Therapeutic Yoga: Innovative Solutions for Improving Therapy Outcomes with Betsy Shandalov – Betsy Shandalov

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As therapists you can expand your critical thinking skills by adding yoga, an ancient treatment philosophy that draws on all of our knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and psychology, to maximize client function. There are now yoga studios in nearly every city and people are raving about the changes in their bodies and minds because of yoga’s healing qualities.

This interactive seminar will draw on your knowledge of anatomy and physiology and use yoga techniques to enhance your treatment plans for clients with diagnoses such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and neurological disorders, spinal cord injury, cancer and many other orthopedic disorders. You will learn a new way of using props and equipment to assist your clients and enhance their therapeutic outcomes. In group break-out sessions, you will problem solve with other health professionals on how to maximize function through yoga postures for each of your clients in a range of settings.

Health care professionals are challenged to find new ways to educate clients about their bodies and provide treatment plans across a variety of settings. More than ever before, the current climate in health care limits the number of visits and demands more of therapists. This exciting course is a must for therapists of any level wishing to expand their treatment tool kit. Bring yoga as a therapeutic modality to your clients today!

• Define Pranayama and how yogic breathing can influence pulmonary and immune systems.
• Explain ways that yoga can provide therapeutic benefits to improve muscular and joint stability.
• Describe the difference between active and restorative poses and list the therapeutic benefits of each.
• Describe how to position a client with a disability using restorative poses and identify how positioning and Pranayama can improve your client’s overall wellness.
• Demonstrate how to use basic yoga poses, sequences and deep relaxation using props for modification depending on client’s diagnosis.
• Identify how to customize client treatment plans.

Yoga as a Therapeutic Modality

• What is yoga?
• Understand integrative medicine
• Review body systems and how they work together
• Yoga and its benefit in a variety of healthcare and home settings

Anatomy of Therapeutic Yoga: Cardiopulmonary System

• Review pulmonary anatomy (case study)
• Proper breathing and its benefits
• Types of Pranayama
• Breathing exercises
• Therapeutic breathing and your clients
• When to use Pranayama
• Define breathing and positioning
  • upright
  • side-lying in bed
  • wheelchair
  • standing
• Case study with group practice of Pranayama

Anatomy of Therapeutic Yoga: Musculoskeletal System

• Living with disability – A client’s voice on body image and change (case study)
• Anatomy of the hip joint (case study)
• Opening the joint door: Muscle and body balance
• Practical applications for diagnoses
• Secondary disabilities and their consequences, dissecting the mechanics of movement
  • spasticity
  • hypotonicity
  • muscle imbalance
• Yoga as medicine

Asana Application and Treatment

• Asana poses
• The science of restorative vs. active poses and the body’s response
• Decide between restorative vs. active poses for treatment
• Case studies in a variety of settings
• Perform active poses

Poses: Props and Our Patients

• Perform restorative poses
• How do resting poses help clients with disabilities? (Client with cancer case study)
• The importance of elongation and extension of the body and how props assist your clients
• Pictures of supported and active yoga poses for clients with a variety of disabilities
• Props for therapeutic use with spasticity, abnormal tone, weakness or imbalance
• How do you decide if your client needs resting or active poses and how much?
• Is the client prone, supine or in the wheelchair?

Pose Lab and Case Study Presentations

• Practice poses and experience the therapeutic benefits of a restorative pose vs. an active pose
• Using props through visuals and poses
  • Examine 5 different case studies and determine what poses are best for your clients
• Therapeutic benefits of each pose for each diagnosis, and their contraindications
• What props to use for each pose and why?

Yoga and Expanding Client Treatment

• In your setting: Acute care, inpatient, outpatient, home health, and hospice
• Throughout the lifespan
• Giving client a gift in the community
• Recent studies in medicine and yoga
• Yoga and it’s future in healthcare
• Yoga and the integrative medicine team

Yoga and Your Practice