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In my editorial to the previous issue (no. 9, 1999), I posed two related questions that seem to me to be vitally important to the further development of Yoga therapy. First, can true health be attained without inclusion of our spiritual nature?Second, does Yoga therapy that excludes the spiritual aspect of our being serve the betterment of humanity. or is it just another manifestation of materialism (and narcissism)and subject to vanishing together with a materialistic civilization bent on selfdestruction?

Yoga therapy has been called a modern invention. This is only partially true, however,for even the most ancient Yoga traditions—to be found in the Vedic hymnodies of c. 2000-4000 B.C.E.— mention the health benefits of a spiritual (read: yogic) lifestyle. Yoga-cikitsa is the traditional name for yogic therapeutic intervention.

The panel discussion published in the last issue ("Toward a Definition of Yoga Therapy") elicited a number of written and oral responses, making it clear that the business of defining the discipline of Yoga therapy will be an ongoing effort for some time to come. Positions appear to cover a wide spectrum—from "Yoga therapy is not a genuine discipline" to "Whenever the intent is to heal with yogic means, we are dealing with Yoga therapy" to "Yoga therapy is an emergent alternative discipline" to "Yoga is intrinsically a type of therapy." I would like to offer the following further thoughts.