SDS 6938 (section number: 3504, class number: 21253)
Information and Contact: Dr. Jennifer Stuart- email
This course is designed to provide both a conceptual and embodied understanding of yoga philosophy and its applications to mental health, as well as yoga-based interventions that can be used in counseling.
Through direct practice, didactic material, and class discussion, students will explore basic yoga philosophy including the yamas and niyamas, the five koshas, the nature of the mind and mental distress, “prajna” or inner knowing, and the cultivation of “sattva.”
Students will learn how these concepts relate to Western concepts in psychotherapy including polyvagal theory, interoceptive awareness, and psychological resilience.
The course will discuss the efficacy of yoga-based interventions for mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, trauma, and addiction, as well as theorized mechanisms for change.
Finally, the course will provide students with a foundation and a knowledge of how to integrate yoga-based interventions into their counseling work.