MENTAL HEALTH AWARE YOGA PRESENTS
Mental Health + Yoga Summit

FREE | ONLINE | FIVE DAYS
29 AUGUST – 2 SEPTEMBER
A free five day summit for Yoga Teachers and Mental Health Professionals.
Learn from world leaders in mental health and yoga.
You don’t want to miss this!

About the Summit
Join your host Dr Lauren Tober for this five day free online summit from 29th August 2022, and learn from some of the best minds in the field of yoga and mental health.
Our Speakers
Learn from some of the world’s best researchers, teachers and therapists in the field of mental health + yoga

DR ARIELLE SCHWARTZ
Applying Polyvagal Theory to Yoga
Dr Arielle is a licensed clinical psychologist, certified complex trauma professional, and Kripalu yoga teacher. A leading voice in the healing of PTSD and complex trauma, she is the author of six books, including The Complex PTSD Workbook, Therapeutic Yoga for Trauma, and The Post-Traumatic Growth Guidebook. She believes that the journey of trauma recovery is an awakening of the spiritual heart.

NIKKI MYERS
Yoga, Addiction and Recovery
Nikki is an MBA, E-RYT500, Yoga Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Addictions Recovery Specialist, and Ayurvedic Specialist. She is the founder of Y12SR, Yoga of 12-Step Recovery, co-founder of the Yoga, Meditation and Recovery Conferences at Esalen Institute and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, has been a keynote speaker at the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) conference and the International Conference on Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and is a recipient of the esteemed NUVO Cultural Visionary Award.

SARASWATHI VASUDEVAN
Yoga Sutra from the Perspective of Trauma
Saraswathi is a yoga teacher, trainer & therapist in the tradition of Sri T Krishnamacharya. She has 3 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, and co-founded Yoga Vahini Foundation. Saraswathi currently serves on the Voluntary Board of Directors of Yoga Alliance.

JIVANA HEYMAN
Accessible Yoga
Jivana is the author of Accessible Yoga: Poses & Practices for Every Body (Shambhala, 2019), and Yoga Revolution: Building a Practice of Courage & Compassion (Shambhala, 2021). He is the founder and director of the Accessible Yoga Association, an international non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to the yoga teachings. He has specialized in teaching yoga to people with disabilities with an emphasis on community building and social engagement. Jivana is also the co-founder of the Accessible Yoga School, an online portal focusing on equity and accessibility.

HEATHER MASON
Yoga in Health Care
Heather is a yoga teacher and founder of both The Minded Institute, an internationally renowned yoga therapy training school, and the Yoga in Health Care Alliance. She holds master’s degrees in Buddhist Studies, Psychotherapy, Medical Physiology, and has extensive training in Neuroscience. She is actively focused on the integration of yoga into the UK’s National Health Service, and helped to create an All Party Parliamentary Group, Yoga in Society. She co-edited ‘Yoga and Mental Health’ and recently co-wrote ‘Yoga on Prescription.’

ANN SWANSON
The Science of Yoga
Ann is a certified yoga therapist and author of the best-selling book, SCIENCE OF YOGA.
Ann specializes in helping people safely and effectively manage stress and relieve chronic pain. She makes the tools of mindful movement and meditation non-intimidating and accessible worldwide, especially to people who feel like they can’t do yoga or their mind is too busy to meditate.

CHARA CARUTHERS
Ecopsychology and Yoga
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.

FIONA SUTHERLAND
Body Image and Yoga
Fiona is an accredited practising Dietitian, Director of The Mindful Dietitian, Podcast host of The Mindful Dietitian, mindfulness practitioner and Yoga Teacher. With 20+ years working in the areas of eating disorders, body image and sports nutrition, she is committed to weight inclusive & trauma informed approaches to disrupt dominant body narratives, integrating these into clinical work, supervision and training with Dietitians and health professionals. Fiona emphasizes on safety, embodiment, mindfulness and self compassion.

SUNITA BASTE PATIL
Bhagavad Gita & Mental Health
Sunita is a coach, mentor, speaker, teacher, writer and podcast host. She offers the most comprehensive teachings and practices on Yoga, Meditation, Ayurveda, and the healing science of India, helping people realise the wisdom within. Sunita has decades of experience and has taught thousands worldwide. Renowned for her depth of understanding in yoga philosophy, the human mind, and Sanskrit, she has taught Yoga Philosophy & Sanskrit to yoga teachers, teachers in training, yoga therapists in training, and Ayurveda certification trainings, translating sophisticated aspects of yoga philosophy.

ELLA NOAH BANCROFT
Acknowledgement of Country in Yoga
Ella is a descendant of the peoples of the Bundjalung nation and peoples of Poland and Scotland. An Australian born artist, storyteller, mentor & founder of ‘The Returning’ and Yhi Collective, Ella is a pioneer for The Decolonisation movement. Ella promotes re-wilding, the rise of female energy, as a way back to deep relationship with nature and decolonising one’s well-being. She believes in local communities with local economies as a way to find hope for the health of our planet & people. As a certified yoga teacher, she is on the RAP working committee for Yoga Australia, working alongside many other Indigenous yoga teachers.

DR MIGUEL FARIAS
Adverse Effects of Meditation
Dr Miguel is an experimental psychologist, author, and speaker.
He is the founding Director of the Brain, Belief, and Behaviour Lab at Coventry University. Previously he was a lecturer in Experimental Psychology at Oxford University.
In 2015 Dr Miguel co-authored a book with C. Wikholm, ‘The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You?’ which has been translated into various languages. His latest book is the Oxford Handbook of Meditation.

DR KAITLIN HARKESS
Integrating Clinical Psychology and Yoga
Dr Kaitlin is an award-winning Clinical Psychologist & Senior Yoga Instructor, the founder of Wisdom for Wellbeing, and podcast host of the same name. She helps overwhelmed and burnt-out individuals develop psychological skills needed to change their lives for the better. Her research on the psychoneuroimmunological impact of yoga for chronic stress was featured in Time, while her expertise on the therapeutic use of mindfulness & meditation was featured in The Holistic Approach. Kaitlin maximizes the benefits of integrating mindful wisdom practices with modern psychological interventions.

NIKOLA ELLIS
Yoga and Psycho-oncology
Nikola is a certified yoga therapist, psychotherapist and online educator who has been immersed in yoga for 30 years. She is currently serving as Vice President of Yoga Australia. Trained in the tradition of Sri Krishnamacharya, she founded Adore Yoga in 2002. Focusing on evidence based yoga for special needs populations, she is passionate about developing yoga & meditation programs in clinical environments and has trained thousands of yoga teachers, therapists & health professionals. With postgraduate 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.

DIANE LISKA
Yoga-Informed Psychotherapy and the Relational Space
Diane is a Registered Psychotherapist and Yoga Teacher blending expertise in neuroscience, yoga, somatics and the therapeutic relationship to offer Yoga-Informed Psychotherapy.
She specializes in serving individuals healing from complex, developmental and sexual trauma from an attachment-focused lens. Authentic connection is her guiding principle.
Yoga teachers and other health professionals regularly seek consultation with Diane for practitioner self-inquiry to support highly effective therapeutic relationships and to expand their trauma-informed scope of practice.

SANDRA PALMER
Yoga in Psychology
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.

ANNEKE SIPS
Yoga in the Doctor’s Office
Anneke is a Registered Nurse and has worked in psychiatry since 1998. She is one of the first accredited yoga therapists (C-IAYT) in The Netherlands and founder of Network Yoga Therapy, The Bridge online membership and The Yoga Therapy Conference in Amsterdam.
Her expertise can be found in applied philosophy and yoga for mental health, especially trauma and psychosis. Besides seeing many people in therapy sessions, she designs and offers Integrative Yoga Therapy programs and trains doctors and other healthcare professionals to create an ecosystem of sustainable solutions for health and wellbeing using yoga.

NEAL GHOSHAL
Living Kindness
Neal has been practicing Yoga for 20+ years and teaching since 2003. His teaching focuses on exploring and refining natural movement and alignment principles – learning to embody these principles in a way that takes our spiritual practice into our everyday lives.
He has taught on teacher training programs in Australia and New Zealand, has been Senior Faculty on Donna Farhi’s Advanced Teacher Training Program, and is a founder member of the Contemporary Yoga Teacher Training program, based in Auckland. Neal is also an experienced Holistic and Thai massage therapist, loves music and occasionally is a kirtan chant leader.

BROOK MCCARTHY
Mental Health for Business Owners
Brook is a business coach and trainer with a background in Public Relations, and a yoga teacher of 20+ years experience. She specialises in values-based business and works with owners who would far rather just do the work than talk about it.
Over the last 10 years, Brook has taught thousands of owners, including innumerable yoga, meditation teachers, therapists and alternative health practitioners, to work for love and money, combining technical marketing and sales skills with the mindset psychology to thrive in business (and in life!).

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?
- Applying polyvagal theory to yoga
- Yoga and body image
- Yoga, addiction and recovery
- Yoga Sutras and trauma
- Bhagavad Gita and mental health
- Adverse effects of meditation
- The science of yoga
- Integrating yoga and psychotherapy
- Integrating yoga and clinical psychology
- Bringing yoga into the doctor’s office
- Yoga and psycho-oncology
- Eco-psychology and yoga
- Mental health for yoga business owners
- Making yoga more accessible for everyone
- Yoga and psycho-oncology
- Acknowledgement of country in yoga
- 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 Yoga, as she speaks to world leaders in yoga and mental health.
2022 Schedule
Access the day’s sessions each morning at 7am AEST in our online shala
Sessions are available for the five days of the Summit + the weekend (7 days in total)
MONDAY 29th AUGUST
Welcome to the Mental Health + Yoga Summit
Dr Lauren Tober
Acknowledgement of Country in Yoga
Ella Noah Bancroft
Bhagavad Gita & Mental Health
Sunita Baste Patil
Yoga in Health Care
Heather Mason
TUESDAY 30th AUGUST
Accessible Yoga
Jivana Heyman
Yoga-Informed Psychotherapy and the Relational Space
Diane Liska
Yoga and Psycho-oncology
Nikola Ellis
Living Kindness
Neal Ghoshal
WEDNESDAY 31st AUGUST
Yoga, Addiction and Recovery
Nikki Myers
Body Image and Yoga
Fiona Sutherland
Ecopsychology and Yoga
Chara Caruthers
Yoga in the Doctor's Office
Anneke Sips
THURSDAY 1st SEPTEMBER
Applying Polyvagal Theory to Yoga
Dr Arielle Schwartz
Adverse Effects of Meditation
Dr Miguel Farias
Mental Health for Business Owners
Brook McCarthy
Integrating Clinical Psychology and Yoga
Dr Kaitlin Harkess
FRIDAY 2nd SEPTEMBER
The Science of Yoga
Ann Swanson
Yoga in Psychology Practice
Sandra Palmer
Yoga Sutra from the Perspective of Trauma
Saraswathi Vasudevan
Summit Wrap Up and Where to From Here
Dr Lauren Tober
Access the sessions after 4th September by joining the online Mental Health Aware Yoga training
OUR SUPPORTERS




