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Polyvagal Theory and the Gunas

Polyvagal Theory and the Gunas

Polyvagal Theory and the Gunas

CA$49.99
This course includes
Lifetime access after purchase
Certificate of completion
This course was recorded in February 2021

Overview

The autonomic nervous system is a vital component within the integrated systems-wide brain-body communication network. The ability to regulate the autonomic nervous system for relaxed and calm states of the body and mind as well as developing resilience for varying levels of activation is important for a biopsychosocial approach to pain care.

The vagus nerve is an essential conduit for this information and provides both sensory/interoceptive information and a motor/parasympathetic response.

Polyvagal Theory is a theory that explores how autonomic activation contributes to physiological and psychological states and behaviors. Yoga practices have been found to help cultivate regulation of the autonomic nervous system. In addition, yoga philosophy has a complementary perspective of addressing underlying qualities,or gunas, to affect the body, mind, and behavior.

These theoretical frameworks can be utilized to understand how the yoga perspective to pain care moves beyond a symptom-driven approach to facilitate whole person well-being.

Join Neil Pearson, Shelly Prosko, Marlysa Sullivan, and Matt Erb for Yoga and Science in Pain Care Chapter 6: Polyvagal Theory and the Gunas 

 

Learning objectives

In this online course, we will:

  1. Describe autonomic regulation and resilience and the importance of these concepts in pain care.
  2. Explain the function of the vagus nerve for both interoceptive and parasympathetic function
  3. Examine polyvagal theory and neural platforms for regulation and resilience 
  4. Describe and differentiate the yoga framework of the gunas with polyvagal theory and its application to regulation and resilience within body-mind-environment interactions 
  5. Apply yoga practices to facilitate body-mind regulation and resilience utilizing the models of polyvagal theory and the gunas. 

What you will learn can be effectively applied via virtual and in-person consults.


Audience

This course and the entire Yoga and Science in Pain Care series is intended for:

  • Practitioners including yoga therapists and healthcare practitioners interested in integrating yoga with their persistent pain population to expand their approaches in clinical practice
  • Yoga teachers interested in understanding aspects of the science behind yoga and pain
  • Medical/healthcare professionals who want to better understand pain or want to integrate yoga and mind/body practices
  • Mind/body contemplative practitioners/researchers/clinicians who want to better understand the science around pain and how yoga as a mind/body practice works with people in pain
  • Yoga practitioners or integrative health consumers who want an in-depth read with practical knowledge in this field.
  • Yoga therapist programs and medical university/college programs that require online course study in pain care
  • Schools that have online mind/body programs as stand-alone modules or as part of medical programs and other mind-body institutions.
  • People suffering from pain, particularly those keen about learning some practices to help with pain self-care and who want to learn more about the value of integrating pain science and yoga

We also hope that this series will help bring together yoga therapists and health professionals. There is value in blending science and yoga therapy in pain care – for the person in pain, for the health professional, and for the yoga professional.

The instructors
Marlysa Sullivan
MPT, C-IAYT

Marlysa is a physiotherapist and yoga therapist with over 15 years of experience working with people suffering with chronic pain conditions. She is an Assistant Professor in Yoga Therapy and Integrative Health Sciences at Maryland University of Integrative Health and holds an adjunct position at Emory University, where she teaches the integration of yoga and mindfulness into physical therapy practice in the DPT program. She is also the author of Understanding Yoga Therapy: Applied Philosophy and Science for Well-being and co-editor of Yoga and Science in Pain Care: Treating the Person in Pain as well as several peer-reviewed articles.

Marlysa has been involved in the professionalization of the field of yoga therapy through the educational standards committee of IAYT, which helped to define the competencies for the field, and in characterizing the yoga therapy workforce through research. Her research interests focus on defining the framework and explanatory model for yoga therapy based on philosophical and neurophysiological perspectives.


Shelly Prosko
PT, C-IAYT, PCAYT

Shelly is a physiotherapist, yoga therapist, educator, author and pioneer of PhysioYoga who has been integrating yoga into physiotherapy since 1998 with a focus on chronic pain, pelvic health, compassion in healthcare and professional burnout. She guest lectures at numerous yoga therapy and physiotherapy schools, presents at yoga and medical conferences globally, contributes to academic research and writing, provides mentorship to professionals, and offers courses and resources for yoga and healthcare practitioners and the general population. Shelly is a Pain Care Aware Lead Trainer.

She considers herself a lifelong student and emphasizes the immense value gained from clinical experience and learning from the patients she serves, the professionals she teaches, and the colleagues with which she collaborates.

Shelly has written several book chapters in yoga therapy and integrative rehabilitation textbooks and is co-editor/author of Yoga and Science in Pain Care: Treating the Person in Pain. She maintains a clinical practice in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada and believes compassion is the foundation of healthcare and overall well-being.

Learn more about Shelly’s work at www.physioyoga.ca to learn more


Neil Pearson
PT, MSc(RHBS), BA-BPHE, C-IAYT, ERYT500

Neil is a physical therapist, yoga therapist, author, researcher, Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, faculty in three IAYT-accredited yoga therapy programs, board member for the International Association of Yoga Therapists and pain care advocate. He conducts research into the effects of yoga on veterans with chronic pain and people with osteoarthritis. Neil is the recipient of awards honouring his work in pain care, patient education and physiotherapy by Queen’s University, the Canadian Pain Society and both provincial and national physiotherapy associations, including the Canadian 2021 Medal of Distinction.

Neil is a consultant to Partners in Canadian Veterans Rehabilitation Services, and to Lifemark’s 300+ clinics in Canada. Neil is a past board member for Pain BC, Canada’s premier non-profit transforming the way pain is understood and treated. He co-authored – Yoga and Science in Pain Care 2019, authored the patient education ebook, Understand Pain Live Well Again in 2008, and is lead contributor to many free patient resources offer by Pain BC.

For more information and course offerings, see www.paincareaware.com


Matt Erb
PT

Matt Erb is a physiotherapist with extensive experience in the fields of mind-body medicine. He has specialization in working with persons experiencing co-occurring somatic and mental health conditions. He is a leader in translating the concepts that underpin the integrative healthcare movement into rehabilitation therapy practice and is an advocate for equipping therapists to safely support and work with the whole person experience.

Matt serves as an Associate Clinical Director with The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (Washington DC). He is also founder of Embody Your Mind, a small teaching and consulting business, maintains a clinical practice in Tucson, AZ at Simons Physical Therapy, and is an instructor/guest lecturer for the University of Arizona Departments of Psychiatry, Family Medicine, and Integrative Medicine.

Material included in this course
  • Chapter 6: Polyvagal Theory and the Gunas - A Model for Autonomic Regulation in Pain
  • Introduction
  • Theory Comparison
  • Automatic Neural States and Yoga Therapy
  • Clinical Applications Pt1
  • Clinical Applications Pt2
  • Additional Clinical Ideas
  • Meditation Practice
  • Conclusion
  • Feedback
FAQs

Yes, this individual course is part of a larger series: The Yoga and Science in Pain Care Book Club Series. You can choose to register for this individual session or you can register for the entire series at a discount. Click here to learn more and register for the entire Yoga and Science in Pain Care Book Club Series.

Once you have completed the course, a certificate of completion (including learning hours and course information) will be generated. You can download this certificate at any time. To learn more about course certificates on Embodia please visit this guide.

The answer is dependent on your profession and geographic location of practice. For Canadian Physiotherapists, this webinar series counts towards your learning hours and professional portfolio.

For other professions and jurisdictions, please submit the webinar and course descriptions and objectives we have provided to your professional association to review.

For Physical Therapists in the U.S., The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) Continuing Competency Team has announced that it is re-evaluating the process of CEUs or CCUs and has discontinued the aPTitude system and ProCert program that we would have used to submit for CEUs/CCUs for this course. Notification from the FSBPT can be read here. This Forum article discusses the future focus of the FSBPT continuing competency initiative.

This course series may qualify toward learning hours but we cannot guarantee this.

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