The Principles & Practice of Yoga in Healthcare Conference 2023

Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Director of Yoga Research, Yoga Alliance, Director of Research, Kundalini Research Institute, Editor in Chief, International Journal of Yoga Therapy

Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, PhD, has been fully engaged in basic and clinical research on the efficacy of yoga and meditation practices in improving physical and psychological health since 2001. He has practiced a yoga lifestyle since 1972 and is a certified instructor in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan. He is the director of research for the Yoga Alliance and the Kundalini Research Institute, Research Associate at the Benson Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Research Affiliate of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Saturday, 10am

The Scientific Rationale and Research Evidence for Yoga and Yoga Therapy and Its Relevance to Public Health

Delegates will understand the breadth and depth of yoga practice in modern society, the biomedical mechanisms underlying the efficacy of yoga and yoga therapy, and evidence for the application and efficacy and of yoga in special populations in the general public such as schools and workplaces that illustrate its potential benefits for health maintenance, prevention and well-being.

Sunday, 11.15am

Yoga and Yoga Therapy: Relevance and Research Evidence for the Prevention and Treatment of Noncommunicable Diseases and Its Implementation into Healthcare and Modern Medicine

Delegates will understand the burden of chronic lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in modern society and medicine, the specific relevance and potential of yoga therapy in modern healthcare, how yoga and yoga therapy can be effective in changing lifestyle behaviours and strategies for incorporating yoga in healthcare and the general population such as social prescribing.

Founder of The Minded Institute, RYT-500, C-IAYT, MAS, MS.

Saturday 11.15am

Yoga on Prescription. Pioneering Yoga in Healthcare in the NHS.

Delegates will learn about the 10-week Yoga4Health social prescribing programme developed by Yoga in Health Alliance. They will learn how this evidence based preventive programme targets NHS patients at risk of becoming chronically ill and supports them to bring about lifestyle changes through a daily yoga practice.

Sunday 2.55pm

Using Yoga in the Treatment of Mental Health Conditions

Delegates will learn about the role of yoga in the management of mental health conditions including Stress, Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, Eating Disorders, Addiction & Post-Natal Depression

Irish Doctor, Author and Vitality Expert

Dr. Mark Rowe graduated from UCD in 1991 and has been a practicing family physician for over 20 years, He is the founder of the awarding winning Waterford Health Park, home to his medical practice and the ‘Lifestyle Medicine Be Well Clinic’. He is the author of ‘A Prescription for Happiness: The Ten Commitments to a Happier, Healthier Life’ and ‘The Men’s Health Book’. He is a regular contributor to many national weekly publications and has delivered events and workshops on Lifestyle Medicine throughout the world.

Mark is a Diplomate of the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine. He has always held a strong desire to change the culture of ‘a pill for every ill’. Instead he advocates lifestyle change as the best medicine for lasting wellbeing.

Saturday, 12.10pm

Lifestyle as Medicine

Delegates will understands the science of happiness, mindfulness and wellbeing. They will learn about the benefits of positive psychology, purpose and lifestyle as medicine. They will understand Lifestyle Medicine as an evidence-based ‘lifestyle first’ approach to prevention and treatment of chronic disease.

They will also explore strategies to embrace stress, prevent burnout and enhance overall vitality.

Senior Yoga Tutor with YTI. C-IAYT. YACEP

Elma Toland trained as a yoga teacher with the Irish Yoga Association in 1993. In 1997-1999 Elma took further yoga training with the Biomedical Trust (London) and qualified as a yoga therapist. In 2000, Elma co-founded Yoga Therapy Ireland – a training organisation that trains yoga teachers with a therapeutic approach to yoga practice and to teaching yoga.

Elma lived on the outskirts of Dublin and taught yoga there for over 25 years. For the last 20 years she has worked as a senior tutor for Yoga Therapy Ireland on their many training courses, training yoga teachers and yoga therapists.

Saturday 2pm

Yoga Therapy-Principles And Practices And Personal Experiences

Delegates will gain an understanding of yoga therapy; the practices used in a yoga therapy setting. They will learn of Elma’s personal experiences as a yoga therapist and participate in a chair yoga practice.

Practical Session

Elma is fully certified with the Yoga Alliance as a Continuing Yoga Provider (YACEP) and is also a qualified yoga therapist and holds the International Association of Yoga Therapists certification.(C-IAYT). In 2015 Elma returned to live in her native Inishowen and is currently teaching yoga in her local community.

B.Sc. (Hons), MA, PhD, Holistic Psychotherapist, Member of the IACP , Shamanic Therapist and Teacher, Member of the International Society of Shamanic Practitioners.

Dr Karen Ward is a Shamanic Therapist, Supervisor and Teacher as well as a practising Psychotherapist. She has trained as a Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga Teacher and credits her beloved daily yoga practice as being vital to her being.

Karen has published several books including Change a Little to Change a Lot: Simple Ways to Bring Balance to Your Busy Life; annual Moon Mná Diary-Journal and recent bestselling The Secrets of Ageless Ageing. She is also co-editor of Soul Seers – An Irish Anthology of Celtic Shamanism. Karen & her husband John founded and run the Slí an Chroí School of Irish Celtic Shamanism in Dublin offering online courses as well.

Saturday 3pm

The Secrets of Ageless Ageing

Delegates will be brought on a voyage of self-discovery on ageless ageing giving sound practical advice and a common sense approach to the inevitability that is growing older with a wise and witty touch.

Practical Session

Yoga Therapist, Registered General Nurse and Massage Therapist

Connie Walsh has been involved in the healing professions since 1981 when she commenced her general nurse training. She has a passionate belief in the importance of self-awareness and autonomy during  periods of physical or emotional difficulty. Her experience through nursing, massage, craniosacral and yoga therapy give her a broad scope of tools to draw from.

Since 2004, Connie has facilitated yoga classes and individual sessions in Lios Aoibhean and ARC cancer support centres. In 2008 she established Cancer Conscious Yoga and continues to run Cancer Awareness Workshops for yoga teachers.

Saturday 4pm

Yoga in Cancer Care

Delegates will learn about the role of yoga in the care of people with cancer. They will understand how yoga can be used to support clients undergoing active treatment such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery and after recovery. Delegates will also learn of the network of Specialist Yoga for Cancer Classes in Ireland and how to refer their clients/students for classes.

BA, Hatha Yoga Teacher, Senior Teacher of Yoga, Pilates Instructor, AdvDip Nutrition

Niamh has been teaching Hatha Yoga since 2004 and is a registered Senior Teacher and Teacher Trainer. She holds an Advanced Diploma in Nutrition Coaching and is a Pilates Mat I&II teacher. She teaches men and women of all ages.

In 2015, before the media-frenzy about menopause, she began to develop what became Yoga for Menopause. Launching Certificate in Teaching Yoga for the Stages of Menopause in 2020, she has trained 100s of Yoga teachers around the world how to adapt Yoga to support women in this phase of life. In her trainings, she empowers teachers to work within what inspires their passion, seeking to move away from homogenised content, while ensuring that what is offered as health or wellness support has the backing of responsibly researched efficacy. (140)

She also offers courses to Pilates Instructors, Personal Trainers and Health Coaches in her Menopause Awareness and Strategies for Wellness Professionals CPD. She teaches classes, workshops, courses and supports women one-to-one.

Saturday 4pm

Applying Research in Yoga for The Stages of Menopause

Delegates will learn about the role of yoga in supporting women through the stages of menopause. They will also gain a full understanding of the research supporting this genre of yoga and how research has influenced the design of Niamh’s teaching nationally & internationally.

Primary Teacher (M.Ed, B.Ed) Yoga Teacher 200hrs RYT)

Caitríona Cosgrave is a primary school teacher and yoga teacher based in Dublin. She is a tutor on the Yoga for Children Course with YTI. She first began teaching yoga to children in 2012 within PE and SPHE lessons as well as chair yoga during the school day. She noticed how yoga practices and simple breathwork activities enhanced children’s well-being and indeed their readiness to learn. Yoga for children in primary schools has become an increasingly popular concept, most notably in the aftermath of Covid and within the context of the Framework for Well-Being in Primary Schools (2018-2023). Based on her extensive experience, she will share her  perspectives on the place of yoga within the primary curriculum.

Saturday 3pm

Yoga for Children’s Wellbeing

Delegates will learn about the role of yoga in supporting wellbeing in children. They will explore how wellbeing is currently taught in Irish Primary Schools through a variety of curricula and the potential place of yoga within these curricula. The voice of the child will also be explored.

Assistant Professor in Interprofessional Learning in Trinity College Dublin

Dr Lisa Corrigan holds a PhD in Population Health and Health Services Research and PgCertificate in Clinical Exercise. She is a registered yoga and perinatal yoga, yoga for the stages of the menopause and womb yoga teacher. She has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and teaching for 9 years. Her research interests are yoga for health, physical activity across the perinatal period, intervention development and trial design, maternal health and perinatal mental health.

Her most recent work includes ‘Feasibility Of An Evidence-Based Live-Streamed Online Pregnancy Yoga Group Programme’. She is currently working collaboratively with researchers at the University of Alberta to examine the physiological impact of yoga during pregnancy for both mother and baby.

Saturday 2pm

Current Research in Yoga in Prenatal Care

Delegates will learn about the role of yoga in prenatal care in Ireland. Delegates will also gain an understanding of the types and stages of research in the clinical setting and what current research is taking place in the prenatal yoga field.

Fellowship of Yoga Society International, Founder Yoga Society Ireland, M.I.H.P., Dip.A.K., N.T.

Anne-Marie McGlinchey, a renowned yoga teacher and educator that teaches from the Heart. Her background in education as a teacher and her work in the field of complimentary healthcare as a kinesiologist has enhanced her work. Anne-Marie founded Yoga Society Ireland in 1980 which is affiliated to Yoga Society International. She was awarded a fellowship for her work in yoga especially in the field of Teacher Training which she has been doing since 1980.

Her work spans many areas including Cancer Care, Special Needs including Visual Impairment, MS, Cardiac Care And Yoga For Everyday Life. She believes yoga is for everyone regardless of age, level of fitness or health issues. She lives in her native Donegal where she teaches from Dunree Yoga Centre.

“The philosophy of yoga has been a wonderful guide in my life”.

Sunday 9am

Yoga & Health – The Mind, Body, Spirit Connection.

Delegates will learn about the wealth of benefits derived from the practice of yoga. They will explore how yoga fit into the concept of health and gain an understanding the connection between mind, body and spirit. Delegates will also be guided through a short meditative practice.

Practical Session

PhD, MIACP

Dr Pádraic Dunne is a research scientist (immunologist) and accredited psychotherapist and based at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Centre for Positive Psychology and Health (CPPH). He is  co-director of an MSc in Positive Health Coaching and leads the Digital Health Research Gorp within the centre.

As an RCSI Lecturer, Dr Dunne is interested in the development of Health and Wellbeing programmes for postgraduate healthcare professionals, corporate work forces, as well as for patients suffering with chronic disease and the general public. He is also keenly interested in the interaction between mental stress and the immune system. Pádraic is also a co-developer of the RCSI MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on the Science of Health and Happiness as well as the Science for Health and Happiness for Young People that were launched freely for the public in 2021.

Sunday 9.55am

Positive Psychology & Health

Delegates will learn about The Science of Health and Happiness. They will also learn about the mission of the RSCI “To Educate, Nurture and Discover for the Benefit of Human Health” and how RSCI courses are readily available to everyone.

MBBChBAO,MRCGP,MScAyu

Dr Donn Brennan was one of the first western medical doctors to train in India in Maharishi’s Vedic Approach to Health. He qualified in medicine in 1979 at UCD and spent the following decade working in different specialities in hospitals and as a GP.

However, over the years Donn became disillusioned with the conventional medical model where the emphasis was on ‘disease’ rather than on ‘prevention’ and health.’. So when he came across the Ayurvedan approach to health he knew that this was the method of healing which he had been seeking.

Since 1990, Donn has worked fulltime promoting, lecturing and consulting in Maharishi’s Vedic Approach to Health. He has featured in many newspaper articles and on radio and television. He has lectured and consulted in almost all the major cities in Ireland and Britain as well as Iceland and the Channel Islands. He has also given many seminars, advanced talks and courses including introductory courses for medical doctors and pulse diagnosis courses. In addition many thousands consult with him for ongoing health advice.

Sunday, 12.10pm

Fusing Medical Traditions for Health

Delegates will learn about the principles and application of Ayurdevic Medicine. Based on Dr Brennan’s many years of learning & experience, they will understand how fusing medical traditions can help support our health and wellbeing. They will understand how this integration of the health traditions will greatly empower individuals to enhance health and prevent disease, saving health services a fortune.