Online course November 10 - 28

Dr. Loren Fishman

Upcoming Teleconference on Yoga for Osteoporosis

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The Yoga for Osteoporosis - Teaching and Practice course consists of six parts, three live sessions and three pre-recorded modules, presented over three weeks.

Sunday October 30th, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Dr. Loren Fishman, MD,
B.Phil., (oxon.) Co-Chair of MISTY 2011

Yoga for Osteoporosis & Rotator Cuff Syndrome

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By first defining osteoporosis and osteopenia, this session will move from its significance as a health and humanitarian concern to the nature of bone strengthening and what goes wrong to yield these conditions and then move on to compare medical and yoga treatments, their beneficial and harmful characteristics and perhaps most importantly, how the two can be combined to patients' advantage. After reviewing the strong points and pitfalls of selected postures, practical advice will be given on how to usefully and safely incorporate this knowledge into yoga practice. Rotator Cuff Syndrome is one of the most common orthopedic injuries in general, and one frequently arising from yoga practice. This session will cogently present the anatomy and kinesiology of the shoulder joint, analyze what affects the rotator cuff and how it relates to the movement patterns of the shoulder joint. We will analyze the mechanism of action of a stunningly effective yoga-based maneuver and other steps a therapist can take to relieve pain and disability. The focus will be on what yoga teachers can do to prevent injuries.

January 6–8, 2012 Friday-Sunday

Loren Fishman, Terry Schaff, and Purnima Singh

Relief is in the Stretch: Cure Back Pain with Yoga

Click here to register or call Kripalu at 1-800-741-7353

For doctors, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, athletic trainers, physical education instructors, yoga teachers and practitioners, and people suffering from relevant medical conditions.

Beginning with anatomical and physiological discussions, this workshop moves through the architectonic and physiological functions of the spine from top to bottom-cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum, and coccyx. These anatomy lessons are imperative for everyone who wants to use yoga safely in treating back pain. Medical doctor Loren Fishman takes you step by step through the process of understanding and evaluating specific medical conditions. This involves distinguishing them from similar conditions and evaluating the larger physiological context in which they occur.

You learn to: Recognize the major causes of back pain ; Understand how simple physical and medical diagnostic tests distinguish different conditions; Comprehend musculoskeletal pain: where it hurts and why; Discover how and why yoga works for back pain; Apply the principles of yoga to different types of back pain with specific asanas; Use yoga protocols for treating sciatica and piriformis syndrome, spinal stenosis, herniated disks, sacroiliac joint derangement, facet syndrome, and spondylolisthesis; Apply prevention and wellness techniques to keep backs healthy. Explore yoga treatment protocols and wellness plans from a medical and therapeutic perspective based on Loren's clinical research trials and 30 years' experience as a yoga-using physician.

Recommended reading Loren Fishman and Carol Ardman, Relief Is in the Stretch: End Back Pain with Yoga (Norton).

Loren Fishman, MD, BPhil (Oxon), graduated from Christ Church, Oxford, and then spent a year with B. K. S. Iyengar in Pune, India, before attending medical school. He continued to learn about and teach yoga and medicine at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s in Chicago, in a Tufts-Harvard residency program, and as Chief Resident at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He has written and edited more than 70 academic articles, is on staff at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and has a private practice in Manhattan. www.sciatica.org

Terry Schaff, E-RYT, is a yoga therapist who has been practicing yoga since 1980. At Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, she co-teaches yoga, spine, and back-care classes, and works one-on-one with people living with physical and emotional challenges. She specializes in postoperative rehabilitation, back pain, and geriatric problems. Known for her careful attention to the needs of her patients, Terry also teaches yoga at Bard College and leads chair yoga classes for senior citizens in Rhinebeck and Hudson, New York. She received her 200-hour yoga teacher certification in 2006 from Satya Center for Yoga. www.terryschaff.com

Purnima Singh, MSPT, is a physical therapist at Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, where her patients praise her compassion, intelligence, creativity, and persistence. She believes in using all possible methods to relieve chronic and acute pain. Her eclectic skill base includes craniosacral therapy, traditional manual techniques, yoga, and other methods such as subtle mindbody techniques. She specializes in back and neck pain and postoperative rehabilitation, and is experienced in treating various orthopedic and neurological syndromes. Purnima graduated summa cum laude with a master's degree in physical therapy from Howard University and has more than five years of experience treating patients from all walks of life.

Take time away to do what you love. Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health offers hundreds of workshops, retreats, and trainings in yoga, personal growth, creative expression, holistic health, and more.
While you are here... Enjoy yoga classes, healthy food, massage and healing arts, hiking trails, whirlpool and sauna - all in the natural beauty of the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. Kripalu is 3 hours north of New York City.