Education Seminar: Yoga practice and therapy

Education Seminar

Yoga practice and therapy: a review of basic and clinical research evidence

Yoga is an ancient behavioural practice that allows for the development of the skills of mind-body awareness or mindfulness, self-regulation of internal physiological and psychological state, and physical fitness. Yoga is becoming increasingly popular as a behavioural strategy for the promotion and maintenance of health and wellness, as preventive medicine, and also as an adjunct therapeutic intervention. 

This presentation will provide an overview of the scientific evidence on the underlying mechanisms of yoga practice supporting the rationale for these applications of yoga, and the clinical trial evidence for its efficacy in wellness, prevention and therapy, highlighted with examples of published and ongoing research in the Khalsa laboratory.

Guest speaker

Dr Sat Bir Singh Khalsa

Dr Khalsa PhD has been fully engaged in basic and clinical research on the effectiveness of yoga and meditation practices in improving physical and psychological health since 2001. He has practiced a yoga lifestyle since 1971 and is a certified instructor in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan. Dr Khalsa is currently the Director of Research for the Kundalini Research Institute, Research Director for the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Research Associate at the Benson Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He has conducted clinical research trials evaluating a yoga treatment for insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety disorders.

At the center of his interest, is an evaluation of the benefits of yoga within the academic curriculum of public schools. Dr Khalsa works with the International Association of Yoga Therapists to promote research on yoga therapy as the chair of the scientific program committee for the annual Symposium on Yoga Research and as editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy. He is the author of the Harvard Medical School ebook entitled Your Brain on Yoga, and is chief editor of an upcoming medical textbook The Principles and Practice of Yoga in Health Care. Since 2005 he has also been teaching an elective course at Harvard Medical School in mind-body medicine.

Seminar details

• When: Thursday, 29 September 2016, 12.00 – 1.00pm
• Where: Building 5, Conference rooms 7 and 8, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown Campus
• Attendees: Suitable for medical and allied health practitioners and the general public
• RSVP: Monday, 26 September 2016 to Narelle at nicm@westernsydney.edu.au or by phone on 02 4620 3284
• Cost: Free