WS01 - Top-Down/Bottom-Up Approaches to Address Collective Trauma
Leader Bio: Maryam Ovissi
Beyond the tragedy of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its direct effects, from death to the uncertainty of long COVID, the chronic stress of the pandemic cannot be ignored. Long-term stress affects the very structure of our brains, changing our nervous systems, hormonal landscapes, and psychophysiology. With this awareness, perhaps the most compassionate perspective to invite toward the pandemic is an understanding through the lens of collective trauma.
The importance of agency has been thrown into high relief in all therapeutic domains, including yoga. With attention to language and tone, as well as the skills to make the practices accessible and supportive, a diverse group of yoga professionals will delve into the obstacles faced by several unique communities and the yoga therapy tools that have been impactful. We will explore pandemic themes including loss of community, anxiety/depression over the state of the world and our communities, hopelessness around the unknown, and fear of death.
We will learn how several skilled yoga professionals lean on the central teaching in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2.33. Often presented as a form of positive psychology‚ this sutra is misunderstood: The invitation is not to change the negative to the positive, but to contemplate consequences and find motivation for making the shifts needed to transform duhkha (suffering) to suhkha (ease).
Facilitators will include Marshawn Feltus, Heather Hagaman, De Jur Jones, Yuki Riley, and Shailla Vaidya.
WS02 - Yoga Therapy Across the Breast Cancer Care Continuum: Creating a Safe, Inclusive, Evidence-Informed Practice
Leader Bios: Leigh Leibel and Kelli Bethel
Breast cancer is a fantastically complex family of diseases whose wide variety of treatment options put patients/survivors at risk for acute, lingering, and late adverse events. A strong and growing evidence base shows that yoga can mitigate many of the common physical and psychological side-effects of breast cancer and its treatment, improve quality of life, and positively affect clinical outcomes. Many national cancer guidelines recommend yoga for supportive care during breast cancer treatment and survivorship. However, yoga can cause harm if treatment-induced changes in immune, neurological, and musculoskeletal functions are not carefully considered.
In this workshop, we will explore these challenging issues through lecture, diverse ethnic and racial case reports, and interactive participation. Together, we’ll look at the biology and natural history of breast cancer, the various treatment options, and how treatment side-effects can affect a yoga practice. Importantly, we will also identify best practices for the delivery of safe and effective yoga in medically fragile breast cancer populations and discuss ways to create a more diverse yoga therapy workforce to elevate the underrepresented patient voice. Attendees will take home practical knowledge to apply to their own work with people affected by breast cancer.
This workshop is presented by the Yoga Special Interest Group of the Society for Integrative Oncology. Breakout group leaders include Marsha Banks-Harold, Johanne Lauktien, and Nancy Sinton. SIO’s Yoga SIG honors the thousands of years of yogic tradition originating in South Asia and shares the sacred teachings with gratitude and respect.
WS03 - Using Cognitive and Dialectical Behavioral Therapeutic Skills in Yoga Therapy
Leader Bio: Kelly Birch
Yoga therapy has an abundance of practices for working with the multiple dimensions of clients. Adding skills to directly address cognitions and behaviors can improve therapeutic outcomes. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) are widely used, effective, and evidence-based mental health treatments. Central to these approaches is examining thoughts and beliefs, and the related behaviors, that cause suffering to self and others. Skills are used with the intention of both acceptance and change. Select CBT/DBT skills can be employed by yoga therapists without exceeding their scope of practice, providing tools that clients can use safely to facilitate powerful insights into their current mental and emotional landscape.
Kelly will present an overview CBT and DBT as used in mental health counseling; teach a few specific skills; and demonstrate, with examples, how and when to use them and when they are contraindicated.
Small-group participants will discuss why, when, and how they might introduce these skills into yoga therapy and when they should consult with or refer to mental health practitioners.
You’ll learn, and practice with one another, simple CBT/DBT skills; understand how to use these skills in yoga therapy, as well as to increase self-awareness; and understand scope of practice issues and how to collaborate with mental health professionals in light of these lessons.
WS04 - Building Seva into Yoga Therapy Business Models
Leader Bio: Rebecca Sebastian
Are you interested in how to give back to your community by sharing your services with others? Unsure how to do this while making a living that nurtures you?
Join us for a deep dive into one of a yoga therapist’s stickiest business topics: money. In this workshop, we will be unpacking the topic of seva (sacred service) and how it can form a cornerstone of our business models. Consider this your opportunity to unpack sliding-scale pricing, the nonprofit model, and the idea of baking service right into your pricing structure.
To facilitate this discussion, we will break down each of these service-oriented pricing models, including the pros and cons, and see how we could effectively use them in our personal business models. Each pricing structure offers us the opportunity to do something rare in the yoga space: connect with other professionals taking on the same challenges of building a sustainable business AND giving back to the community.
WS05 - Self-Care for Healthcare: Why, What, and How
Leader Bio: Sejal Shah
The world continues to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and even when severity and intensity decrease, uncertainty still prevails. For yoga therapists and healthcare workers who advocate for physical health, mental health, and overall well-being, the pandemic brings new challenges as they are expected to weather the crisis just like everyone else while simultaneously rendering healing services. Statistics—and our own experiences—show that healthcare providers are prone to burnout, trauma both direct and vicarious, and of course stress, placing them at greater risk of anxiety than the general population.
When facing stressful and traumatic situations in healthcare settings, it can be difficult to stop and think about self-care. But learning simple supportive tactics is vital to protecting your mental health and well-being. This workshop discusses facets of self-care as essential mental-health first aid for healthcare professionals. We will also learn about research-backed techniques to help with processing stress, anxiety, and burnout.
