MENTAL HEALTH AWARE YOGA PRESENTS
Mental Health + Yoga Summit

FREEÂ |Â ONLINEÂ |Â FIVE DAYS
A free five day summit for Yoga Teachers and Mental Health Professionals.
Learn from world leaders in mental health and yoga.
Starts 31st January 2022
You don’t want to miss this!

About the Summit
Join your host Dr Lauren Tober for this five day free online summit from 31st January 2022, and learn from some of the best minds in the field of yoga and mental health.
Our Speakers
Learn from some of the worlds’ best researchers, teachers and therapists in the field of mental health + yoga

STEPHANIE LOPEZ
Yoga for Overwhelm
Stephanie is the Senior Director of Teachings & Programs and Senior iRest Trainer for the iRest Institute.
Her work is informed by years of immersion in the nondual teachings of yoga, a deeply embodied understanding of meditation and a focus on living awakened.
As a psychotherapist, meditation teacher, and certified yoga therapist, she bridges eastern wisdom with western psychology.

AMY WEINTRAUB
Yoga for Your Mood
Amy is the founder of LifeForce Yoga® Healing Institute, an acclaimed yoga therapist, and a pioneer in the field of yoga and mental health.
She is the author of Yoga for Depression, Yoga Skills for Therapists, Yoga for Your Mood: 52 Ways to Shift Depression and Anxiety, and many more.
Amy guides thousands of yoga and mental health professionals & practitioners worldwide.

JAMES FOX
Yoga in Prisons
James is the founder of the Prison Yoga Project.
As a certified yoga instructor, he has dedicated himself to developing a trauma informed approach to teaching yoga in correctional facilities, resulting to establishment of yoga programs in prisons across USA, Mexico, Europe & Australia.
He is trained in restorative justice principles & practices, violence prevention courses with prisoners, and many more.

SARASWATHI VASUDEVAN
Yoga Sutras and Mental Health: Bridging Philosophy & Practice
Saraswathi Vasudevan is a yoga teacher, trainer & therapist in the tradition of Sri T Krishnamacharya.
She has three decades of study, practice & teaching experience, having studied directly with Sri TKV Desikachar for 17 years. To make personalised yoga therapy and the transformative & healing wisdom of yoga more accessible, she founded YogaVahini, a Specialised Yoga Training, Therapy & Research Centre.

STEPHEN COPE
Yoga’s Exquisite View of Life’s Meaning and Purpose: Finding and Living Out Your Dharma
Stephen Cope is an author & scholar specialising in the relationship between Eastern contemplative traditions & Western depth psychology.
A Scholar-in-Residence at the Kripalu Center for 30 years, Stephen is the Founder and former director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living and named one of the most influential thinkers, writers and teachers on the current American yoga scene by Yoga Journal.

ALLÉ K
Teaching Trans Affirming Yoga
Allé (he/him) is a queer, fat, trans masc activist, educator & certified Yoga Instructor in North Carolina and all over the world (on zoom).
He has educated cis-het yoga teachers on Teaching Trans Affirming Yoga and provides LGBTQIA+ inclusive, trauma-informed, weight-neutral classes that center people who are usually left out of the traditional yoga spaces like queer, trans, fat and neurodivergent folks.

ANNABEL MCLISKY
Yoga in the Counselling Room
Annabel is a Yoga Teacher and Trainer and a very recently retired Psychologist in the Byron Shire in Australia.
As a co-founder of Trauma Sensitive Yoga Australia, she has taught workshops on Trauma Sensitive Yoga for yoga teachers and mental health clinicians.
Annabel is a guest teacher and mentor on our Mental Health Aware Yoga training program and is a senior tutor on the Dru Yoga and Meditation Teacher Training courses around Australia.

ANNEKE SIPS
Beyond Labels
Anneke is a psychiatric nurse, yoga teacher, yoga therapist and the founder of Network Yoga Therapy and The Yoga Therapy Conference in Amsterdam.
As one of the first accredited yoga therapists in The Netherlands with expertise in applied philosophy and yoga for trauma and psychosis, she designs and offers Integrative Yoga Therapy programs and trains doctors and other healthcare professionals.

GANESH MOHAN
The Intersection of Yoga + Mental Health in Our Modern Lives
Dr. Ganesh is a medical doctor who learned yoga from childhood in the tradition of Sri Krishnamacharya. He integrates a full spectrum of holistic well-being methods in his work. He also directs the Svastha Yoga & Ayurveda trainings, including the Svastha Yoga Therapy Program across the globe. He is the co-author of numerous books such as Yoga Therapy, Krishnamacharya, and Yoga Reminder. With his father, he is the translator of important Sanskrit yoga texts, Yoga Yajnavalkya and Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

RACHEL ZINMAN
Yoga for Diabetes
Rachel is the author of Yoga for Diabetes, How to Manage your Health with Yoga and Ayurveda.
She has been practising since 1983, teaching since 1992 and teaching teachers since 2000.
Rachel has studied with Alan Finger, Mark Whitwell, and many more and has immersed herself in the study of Vedanta. She writes for magazines, including Australian Yoga Journal and Australian Yoga Life.

SHANNON CROW
Mental Health + Community
Shannon is a yoga teacher, trainer, consultant, host of The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast and mother of 3.
She is passionate about helping yoga teachers who are ready to specialize, stand out and run a profitable yoga business with their unique offerings. Shannon is the founder of Pelvic Health Professionals and leads a 20-hour Yoga for Pelvic Health training online and in person.

EVE WHITE
Connection to Country
Eve is a proud Wirridjuri woman, Yoga Instructor, Professional Dancer, Indigenous Cultural Educator, MermaidFit creator, Storyteller and Mother of 3.
She has choreographed, directed & produced performances as a creative mover of 20 years. Eve reconnected to her ancestral Aboriginal Roots after studying yoga & chi-gong and has been supporting aboriginal women through yoga, health & healing.

SIMON BORG- OLIVIER
Simple Physical Tools for Resilience
Simon has been practicing traditional forms of posture, movement, breathing, and mental control for 50 years. He has been teaching for 38 years, has been a registered physiotherapist for 23 years and works as a research scientist and a University lecturer. He is co-director of YogaSynergy, one of Australia’s oldest & most respected yoga schools, with a style based on a deep understanding of modern medical science and traditional forms of exercise & therapy. Simon has co-authored books & scientific articles including ‘Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga’, the textbook for two courses at RMIT University in Melbourne.

LISA FITZPATRICK
The Intersection Between Mental Health, Pelvic Health + Yoga for Wellbeing
Lisa is a trained & experienced coach specialising in women’s empowerment and founder of Sacred Women’s Business Coaching.
As a physiotherapist for 30 years with a special interest in pelvic floor rehabilitation, she studied & practiced many different yoga styles & meditation techniques to explore ways of facilitating wellbeing for the nervous system. Her work centres on holistic pelvic wellness, yoga, mindfulness meditation & women’s health.

SANDRA PALMER
Finding Ease in a World of Dis-ease: Lockdowns, Trauma and Yoga
Sandra is a Registered Psychologist, Yoga Teacher & Certified iRest Yoga Nidra meditation teacher.
Her work integrates yoga and psychology, focusing on teaching accessible, embodied, and trauma-informed yoga practices.
She is a guest tutor & mentor for yoga teacher trainings in Auckland & Australia, including Contemporary Yoga Studies, Inspire Teacher Training and Mental Health Aware Yoga.

JACINTA BRINSLEY
Exercise Medicine for Mental Health: What do we know about Yoga?
Jacinta utilises her clinical background in exercise physiology to prescribe yoga-based practices informed by pain science, neuroscience and biomechanical principles to target changes in mood, mental health, quality of life and functional capacity.
Jacinta has worked with a range of health conditions to provide holistic health care, using movement as medicine.

TARA D’CRUZ-NOBLE
Photography + The Visual Story of Yoga
Tara (she/her) is a Sydney-based photographer & yoga teacher with family lines from the UK & India.
Tara weaves the philosophical teachings of yoga into both her photographic work and yoga offerings. With a creative inquiry informing her approach, she photographs yoga through the lens of documenting what it means to be well. Her photography supports teachers sharing many modalities within the wellness world.

ANA DAVIS
Moving with the Moon: Yoga for Your Menstrual Cycle
Ana has long been passionate about exploring the benefits of yoga and meditation for women’s monthly and life cycles. She has been a keen yoga practitioner since 1990, teaching yoga since 1996, and in 2005 founded Bliss Baby Yoga – offering specialised yoga teacher training courses in the areas of Prenatal, Postnatal, Restorative and Women’s Yoga.
Ana is author of the top-selling book, ‘Moving with the Moon: Yoga, Movement & Meditation for Every Phase of your Menstrual Cycle & Beyond.‘

CORA GEROUX
Mindful Marketing – Promoting Yourself Without Selling Your Soul
Cora (she/her) has been working & running businesses in the wellness industry for over a decade. She has created & led teacher trainings, is a qualified life coach and has co-owned two yoga studios. Cora is the host of the top rated podcast, Teaching Yoga, where she has interviewed some of the best & most respected yoga teachers from around the world.
Today, Cora teaches & coaches yoga teachers on business mindset, marketing & strategy so they can lead more fulfilling and profitable careers through her online training Business 101 Yoga Teacher Training, and private coaching practice.

CHARA CARUTHERS
Mental Health + Ayurveda
Chara is a certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) & professional Ayurvedic practitioner who has taught yoga globally for more than a decade. As a passionate teacher, speaker, advocate & mentor for women’s wellness, she inspires & motivates women by embracing the principles of yoga & Ayurveda. Chara’s most recent book is called ‘Eat Like You Love Yourself: A modern guide to Ayurvedic cooking and living.’ Chara is a writer, presenter & creator of outreach & educational programs aimed at getting real about what’s keeping you stuck.

NIKOLA ELLIS
Yoga and Eating Disorders
Nikola is a certified yoga therapist, psychotherapist and online educator who has been immersed in yoga for 30 years. Nikola is currently serving as Vice President of Yoga Australia, the peak body for yoga in Australia Trained in the tradition of Sri Krishnamacharya, she founded Adore Yoga in Sydney in 2002. Focusing on evidence based yoga for special needs populations, she is passionate about developing yoga & meditation programs in clinical environments. Nikola has trained thousands of yoga teachers, therapists & health professionals. With post-graduate training in public health, Nikola consults for organisations including Cancer Council NSW and has conducted research at the eating disorders day program at Westmead Children’s Hospital in Sydney.

Who is this for?
This online summit is for yoga teachers and therapists looking to bring yoga and psychology together and be part of the new wave of integrative mental health care.
We wholeheartedly welcome:
- Yoga Teachers
- Psychologists
- Social Workers
- Counsellors
- Doctors
- Other Health Professionals interested in yoga and the mind-body connection
- Student Yoga Teachers and Therapists
What will you learn?
- Latest research into yoga and depression
- Yoga to manage your mood
- Teaching yoga in prisons
- Connection to country
- Stigma, diagnosis and mental health
- Yoga for diabetes
- Yoga for overwhelm
- Moving beyond labels in psychiatry
- Pelvic health and pelvic trauma in yoga
- Trans affirming yoga
- Yoga for your menstrual cycle
- Mental health and Ayurveda
- Yoga for eating disorders
- Mental health aware marketing
- Finding ease in a world of dis-ease
- And more …….
Your Host

Dr Lauren Tober
As a Clinical Psychologist and Yoga Teacher of nearly two decades, Dr Lauren is passionate about integrating yoga and psychology on the mat, in the counselling room and in the world.
With the growing interest in mental health and yoga, yoga students are attending yoga classes for the mental health benefits in unprecedented numbers, and therapists are bringing yoga into their clinical practice more than ever.
Join Dr Lauren Tober, the founder of Mental Health Aware, as she speaks to world leaders in yoga and mental health.
2022 Schedule
Access the sessions each morning at 7am AEDT in our online shala
Sessions are available for the five days of the Summit + the weekend (7 days in total)
MONDAY 31ST JAN
Welcome to the Mental Health + Yoga Summit
Dr Lauren Tober
Connection to Country
Eve White
The Intersection of Yoga and Mental Health in Our Modern Lives
Dr Ganesh Mohan
Yoga for Your Mood
Amy Weintraub
Photography and The Visual Story of Yoga
Tara D’cruz-Noble
TUESDAY 1ST FEB
Yoga in Prisons
James Fox
Beyond Labels
Anneke Sips
Yoga for Diabetes
Rachel Zinman
The Intersection Between Mental Health, Pelvic Health and Yoga
Lisa Fitzpatrick
Mindful Marketing: Promoting Yourself Without Selling Your Soul
Cora Geroux
WEDNESDAY 2ND FEB
Yoga Sutras and Mental Health: Bridging Philosophy and Practice
Saraswathi Vasudevan
Yoga in the Counselling Room
Annabel McLisky
Yoga and Eating Disorders
Nikola Ellis
Exercise Medicine for Mental Health: What do we Know about Yoga?
Jacinta Brinsley
THURSDAY 3RD FEB
Yoga for Overwhelm
Stephanie Lopez
Trans Affirming Yoga
Allé K
Mental Health and Ayurveda
Chara Caruthers
Finding Ease in a World of Dis-ease: Lockdowns, Trauma and Yoga
Sandra Palmer
FRIDAY 4TH FEB
Moving with the Moon: Yoga for Your Menstrual Cycle
Ana Davis
Simple Physical Tools for Resilience
Simon Borg-Olivier
Mental Health and Community
Shannon Crow
Yoga’s Exquisite View of Life’s Meaning and Purpose: Finding and Living Out
Stephen Cope
Summit Wrap Up and Where To from Here
Dr Lauren Tober
Access the sessions after 7th February by joining the online Mental Health Aware Yoga training
OUR SUPPORTERS


Join the Next Summit
Want to join us for the next Summit in August 2022?
Join our email newsletter to be the first to hear when registration opens AND download our free Patañjali’s Eight Limbs of Mental Health Aware Yoga ebook by Dr Lauren Tober