Tag: <span>iayt</span>

2019, SYTAR conference was inspiring, validating, and rejuvenating.  I was inspired to be part of this international community of yoga professionals bridging the gap between Western medicine & Yoga. There were 500 of us.   Many who attended had completed research projects with hospitals, universities, governmental agencies, non-profits, and large corporations.  The results easily confirm, without a shadow of doubt, what all of us who’ve practiced already know,  and that is that Yoga works.   It works as a stress management tool, a time management tool, and a vault of knowledge stored in our higher chakras that we can access at will…….  as long as we practice.  …every chance we can.

On the first day I learned about yoga therapy and cancer care.  There are many who are working within this community and doing some amazing work with evidence-based results.  On the second day I attended a 2-part session on yoga therapy and cardiac care.  Nischala Joy Devi was a familiar face at Kripalu over the years of my training, yet I was unable to attend any of her classes.  But here in Newport Beach, CA  I was grateful to spend time with her.

On the third day I continued to learn more of ayurveda, which is providing me with good info on aging & longevity.  The last session I attended, appropriately titled, The Last Breath offered up yoga therapy for dying.  It was the second best presentation of the weekend and was exactly what I needed.

The best presentation of the weekend for me was Keynote speaker Dr. Margaret Chesney  She and Larry Payne, were the speakers who touched me the most.

The event was well worth my time & effort and I’m grateful to my daughter for providing me with daily transportation to and from the event.  It was a wonderful experience overall.   I look forward to sharing all I’ve learned in the months to come.  Feel free to contact me if you’d like some information on how Personal Yoga Therapy can help you.

Blogging Yoga Yoga Therapy

FullSizeRenderTwo important announcements regarding my yoga community were made recently.  The first is that the International Association of Yoga Therapists, after years of work, have defined and developed a curriculum with which  to certify someone as a Yoga Therapist.  This new designation will read as C-IAYT.   This achievement comes on the heels of the Yoga Alliance announcing that they will not recognize the term yoga therapy within their certification requirements.  Their primary interest is in making sure that anyone who calls themselves a yoga teacher/instructor knows how to keep people safe while guiding asana practice.  Using yoga, therapeutically or in any kind of a ‘healing’ way is not what the Yoga Alliance is focused on.  Whereas, the IAYT which was founded in 1989 has been solely focused on using yoga therapeutically and they have dedicated all their resources towards that end.   Just as my yoga ‘career’ got started (1999) the dialogue on what is yoga therapy began.  Over the next few years they discussed just what were the most important aspects of a yoga (therapy) program and should we establish a required curriculum?  Much of this discussion occurred before the current explosion of  yoga ‘teachers’ hit the scene.   My feelings at the time were in line with others who asserted that yoga could not be strictly coded for anything since it’s very foundation was based in energy, spirit, and whatever overriding belief system was operating at any given time.   IMHO Yoga can not be quantified…and my personal practice of yoga therapy emphasizes that, which does not mean that I ignore the body during practice.  Quite the contrary.  But, a holistic practice should cover the whole as understood by the early yogi’s.

Today, all the debating is complete and the organizations have chosen their paths forward and it’s exactly what I feared would happen.  They’ve narrowed down yoga therapy to mostly asana & pranayama, and turned  the subtle & causal energy-bodies over to Ayurveda….which isn’t awful, just disappointing, for me, personally.  But, I have my karma to work thru just like everyone else.

All that said it seems that I do qualify to be grandfathered (or more appropriately) grandmothered in for their official certification of yoga therapy, I guess age does have some rewards. But first I have the daunting task of documenting 15 years of client contact.  Nevertheless, those that are wanting to call themselves yoga therapists are faced with a curriculum that would never have appealed to me, or anyone who understands that healing, well-being, and self-fulfillment is more than the body, more than the sum of the parts, more than anything that can be studied, measured, or quantified.

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Another piece of yoga news was the announcement that Integrative Yoga Therapy will become a part of the Kripalu Yoga curriculum, officially.  This is not a big surprise to me as Joseph LaPage was part of the early Kripalu ashram, but it’s so wonderful to have them together in this form.  All of my teacher-trainings have been within this lineage of teachers and I feel so much gratitude to be a part of the community.

I never expected to be a pioneer of anything, but it seems as though I have been blazing a path for sure.  Just the fact that I’m posting this to all of you is evidence of that.  My studio is 14 years old  and continues to be a safe and sacred space for those who seek healing, inspiration, and enlightenment thru yoga.  Om Shanti.

 

Holistic Health Kripalu Yoga Yoga Therapy

Schakrachart_thumb.gifo I’m here in Newport Beach, CA for the annual IAYT Conference.  I’ve been wanting to go for years, but circumstances, timing, and other life stuff has gotten in the way.  But, not this year and I’m so excited.

Yoga Therapy is a growing niche within the hugely expanding yoga community and I’m very excited to see how it’s being recognized by the medical community.

Yoga, for me, was always more than just the poses and the practice.  From my very first class in 1976 I recognized it’s potential for reaching deep inside and revealing those places where the samskara’s keep us blocked.  Since 2001, I have offered one-on-one sessions to clients and have seen amazing results.  Classes are a great way to allow students to practice but there’s no substitute for having personal attention and a program laid out just for you.  Not everyone can attend a class, or should.  Yoga Therapy is appropriate for everyone, regardless of your limitations, and doing yoga will absolutely change your life for the better.

Check out some of my articles under the YOGA tab on the top for more information.

Blogging Yoga Yoga Therapy