Professional Training

Yoga of Awareness for Cancer Professional Training

June 25 - July 1, 2010

$1,950 | Enroll by May 1, 2010 $1,750
Enrollment in this program is limited so we encourage you to register early.

Call 1-866-313-0959 toll free to register.

 
Yoga, as a comprehensive tradition, provides a useful, researched, and systematic set of skills for navigating the cancer journey with greater ease.  More than 10 million Americans alive today have had cancer and more than a million new cases are diagnosed each year, according to The National Cancer Institute.  For these survivors, the road is rarely smooth.  Not only are the symptoms of the disease itself difficult, but side-effects of the treatments can also be debilitating and persistent.

Yoga of Awareness for Cancer is an innovative program for patients and survivors, focused on the cancer journey and that conveys essential elements of the ancient tradition of yoga  -- including meditation, breath work, postures, self-study and group sharing --  in a context that is informed by modern, evidence-based medicine.  The result is a powerful and transformative healing experience for an individual that reflects both the heart of yoga and the understanding of integrative medicine. Yoga of Awareness for Cancer has been shown in research studies at Duke Medical Center to help patients at early stages as well as advanced stages of the cancer experience. Clinical trials of this program demonstrated significant decreases in pain, fatigue, insomnia, negative mood and hot flashes as well as increases in vigor, acceptance and relaxation in the participants.

This 7-day professional training is offered to registered yoga instructors, and will introduce them to the Yoga of Awareness process that was developed through research at Duke, in addition to skills needed to teach yoga to those healing from cancer.  Offering a certificate of completion, this program is held at the state-of-the-art Duke Integrative Medicine facility in Durham, North Carolina. The training will be directed by Jim and Kimberly Carson, founders of the Yoga of Awareness for Cancer program.  Incorporating a blend of instruction, practice, and discussion, this training will feature Duke medical experts in oncology and health psychology presenting relevant information for teaching yoga to cancer survivors including diagnosis, treatment, and the physical and psychological challenges that are encountered. The particular issues associated with teaching yoga to students who are currently living with cancer and those who are cancer-free will be explored, and will include topics such as:

·       How to safely and effectively teach yoga to people living with cancer

·       Evidence-based modules for cancer-related symptoms

·       Tailoring asana and pranayama to specific symptoms

·       Contexting yogic principles for people from various faith traditions

·       Effective and clear ways of presenting models of stress

·       Appropriate guidance for working with the mind

·       Partnering with the medical community

·       Group facilitation skills

Jim Carson, PhD is a clinical health psychologist at Oregon Health & Science University; Jim is applying his expertise to the development and evaluation of meditation-based clinical treatments. While Jim was on faculty at Duke, he and Kimberly developed the Yoga of Awareness program and completed research trials with metastatic breast cancer patients and with survivors of early stage breast cancer. Jim and Kimberly together developed the first mindfulness program for couples as well as the first loving-kindness meditation program for medical patients.  He is a long time student of Swami Muktananda and is a former yogic monk who has taught the practices and philosophy of yoga world-wide for over 25 years.

For more information, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Program Co-Director.

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