Next program begins September 2012
A Holistic Yogic Lifestyle Approach to Health & Healing
The Comprehensive Yoga Therapy program at YogaLife views each aspect of the human experience as having the potential to be a source of healing and inspiration. Fragmentation and stress is universal, yet each individual experiences stress as well as health & healing very differently. This program aims to assess and understand the whole person, with an eye towards understanding the Yogic approach of embracing the many different and interrelated levels on which healing can occur – energetic, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. While a human being may not always be able to control pain or the outcome of the healing process, Yoga teaches that each individual may overcome the resistance to pain or suffering.
This program intends to shift the current cultural healthcare perspective from the passive patient model, to a more active model where the patient is a student of their own processes and becomes empowered to be a proactive participant in their own healing. The course does not intend to make the Yoga Therapist into a Doctor, Psychologist, Physical Therapist or other therapeutic professional who deals with acute disease conditions. In this model, the Yoga Therapist works with other medical and healing professionals as a supporting expert offering clients a highly personalized lifestyle, stress management, and health plan.
The YogaLife Institute programs are based on the work of The Yoga Institute, Mumbai, India, which was the first Yoga Center in the world to open their doors to the general public in 1917. The Yoga Institute has researched and offered Yoga Therapy programs for more than 90 years and continues to be a leader in the field. The key principles of Psychology & Spirituality, Lifestyle & Philosophy, Meditation & Psychosomatic Practices, Healthy Routines & Yoga Hygiene, Yoga Postures & Breathing Exercises offer a strong and scientifically proven approach for creating and/or maintaining a Healthy Yoga Lifestyle.
Level One 300 hr Yoga Therapist Program Overview:
Topics of Study:
- Lifestyle Assessment Skills
- Yogic Diagnostic Tools
- One-on-One Yoga Lifestyle Coaching
- Holistic Nutrition & Weight Loss
- Functional Anatomy & Systems of the Body
- Breath and Vital Energy
- Networking & Professional Ethics
- Physical, Emotional & Spiritual Healing
- Yoga Psychology & Healthy Relationships
- Holistic & Allopathic Perspectives on Disease
Graduates qualified to work with: heart disease, insomnia and sleep disorders, chronic pain and pain management, back injuries and rehabilitation, asthma and respiratory issues, grief, cancer, addiction and recovery, anxiety and depression, digestive disorders, weight loss and nutrition, energy imbalances, and special populations: seniors, kids, teens, pre and post natal.
Course Logistics: 300 hours of study: 170 contact hours, 80 practicum hours, 50 hours home study, 10 weekend intensive trainings, 10 mentoring sessions, 20 case studies.
Course Pre-Requisites: 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training, at least 1 year of yoga teaching or therapeutic practice experience, entrance exam, interview with the director, and a home yoga practice.
What is Yoga therapy?
Yoga therapy applies the self-realization practices from the tradition of Yoga to alleviate suffering in the quest of harmony of body, energy, mind, intellect and spirit.
What makes this program unique?
Comprehensive Yoga Therapy (CYT) expands the scope of present day Yoga therapy programs that use Hatha Yoga techniques prescribed for the therapeutic purposes. CYT includes use of Hatha Yoga practices but goes beyond this scope to apply all aspects of the tradition of Yoga as based on the programs of the Yoga Institute, Mumbai, India. These include:
- Honoring safety and self-discovery in the individual. It is an evolving practice as the client's awareness may only approach and benefit from the next steps in consciousness awakening.
- In addition to the 8-Fold Path of Yoga, the systematic teachings of Yoga are utilized for healthy approaches to work, relationships and nutrition.
- Restoring consciousness to each facet of a person's life. Utilizing the psychological perspective that what impedes our enlightenment occurs in the mind, CYT is capable of managing or completely removing stress from a person's life.
- Yoga postures are utilized as a means of creating inner steadiness and comfort, transcending all dis-ease and uniting with pure consciousness. Postures are applied in conjunction with ethical and moral principles, breathing exercises, master of sensory stimulation, mental focus, meditation, and connection to a state of pure peace.
- CYT is seen not as a "cure" for a physical presenting issue, but a means to help people cope with whatever they are facing.
- CYT educates clients to make clinically-proven healthful choices about nutrition, rest, movement and thoughts. These lifestyle factors reduce inflammation, slow physical degeneration, amplify immune response, help regulate gland and organ functions, clear and balance the vital energy, and increase range of motion and pain-free mobility.
- To achieve balance, we must consider the whole person—seeking to understand the situation beyond the presenting condition or symptoms.
- CYT works in conjunction with modern medicine and allopathic approaches to healing. It advocates for holistic modalities such as naturopathy, chiropractic, osteopathy, Ayurveda and psychological counseling.
- By connecting with ultimate concepts and experiencing profound peace, contentment and acceptance, clients learn to hold a higher perspective through everyday trials, like viewing a busy scene from a distance. This shift in mental and spiritual state is often reported as the most healing aspect of Therapeutic Yoga.
- CYT seeks to guide the field of Yoga Therapy in such a manner as to educate people about the whole system of Yoga, avoid treating only symptoms of disease in a one-size-fits-all approach, and to redefine therapy in the context of holistic health, as "spiritual lifestyle education".
For more information call Brian Serven at 603-969-8968
or email
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
FACULTY
Julie Rost, E-RYT500, Director of the YogaLife Institute of NH, researched the therapeutic aspects of Yoga while a Psychology major in college, resulting in a thesis on the benefits of Yoga for at-risk adolescents. After ten years of working in women’s reproductive health, she spent three years in Africa studying traditional methods for healing HIV/AIDS. Realizing that the yoga lifestyle held the greatest potential for health and well-being, her return to the U.S. led her to the YogaLife Institute in PA, where she studied and eventually coordinated the 200 and 500-hour Classical Yoga Teacher Training programs. For the last 5 years, she has directed both Teacher Training programs in NH, along with Meditation Training, weekly classes, workshops and private yoga therapy.
Brian Serven, Assistant Director, E-RYT 500, is a Senior Instructor at YogaLife Institute of NH. He assists in the coordination of the 200 and 500- hour Yoga Teacher Training programs as well as facilitates the 'Introduction to Yoga' and 'Meditation For Your Type Series'. A graduate of the YogaLife Institute's 200-hour and 500-hour Classical Yoga Teacher Training program, he received additional Teacher Training certification at The Yoga Institute, Mumbai, India, where the therapeutic principals of Yoga are integrated seamlessly, philosophically and physically. Believing the benefits of Yoga to be abundant and suitable for everyone, Brian’s approach to sharing these experiences are with an intention of simplicity and accessibility. Viewing Yoga as a lifestyle and combining such experiences with 4 years of Martial Arts studies, Brian has a unique view of balance, discipline and awareness.
Dr. Nicholas Rost, D.C. Chiropractor, Dr. Ken George & Associates, has been in private practice for 10 years in Stratham, NH. His approach utilizes multiple methods, including a non-traditional “soft contact” method combined with breath awareness, to help the nervous system release tension patterns that are contributing to dis-ease, injury and pain. His work is based upon the idea that the body heals itself when in balance. A yoga student himself, Nick graduated from Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis, MO, and taught Anatomy and Physiology for 4 years at Sister Rosalind School of Massage Therapy in Fargo N.D.
Sally Sugatt, RYT500, is a graduate of YogaLife's 200 and 500 hour teacher training and its Comprehensive Yoga Therapy, Level 1, programs. She has been teaching Classical Yoga at Blue Moon for over five years. Sally has been in private practice as a psychotherapist in Exeter for 19 years working with all ages and now incorporates yoga philosophy and practices in her work with psychotherapy clients. She is particularly interested in the art of the relationship--the evolving landscape between Ego and Self and between Self and other Sentient Beings.
Robert Butera, E-RYT, M.Div., PhD., is the founder of the YogaLife Institute, publisher of Yoga Living magazine and a board member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Bob studied yoga with Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra at The Yoga Institute of Bombay and later obtained his Ph.D. in Yoga Philosophy a the California Institute of Integral Studies and a Masters of Divinity from The Earlham School of Religion. With over 25 years of meditation and yoga experience, he has worked with teachers and students throughout Japan, Taiwan, India and the United States. Bob emphasized a holistic exploration of Yoga and is known for teaching ancient Classical Yoga principles in a practical and relevant way that connects students with their own divinity. Bob's book, The Pure Heart of Yoga: Ten Essential Steps for Personal Transformation was released by Llewellyn Worldwide in September 2009.
Erin Byron, RYT500, BA, MA, Director of Welkin/YogaLife Institute Ontario, has ten years experience as a professional Yoga Therapist and Psychotherapist, and is co-creator of the Comprehensive Yoga Therapist Training. Erin's Master of Arts research studied the benefits of Yoga practices in coping with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Erin has been teaching Yoga for over a decade and certifying Yoga and Meditation Teachers for six years.
Special Guest Speakers: Chiropractor, Cardiologist, Physiatrist, Pulmonologist, Mental Health Professionals, Occupational Therapist, Registered Nurse, Massage Therapist & Nutritionist.
Recent Yoga Therapy Today articles by Dr. Butera:
Spring 2011, Yoga Therapy Today: How do We Guide Clients Towards a Deeper Level of Intention?
November 2010, Yoga Therapy Today: Yoga Therapy: East-West Synthesis
Testimonials from 3 of our 2012 session one participants:
"As with most of my recent (last 10 years) experiences with yoga, when I, the student, have been ready, the teacher has appeared. The Comprehensive Yoga Therapy (CYT) Training is another such experience. I chose to say "yes" to this course of study because I so trust the lineage. The Comprehensive Yoga Therapy program has been endorsed by the Yoga Institute in Mumbai,India, a leader in yoga training and yoga therapy for almost one hundred years. CYT emphasizes the eight-fold path found in Patanjali's Sutras. CYT further emphasizes restoring health through education, fostering self reliance in clients (not patients), and helping clients to establish healing and healthy practices which go beyond a presenting condition or a symptom. Furthermore, CYT advocates for holistic modalities, such as naturopathy, chiropractic, osteopathy, Ayruveda and psychological counseling as supports for clients. We, as Yoga Therapists, join these holistic modalities as colleagues and become part of the net of healthy fibers for our communities. As a psychotherapist in Exeter and a yoga teacher (RYT 500), I am excited about continuing my learning and about watching as my practice broadens to focus on the whole person. In yoga, healing is not simply freedom from physical disease, it is understanding the roots of suffering in order to re-establish and to maintain balance of body, mind and spirit. Finally, a big draw to the training was the closer proximity of other yoga teachers seeking further training. We are a social species and I love the community of yoga learners! Support, not competition; equality; appreciation for Beginner's Mind; deep listening; humor and joy; balance! Yes, yes, yes." - Sally Sugatt
"I am undertaking the Yogalife Institute's Comprehensive Yoga Therapy (CYT) course following on from completing the Teacher Training (200 hour) program. TheCYT program is living up to it's name in being truly comprehensive, integrating the 5 branches of yoga and applying them in a holistic manner. The program is very practical and uses experiential learning - case studies, class discussions and extensive self study as well as lots of reading. I feel very lucky to be able to learn from such knowledgable teachers who creatively bring yogic wisdom to help alleviate suffering in a new way.
I am finding the program hugely enjoyable and challenging and it is taking my personal and professional practice to a different level. I highly recommend it." -Alice Bentley
"True to the title, this training has been comprehensive and compassionate; providing me with new resources, techniques, and perspective on my one-to-one work with yoga students. In just a few short months, I feel a new sense of clarity about the purpose and scope of yoga therapy and my role as a yoga therapist. The applied practice, role-plays, case studies, and self-reflection have helped me to consider a variety of situations and learn experientially alongside supportive classmates. The program has a strong sense of ethical boundaries and personal responsibility, and is rooted in ancient practice but adapted to a modern world. I would highly recommend this training to anyone working with clients who suffer from stress-related conditions." - Michelle Wilson