeutic styles of yoga. Also good to check with your healthcare provider first before starting anything new.