From yoga to psychosocial care in primary health care: A hermeneutic study on the ethical values and principles of the yoga sutras of patañjali

Abstract

The scope of this article is to interpret ethical values and principles of the yoga tradition and discuss them with a view to possible contributions to psychosocial care in Primary Health Care (PHC). A theoretical-hermeneutic study was conducted, in which concepts contained in the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali were interpreted from the standpoint of mental health. It was revealed that the values found in the texts can enrich the existing practices of yoga for PHC users (who suffer from afflictions inherent to life) by providing ideas and guidelines that promote a sense of liberation from suffering. Such values and ethical principles can be incorporated into the discussions in PHC and psychosocial care, such as the reduction of iatrogenic disorders and unnecessary medication (quaternary prevention). It can also contribute to the relativization of biomedical power, stimulation of empathy and participation of users in care, with their subjective repositioning, multiplying autonomous ways of managing suffering and building networks of psychosocial support. The conclusion drawn was that the values of the Yoga Sutras may be present in various domains of PHC, which might provide a broader understanding of what ‘the practice of yoga’ means.