{"id":4690,"date":"2023-01-29T18:49:01","date_gmt":"2023-01-29T17:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/osteopathy-and-hatha-yoga\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T09:59:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T08:59:34","slug":"osteopathy-and-hatha-yoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/osteopathy-and-hatha-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"Osteopathy and (Hatha) Yoga"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From: Liem T. Osteopathy and (Hatha) Yoga, Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 2011; 15 (1), 92-102.<strong>Abstract<\/strong>The following overview provides a brief look at historical and application-oriented differences between osteopathy and yoga, as well as their points of contact. A significant difference, for example, is that in yoga, personal commitment is paramount. Both teachers and students are equally challenged in their practice and in their relationship to different perspectives in their lives. In osteopathy \u2013 as a form of treatment system \u2013 the patient often remains relatively passive, in contrast to the active osteopathic therapist.The following section highlights points of contact between yoga and osteopathy using some practical examples. The significance of physicality, as well as approaches to healing and awareness processes through physicality, and possible reductionisms in yoga and osteopathy are discussed. Similarities and complementary perspectives in fundamental attitudes and orientations (e.g., based on the concept of stillness) in yoga and osteopathy are presented.<strong>Keywords<\/strong>Osteopathy, Yoga, Hatha Yoga, physicality, healing, consciousness, asana, pranayama, stillness, deconditioning, tissue-energy-consciousness correlation<strong>Introduction<\/strong>Historically, there are significant differences between yoga and osteopathy. While yoga has existed in India for several thousand years, osteopathy emerged around the middle of the penultimate century, primarily as a reaction to an early allopathic medical model in the USA. Osteopathy is primarily attributed to Still as a quasi-revelatory doctrine, whereas yoga as a revelatory doctrine cannot be traced back to a single historical person. From the outset, osteopathy, like physically oriented forms of yoga, has postulated a body-mind-soul unity. This unity is approached in osteopathy, as in Hatha Yoga, primarily through the body. However, there are clear differences in practical orientation and objectives:Osteopathy represents a manual medical system focused on promoting health in the organism. It encompasses special manual diagnostic and therapeutic methods, with the main focus on structural relationships and interactions of various tissues and their function.         &nbsp;Even if the health aspect of physically oriented yoga forms is particularly valued in the West, traditional Hatha Yoga and Patanjali&#8217;s Yoga, as well as all other forms of yoga, are primarily experience-based methods for focusing mental movements, liberating contractile conditioning, and turning towards immediate awareness, an undistorted, unconditioned perception, and a higher post-personal-post-rational self.The difference in orientation is clear: in yoga, the practice, responsibility, and insight of the practitioner are central. Both teachers and students are equally challenged here. In osteopathy \u2013 as a form of treatment system \u2013 the patient often remains relatively passive, in contrast to the active osteopathic therapist.<strong>Points of Contact \u2013 Practical Examples<\/strong>Despite these differences, there are many points of contact between a yoga practice and an osteopathic treatment. A practical example:A vertebra is &#8220;blocked,&#8221; meaning its mobility is restricted, with tension and\/or fibroses in ligaments and small deep muscles. This can be caused, for example, by physical (or even emotional) trauma or an organ dysfunction, an event that may have occurred years ago. Initially, this may remain completely asymptomatic. If the patient begins a form of Hatha Yoga, they will usually notice initial positive changes in their life very soon. However, it is also possible that even with advanced yoga practice, fixed vertebrae do not necessarily resolve, but on the contrary, vertebral segments above or below develop hyperflexibility. As a rule, the yoga practitioner then feels no discomfort in the affected vertebra, but symptoms arise over time in the hyperflexible regions, whether above and\/or below the affected vertebra.       &nbsp;It happens only in rare exceptions that the yoga practitioner develops so much awareness in yoga practice that, for example, when performing forward or backward bends, they actually take into account the tensions around the affected vertebra, because that would indeed give this vertebra the opportunity to reintegrate into the body&#8217;s physiology.&nbsp;Here, osteopathic treatment can help, on the one hand, by precisely diagnosing which vertebra and related tissue actually exhibit restricted movement, and on the other hand, by correcting these with gentle impulses.Another example is a leg length discrepancy in the lower extremities, whether a true difference or a compensatory length difference of more than one centimeter caused by a pelvic torsion: if left untreated, a regularly performed standing forward bend (Padangusthasana), for example, can cause pain and disturbances in the long run. Due to the asymmetry, practicing it develops a large, unequal tension, especially in the lower spine and the sacroiliac joint, which could even provoke or trigger disc herniations. If these disturbances cannot be resolved osteopathically, it is advisable, for example, to slightly bend the knee of the longer leg during the standing forward bend (Padangusthasana).On the other hand, in my practice, most &#8220;chronically ill&#8221; patients experience improvement when they begin to take responsibility for their health again. Here, yoga, like many other paths, can be very helpful.   &nbsp;<strong>Healing and Awareness Processes through Physicality&nbsp;<\/strong>Our physicality is formed according to genetic information and the environment in which genetic information is stimulated, triggered, and expressed. We are exposed to numerous formative forces from the very beginning of our development (electrical, magnetic, electrodynamic fields, morphogenetic fields, biophotons, UV light frequencies, chemotactic mechanisms, mechanical stresses, etc.) [1]. Pre- and perinatal experiences can have a lasting formative influence on our lives after birth [2]. We develop in the womb in relative dependence and interaction with the mother, and indirectly with the outside world through the mother&#8217;s moods and experiences [3, 4]. Scientific studies even show that our health is influenced long before conception by the health status of our parents (e.g., through exposure to fat-soluble chemicals) [5\u201314].Further factors influencing our physicality are:&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">physical and neurobiological mechanisms of action [16],&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">the familial, emotional, historical, cultural, and social environment and the biosocial environment in which we grow up and live,&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">birth experiences and especially the first years of life,&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">our diet,&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">illnesses, accidents, psychological trauma,&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">learning and working conditions,&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">numerous rhythmicity-determined regulation and organization patterns [17],&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">other influences, stresses, and habits,&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">life patterns we adopt and decisions we make.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of this shapes us, i.e., conditions us, how we perceive ourselves and the world around us, and how we identify with what we call our &#8220;self.&#8221; Our body, its physiological processes, and our way of feeling, thinking, and perceiving are influenced and determined by all these factors.Our inner growth is intimately linked to understanding, engaging with, accepting, integrating, and mastering the contents of consciousness, experiences, and influences described above.It must be considered that emotional, thought, and belief patterns are, so to speak, embodied in the organism [44\u201346]. Thus, each person exhibits very specific body characteristics, postures, and tensions depending on the experiences they have accumulated. Generally speaking, the stronger the unprocessed energies, experiences, and events, the stronger, as a rule, are the hardenings, tensions, and rigidities, or the more insufficient is the stability in body and soul. There is, so to speak, a tissue-energy-consciousness correlation [18].    &nbsp;Physically oriented yoga forms, as well as osteopathy, utilize and employ the body to achieve a deconditioning of abnormal chronic body tensions and poor postures. Whether osteopathy and Hatha Yoga also achieve an integration of limiting consciousness, emotional, and belief patterns and binding self-images strongly depends on the extent to which these are actually sufficiently and adequately considered in practical application. However, it currently seems that both yoga practitioners and osteopathy patients are generally little supported in becoming aware of the connections between life circumstances and their behavior and the associated physical and psychological reactions, and in learning to understand the influences of non-conscious contents on their discomforts, body tension, and body statics.  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thus, while subjective levels are postulated in osteopathic practice, they are usually only explored quite insufficiently and implemented without reflection. Sciences (such as empiricism, positivism, neurosciences, and cognitive sciences) enable far-reaching explanations regarding the connections and influences between body and mind. &nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">In contrast, the great strength of the hatha yoga tradition lies in offering an immense wealth of information about the potential of the human body-mind-spirit system [47] from a subjective perspective of the practitioner, with approaches that can refer to a long and frequently tested tradition.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the other hand, hermeneutics and the neostructuralism of postmodernism, for example, shed light on intersubjective factors that were equally disregarded in yoga and the objective sciences.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hermeneutics and neostructuralism, as well as the findings of the objective sciences, could help to relativize transfigured explanatory models and inappropriate metaphysical dogmas of early yoga and instead make the essence all the more experiential.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The asanas (postures) in yoga can confront us with unprocessed experiences and feelings. At the same time, they are capable of connecting us with our inner resources and strengths. Through conscious breathing and inner focus in conjunction with the asanas, it becomes possible to gently and consciously experience and integrate the patterns of sensation stored in the tissues. As the body gradually becomes flexible through yoga, there is also a chance that we achieve more flexibility within ourselves. Bound energies are thus increasingly integrated and freed, flowing again. As a result, we experience the moment with more presence, joy, and vitality, and simultaneously become healthier. Hatha Yoga is thus also described as a process of achieving physical, mental, emotional, and psychological balance by systematically refining, strengthening, transforming, and purifying the entire being, starting from the physical body, to enable the experience of higher levels of consciousness [19]. In osteopathy, this can happen, for example, by diagnosing and releasing dysfunctional body tensions. Here, too, there is the potential chance that associated energy-consciousness patterns are relativized and newly integrated.<strong>Possible Reductionisms of Physically Oriented Yoga Forms and Osteopathy<\/strong>According to the above, the primary goal in physically oriented yoga is not to perform body acrobatics or achieve special body contortions. Anyone who believes this has indeed misunderstood and missed the deeper goal of yoga [20]. Here lies a certain danger in the exclusive engagement with physical yoga: through the increasing flexibility and strengthening of the body, an over-identification of the yoga practitioner with their body can arise, and the contractile nature of ego-identification can be compensatorily projected onto physicality. This diminishes the ability to keep awareness focused in the present and hinders the integration of the small self into a transpersonal, superconscious, post-rational consciousness constancy.         &nbsp;Therefore, the main scripture on Hatha Yoga already emphasizes that it only develops its potential when placed within the larger framework of Raja Yoga (Yoga of mind control) [21,22], as well as only within the framework of other consciousness exercises and guidelines that regulate and harmonize the relationship and attitude towards others (or the outside world) and the relationship to oneself (or inwards) [23] (Yama and Niyama). In Patanjali&#8217;s Sutras, the first methodological text on Yoga, asanas occupy very little space, alongside many other considerations and consciousness orientations, such as Pranayama (breath awareness\/breath control), withdrawal of the senses, concentration, meditation, etc. [24].Historically, Hatha Yoga originally consisted only of six Kriyas (yogic cleansing exercises). Later, asanas, pranayama, mudra (seal, symbolic hand gesture, hand position), and bhandas (locks) were added [19].Even though important connections and interactions undoubtedly exist between the body, emotional, and consciousness worlds, there is \u2013 especially in the overemphasized body cult of Hatha Yoga found in the West \u2013 another reductionism in wanting to equate the degree of body flexibility with the degree of personality development. It is certainly incorrect and too one-dimensional to exclusively infer a person&#8217;s awareness from the extent of their body flexibility.&nbsp;On the contrary, it seems that numerous distinct developmental lines in humans develop relatively independently and at different speeds [25], such as cognitive development [26,27,28], value development [29], emotional development [30], development of needs [31], spiritual development, and physical performance.Here, there is a certain danger that an excessive focus on increased body flexibility and body control in Hatha Yoga covers up and compensates for repressed elements or lower levels of other developmental lines (e.g., in the area of interpersonal relationship skills) (instead of a developmental process of increasing acceptance, differentiation, relativization, and integration) and may even have a dissociative effect. This applies particularly to overly body-focused forms of yoga. However, such a development can manifest in many shades of any discipline, and especially in monopolistically operating approaches.In osteopathy, the danger of reduction is different: in the translation of human, interpersonal phenomena into exclusively anatomical-physiological processes \u2013 often a characteristic of current osteopathic approaches \u2013 there is a risk of reducing the person, specifically when inner experiences are reduced to the energetic level or the physical. Thus, structural-physiological dynamics can be seen as a condition, but not as a sufficient cause for human phenomena [32]. To treat the so-called &#8220;wholeness&#8221; of the patient, it is not enough to treat only the tissue correlate. Another related danger is that osteopathic treatment may make it difficult for the patient to take personal responsibility for their physical and psychological well-being. It is not uncommon for patients to simply hand over their body to an osteopath for treatment, similar to a car being repaired in a workshop. If the osteopath unreflectively accepts this role, they miss the opportunity to at least enable the patient to consciously decide to actively participate in the healing process. This makes it harder for the patient to become aware of the connections between life circumstances, their own experiences and behavior on the one hand, and the associated discomforts and dysfunctions on the other. What is needed is the development of methodologies and skills to experience, consider, and integrate emerging internal consciousness components in the patient during treatment. This means, for example, developing approaches that promote active patient involvement in the healing process \u2013 for instance, in the sense of a palpation practice that supports patients in experiencing and understanding meaningful connections between discomfort, dysfunction, and internal and external life contexts.Furthermore, in osteopathy \u2013 in contrast to yoga \u2013 there is almost no methodological basis for promoting the development of subjective experience in the therapist (or in the patient), with the exception of techniques for palpatory tissue experience in osteopathic training. The osteopath is usually poorly prepared to consider the patient&#8217;s inner world of experience (as well as their own).          Phenomenology teaches here that the engagement with the spatio-temporal character of existence, of being embodied, of being-with-others in a shared world, of attunement, memory and historicity, mortality, the general openness of existence, and the unfolding of these foundational possibilities lead to the freedom of existence [33].&nbsp;Within osteopathy, there are currently numerous necessary endeavors, within its possibilities and with much sacrifice from individuals, to investigate evidence of efficacy using objective sciences. On the other hand, in certain areas \u2013 especially those close to &#8220;cranial&#8221; work \u2013 under the guise of holism, completely unreflective regressive tendencies appear, e.g., in publications by pre-rational osteopathic neo-spiritualists, embryonic healing teachers, quantum physical skull bone adjusters, and fundamentalist divine healers with an alarmingly increasing number of followers.Even if quasi-objective positivism and with it &#8220;evidence-based medicine&#8221; should undoubtedly not be absolutized in osteopathy, these magical hands and their spirits often seem to be stuck in deep self-hypnotic states and megalomania. &nbsp;In both yoga and osteopathy, the integration and implementation of intersubjective insights are often lacking. In yoga, for example, traditional yoga forms are sometimes simply adopted without adequately appreciating and considering cultural differences. The crucial importance of intersubjectivity and neo-structuralist approaches to relativizing monopolistic inner experiences will be discussed in more detail below. In yoga, almost every practitioner consistently absolutizes their own inner experience. However, the contents of their awareness are one thing; the psychological individual and collective structures, against the background of which contents of consciousness are first &#8220;seen&#8221; and interpreted, are another. These structures are largely inaccessible to a purely phenomenological practice [49]. A merely subjective introspection \u2013 even if it does not act aggressively exclusively, but is pursued with modesty-clad ignorance and with utmost sincerity and devotion \u2013 cannot recognize these. Through a &#8220;monological&#8221; introspection, we can increasingly study the phenomena of our individual consciousness, but we do not thereby discover psychodynamic aspects (\u00e0 la Freud and Jung) nor developmental structures (\u00e0 la Gebser, Graves, Kegan, Cook-Greuter) [49]. These become possible only through an understanding of the respective individual and historical-cultural contexts (intersubjective structures), for which a dialogical and hermeneutic practice is indispensable. Not infrequently, there is an extraordinary reluctance &#8220;among certain yoga practitioners&#8221; precisely here. Perhaps because the captivating monopolistic models, with their promises and often demands, easily tempt us to surrender our autonomy at the entrance \u2013 in the sweet belief of finally having found our new home, beyond confusing words and opinions.This results in absurd, sometimes dangerous, blind adoptions of Indian techniques and systems into Western yoga studios. For example, if it is not considered that Indians sit cross-legged from early childhood compared to Westerners, and therefore certain Hatha Yoga systems developed in India simply cannot be adapted 1:1 to Westerners, there is a risk of physical harm, such as knee injuries to participants. Fundamentalist tendencies (not deviating from the original system at all), especially in conjunction with rigid personality structures (despite great flexibility?!), and ignorance of Western reflective achievements, blind one to such insights. The problem also lies in the fact that the yogic explanatory models, their metaphysically based theoretical models and traditions, were coherent at the time of their creation, but are no longer so today. Not only because the explanations do not stand up to current discourses, but also, for example, because they were simply unable to consider intersubjective influences at the time and instead attributed absolute validity to subjective experiences. Disciplines of knowledge so important for human consciousness, such as psychoanalysis and developmental structuralism, are only about 100 years old, whereas the practice of introspection has been handed down for millennia, which is why one finds little, and can find little, of the former in the traditions [49].               By unreflectively following these old models, modern practitioners of introspection are unreflectively transmitted the archaic, magical, mythical contents of the traditions as &#8220;timelessly valid&#8221; truths, which is one of the reasons why contemplative traditions in general, including their immensely valuable phenomenological heritage, are discarded by modern sciences onto the rubbish heap of the history of knowledge [49]. The problem here is that today&#8217;s yoga practitioner cannot recognize this infection of consciousness by the early intersubjective contents of the teaching, no matter how much introspection and yogic practices they engage in. It is precisely one of the great weaknesses of the old teachings that they could not yet understand at the time that the subjective experiences of yogis are not truths per se, but were largely determined by collectively intersubjective and individually psychodynamic contents.This sometimes leads to deep inner experiences in the practitioner with no longer fitting frames of reference. This internal conflict arising in the practitioner inevitably leads to reductionist, narrow-minded attitudes that, unfortunately, even hinder rather than support them in many of their other developmental lines. What would usually be needed here is not a major change in the respective practices, but a supplementation of the old teachings and a relativization of the monopolistic frames of reference of the old traditions and integration into the more differentiated, integrated, comprehensive, i.e., more developed ones of postmodernity. This would also bring the precious treasures of this tradition much more clearly to the fore and actually enable a healthy, adequate integration for the practitioner.In osteopathy, this is similar, though less extreme, in cases where osteopathy is understood exclusively as a kind of revelatory doctrine and cultural, social, and scientific-historical conditionings in the development process of osteopathy are not considered [50]. In doing so, one not only closes oneself off from evolutionary potentials but also diminishes possible deeper healing impulses in treatment. The reflective engagement with one&#8217;s own &#8220;cultural history&#8221; with its conscious and unconscious backgrounds is often underestimated because it cannot be directly &#8220;seen&#8221; but only recognized through hermeneutic and structural approaches [51]. A hermeneutic comparison could, for example, investigate which associations and interpretations arise in different osteopaths during certain subjective palpations of tissue qualities.         A structural investigation could, for example, focus on recognizing recurring patterns in our palpation. Apart from that, it must not be forgotten that Still&#8217;s terminology (such as material body, spiritual body, body of mind) may be interpreted quite differently today than Still understood it [52-55].<strong>Fundamental Attitude and Orientation in Yoga and Osteopathy<\/strong> We are constantly looking for the ultimate trick, a simple approach, a &#8220;magical&#8221; technique that solves all our problems. But healing and growth do not work that way.However, simplicity lies in our fundamental attitude: We detach ourselves from expectations and ideas of how inner growth and health should manifest within us; instead, we begin each yoga class in a state of not knowing and remain open to where in the organism changes occur. The same applies to osteopathy: The osteopath is not a miracle healer. They can accompany and offer support, depending on the extent to which the patient is able to integrate the therapeutic impulses.Just as an asana practice is characterized by stability (Sthira) and ease (Sukha) [34,35], these are also qualities that an osteopath promotes in the patient during treatment.However, almost all medical systems, including osteopathy, seem to be characterized by the fact that short-term freedom from symptoms (e.g., through osteopathic manipulation) is often achieved at the expense of gaining insight into the connections between disease symptoms and one&#8217;s own life context. It is the patient&#8217;s freedom to decide. Osteopathy cannot be fundamentally blamed here, as long as it presents the patient with the option to decide. However, if possible emotional wounds in a somatic dysfunction are neither recognized nor considered in the resolution process of the dysfunction, the treatment only leads to translative compensation. This may be necessary, e.g., to prevent a breakdown in the physical, but can also prevent transformative processes at the same time, at least until the next phase of instability or symptom onset. On the other hand, there is also the possibility that the patient uses the energy gained during the symptom-free period to support transformative processes [48].In both yoga and osteopathy, focusing attention exclusively on resolving blockages or strengthening weaknesses carries the risk that we will only find and deal with more and more negativity.&nbsp;Therefore, in both yoga and osteopathy, there is an orientation towards a vision or a goal that makes sense to us and provides motivation, perhaps even towards something greater than ourselves. This orientation can, for example, in yoga, be directed towards the flow within and around us, towards the awareness of every moment, towards the union of the small self with infinity, or towards an unconditioned form of compassion and joy. In treatment, the osteopath establishes a resonance with the homeostatic forces or with health or flow within the patient. There are also treatment approaches in which the osteopath&#8217;s attention during treatment, for example, wanders into the vastness or rests in infinity.<strong>Stillness in the Concept of Osteopathy and Yoga<\/strong>Stillness is an important aspect in osteopathy [36\u201338] as well as in yoga [39]. In a state of stillness, palpation can develop without preconceived notions, as the osteopath allows themselves to be touched by the patient&#8217;s impressions like an &#8220;empty vessel.&#8221; For an osteopath, to touch means to listen, to simply be present, to wait with gentle attention for the moment until the tissue speaks to them, and to learn to understand its unique story. Essential here is the therapist&#8217;s ability to enter a state of stillness or to be receptive to stillness. The higher the therapist&#8217;s level of consciousness development, the more deeply they will be able to synchronize with stillness. In the second sutra of Patanjali&#8217;s collection of sutras, it says: Yogascittavrtthinirodhah [39\u201342]. Here, Patanjali defines his understanding of yoga: the attainment of the ability to focus completely and to remain in this orientation without distraction, so that the mind can move from a state of restlessness and agitation to a state of calm, stillness, and clarity. This definition conveys an impression of the depth of stillness that opens up in a mind thus deconditioned.The extent of the capacity to experience stillness is directly related to the conscious differentiation, relativization, and integration of one&#8217;s own sensory, mental, psycho-emotional conditionings or limiting perception patterns. Thus, it is an expression of one&#8217;s own consciousness development. One&#8217;s own maturation, our own inner balance, centeredness in the present, in stillness and in &#8220;being,&#8221; the ability to open oneself to life (instead of wanting to control and manipulate it), to surrender, access to one&#8217;s own vulnerability and self-awareness directly influences therapeutic interaction and non-judgmental palpation. The therapist&#8217;s conditioned views and attitudes cannot be arbitrarily changed overnight, but they decisively determine the extent and quality of the stillness with which the therapist can connect. However, there is no methodological didactics in osteopathy to achieve this kind of inner deconditioning. Here, among other things, approaches from yoga could be helpful in developing the osteopath&#8217;s competence.             All yogic systems are precisely aimed at freeing the perceiver from obscuring conditioned views: in the attainment of knowledge in Jnana Yoga, in the ability of mind control in Raja Yoga, in the devotion of Bhakti Yoga, as well as in the selfless service and action of Karma Yoga. A possible systematic methodology is presented, for example, in Patanjali&#8217;s Yoga Sutras. However, all of this goes far beyond the purely daily professional practice of the osteopath: the prerequisite for a genuine synchronization with deeper levels of being in the other requires one&#8217;s own authentic awareness of these levels, encompassing every aspect of life (our relationship and views on body, life partner, children, friends, &#8220;enemies,&#8221; sex, food, vacation, money, power, etc.). Certainly, this is not always comfortable and may also be fear-laden, as from this perspective there is no separation between professional and private life. Not least, many of our shadows are hidden precisely in the private sphere. On the other hand \u2013 once we have begun to open ourselves here \u2013 a far greater depth and coherence become accessible to us as a resource also for therapeutic interaction and potentiate our manual craftsmanship. Thus, a more mature (witnessing) consciousness gradually opens up \u2013 not only in the waking state, but also in sleep and deep sleep \u2013 and an expectation-free openness to stillness.     &nbsp;<strong>Concluding Thoughts<\/strong>In osteopathy, too, the primary goal is not the attainment of a symptom-free state, but rather healing or becoming whole in the form of a greater order or higher complexity (even if this has not always been implemented in teaching and practice so far). The English terms health, healing, and wholeness have their linguistic roots in the term &#8220;haelan,&#8221; from which the German word Heilung (healing) also derives. These semantic connections highlight points of contact where osteopathy, as a medical treatment system, and yoga, as a primary self-experience system, could meet and mutually enrich each other. Both osteopathy and yoga \u2013 for partly different reasons \u2013 however, as outlined above, require necessary new frames of reference and additions to arrive in the present, in postmodernity, and to further develop their respective potential.References1 Liem T (2006) Morphodynamik in der Osteopathie. Stuttgart: Hippokrates, 87\u20131152 Liem T (2006) Morphodynamik in der Osteopathie. Stuttgart: Hippokrates, 135\u20131403 Nathanielsz PW (1999) Life in the womb: The origin of health and disease. Ithaca, N.Y.: Promethean Press4 www.birthworks.org\/site\/primal-health-research\/databank-keywords.html ##under this path I find no literature reference## ((All the literature cited there deals with the topic))5 Infante-Rivard C, Sinnett D (1999) Preconceptional paternal exposure to pesticides and increased risk of childhood leukemia. Lancet 354:1819       <\/p>\n<ol start=\"6\">\n<li>Dimich-Ward H, Hertzman C et al. (1998) Reproductive effects of paternal exposure to chlorophenate wood preservatives in the sawmill industry. Scand J Work Environ Health 24(5):416 <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>7 Nelson BK, Moorman WL, Shrader SM (1996) Review of experimental male-mediated behavioral and neurochemical disorders. Neurotoxicol Teratol 18(6):611\u201316 8 Alaluusua S, Lukinmaa P-L et al.  (1993) Exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin leads to defective dentin formation and pulpal perforation in rat incisor tooth. Toxicology 8:1\u201313 9 Alaluusua S, Lukinmaa P-L et al.  (1999) Developing teeth as biomarker of dioxin exposure. Lancet 353:206 <\/p>\n<ol start=\"10\">\n<li>Garcia-Rodriguez J, Garcia-Martin M et al. (1996) Exposure to pesticides and cryptorchidism: geographical evidence of a possible association. Environ Health Perspect 104:394\u201399 <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>11 Paulozzi LJ, Erickson D, Jackson RJ. (1997) Hypospadias trends in two US surveillance systems. Pediatrics; 100: 83112 Forman D, Moller H. (1994) Testicular cancer. Cancer Surv 19\u201320:323\u20134113 Auger J, Kunstmann JM, Czyglik F, Jouannet P (1995) Decline in semen quality among fertile men in Paris during the past 20 years. N Engl J Med; 332:281\u2013514 Mizuno R. (2000) The male\/female ratio of fetal deaths and births in Japan. Lancet 356:738\u20133915 Davis DL, Gottlieb MB, Stampnitzky JR (1998) Reduced ratio of male to female births in several industrial countries. A sentinel health indicator? JAMA 279:1018\u2013102316 Liem T (2006) Morphodynamik in der Osteopathie. Stuttgart: Hippokrates, 64\u20138617 Liem T (2006) Morphodynamik in der Osteopathie. Stuttgart: Hippokrates, 51\u20136318 Liem T (2006) Morphodynamik in der Osteopathie. Stuttgart: Hippokrates, 203ff19 Muktiodhananda (1998) Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Bihar: Yoga publications Trust, 2620 Muktiodhananda (1998) Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Bihar: Yoga publications Trust, 2021 Yogi Hari (2007) Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Petersburg: Via Nova, 22f.22 Svatmarama (2007) Hatha-Yoga Pradibika. Neuenkirchen: Ph\u00e4nomenverlag, 3723 Yogi Hari (2007) Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Petersburg: Via Nova, 47\u20136224 Desikachar TKV (2003) \u00dcber Freiheit und Meditation \u2013 das Yogasutra des Patanjali. Petersburg: Via Nova, 78\u20139825 Wilber K (2001) Integrale Psychologie. Freiamt: Arbor, 45ff.&nbsp;26 Piaget J, Fatke R, Kober H (2003) Meine Theorien der geistigen Entwicklung. Weinheim: Beltz27 Piaget J (2002) Das Weltbild des Kindes. Stuttgart: Klett Cotta28 Ginsburg HP, Opper S, Kober H (2004) Piagets Theorie der geistigen Entwicklung. Stuttgart: Klett Cotta29 Beck E, Cowan CC (2007) Spiral Dynamics \u2013 Leadership, Werte und Wandel: Eine Landkarte f\u00fcr das Business, Politik und Gesellschaft im 21. Jahrhundert. Bielefeld: J. Kamphausen    &nbsp;30 Goleman D (1997) Emotional Intelligence. Munich: DTV31 Maslow AH (2002) Motivation and Personality. Reinbek: Rowohlt32 Liem T (2006) Morphodynamics in Osteopathy. Stuttgart: Hippokrates, 1133 Boss M (1999) Outline of Medicine and Psychology, 3rd ed. Bern: Hans Huber, 237\u201331434 Woods JH (2007) The Yoga-System of Patanjali. The Harvard oriental series, Vol. 17. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 14135 Veda Bharati (2004) Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with the exposition of Vyasa, Vol 2: Sadhana pada. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 56836 Liem T (1998) Practical Textbook of Craniosacral Osteopathy, 4th ed. Stuttgart: Hippokrates, 370\u201337137 Becker RE (2000) ((Please add title of contribution, This is his book, Brooks is only the editor)) In: Brooks RE (Ed.) The stillness of life. Portland: Stillness Press, 66\u20137138 Sutherland WG (1991) Teachings in the Science of Osteopathy. Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation, 16, 285 ((What do the numbers mean, do they refer to 2 contributions in a complete work? Where was the book published, Rudra Press? That was the preliminary edition before it was published by Rudra. Unfortunately, I don&#8217;t have the new one. The two page numbers refer to the topic above))39 Woods JH (2007) The Yoga-System of Patanjali. The Harvard oriental series, Vol. 17. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 8f.40 Desikachar TKV, Krusche H (2007) The Hidden Knowledge in Freud and Patanjali. Stuttgart: Theseus, 44ff.41 Veda Bharati (1986) Yoga \u2013 Sutras of Patanjali with the exposition of Vyasa, Vol. 1: Samadhi-pada. Pennsylvania: Himalayan publishers, 93\u201311342 Feuerstein G (1989) The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali. A new translation and commentary. Vermont: Inner Traditions International, 26ff.; Bouanchaud B (1997) The essence of Yoga. Delhi, Sri Satguru Publications, 543 Morris DB (2000) Illness and Culture. A Plea for a New Understanding of the Body. Munich: Kunstmann, 7644 Keleman S (1992) Embodied Feelings. Munich: K\u00f6sel45 Kurtz R, Prestera H (1979) Messages of the Body. Munich: K\u00f6sel46 Latey P (1996) Feelings, muscles and movement. J Bodywork Movement Therapies 1(1):44\u20135247 Feuerstein G (2008) The Yoga Tradition. Wiggensbach: Yogaverlag, 61248 Liem T (2006) Morphodynamics in Osteopathy. Stuttgart: Hippokrates, 1849 Personal communication with Michael Habecker 10\/200850 Liem T (2008) Developmental Dynamic and Holistic Principles and their Significance for Osteopathy. In: Liem T, Sommerfeld P, W\u00fchrl, P (Eds) Theories of Osteopathic Thought and Action, Stuttgart. Hippokrates, 751 Liem T (2006) Morphodynamics in Osteopathy. Stuttgart: Hippokrates, 25052 Still AT (1986) Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy. Hudson Kimberly Kansas 1902. Reprint by Osteopathic Enterprise Kirksville,16f53 Stark J (2003) Still\u2019s Fascia. A qualitative investigation to enrich the meaning behind Andrew Taylor Still\u2019s concepts of fascia. Toronto: Thesis, Canadian College of Osteopathy54 Townbridge C (1991) Andrew Taylor Still: 1828-1917. Kirksville: Thomas Jefferson UP, 16155 Dippon M (2005) The Holistic View of Humanity by A.T. Still: \u201cMan is a Triune\u201d. An investigation into the origin of \u201cman is triune\u201d. Esslingen: Thesis, SKOM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From: Liem T. Osteopathy and (Hatha) Yoga, Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 2011; 15 (1), 92-102. Abstract The following overview provides a short summary <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"Osteopathy & Hatha Yoga: Synergies in Practice","_seopress_titles_desc":"How Hatha Yoga complements osteopathic treatment. Shared principles, breath and fascial dynamics for integrated clinical application.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[110],"tags":[],"themenbereich":[],"class_list":["post-4690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-prevention"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5274,"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4690\/revisions\/5274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4690"},{"taxonomy":"themenbereich","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/themenbereich?post=4690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}