Enhancing Client Agency: Bridging Yoga Therapy and Freire’s Pedagogy

Abstract

This paper proposes integration of Freire’s Pedagogy with psychotherapy to enhance client autonomy, enhance Quality of Life for individuals with mental illness and improve mental health literacy. There is an urgent need to develop accessible, culturally relevant, and accepted healthcare services, as over 150 million people in India require them. This study explores Yoga Therapy as a holistic, culturally accepted modality that enhances personal agency and fosters co-created understanding between the therapist and client in addressing distress and well-being. This theoretical paper draws on classical Yoga texts to highlight techniques that enhance client agency and examine common Yoga therapy practices that support a more balanced distribution of power between the therapist and client. The Patañjali Yoga Sūtra-s emphasise reflexivity and mutual engagement in therapeutic relationship while Yoga Rahasya of Nāthamuni mentions Goal setting based on students’ desires. In yoga therapy, clients construct meaning of symptoms and distress, with the therapist acting as a facilitator to build awareness, mirroring the concept of “conscientização”. The intervention is designed with the client, as suggested by Paolo Freire, creating a space of collaboration and a non-hierarchical relationship. The study is theoretical, drawing on existing literature in critical psychology and Indian Knowledge Systems. It sets the stage for culturally appropriate mental health care by attempting to create a space for common dialogue between mental health practitioners and indigenous healers. Qualitative studies and case studies can shed further light on how Freire’s pedagogy can be effectively combined with Yoga Therapy to create a new paradigm in culturally relevant critical psychology practices.