MTY 1 – The Lifestyle Medicine of Yoga: Impacting Epidemic Chronic Disease & Pain

***Save 20% when you purchase all 4 of the Medical Therapeutic Yoga Modules (MTY 1-4).  Use coupon code MTY20 at checkout to save!***

Course Description

NOTE: This course is part of both the Lifestyle Medicine Certificate Program and the Professional Therapeutic Yoga Certification.  Details about both of these programs can be found below.

Chronic disease and pain are now epidemic public health problems in the United States. Rapidly evolving technology is allowing us to diagnose disease in an unprecedented way, but our current high tech system has for too long targeted sickcare, rather than healthcare. In 1948 the World Health Organization defined health as “being more than merely an absence of disease,” and yet the vast majority of our healthcare dollars are spent on chronic disease and pain, specifically multi-morbidities. This means more people than not are suffering from multiple diagnoses, and it is past time to mobilize all healthcare providers, as the WHO has charged, to tackle chronic disease and pain.

Rehabilitation professionals are ideally suited to address chronic pain and disease. We generally have more time with patients and see them for longer, which enables us to develop the necessary trust relationship required to improve patient self-efficacy and confidence. The focus of Module 1 is to discuss the evidence-base which supports use of Lifestyle Medicine in rehab practice, and to teach you how to mobilize Integrative Medicine (through Medical Therapeutic Yoga methodology) and Functional Medicine as part of its practical application.

The evidence-base which supports the philosophy of Yoga to impact pain, function, and health is ever-growing, and Medical Therapeutic Yoga methodology describes a means for safe, effective implementation through streamlining clinical decision-making and operationalizing the biopsychosocial model. The model works both in pathophysiological and health promotion practice, and helps tackle not just patient assessment, diagnostics, and prescription, but also discusses the steps necessary to impact system wide change through established, evidence-informed chronic care pathways.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

Part 1 

1. Discuss the common factors responsible for general therapeutic effects across psychotherapy and rehabilitation sciences.
2. Describe the yogic biopsychosocial model of assessment guidelines to practice. 
3. Define Lifestyle Medicine and its role in rehabilitation and health promotion. 
4. List the clinical components of Lifestyle Medicine and their impact on preventing and managing chronic (noncommunicable) disease and pain. 
5. Compare Lifestyle Medicine with Functional Medicine and Integrative Medicine. 
6. Compare yoga, yoga therapy, and medical therapeutic yoga. 
7. Identify the 10 Precepts to best evidence use of yoga in healthcare and health promotion.

Part 2

1. Describe how medical therapeutic yoga can be used to impact acute and persistent pain and population health. 
2. Discuss the evidence base which connects poor lifestyle behaviors to chronic pain and noncommunicable disease.
3. List the components of patient intake and interview to screen for high risk lifestyle behaviors. 
4. Identify models that help gauge patient readiness to change. 
5. List the components of motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, and positive psychology.

Part 3

1. Discuss strategies for nurturing behavior change and maintenance of healthy behaviors. 
2. Explain how use of non-dogmatic yogic philosophy can affect behavioral change.
3. Identify the 5 A’s and how they are used in patient care.
4. Describe methods for establishing effective relationship and communication with patients. 
5. Evaluate the key phases of lifestyle coaching in order to impact behavior change.
6. Identify coaching questions that can be used at each stage of change. 

Part 4

1. List the screening tools and diagnostic tests relevant to lifestyle-driven disease and pain. 
2. Interpret the diagnostic tests and screening tools per national guidelines. 
3. Identify when it is appropriate to refer to other healthcare providers in order to function as a multi-disciplinary team. 
4. Describe when group therapy visits are indicated. 
5. Discuss how to impact change in the 5 biopsychosocial categories that guide the lifestyle medicine in licensed practice
6. List national resources available to support healthy lifestyle change. 

Part 5

1. 1. Cite chronic care models and evidence-based components.
   2. Define the PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle. 
   3. Describe how doctor/therapist behavior influences change in patients. 
   4. List models for implementing health promotion into your practice. 
   5. Identify the ways in which yoga can be personalized for evidence-based clinical practice through medical therapeutic yoga methodology. 

This course is part of the Lifestyle Medicine Certificate program & Professional Yoga Therapist Certification (PYT).  Requirements for each of these programs is outlined below:

1. LIFESTYLE MEDICINE CERTIFICATE 
   1. Medical Therapeutic Yoga (MYT) Modules 1-4 (2o on-line hours)
   2. 2 Elective Modules (4 on-line hours)
      NOTE: This program can be completed entirely online. No other modules are required, however, we do strongly recommend you consider completing the PYT Certification, as it goes hand in hand with the Lifestyle Medicine (LM) curriculum. It offers hands-on experience with implementation of everything you learn in the online LM Certificate program. 
2. PROFESSIONAL YOGA THERAPIST CERTIFICATION 
   1. Medical Therapeutic Yoga (MYT) Modules 1-4 (20 on-line hours)
   2. Level I – Module 5 (27 live, on-site hours) 
   3. Level II – Module 6 (28 live, on-site hours) 
   4. Level III – Module 7 (38 live, on-site hours) 
   5. Case Community Competency project (variable hours) – The CCC is a karma yoga project carried out in your community with the mentorship of an assigned faculty mentor. The CCC is included in M7 tuition. 

For further information about either or both of these programs go to proyogatherapy.org.

• Prerequisites

  None

• Educational Level

  Intermediate

• Other

  Satisfactory completion of this course will require the participant to complete a 20 question post-test with a minimum passing score of 70%.

  NOTE: The Medical Therapeutic Yoga modules 1-4 are excluded from the subscription plan.