In this training you will learn how to use integrative yogic-based approaches to addictions that will allow you to work with clients privately, in clinics, and in group settings. In particular, we explore the teachings of Yogi Bhajan with regards to ‘keeping up spirit’ in the face of adversity.

This workshop is geared towards yoga teachers and professional addiction workers. Our training will give you the skills to work from a complete mind-body perspective.

To register your interest or for more information, please contact rae@yogalove.co.uk

Why take this course?

Yoga is a remarkable practice that builds self-awareness, strength, clarity of mind, and resilience. Many of its practices can be used as coping mechanisms to overcome personal difficulties. By clearly understanding how yoga promotes these psychological and physical changes, yoga teachers can tailor practices to support people who are addicted to substances and help prevent relapse. When we combine specialised yoga practice with mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques (CBT—a common psychological approach in addictions treatment), we can develop a method of healing that supports the whole person. This three-tiered approach—physiology, psychology, and behaviour—we can greatly enhance the likelihood of preventing relapse and overcoming addictions.

What we will cover:

• Why we become addicted to substances and behavioral patterns
• Which underlying neurological and psychological tendencies make people more vulnerable to addiction
• How different substances impact the physiological systems of the body
• What happens in the brain when we practice yoga and mindfulness and how this knowledge can be applied to people struggling with substance abuse
• Specific yoga practices for addiction and recovery
• How the yogic perspective can replace the addict worldview
• What mindfulness is and how we can teach people to be with the mind
• How yoga and mindfulness can be integrated into a CBT framework for working with addictions
• How to liaise with the medical community and be part of a clinical team
• How to promote feelings of safety in class and in the world
• What kinds of long-term goals and practices can be created for helping the addict to remain substance free

What you will take away:

• A certificate of attendance and CPD points from the Minded Institute & Yoga Alliance
• Knowledge of how to teach a four-week course that has been developed over years of working with yoga and relaxation practices in addiction and recovery settings.
• An understanding of how to work with addictions and recovery from a yogic and mindfulness perspective with individual clients and groups
• A comprehensive view into the teachings of Yoga Bhajan and the efficacy of Yoga Nidra (as taught by Uma Dinsmore-Tuli) for the addicted brain

Investment:
£400 (includes course materials)

Location: London

Time: 9AM-6PM daily

To register and for more info please contact rae@yogalove.co.uk

About the facilitators:
Shaura Hall has a wealth of experience in addictions. She has been working to deliver yoga and relaxation in the recovery field since 2009. She is a trained Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention facilitator and addictions recovery coach. As well as being a Yoga Therapist, a kundalini yoga teacher, she is also a Senior Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance and runs a 200HR Hatha Teacher Training Course. Shaura is currently working towards a BSc Hons in Health Sciences with the Open University, a certificate in supervision and regularly takes short yoga courses to support her journey.

Shaura understands how yoga can assist in recovery from direct personal experience. After years of addiction, she became relapse free in 2002 and began practicing yoga regularly as part of her recovery. Following a deep spiritual transformation through yoga, she decided to become a yoga instructor and has trained in the kundalini tradition since 2007. In 2011, Shaura trained with the Minded Institute developing further skills that helped her more effectively work with those who struggle with substance abuse. During that training (with Heather Mason), she studied the neurobiology of addiction, which has greatly influenced her understanding of addiction as both a physiological and a psychological process.

Heather Mason is the founder of the Minded Institute. She develops innovative methods for mental health treatment drawing on her robust educational background including an MA in Psychotherapy, an MA in Buddhist Studies, and an ongoing MSc in Neuroscience. She is also an RYT-500, a yoga therapist, and an MBCT facilitator. Heather develops protocols for different client populations by translating cutting-edge research on the psycho-biology and neurobiology of stress into yoga practices, breath work, mindfulness interventions, and therapeutic holding. She is also directly involved in research to verify the efficacy of these practices. Heather has trained with the Boston Trauma Center on yoga therapy for trauma and now lectures with the team on the neurobiology of trauma and the neurological mechanisms of yoga and mindfulness as relevant interventions. Additionally, Heather teaches an elective on Mind-Body Medicine to medical students at the Boston University School of Medicine.

To register your interest or for more information, please contact rae@yogalove.co.uk