With the significant increase in stress-related disorders in the Western world, teachers need to be even more aware of the many expressions of anxiety that show up in our yoga studios and in our lives.
This workshop will help the teacher understand anxiety from a yogic framework to better observe and respond to students who show up in anxious states. We will discuss the stress response and how it relates to anxiety, address the myths in the yoga world related to what students with anxiety really need in their practice, and then learn how to modify classes to meet students’ needs. Participants will be guided through a practice to meet the anxious mood using the key elements of LifeForce Yoga and including bhavana, pranayama, mantra, mudra, meditation, and yoga nidra. This will be an interactive, experiential workshop that will allow you to truly feel in your own body what it really means to “meet the mood on the mat.”
Deborah Lubetkin is a licensed psychologist with a private practice in New Jersey. A certifed yoga therapist (C-IAYT), Deb completed her LifeForce Yoga certification in 2011 and her Kripalu training in 2013. She is director of the Lifeforce Yoga mentoring program and is also on the faculty of the LifeForce Yoga training programs at Kripalu. Deb’s practice incorporates Eastern philosophy with the challenges of Western living to create a forum for her clients to develop an integrative plan to address a wide variety of mood-related imbalances. Learn more at drdeborahlubetkin.com.