New Conference on Yoga as Lifestyle Medicine to Be Featured at the Smithsonian

In 2014,  a large symposium on Medical Yoga was hosted at the Smithsonian in conjunction with the large Smithsonian exhibit on Yoga: The Art and Science of Transformation. The symposium featured speeches and presentations by leading yoga researchers like Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Timothy McCall, Larry Payne, Sat Bhir Khalsa of Harvard University, and other trailblazers in the therapeutic applications of yoga.

The symposium was such a great success, that a second conference with the theme of Yoga as Lifestyle Medicine will be featured this year, sponsored by Smithsonian Associates and Therapeutic Yoga of Greater Washington. ​And, YogaU is excited to announce that two of our leading teachers, Dr. Loren Fishman and Judith Hanson Lasater, will be among the featured presenters at this year’s conference.

This is an in-depth and hands-on conference: on Saturday, March 25th Judith Hanson Lasater and Dr. Loren Fishman will join other leading medical professionals, researchers, and master teachers to speak, guide demonstrations, and lecture on strategies for using yoga as lifestyle medicine. The next day, Sunday, March 26th, these renowned teachers will offer master classes and hands-on intensive trainings. The presentations and classes will all take place in the Ripley Center of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

The workshop weekend is geared toward all persons seeking greater health and peace of mind, their healthcare providers, and yoga teachers and caretakers. The conference is designed to bring aspiring students and yoga teachers together, and build real relationships between yoga teachers and members of the medical community. Yoga teachers will also gain tools to bring new students into their classes and add a new layer of meaning to their work.

The conference features panel topics such as “Finding the Right ‘Yoga Rx’,” in which presenters will share research, insights, and yoga practices for common health concerns ranging from low back pain to PMS. The psychological benefits of yoga and its neurological components will also be explored in talks such as “Therapeutic Yoga for Healthy Living.” The Master Class line up offers a smorgasboard of options that participants will have a hard time choosing between: the presenting teachers offer workshops ranging from Dr. Fishman’s “Yoga as Therapy for Musculoskeletal Conditions” to Judith Hanson Lasater’s “Restorative Yoga” to Jane Stelboum’s “Yoga and Alzheimer’s Prevention and Treatment.” Participants will be hard-pressed to choose just two from the list of 7 workshops!

Tickets to the program have been going quickly, and at the time of this article’s publishing, less than 35 seats remain for this uncommon opportunity to learn from and practice with some of the best and brightest minds in therapeutic yoga.

Attendees will be eligible for education credits:

-Continuing education credit  (CEU) will be available for yoga teachers and yoga therapists.  
-Continuing medical education (CME) credit for physicians, physician’s assistants and physical therapists has been approved by the George Washington University School of Medicine and Behavioral Sciences.
– Continuing Education for Nurses (CNE) through the DC Board of Nursing

To learn more, visit www.YogaAsLifestyleMedicine.com

In the words of Linda Lang, yoga therapist and event organizer, “Come…learn…engage with other like minded people, yoga professionals and healthcare providers who understand that we must practice as if our lives depend upon it, because they do.”