Thursday -  March 5, 2009

1. [Closed: Session is full]

   Common Interest Community Workshop #1 Musculo-skeletal/Structural Loren Fishman, MD and Ellen Saltonstall This session will open a dialogue among yoga practitioners working with students who have musculo-skeletal issues. The dynamics and challenges of the overlaps between conventional medicine and yoga will be addressed, and trends in current and future research topics will be presented.

2. [Closed: Session is full]

   Common Interest Community Workshop #2 Physiology Richard Usatine, MD Yoga has a positive impact on health and healing in many ways including our physiological functions. These physiological functions include the following systems: respiratory, heart and circulation, gastrointestinal, neurological. Yoga has been shown to improve respiratory function in persons with asthma, decrease blood pressure in persons with hypertension and decrease seizures in persons with epilepsy. In this workshop presenters will provide oral presentations on their Yoga therapy work as it relates to these important physiological systems. Presentations will vary from 15 to 45 minutes and there will be ample time for questions and discussions. The format will encourage interactions and creative thinking. Dr. Usatine as the moderator will use his medical training to keep the group grounded in the science of physiology while we explore the art and science of Yoga therapy.

3. [Closed: Session is full]

   Common Interest Community Workshop #3 Personality, Mental/Emotional Health Richard Miller, PhD Yoga embraces two paths: 1) the progressive path of purification, designed to restore the body, mind and senses to their natural functioning of mental and emotional health; and 2) the direct path that reveals our inherent spiritual freedom that lies behind misperceptions of separation and dissatisfaction. A bodymind restored to mental, emotional and spiritual health, releases unbounded energy, which is then available for creative expression, compassion-driven wisdom and skillful action and authentic living. But so often practitioners don’t realize these ultimate freedoms. This CIC workshop explores, then, the question: “What are practices, grounded in research, that actually enable us to manifest emotional, mental and spiritual health?” We will focus our explorations within the framework of Yoga Nidra, a process that evolved from the teachings of Samkhya, Patañjali, Advaita and Kashmir Tantra Yoga. We will draw upon the latest research being performed by the US Military and other facilities that are studying Yoga Nidra and its effectiveness in restoring emotional, mental and spiritual health. CIC Participants will be provided with an ancient map of Yoga Nidra meditation, which will provide us with a common orientation and language. We will then explore Yoga Nidra as the context, framework and process for transformation during Yoga Therapy with individuals and groups. Presenters will teach components of Yoga Nidra to either an individual or to the entire audience, as related to the actual Yoga Therapy work they do with various populations. Presentations will vary from 30-45 minutes, with ample time for critique and discussion. The format will encourage interactive dialogue, inspired thinking and inspirational learning within the audience and presenters.

4. [Closed: Session is full]

   Common Interest Community Workshop #4 Spirituality/Inspiration Lilias Folan and Rama Jyoti Vernon In this session we will address the question, “As a Yoga therapist, how can I help myself and others to connect with Ananda-Maya-Kosha, the Bliss body?” Lilias and Rama will share their personal journey, skills and tools that have worked for them. You will learn how to create sacred time and space. Selected presenters will also share creative, simple and unique ways to connect with the bliss within. There will be group participation.

5. [Closed: Session is full]

   Common Interest Community Workshop #5 Seniors Carol Krucoff and Kimberly Carson Seniors age 65 and older represent the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. population and like many Americans are increasingly drawn to yoga. This workshop will provide an overview of the common therapeutic needs and health conditions facing older adults, with a focus on how Yoga can benefit older bodies, minds and spirits. We will explore emerging trends, relevant research, innovative programs and specific challenges facing Yoga Therapists working with this population. There will be opportunity for hands-on demonstrations, group experience, discussion and community building.

6. [Closed: Session is full]

   Common Interest Community Workshop #6 Business/Professional Development Matthew Taylor, PT, PhD and Rich Goldstein The session will begin with a review of key issues and opportunities in developing a sustainable business model for Yoga therapy practice by the co-chairs. Following that other peer-selected IAYT members will describe and discuss their additional innovative models and examples of delivering Yoga therapy in their community. Time will be made for group input and questions, as well as networking for forming a long-term, online community of members interested in seeing Yoga therapy become a sustainable career as well as a respected therapy.

7. [Closed: Session is full]

   Common Interest Community Workshop #7 Seriously Ill and End of Life Molly Lannon Kenny and Jennifer Taylor This workshop will address cultural perspectives on death, grief and loss, as well as how to provide comfort to people who are seriously ill or dying, or those in bereavement. We will discuss how yoga philosophy and practice helps us to navigate the challenges of loss and bereavement, and how we as yoga teachers and students can assist others down this path with practical skills for addressing grief and loss at the level of all five koshas. The workshop will include a one hour introductory review of the rationale and tradition of Yoga therapy support for this population by the co-chairs, as well as the need for the therapist's own work on grief and loss. The remainder of the session will include peer-selected presentations of practices and programs by other IAYT members, as well as discussion and networking amongst participants. Participants will leave the workshop with a deeper understanding of the grief process, and with practical tools for improving their grief recovery practice for students, as well as new programming ideas to provide comfort to the seriously ill and dying.

8. [Closed: Session is full]

   Workshop #8 Research Sat Bir Khalsa, PhD and Kim Innes, MSPH, PhD The Yoga Research pre-conference workshop will target all those interested in scientific research in yoga and yoga therapy.  Material offered in the workshop will span a wide range of subjects and will include topics of interest and relevance to individuals involved and experienced in yoga research as well as to those contemplating or simply curious about this exciting and fast growing field.  The workshop will feature 3 established yoga research scientists.  Drawing on their own work, these invited speakers  will discuss a number of important practical aspects of planning, executing, interpreting, and disseminating yoga research.  In addition, we will also feature 6 brief slide presentations of highly rated original yoga research projects, selected from abstracts that have been submitted and accepted for presentation at the conference.  There will be ample opportunity for questions, discussion and interaction throughout the workshop. Basic Research on Yoga: Identifying Processes and Mechanisms Relevant to Therapy David Shapiro, PhD This presentation will examine basic research on how asanas, inversions, stretches, and other yoga practices affect biological, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes in relation to their therapeutic potential, a topic given less emphasis in these days of "translational research."  Examples of basic research from the literature and suggestions for future study will be presented. Considerations in Designing and Applying Yoga Interventions for Clinical Research Richard Brown, MD Dr. Brown will discuss the following issues to be considered in choosing yoga interventions for research studies: the use of multi-component programs versus one practice only; nonspecific curative factors such as the effects of creating a caring atmosphere on the neurophysiological response to yoga practices; ways to enhance compliance with practices. Dr. Brown will draw upon the research literature and some of his own clinical studies. Research Designs for Yoga Therapy Studies Lynn C. Waelde, PhD Successful yoga therapy research requires the use of an appropriate research design and outcome measures. This workshop will cover the basics of research designs from pilot work to systematic, controlled designs. We will also discuss critical issues like how to choose your sample, how to collect data, and seeking research consultation.

1. 7:00 PM WELCOME Matthew Taylor

2. 7:15 PM OPENING CHANT Lilias Folan

3. 	7:20 PM INTRODUCTION OF IAYT BOARD Matthew Taylor
   	7:20 PM INTRODUCTION OF IAYT STAFF John Kepner

4. 7:35 PM KEYNOTE ADDRESS The Science of Yoga Timothy McCall, MD There is more and more scientific support for the health benefits of yoga and its utility for a variety of specific health conditions. But in many ways, yoga therapy, with its personalized, often intuitive, approach is a poor fit with "evidence-based medicine", the now dominant paradigm in conventional health care. Can science capture yoga or do it justice? Or is the deck stacked against yoga and other holistic treatments? Does any of this really matter to the public, who is increasingly drawn to yoga for health concerns?

5. 8:00 - 9:30 PM WELCOME RECEPTION

Friday -  March 6, 2009
DAY 1 - SYTAR

1. 	7:00 - 8:00 AM CONCURRENT MORNING PRACTICE SESSIONS MORNING PRACTICE SESSION #1 Open Hips / Open Ears - a Vital Connection Doug Keller A simple, fun and refreshing asana practice to start the morning.
   	MORNING PRACTICE SESSION #2 Ride the Waves of the Breath Ellen Saltonstall Start the day with a series of yoga poses designed to enliven and expand the breath through developing awareness of the inner energy body. We will begin slowly, build the energy gradually, and move through a playful practice of varied poses to celebrate the power of Prana.
   	MORNING PRACTICE SESSION #3 Yoga for Emotional Wellbeing Michelle Walsh Start your day from a place of balance with a sequence focused on emotional wellbeing. We will use this opportunity to practice Svadhyaya, to observe how actions of the body and breath affect our minds. From this awareness, we will practice acceptance of our current state of being, bring softness to the body, relax the mind, and soothe the nervous system. The sequence will include yoga asanas, pranayama and meditation.
   	MORNING PRACTICE SESSION #4 Greeting the Day in a Sacred Way Lilias Folan Gather in the Sacred Circle of morning stillness and friendship. Using Sacred Dance, song, chant, asana, pranayama to help raise the sun (Shakti) and put a smile in your heart. This early morning ritual, with meditation in movement, holds the vibration of Native American, Tai Chi and the Brahma Murta from India.

2. 7:30 - 9:00 AM BREAKFAST

3. 	MAIN SESSION #1 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
   	MEDITATION Anne Ornish Before Dean Ornish, MD's keynote, Anne Ornish will be leading a guided meditation designed to reveal personal insight.
   	KEYNOTE ADDRESS The Power of Yoga: Creating Sustainable Models of Transformation Dean Ornish, MD

4. 9:45 AM - 12:00 PM CASE PRESENTATIONS: AS A YOGA THERAPIST, THIS IS WHAT I DO Moderators: Matthew Taylor, Veronica Zador Case presenters: Leslie Kaminoff, Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa, PhD and Eric Small

5. PANEL DISCUSSION: AS A YOGA THERAPIST, THIS IS WHAT I DO Panelists: Timothy McCall, MD, Gary Kraftsow, Marla Apt This carefully selected format presents actual case study presentations by leading Yoga therapists representing various lineages and styles. Each of the Yoga therapists will describe his/her approach to a Yoga therapy session including intake, consultation, recommended regimen of Yoga therapy, follow up, etc. Interactioni from the panelists as well as questions from attendees will enhance this provocative learning experience.

1. 12:15 - 1:45 PM LUNCH

2. PRIVATE LUNCHEON WITH:
   	[Closed: Luncheon is full]	Timothy McCall, MD	(+ $45)

3. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Leslie Kaminoff

   (+ $45)

4. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa

   (+ $45)

5. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Gary Kraftsow

   (+ $45)

6. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Marla Apt

   (+ $45)

7. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Lilias Folan

   (+ $45)

8. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Kelly McGonigal, PhD, IAYT Editor in Chief

   (no charge)

9. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   IAYT Board

   (no charge)

1. 2:00 - 4:00 PM CONCURRENT TRACK SESSIONS

2. Track 1.01 STRUCTURAL: Yoga for osteoporosis: Proven and unproven Loren Fishman, MD and Ellen Saltonstall This session aims to first to inform participants of the medical background of osteoporosis and osteopenia, its causes, conmitants and consequences. After going over the physiology of bone growth and decay, we will reckon with the dynamics of Wollf's law, and Yoga's place in its functioning. Following a summary of the Do's and Don'ts of yoga for osteoporosis and osteopenia, we will spend the rest of the session going over a program that has been proven to reverse the progression of the disease.

3. Track 1.02 PHYSIOLOGICAL Yoga for the life cycles of women Marla Apt In this session we will discuss and look at how yoga can be used as a support for women's health and as an aid to manage the emotional and physical impact of hormonal changes throughout a woman's life. We will cover the theory behind some of the general principles and guidelines related to a yoga practice for female students and what to observe as a yoga teacher. In addition to addressing yoga for a woman's general health and well-being, there will be discussion and demonstration of how yoga can be adapted to the various stages of woman's life including menstruation addressing various menstrual symptoms and disorders, to support fertility prior to conception, prenatal, and during menopause.

4. Track 1.03 PSYCHOLOGICAL: Yoga and Emotional Regulation Rich Panico, MD Although yoga is formally a system of liberation, a pertinent epi-phenomena of yoga is its ability to modulate biological systems. Specifically yoga can be employed to teach skills of emotional regulation with attendant improvement in functional domains related to cognition, affect, mood, attention, arousal and interpersonal competency. The intention in this two hour tract would be to present a comparative review and bridging of western scientific and yoga based theory of emotional regulation in understandable terms. A predominatly yoga based experiental framework would be employed linked by didactic modules specific to emotional regulation. The goal of the presentation would be to give yoga teachers and therapists a theoretical framework that is scientifically accurate but imminently practical in terms of leaving the theory session with simple usable skills and a language applicable to approaching contemporary biomedical venues. When linked to the practice session to follow, yoga therapists would have an example of a straightforward yoga practice designed to teach a general medical population yoga based skills in the service of emotional regulation.

5. Track 1.04 SPIRITUAL: Yoga Therapy and Spiritual Challenges Gary Kraftsow There is an intentional paradox implicit within this title; "spiritual challenges" are of a psychological, not spiritual, nature. We can, however, make a distinction between the spectrum of conditions that extends from ordinary troubling psychological states to more serious psychiatric conditions, and those challenges that are of a more spiritual nature. The primary "spiritual" issues, articulated variously throughout history include: The challenge of finding meaning and purpose in life, The challenge of experiencing happiness in the present moment, and of living with an abiding sense of personal fulfillment The challenge of cultivating and sustaining meaning(1) and happiness(2) in the face of the reality of suffering, impermanence and death The challenge of establishing a path of personal practice leading towards goals The challenge of living authentically within society Throughout history, humans have struggled with and found answers to these issues. These answers can be found in the context, symbolism, language and practices of the religious and spiritual traditions of the world. The Yoga tradition offers a uniquely non-sectarian perspective on these universally human concerns.

6. Track 1.05 RESEARCH  Sat Bir Khalsa, PhD and Kim Innes, MSPH, PhD with Shirley Telles, PhD and Luciano Bernardi, MD Research in yoga and yoga therapy is critical in order for our field to become recognized by both health care providers and insurers and for yoga therapy to be integrated and incorporated into current health care institutes and systems, both private and governmental .  Formal research on yoga therapy will also provide valuable information that will allow yoga therapists to fine tune their interventions to be more efficient and effective.  Finally, through media coverage of yoga research, the public is also informed of the potential benefits of yoga therapy.  This session will include presentation by individual researchers of 8 of the most highly rated original research abstract submissions to the conference.  Time will be allotted for questions and discussion following each presentation.

1. 4:00 - 4:30 PM BREAK

2. 4:30 - 6:30 PM CONCURRENT PRACTICE SESSIONS

3. Practice session #1 Yoga for osteoporosis: Proven and unproven Ellen Saltonstall with Loren Fishman, MD In this session we will focus on the specifics of a yoga practice to strengthen the bones, in order to prevent and/or treat osteopenia and osteoporosis. We will focus on the most frequent sites of osteoporotic fractures, outlining poses that most efficiently stimulate healthy bones and also those poses which develop balancing skills. Methodology presented can be easily adapted to any style of yoga. Since the ability levels of clients in this population will vary significantly, we will practice variations of each pose, noting how props and adjustments will accommodate virtually anyone. Discussion and questions will be welcomed.

4. Practice session #2 Experience Walking Yoga Sherry Brourman Your walk defines most everything about you. With simple observation, we can discern a vulnerable knee, a weak hip, a sleepy core, or a tight shoulder or neck. Our most comfortable daily breathing patterns reflect exactly how we use our structure during walking and asana. Every step that we take, is a one footed tadasana sharing the structural, emotional and spiritual components of every posture and move that we make. Like our individual tadasana predicts the elements of our practice, our walk predicts our tadasana. In this experiential session, students will have a new grasp of their walk, practice asana and explore the similarities between these. We will also make simple changes in walking, apply them to our practice and convert them into tools for our teaching.

5. Practice session #3 Yoga adaptions to life cycle changes in women Marla Apt Yoga can help a woman deal with the emotional and physical impact of hormonal changes throughout her life. In this session we will learn how to adapt yoga for the various stages of a woman's life as well as general principles and practices to aid hormonal balance and healthy systems. We will explore asanas that are beneficial: - During menstruation addressing different menstrual symptoms and disorders - To support fertility prior to conception - During pregnancy for each trimester - For peri and post menopausal symptoms Yoga teachers will have the opportunity to learn what to look for and how to adapt for individual students. We will cover not only what to practice and what to avoid but how to practice and modify the poses or use props to address the specific condition. Please bring yoga props to the session.

6. Practice session #4 Yoga Therapy for Infertility Nataly Pluta, PT, YT, MBA Infertility arises in greater than 25% of the couples trying to conceive in their 30's and 40's. This practice session addresses the many causes of infertility for both the female and male and how a yoga therapist can assess, develop and market a fertility practice. Participants will experience a full complement of asanas and meditation techniques addressing the circulatory and autonomic nervous systems that influence infertility. They will also experience the influence of yoga on the hormonal/endocrine reproductive system and finally the proven stress reducing benefits of yoga for couples on the infertility path.

7. Practice session #5 Yoga and Emotional Regulation: independent practice session Rich Panico, MD This practice is designed primarily to interiorize the experience of asana and pranayama and to develop novel skills in that interior world towards the goals of self regulation in the realm of emotions. Simple asana and breathing will be employed to explore the relationship of sensory perceptual experience and the phenomena of propagation of that experience into a variety of mental formations which are then identified with, usually as automatisms. This identification then generates a readiness for goal directed behaviors "for better or for worse". By developing yogic skills to isolate and manage this samskaric engine, "possibility" is created and potential for change arises. When linked to the preceding theory session the anatomy of emotional experience and its relationship to the inertial forces of human suffering can be better understood and applied in yoga based interventions.

8. Practice session #6 Meditation: The Font of Yoga Therapy Swami Veda Bharati, PhD In the exegesis to the Yajur-Veda (approximately 16 th century, B.C.) we read; “My mind was elsewhere, I did not see. My mind was elsewhere, I did not hear. It is with the mind alone that one sees. It is with the mind alone that one hears.” From the Dhammapada, the sacred classical compendium of the Buddha’s most important sayings, we learn Mano-pubbangama dhamma mano-settha manomaya, “All conditions are preceded by the mind. Mind is their most senior. They consist of mind alone.” The Charaka (one of the earliest surviving Sanskrit medical manuals) states, “It is by the transgression of wisdom that all illnesses accrue” Join Swami Veda as he begins with the basics of meditation. A demonstration of how the disturbed mind may be made a pleasant place through the practice of meditation will be lead into a discussion of how meditation techniques may serve as the basis of all therapeutic science. The session will close with a three minute meditation that can be done many times in the day of anyone’s busy life.

9. Practice session #7 Yoga Therapy and Spiritual Challenges Gary Kraftsow In this practice session, we will use Yogic teachings and practices to explore these issues, try to uncover our own answers to life's most challenging questions, and find a path toward our own happiness and ultimate fulfillment.

10. Practice session #8 Awakening Yoga in Midlife Lilias Folan Midlife is an ideal time to restore health, vitality and soften the aging process. Practice new warm-ups to assist stretch, ease and pleasure in key postures. Moving at an enjoyable pace, we contact the witness Self and experience your inner smile.

11. 7:30 - 11:00 PM EVENING PROGRAM

Saturday -  March 7, 2009
Day 2 - SYTAR

1. 	7:00 - 8:00 AM CONCURRENT MORNING PRACTICE SESSIONS MORNING PRACTICE SESSION #5 Individualized, Breath-Centered Yoga Practice and Methodology Leslie Kaminoff Even in a very large group class, there are many simple principles which, when applied, can give each and every student a very personal experience of their breath-based asana practice. In this class, Leslie Kaminoff will lead such a practice, while explaining the rationale behind his teaching choices. A special emphasis will be placed on varying the relationship between breath and movement, an approach that allows students to spontaneously discover the supporting action of the banhas.
   	MORNING PRACTICE SESSION #6 Praana as Medicine: The Therapeutic Application of Breath Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa In ancient times the skillful use of breath was the method of treatment for good health and mental and emotional balance.  Yogic healers knew that the rhythm of breath--its subtle pulse--has powerful and creative effects. Discover rhythmic breath—pranayam--as a powerfully sophisticated self-healing technology. Experience the healing power of your own breath to build immunity and relieve anxiety, depression and fatigue, with methods from the Kundalini Yoga tradition, as taught by Yogi Bhajan.
   	MORNING PRACTICE SESSION #7 A Morning Back Practice Rich Panico, MD A brief informal practice excerpted from the "Back Care" class at the Athens Regional Medical Center Mind Body Institute. This practice was eclectically derived from our yoga training and experience and the input from the physical therapy staff at the medical center. We will wake up the back and discuss anatomical and neuropsychiatry phenomena as they are occurring in asana and pranayama experience.
   	MORNING PRACTICE SESSION #8 Integrative Restoration – iRest Yoga Nidra: Awakening in Timeless Being Richard Miller, PhD Awaken this morning, as we all do every morning, in and as our spacious nondual Presence that is free of suffering and always knows how to perfectly welcome and respond to each circumstance in every moment. In Fact, every morning we awaken, then rest all day, then sleep at night in our timeless Presence. Yet why have our practices not liberated us into living as timeless Presence, free from our emotions and beliefs of lack, confusion and separation? The current research with iRest Yoga Nidra is showing that psychological, physical and spiritual health, healing and awakening follow spontaneously when we abide knowingly as pure Being. So please join Richard this morning as he shares the practice of iRest, his adaptation for westerners of the ancient teaching of Yoga Nidra meditation, that reveals how to embody our natural state of timeless Being, in which issues such as anxiety, stress, trauma, chronic pain, insomnia and confusion find their resolution. Experience what soldiers, veterans, homeless, children and students of all ages and persuasions are embodying through iRest: timeless joy, authentic living and our natural state of health and harmony.

2. 7:30 - 9:00 AM BREAKFAST

3. 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM MAIN SESSION #2 RESEARCH IN YOGA THERAPY

4. Sat Bir Khalsa, PhD and Kim Innes, PhD with Shirley Telles, PhD and Luciano Bernardi, MD Research Update: Mental Health orders Sat Bir Khalsa, PhD Of all the research published in the field of yoga therapy, studies on the application of yoga for mental health conditions represents a substantial fraction of existing published research. Dr. Khalsa will review this body of research with a focus on depressive and anxiety disorders which form the bulk of this research but will also note studies published on conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorders, performance anxiety and PTSD among others. He will also describe the directions and approaches in ongoing research in this area and also highlight future research opportunities and initiatives. The Potential Benefits of Yoga Therapy for the Prevention and Control of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease: Evidence, Possible pathways, and Future Directions Kim Innes, PhD Cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in western countries, and are now reaching epidemic levels worldwide; CVD projected to be leading cause of death globally by 2020. Given the important role of stress and other psychosocial factors in the development and progression of these disorders, yoga and related mind-body therapies may have considerable promise for their prevention and control. In this talk, Dr. Innes will review the published research regarding the effects of yoga on risk factors for and management of these common chronic disorders, briefly discuss possible pathways which may help explain these effects, and outline current limitations in the research literature and possible directions for future studies. Yoga Research in India: Past, Present and Future Shirley Telles, PhD Dr. Telles is currently director of the Indian Council of Medical Research funded Center for Advanced Research in Yoga & Neurophysiology at the Vivekannanda Yoga Research Foundation in Bangalore and a consultant of the newly formed research centers and laboratories of the Divya Yoga Mandir Trust in Haridwar. She will overview past, present and future research activities in yoga and yoga therapy at the Vivekananda Research Foundation, which has published more research than any other institution. She will also describe the scope and vision for the new research center in Haridwar, under the support and inspiration of Swami Ram Dev, a highly popular and influential yoga teacher in India. Basic and Clinical Research on Pranayama Luciano Bernardi, MD Dr. Bernardi is a well-established specialist in the field of basic and applied respiratory physiology who has conducted extensive research on high-altitude physiology and both basic and clinical/applied aspects of yogic breathing techniques. He will overview the published research on pranayama techniques and on the application of yogic breathing for clinical conditions. He will showcase his own exciting work in this area describing the effects of slow yogic breathing on heart rate variability, autonomic function, and high altitude performance and on its potential role in treating respiratory problems in heart disease patients.

1. 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM LUNCH

2. PRIVATE LUNCHEON WITH:
   	[Closed: Luncheon is full]	Shirley Telles, PhD and Luciano Bernardi, MD	(+ $45)

3. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Bo Forbes, PhD

   (+ $45)

4. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Doug Keller

   (+ $45)

5. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Larry Payne, PhD

   (+ $45)

6. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Richard Miller, PhD

   (+ $45)

7. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Loren Fishman, MD and Ellen Saltonstall

   (+ $45)

8. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Rama Jyoti Vernon

   (+ $45)

9. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

   Dinabandhu Sarley

   (+ $45)

10. [Closed: Luncheon is full]

    IAYT Board

    (no charge)

1. 2:00 - 4:00 PM CONCURRENT TRACK SESSIONS

2. Track 2.01 STRUCTURAL: Shoulder to Shoulder: The Range of Possibilities Doug Keller Shoulder problems - particularly those involving the rotator cuffs, as well as problems of numbness and tingling - are at the top of the list of common complaints among the general population of yoga students. A basic yoga practice takes the shoulders progressively through the kinds of movement for which the shoulder was designed, and combines stretching with strengthening actions to bring the shoulders closer to that ideal in terms of pain-free range of motion. This session will focus on basic assessment of shoulder problems, proper alignment and healthy actions in fundamental yoga poses (as well as remedial versions). Discussions will include the role of the bandhas in posturally supporting healthy shoulder actions. We'll arrive at a basic program for working with the shoulders through a series of asanas.

3. Track 2.02 PHYSIOLOGICAL: The Science of Yoga for Stress Relief Timothy McCall, MD In this session we'll review the physiology of the body's stress response system including the sympathetic nervous system and the hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We'll discuss stress's generally under-appreciated role (at least by doctors) in causing and/or exacerbating a wide range of ailments, and show how a variety of yogic practices including asana, breathwork, chanting and meditation can be of value both therapeutically and as preventive medicine.

4. Track 2.03 PSYCHOLOGICAL: The Neuro-Emotional Web: Gateway to Healing Bo Forbes, PhD The Nervous System is not only our gateway to psychological and emotional well-being, it is the nexus of an intricate web of communication that includes the Immune System, Limbic system, and Pain Modulation pathways. When it is chronically hyper-aroused (as in anxiety or insomnia) or hypo-aroused (depression), this psycho-neuro-immunological web is comprised, making it difficult to close the gap between personal insight and change. This two-hour seminar will address the reciprocal communication between the Nervous, Immune, Limbic, and Pain Modulation Systems. The importance of equilibrating activation in the Nervous System and providing avenues for release in the physical and emotional bodies will be explored. The presence and impact of the nervous system in both yoga classes and psychotherapy session to follow, will help prepare yoga teachers, yoga therapists, and psychotherapists to detect and address such issues as anxiety, insomnia, depression, and chronic pain disorders in both group and private settings. Yogic tools that address the delicate balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic tone will be featured.

5. Track 2.04 SPIRITUAL: Maintaining Spirituality in Yoga Swami Veda Bharati, PhD and Rama Jyoti Vernon In our fast-paced world, sometimes the roots of yoga are lost or forgotten. Rama Jyoti's foundation of deep spirituality was a gift at birth, and beyond. She has studied with many great yoga masters including BKS Iyengar, Sant Keshavadas, Swami Veda Bharati, TKV Desikachar, Sri Aurobindo through Dr. Haridas Chaudhuri (Founder, California Institute for Integral studies) and others. Swami Veda and Rama Jyoti will speak on maintaining the essence of spirituality in a yoga practice, while confronting the challenges of daily life.

1. 4:00 - 4:30 PM BREAK

2. 4:30 - 6:30 PM CONCURRENT PRACTICE SESSIONS

3. Practice session #9 The Shoulder: A Very Human Joint Doug Keller This will be an experiential practice of the ground covered in the prior lecture and discussion session on the shoulders. This will be a relatively light practice focusing on basic actions in yoga poses for increasing the stability, integrity and freedom of movement in the shoulders, including both fundamental yoga poses as well as remedial versions

4. Practice session #10 Shoulder Girdle and Neck Linda Lack, PhD The Thinking Body-The Feeling Mind is a movement based exploration of the mind/body and theory/practice connection and continuum. This session(track) is an experiential anatomical movement clinic that considers both body mechanics and emotional/life style affects on the area. Expanded Yoga based alternatives for Shoulder Girdle and Neck sustainability, prophylactic health care and injury resolution will be offered. The session is useful for Yoga practitioners, therapists/teachers and their clients/students.

5. Practice session #11 Restoration from Adrenal Overload or 'Burn-Out' Leigh Blashki How many of us at some time or another have not experienced that debilitating feeling of deep, deep tiredness, that we often describe as 'burn-out'? For many in the West, relentless, hectic Rajasic lifestyles have lead to over-stimulation and chronic hyper-arousal, resulting in an overtaxing of what can be termed the 'adrenal systems'. In this session, participants will learn something of the gross physical and subtle implications of the overloading of the adrenal systems and experience a simple, yet profound practice, developed by Leigh and used successfully for many years in helping to restore the well-being of those with adrenal overload or burn-out. This practice, which is ideally suited as an early stage of Bhrimana strategy, or as part of Langhana restorative work, consists of special gentle asana, pranayama, sound work and meditation. It draws from Leigh's 35 year journey of Yogic self-healing, teaching and consulting and is informed by the work of many of his teachers including AG Mohan, Swami Gitananda and Sri V. Yogendra. Participants will leave with a valuable resource that they can explore personally and use to assist the countless others for whom chronic tiredness has become an everyday experience.

6. Practice session #12 Prime of Life Yoga™ Larry Payne, PhD Somewhere between "The Young and the Restless" and seniors is a vibrant, ever-expanding segment of our population in the prime of their lives. This group, primarily in the 50-70 age range, represents the largest population bubble in the US. Mentally, spiritually and physically, Yoga can be modified to fit their specific needs. This workshop is an introduction to the principles of practice, 20 of the safest asansa, including user-friendly flow sequences, and an introduction to modified yoga poses for the common aches and pains of middle age. Prime of Life Yoga certificate course is now offered at Loyola Marymount University Extension. Please click here for course description.

7. Practice session #13 The Neuro-Emotional Web: Gateway to Healing Bo Forbes, PhD In this practice session for "The Neuro-Emotional Web" track, we will discuss signposts for detecting nervous system activation or hypo-arousal in students in both group and private class settings. We will explore some of the ways in which the yoga practice mirrors the nervous system and mental body. Specific techniques for balancing nervous system hypo- or hyper-arousal, and for releasing emotions and experiences that have been stored in the tissues of the body, will also be reviewed and practiced.

8. Practice session #14 Bridging the Practices of Mental Health and Yoga Therapy Michelle Walsh In this practice session, Michelle will highlight the natural parallels between the conventional mental health realm and the yogic approach for stilling the fluctuations of the mind as described in Patanjali's yoga sutras. Michelle will take participants through a typical clinical experience that utilizes yoga as the primary tool to empower clients, ultimately providing them with lasting mental stabilization and emotional balance. During this experiential session and discussion, participants will gain practical resources and a better understanding of how to integrate yoga therapy with mental health systems.

9. Practice session #15 Transforming Our Lives and Our World Through Asana Rama Jyoti Vernon Through her work in citizen diplomacy and conflict resolution around the world, Rama Jyoti has developed a system for healing the individual and between nations, based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Rama Jyoti will present ideas and physical postures for transforming conflict in our lives and our world by demonstrating, through asana, how spiritual principles can be a valuable tool.

10. Practice session #16 Focus on the Life Force: Yoga Therapy and the Core Aim of Yogaism Dinabandhu Sarley In this workshop, we will focus on the importance of taking a step back in our interventions with clients in order to assess their needs through the prism of the life force. No matter what specific ailment brings the client to you, underlying everything will be a constriction of the flow of prana in their lives. In order to open up new pathways to lasting health, a yoga therapist must be able to interact with clients through this lens as well as specific musculo-skeletal or condition related intervention.

11. 7:30 - 9:00 PM INTEREST GROUP RECEPTIONS AND IAYT MEMBER SCHOOLS OPEN HOUSE

Sunday - March 8, 2009
Day 3 - SYTAR

1. 	7:00 - 8:00 AM CONCURRENT MORNING PRACTICE SESSIONS MORNING PRACTICE SESSION #9 Therapeutic Yoga for Seniors Carol Krucoff and Kimberly Carson Wake up with a gentle practice designed for seniors. We will be doing postures lying on the floor, standing up and seated but modifications will be offered for people who would like to take the entire class sitting in a chair. No experience necessary -- the only requirement is the ability to breathe.
   	MORNING PRACTICE SESSION #10 Enliven Body, Breath and Mind Leigh Blashki Enliven and awaken your vital energies as you gently move and open to your breath, allowing Prana to play through your body and mind, refreshing and energising you. Learn and explore the power of the Angulimudra Pranayama practice that will help centre you for the rest of your day.
   	MORNING PRACTICE SESSION #11 Beauty and the Breath Veronica Zador The breath is thought to be fundamental in yoga thought, philosophy and therapy. Oftentimes the breath is seen to be the most influential motive power when linking our inner landscapes to our actions, emotions and thoughts. And perhaps it is the breath itself that affords us the ability to override their power. Join Veronica in this profoundly beautiful Sunday morning breath based practice where time unties its characteristic demand and allows us the exquisite opportunity to remember and receive that which is vulnerable, beautiful and abundant.

2. 7:30 - 9:00 AM BREAKFAST

3. MAIN SESSION #3 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM SETTING UP AND RUNNING A YOGA THERAPY PRACTICE: FROM VISION TO DAILY OPERATIONS Moderators: John Kepner and Matthew Taylor, PT, PhD PRESENTATION #1 Rich Panico, MD The Athens Regional Mind Body Institute: Setting up and running a yoga based complementary and alternative medicine venue in the southeastern United States This presentation will chronicle the inception, daily running and outcomes of a novel CAM venue in a regional medical center in northeastern Georgia. The Mind Body Institute (MBI) is a yoga based institute that has three domains of endeavor: clinical service, education, and research. The Institute sees around 800 individuals a month representing approximately 1200 patient contact hours. It is an evidenced based physician designed and run venue whose planning phase began in 2000. The MBI offers 14 specific yoga classes within the general themes of mobility, developmental or disease based offerings. In addition there are mind body programs thematically similar to the yoga programs that include nutritional and meditation components as well as cognitive behavioral therapy, yoga and expressive therapies. There is an acupuncturist and body workers also on staff as well as psychotherapists who provide cognitive behavioral psychotherapy. The Mind Body Institute has ongoing research projects and two research associates on staff. Dr. Panico is on faculty at the Medical College of Georgia and teaches integrative medicine in the essentials of clinical medicine course as well as mind body medicine to faculty and residents at Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee, Florida. An elective in mind body medicine will be offered to third year medical students starting in January of 2009. PRESENTATION #2 Dinabandhu Sarley Kripalu's Institute for Integrative Healing Dinabandhu Sarley, CEO of Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health and chief curriculum developer and business planner for Kripalu's new Institute for Integrative Healing, will talk about the inspiration and vision for the institute and how to use the application of yoga to design innovative programming to reach broader markets. Kripalu's IIH offers programs such as Integrative Weight Loss, Health and Vitality in Midlife, Food as Medicine, Yoga for Health, and Health for Life and uses a yogic model as our approach to education and the curriculum's focus is on awakening individual's connection their body's intelligence. PRESENTATION #3 Molly Lannon Kenny Karma, Yoga and Business: how succeed as a yoga and wellness center in our challenging economic times Molly will outline the vision, implementation and operations of the Samarya Center, a non-profit Yoga and wellness center dedicated to providing Yoga to people of all ages and ability, regardless of perceived barriers. We are a group of Master's degreed therapists who are also certified in Integrated Movement Therapy or IMT. IMT was developed at The Samarya Center and is a unique therapeutic framework that merges extensive clinical experience with the practices and philosophy of yoga. We have seen hundreds of students (clients) over the past seven years, including people with Parkinson's disease, autism, traumatic brain injuries, stroke, depression, spinal cord injuries and bereavement. Through the center we have established many community programs including our bedside Yoga program, which provides yoga to people who are seriously ill or dying in a hospital setting and developed a curriculum for a community mental health program that serves people who are developmentally disabled with co-occurring mental illness. This center never turns anyone away, yet it is thriving as a business. How do they do it? PRESENTATION #4 Rich (Raghurai) Goldstein Opportunities and Challenges for a Sustainable Yoga Therapy Practice Managing partner Rich (Raghurai) Goldstein of Yoga Yoga, a group of four yoga studios in Austin, Texas with over 6,000 active students, will focus on the issues faced by yoga centers of various sizes as they strive to bring into existence a sustainable yoga therapy practice. Using examples from Yoga Yoga, as well as studios around the US, Rich will explore opportunities and challenges that studios, teachers and therapists face bringing this new career into existence. Rich's focus is on retaining the depth, substance and strength of classical yoga therapy and the benefits of a comprehensive personal practice, while creating the field of yoga therapy as a viable choice in individual and societal health and wellness options KEYNOTE ADDRESS #3 Swami Veda Bharati, PhD Spirituality of Yoga Business Among the four 'purposes of man' (purusharrtha) is polity and economy (artha). But it is counted as second to, a means for, dharma, the Natural Law of Virtue. The final 'purpose of man' among these four is moksha, spiritual liberation. Thus, artha and kama(desire) are bounded by dharma and moksha. For that spiritual enlightenment and liberation the rungs of the ladder are in yoga. The definition of yoga according to Patanjali and Vyasa is: "Yoga is Samadhi". How far can that definition be compromised by the modern definition, "Yoga is a Business"? How can we remain true to the highest purpose of yoga while fulfilling the needs of the 'artha' aspect. Swami Veda Bharati will attempt to provide some answers based attitudinal purification in the traditional yoga philosophy of altruism.

4. 12:00 AM CLOSING 12:30 PM END OF PROGRAM