Yoga Therapy Training at Duke Integrative Medicine

Duke Integrative Medicine, located on the Duke campus in Durham, North Carolina, is the first of its kind devoted to the practice of integrative medicine. Integrative medicine includes complementary therapies, such as yoga therapy, into the medical treatments of diseases like heart disease, cancer and other serious illnesses.

Integrative medicine is based on the notion that there is a powerful association between the mind, body and spirit, and this connection impacts both health and disease. Integrative medicine seeks to integrate the whole person into health care, and focus not just on the body, but the mental and emotional aspects of disease as well.

With more and more research corroborating the use of yoga therapy to reduce stress, decrease anxiety and produce better clinical outcomes, the center offers a broad array of therapies and unique opportunity for yoga therapy training, enabling yoga teachers to obtain certification in Therapeutic Yoga for Seniors.

Yoga therapy has become increasingly popular among seniors age 65 and older, a group which now represents the fastest growing sector of the U.S. population. Directed by a faculty of health educators, yoga therapists, medical professors and exercise physiologists, Duke Integrative Medicine’s yoga therapy certification offers hands-on training in the appropriate adaptation of yoga and therapy for those working with older adults. The program addresses issues and health conditions specific to seniors. Yoga therapy courses cover topics such as arthritis, osteoporosis, chronic pain management, the effects of commonly-used medications and yoga therapy to improve function and enhance balance.

The eight-day program is designed for registered yoga therapy teachers and involves a balance of lectures, movement, small group work, discussions and a mentored project. Through the mentorship, students study the application of yoga therapy to aging-related issues such as hearing loss, incontinence, insomnia and depression.

The yoga therapy training program offers students of yoga therapy the opportunity to obtain continuing education credits from the Yoga Alliance. Regular program tuition is $1,950, though students who take advantage of early registration will receive a $200 discount. Upon successful completion of the program, students earn a certificate in Therapeutic Yoga for Seniors issued by Duke Integrative Medicine.