"Bringing Trauma-Informed Yoga into Your Professional and Personal Practice."
San Francisco, Ca., Site of Upcoming Workshop. 

IN THIS ISSUE:

 Call for practice vignettes for publication in forthcoming book!

 Join new Linkedin group: "Trauma Sensitive Yoga." 
  
Report from "Medical Yoga Symposium."
 
New Workshops announced in San Francisco, Brattleboro, Vt. and Wellfleet, Ma.!
Visit www.yogainpsychotherapy.com.

Upcoming Trainings and Workshops with
 Joann Lutz, LICSW, E-RYT: 
San Francisco, Ca.; Grass Valley, Ca.; Brattleboro, Vt.; Wellfleet, Ma.
 To Be Scheduled: Fairfield, Ct.; Upper Bavaria, Germany.

 Featured Article:
Report from the
"Medical Yoga Symposium", Washington, D.C.,
January 11-12, 2014. 
From the talk by Sat Bir Khalsa, PhD, Asst. Prof. of  Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
 
Psycho-physiological benefits of Yoga for Mental Health include:
  • Activation of attention networks in the brain.
  • Reduced mind wandering (which is the default mode network of the brain).
  • Reduced rumination.
  • Reduced emotional reactivity. Reduced dysfunctional thoughts.
  • Positive, long term changes in brain activity and structure.
  • Increased attention regulation, mind/body awareness, mindfulness and resilience.
  • Enhanced positive psychological characteristics.
  • Increased experiences of flow and contemplative states

Research in the field of yoga therapy has grown dramatically. Dr.    Khalsa presented some recent studies:
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry. "Yoga on our Minds: A Systematic Review of Yoga for Neuropsychiatric."Objective: To systematically examine the evidence for efficacy of yoga in the treatment of selected major psychiatric disorders.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS:    

    

SAN FRANCISCO: Integral Yoga Institute, San Francisco, Ca., March 16, 2014, 11-1 p.m.. Visit: integralyogasf.org

  

 

Sivananda, Grass Valley  

GRASS VALLEY, CA: Sivananda Yoga Farm, March 18-22, 2014. 12 CEUs for Mental Health Professionals & Nurses. Visit:

www.sivanandayogafarm.org

 

  

 BRATTLEBORO, VT.: West River Yoga, April 25(eve.)-April 27, 2014. 12 CEUs for Mental Health Professionals and Nurses. Visit: 
www.lindakstromlicsw.com

WELLFLEET, MA.: Columbus Day Weekend, Oct. 11-13, 2014. 9-1:15 a.m. 12 CEUs for Mental Health Professionals and Nurses. Visit: 

 www.yogainpsychotherapy.com

 

Fairfield, Ct. and Upper Bavaria Germany: Dates to be Announced.

www.yogainpsychotherapy.com

 
Joann Lutz, LICSW, E-RYT
Joann Lutz, LICSW
In This issue:
SEND A PRACTICE VIGNETTE USING A YOGIC INTERVENTION to [email protected]
Join new LINKEDIN Group: Trauma Sensitive Yoga.
Private yoga-based psychotherapy sessions available in-person or on Skype. Sliding fee scale. Insurance accepted for Ma. residents.
Certification Program Details; click for more information.

Announcements:

Please contact Joann to bring her training to your area at 413-586-6384 or  [email protected].  
 
JOIN NEW "LINKED IN" GROUP:
Trauma Sensitive Yoga. LINKED IN offers the opportunity to participate in an international community of mental health and yoga professionals at no cost. The special interest groups are excellent! Go to: www.linkedin.com. Type  "Trauma Sensitive Yoga Group" in the search bar.

VISIT FACEBOOK PAGE:
 "Bringing Yoga into Mental Health and Healthcare".

SEEKING PRACTICE VIGNETTES FOR INCLUSION IN MY NEW BOOK. IF ACCEPTED, YOUR NAME AND PRACTICE LOCATION WILL BE FEATURED.



A SAMPLE OF EVALUATIONS FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS:

  • Excellent.

  • Loved practicing the yoga and breathing techniques

  • Great, great instructor who knew her material!

  • More yoga!

  • Nice, for 1st thing in AM.

  • Great to have the opportunity to practice some basics.

  •  Great presentation. I would have liked more  time. It ended too       soon!
  • This was a great way to start the day. Focus on wellness is so helpful for social workers b/c that is the thing that goes first.

  • Fantastic!

  • Perhaps offer an experiential workshops as an alternative to CEUs.

  • Yoga is an up and coming intervention for many CHS. I would love to incorporate it in my practice.

  • Very informative and made clear connection as to its effective use in traditional therapeutic setting as a non-traditional compliment

  • Good experiential workshop - offer (in addition) as a self-care opportunity for attendees!

  • Good balance between theory and research and practice exercises

 

 

What is Trauma-Informed Yoga?   

Unresolved trauma, whether large or small,  disrupts the normal rhythm of the nervous system and puts the individual in an unbalanced state of fight, flight or freeze, unable to connect with and respond in a healthy way to life in the present-moment. 

 

Classic yoga excels in reestablishing nervous system health. Research has proven that teaching a carefully designed sequence of chair or floor-based poses, as well as subtle breathing practices and specific relaxation techniques, offers clients (and practitioners)  powerful  tools for nervous system self-regulation.

 

In Trauma-informed Yoga(TM), yoga's regulating elements have been emphasized and simplified to easily integrate with a variety of somatic, mental health or healthcare interventions.

 

In this program, participants receive the training and practice they need to confidently add these interventions to their work, both with individual clients and groups.  


CERTIFICATION PROGRAM: 

The Certification Program, for those who have completed at  least 12 hours of  training,  consists of a minimum of 6 private  supervision  sessions  with Joann, done in - person or  through teleconferencing on Skype.  It also includes monthly group tele-conferences on selected topics which can be tuned  into  live or recorded. Dates to be determined

Contact Joann for more information: [email protected]; 413-586-6384.

  

 

Joann Lutz, LICSW ABOUT JOANN:

 

Joann, Psychotherapist and Certified Yoga Instructor and Therapist (E-RYT), has offered "Yoga for Trauma" workshops at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers in the Bahamas and in Grass Valley, Ca.; at the Integral Yoga Institutes in New York City and San Francisco, Ca.; at the International Psychosynthesis Conference in Rome, Italy in 2012 and as a Post-conference workshop in Florence, Italy; at the NASW state-wide conferences in Ma. and Ct.;  at the TransitionsTP Social Service Agency in Atlanta, Ga. and at yoga centers in Edam, Netherlands and in the USA in Hartford, Ct., Tucson, Az. and San Francisco, Ca.  

 

Joann is currently teaching Trauma-Informed Yoga to Mental Health System Survivors at the Recovery Learning Center in Holyoke, Ma.  She has taught yoga to veterans with PTSD at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Leeds, Ma. and was the staff yoga instructor for Walden Behavioral Care Eating Disorders Program in Northampton. She has been practicing these techniques for 43 years and teaching them for 33. 

 

She is an alumna of the Trauma-Sensitive Yoga 40-hour Certificate program developed by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk at The Trauma Center in Brookline, Ma.; in Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy through the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers; in Integral Yoga (Advanced Certification) with Swami Satchidananda;  in EMDR and in Psychosynthesis.  She completed Level One of the Somatic Experiencing training, developed by Dr. Peter Levine.
 
Joann has taught yoga at Omega Institute; Harbin Hot Springs;  Rowe Conference Center;  Sivananda Yoga Retreat, Bahamas;  and at other venues. 

For more information visit: