IAYT - International Association of Yoga Therapists

an IAYT member IAYT now your membership to the member site conference website Find a teacher or member

IAYT works to establish Yoga as a recognized and
respected therapy. Use our website to find a
teacher, news, and information. Search the IAYT Site

As a member you have exclusive online access to: YTIP and Yoga Studies back issues and IAYT's, current research, plus your editable professional information
is included in the searchable directory of teachers. You also
receive a subscription to the IJYTand YTIP and more. Find out about all IAYT's member benefits.

	IAYT Educational Standards Committee
		Susi Aldous, Functional Synergy Yoga Therapy, Calgary, AB, Canada. Susi loves bringing ideas into reality in a sustainable way. She operates Functional Synergy yoga therapy, is an author and publisher of a number of successful books, CDs and DVDs, and the creator of the Anatomy and Asana training program and the Yoga for the Desk Jockey^tm Corporate program. Many people believe that Susi is really busy, where in truth, she is not. Her secret is the doing what she does best, and delegating the rest. She knows that only she can do what she does, and everyone else is better at everything else. She hopes her teachings inspire you to do what you do best.

		Leigh Blashki, Australian Institute of Yoga Therapy, Gembrook, VIC, Australia. Leigh is the Director of the Australian Institute of Yoga Therapy and the Australian Institute of Yoga. He developed and currently directs Australia's first government accredited Yoga teaching program, the Advanced Diploma of Yoga Teaching and the country's only accredited Yoga Therapy training program, the Graduate Certificate in Yoga Therapy. He has post-graduate qualifications in Health Sciences (Victoria University), under-graduate qualifications in Counselling, Human Performance, Massage, Nutrition, Yoga, Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda and has over 30 years experience as a Yoga teacher and 18 years as a Yoga Therapist. In the 1980s Leigh was introduced to Ayurveda and subsequently developed his studies in both India and Australia. Among his principal Yoga teacher have been Michael Volin, A.G. Mohan and Swami Gitananda.

		Elissa Cobb, MA, ACSM, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, Burlington, VT. Elissa is the Director of Program at PRYT. She has more than twenty years of combined practice and teaching experience in fitness/health consulting, body/mind and movement practices, Yoga and Yoga Therapy. Elissa has a Master's Degree in Embodiment Studies, is a Certified Advanced Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Practitioner, a Certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Teacher, and Certified Phoenix Rising Group Facilitator. She is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer. Elissa studied with Michael Lee for several years and now leads Phoenix Rising training programs worldwide. She is also an active speaker at mind/body industry conferences. Her book, The Forgotten Body, was published in 2008.

		Elizabeth Gibbs, MA, E-RYT 500, Integrative Yoga Therapy, Winsor, CT. Beth is a certified Yoga teacher and therapist through Integrative Yoga Therapy. She is a member of the IYT teaching faculty and directs the school's Professional Yoga Therapist Internship Program. Beth has a masters degree in Yoga Therapy and Mind/Body Health from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She lives and practices in the Hartford, Connecticut area and is the author of "Ogi Bogi, The Elephant Yogi," a Yoga book for children.

		Eden Goldman, DC, CYT, E-RYT, Yoga Therapy Rx, Santa Monica, CA. Eden is a 3rd generation yogi, Chiropractic preceptee and graduate of Los Angeles College of Chiropractic. Raised in the Kriya Yoga tradition of Paramahansa Yogananda, Eden is a certified yoga therapist specializing in the integration of classical therapeutics with modern advancements in biomechanical technology. He has been personally mentored by some of the top musculoskeletal therapists in the United States including the founding president of the International Association for Yoga Therapists, Larry Payne, PhD, and Craig Liebenson, DC, team Chiropractor for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. Additionally, Eden is the co-founder of the wellness company Yoga Doctors, founder of the 501(c)(3) non-profit charity Karmapalooza Productions and a faculty member in Loyola Marymount University's Yoga Therapy Rx Training Program, the first University-based yoga therapist training program and clinic in the country. He has been featured in numerous publications including Yoga Journal, Yoga Mind Body Spirit, The New Times and LA Yoga Magazine.

		Shanti Shanti Khalsa, PhD, Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology and Kundalini Yoga Therapeutics. Espanola, NM. Shanti Shanti is the founder and director of the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine and Humanology where she and a small staff provide direct client services and professional training, and conduct research on the medical effects of Yoga practice. A Yoga instructor since 1971, she began to specialize in teaching Kundalini Yoga and meditation to people with life threatening illness and their family members in 1986, under the direction of Yogi Bhajan. She offers programs in the areas of diabetes, cancer, chronic fatigue, HIV, anxiety, depression, and grief recovery.

		Hansa Knox, LMT, Prana Yoga and Ayurveda Mandala, Denver, CO. Hansa is an ongoing student of Kripalu Yoga, and, she has integrated work from other teachers who have offered insights on the path of yoga. She utilizes yoga, yoga cikitsa, ayurveda and massage in her practice. She owns the PranaYoga and Ayurveda Mandala in Denver where she teaches yoga classes, yoga teacher and yoga therapy trainings. Hansa is president of Sanga, past president of Yoga Alliance and Yoga Teachers Of Colorado. She has served on the Board of Kripalu Center, International Yoga College and is an advisor to International Association of Yoga Therapy. www.pyamandala.com.

		Gary Kraftsow, American Viniyoga Yoga Institute, Oakland, CA Gary has been a pioneer in the transmission of Yoga for health, healing, and personal transformation in the U.S. for nearly 30 years. He began his study of Yoga in India with TKV Desikachar in 1974. Gary founded and is now the director of the American Viniyoga Institute (AVI) and the author of Yoga for Wellness and Yoga for Transformation.

		Sonia Nelson, Healing Yoga Foundation, San Francisco, CA Sonia has been a student and teacher of for over thirty years, studying privately with T.K.V. Desikachar since 1975. As a certified KHYF Teacher Trainer and Director of Antaranga Yoga/Vedic Chant Center in New Mexico, Sonia focuses her yoga teaching on individualized instruction in the private setting including continuing education and mentoring for yoga teachers. This instruction and consultation incorporates the application of principles and practices of yoga therapy to a wide range of life situations with her special interest being the use of pranayama, mantra and meditation as therapeutic modalities in the healing context.

		Stephanie Sisson, LICSW, ERYT, The Samarya Center in Seattle, WA. Stephanie is the managing director and clinical supervisor of The Samarya Center in Seattle, Washington. She has been instrumental in developing The Samarya Center's yoga therapy approach, Integrated Movement Therapy®, as well as the center's training program. Stephanie has almost twenty years of experience working with people of all ages facing a wide variety of conditions and challenges. She has been published in the International Journal of Yoga Therapy and Yoga Therapy Today and has presented at the SYTAR conference, in addition to the National Association of Social Workers Washington state conference.

		Marlysa Sullivan, MPT, E-RYT, Pranakriya Yoga Therapy, Atlanta, GA. Marlysa is a professional physical therapist and Yoga instructor. She has developed and teaches in the Pranakriya Yoga Therapy curriculum which integrates an understanding of Tantra Hatha Yoga's healing methods seen in the light of modern medical and psychological therapies. She teaches functional anatomy and therapeutic yoga as part of the Pranakriya 500-hour teacher training program and other teacher training programs across the country. She has developed and teaches the complementary and alternative therapies course at Georgia State University in the Physical therapy department and currently offers CEU courses for professional physical therapists in integrating yoga into physical therapy practice. Marlysa has a private yoga therapy and physical therapy practice in Atlanta where she focuses on combining physical therapy evaluation and treatment techniques with asana, pranayama and meditation. To find out more about Marlysa's programs go to www.anatomyofyoga.com . To find out more about Pranakriya go to www.pranakriya.com.
Ex Officio
		Clare Collins, RN, PhD. CYT, IAYT board representative. Clare completed yoga teacher training at the Esther Myer's Studio in Toronto, the Advanced Yoga Teacher Training Program at the American Viniyoga Institute and the AVI Yoga Therapist Program in 2005. She is currently a Yoga Therapist in private practice and is registered with the Yoga Alliance at the ERYT-500 level. Clare is a registered nurse with a specialization in mental health, Professor Emeritus of Nursing at Michigan State University and member of the American Academy of Nursing. She completed a five year post doctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health in geriatric mental health research and has been a principal investigator and co-principal investigator on NIH research grants. She is a curriculum consultant at the American Viniyoga Institute and an educator of yoga teachers and yoga therapists at national training programs.

		John Kepner, MA, MBA, IAYT Executive Director. John is the executive director of IAYT, as well as a practicing Yoga teacher and therapist with a professional background in economics, finance, and non-profit management. He holds teacher and therapist certifications from the American Viniyoga Institute and a teaching certification from A.G. Mohan in Chennai, India. John often lectures on Yoga and Yoga therapy for allopathic institutions and co-taught the course on Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the University of Arkansas Medical School for two years. His work for IAYT and his writings for the International Journal of Yoga Therapy often have an economic and public policy perspective.
Ex Officio
		Molly Lannon Kenny, IAYT alternate board representative. Molly Lannon Kenny is a nationally recognized innovator, researcher and educator in the field of Yoga-based therapy, and one of the nation's leading experts in neurophysiology and Yoga. She is a licensed speech-language pathologist and certified yoga instructor, and is the founder and director of The Samarya Center for Integrated Movement Therapy and Ashtanga Yoga. Molly developed Integrated Movement Therapy®, her innovative approach for students of all ages with exceptional challenges, combining her love of yoga with her extensive clinical background. She has provided therapy in a variety of settings to a broad range of individuals and is well known in the field as a dynamic, creative and effective therapist and advocate.

		Daniel Seitz, JD, EdD, Facilitator and Advisor to the Committee Dan has worked for more than 20 years in the field of complementary and alternative medicine education, accreditation and regulation. He currently serves as the executive director of the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education, consults with alternative medicine colleges and organizations on accreditation, strategic planning, marketing, administration and other matters, and does professional facilitation. Dan previously served as the founding dean for the School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at New York Chiropractic College, chair of the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, president of New England School of Acupuncture, and chief of the Acupuncture Unit for the Massachusetts Board of Medicine.