Nirvana Yoga Therapy

https://www.iayt.org/page/sytar2026

Last week, I traveled to the West Coast for IAYT’s Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR), a three-day conference devoted to all things Yoga, Yoga Therapy and Yoga Research. Between the key-note presentations by Yoga Therapists and research scientists, I got to go deeper into my practice, meet a lot of enthusiastic and intelligent Yoga professionals, view fascinating research studies, and gain a deeper understanding about the role Yoga plays in health and healing. 

Some research highlights include:

Yoga Accelerates Opioid Withdrawal Recovery and Enhances Autonomic Regulation: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial. Presented by Hemant Bhargav, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Integrative Medicine at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India, and adjunct associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bhargav shared research that supports the use of yoga as an adjunctive intervention for accelerating opioid withdrawal recovery and improving autonomic regulation.

Stretching the Breath: Clinical Applications and Research of Yoga-Based Slow Breathing. Presented by Gurjeet Birdee, MD, MPH, board-certified physician in internal medicine and pediatrics, a yoga therapist, and a health services researcher dedicated to advancing whole-person care. Dr. Birdee shared research that demonstrates the potential clinical applications of slow breathing.

Yoga for Chronic Pain: Evidence, Safety, and Implications for Global Integration. Presented by Holger Cramer, PhD, professor of research in complementary medicine at the University of Tübingen, Germany, and scientific director of the Robert Bosch Center for Integrative Medicine and Health at the Bosch Health Campus in Stuttgart. Dr. Cramer shared his evidence that positions Yoga as not just an adjunctive therapy but a credible, scalable, and equitable component of evidence-based pain management. 

And so much more from a globally diverse group of talented and inquisitive researchers!

As a Yoga Therapist, I intend to help propel the field of Yoga Therapy by contributing to the ongoing case study research being conducted by talented Yoga Therapists within my lineage and supporting the scientific method-based research being conducted all over the world to understand the mechanism of change and, possibly, use research to legitimize Yoga-based interventions in the eyes of governments and insurance companies. 

What does this mean for you?

You can be sure that I am trying to use all the resources available to provide the most beneficial Yoga Therapy to my clients.