by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: February 29, 2012

Health insurance is a life and bank account saver that allows customers to pay for their health care, whether they need it or not. The odds are that having paid for health and preventive care insurance will prevent, delay or defray the costs of a serious and costly illness. But should yoga be included as "treatment" under a person's health insurance plan?

Western health insurance is planned around western medicine, where standard treatments and procedures are applied to the prevention and treatment of illness. A growing part of the population and more than a few doctors, nurses, physical therapists and specialists, however, have come to value in other types of medicine, including folk and non western medicinal practices. As such, if a medicinal practice is proved to be an effective therapy, then it should be considered for addition to the medical coverage list.

According to US News Money, About 14.3 million people in the United States practiced yoga in 2010. That is a 10 million person increase over 4.3 million who practiced yoga in 2001. 

Of course, the Alternative and Complimentary medical field can be a profitable one, depending on the overhead and other costs. As a result, of course yoga teachers are pushing to get insurance companies to help their clients pay for the classes. That is just good business, and as with any other business that grows in popularity, quality can be variable and Yoga is no exception.

In fact, Yatan Ayur outlines several medical problems that would not happen if the person had proper yoga training and practice, including torn ligaments and a host of other ailments.

But as to whether yoga has actually proved to be a medical benefit or whether popular demand is driving the increasing coverage remains to be seen. This Mayo Clinic report is one of many examples where the word "may" and "can" abound, but there need to be more studies that definitively confirm the medical benefits of Yoga. Otherwise, Yoga is just another good and beneficial form of exercise.

But going off to any yoga center and taking any person's yoga classes might lead to more body damage than body benefits. People get injured in gyms and by playing sports, too. This is why insurance companies need to treat Yoga as any other exercise program by providing discounts and help with memberships and classes, but classification as an exercise should be the limit of the relationship between yoga and insurance coverage.

According to About.com. Of 18 major

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