YOGA ON SOCIAL PRESCRIPTION

Edinburgh Community Yoga is a not-for-profit social enterprise whose objective is to make yoga and its many potential physical, mental and social benefits more accessible to those who may benefit the most. ECY aim to minimise the financial, attitudinal and accessibility barriers that may prevent someone from attending a public yoga class.

As a way of continuing our mission to make our classes as diverse, inclusive and far reaching as possible we continue to work on developing social prescribing programmes. We work with GP practices and local agencies to offer (by referral) onsite yoga for specific issues, in areas of social and economic deprivation and access to our heavily subsidised public class programme.

Information for Healthcare and Third Sector Staff

Are there any particular patients who may benefit from yoga?

• Evidence suggests yoga is a safe and effective way to increase physical activity, strength, flexibility and balance.
• NHS Physical Activity Guidelines for adults advise two sessions of strengthening exercises per week. Yoga is one way by which people could achieve this.
• Yoga is also a type of mindfulness practice and can be a valuable adjunct in the management of mental health problems.
• A regular yoga class can also help foster a sense of community engagement to help tackle the growing problem of social isolation and loneliness.
• Current NICE guidelines for lower back pain and sciatica suggest recommending stretching and strengthening exercises such as yoga as the main component of non-pharmacological treatment.
• Current findings increasingly support yoga and mindfulness as promising complimentary therapies for treating and preventing addictive behaviors.

Which classes can I refer patients to?

We accept referrals for all the the classes listed below. Please select the most appropriate class for your client or patient by reading the class description and noting the geographical area of the class venue.

How do I make a referral?
Please submit the information on the form below and we will take it from there.  Once sent, you should see the message below. Please note, if you do not see the message, the form has not been sent.

Information for the referee
Once the form has been sent, you can inform your service user that someone from ECY will be in touch ASAP to arrange class details and attendance. Information on what to expect for the referee can be found below. Where possible, please download and print a copy of the information sheet below for the referee to take away.

TO MAKE A REFERRAL PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW

If the form will not send.
We understand that some NHS systems do not allow the form to be sent. If, on completing and pressing ‘send’ you do not receive a message as shown below, You can either call 07966 502 085 or 07931 258 465 to put make a referral over the phone, or email the form HERE to admin@edinburghcommunityyoga.co.uk to request a word doc copy of the form.