Heidi E. SormazCertified Yoga Instructor

Course Guidebook

Better LivingTopic

Health & WellnessSubtopic

Yoga for a Healthy Mind and Body

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Heidi E. Sormaz, Ph.D.Certified Yoga Instructor

Heidi E. Sormaz is the founder, owner, and director of Fresh Yoga LLC in New Haven, Connecticut. She

received her M.S. and Ph.D. from Yale University and has been a Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale and the University of California, Berkeley. She has taught psychology at

Yale, San Francisco State University, and Albertus Magnus College. A Forrest Yoga mentor teacher, Ms. Sormaz has obtained the highest teaching credentials from both Forrest Yoga and Yoga Alliance (E-RYT 500). She has taught yoga and meditation at Esalen in Big Sur, California, and has presented workshops and teacher trainings at conferences and studios across the United States.

Ms. Sormaz’s academic focus is studying the interruption of cognitive habits (habitual thinking) with specific attention, focus, and meditation. She is an expert on the influence of arousal and attention on performance, the effects of anxiety on thinking, stress management, and performance in pressure situations. HRD Press published her book Performance under Pressure: Managing Stress in the Workplace, and Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine published her article “Meditation Can Reduce Habitual Responding.” Ms. Sormaz was awarded the Flora Stone Mather Alumnae Award from Case Western Reserve University and the Wilhelm Wundt Award at the Northeast Ohio Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference.

In 2008, Yoga Journal featured Ms. Sormaz on its list of “gifted, well-studied” teachers from across America. Her classes are live-streamed for StudioLiveTV, and she has been a presenter at Wind Horse: The Forrest Yoga Conference and at Yoga, Meditation, and Recovery Conferences since 2012. ■

John Schumacher is the founder and director of Unity Woods Yoga Center, Washington DC’s premier yoga

studio. He has practiced yoga for more than 40 years and has taught in the Washington area since 1973. He studied in India with B. K. S. Iyengar for 33 years and

is a certified advanced Iyengar yoga teacher, one of only 13 teachers in the United States to hold that level of certification. He also spent many years studying with internationally acclaimed teacher Dona Holleman. ■

John SchumacherFounder and Director

of Unity Woods Yoga Center

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Disclaimer

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Table of Contents

LECTURE GUIDES

INTRODUCTION

Professor Biography ............................................................................ iCourse Scope .....................................................................................1

LECTURE 1Western Yoga .....................................................................................2

LECTURE 2Yoga Begins with the Breath ..............................................................9

LECTURE 3Yoga and Pain Relief ........................................................................16

LECTURE 4Yoga for a Healthy Heart ..................................................................26

LECTURE 5Yoga and Addictive Behavior ............................................................35

LECTURE 6Yoga for Depression and Anxiety .....................................................44

LECTURE 7Iyengar Yoga.....................................................................................53

LECTURE 8Power Yoga ......................................................................................55

LECTURE 9Yin Yoga ...........................................................................................58

LECTURE 10Anusara Yoga ...................................................................................60

Table of Contents

LECTURE 11Forrest Yoga .....................................................................................63

LECTURE 12Everyday Yoga..................................................................................66

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

Bibliography ......................................................................................69

Scope

Yoga for a Healthy Mind and Body

Lect

ure

1: W

este

rn Y

oga

Western YogaLecture 1

What Is Yoga?

3

Practicing yoga can soothe your mind, body, and soul.

4

Lect

ure

1: W

este

rn Y

oga

Where Did Yoga Come From?

Yoga-sutras

Yoga-sutras

Yoga-sutras

Hatha Yoga Pradipika

How Does Yoga Work?

Lect

ure

1: W

este

rn Y

oga

Physiological and Psychological Changes

Full Catastrophe Living

The Essential Yoga Sutra

Suggested Reading

Practice

Lect

ure

1: W

este

rn Y

oga

Yoga Begins with the BreathLecture 2

H

The Importance of Breath

Breathing in a mindful way is an important component of yoga practice.

Lect

ure

2: Y

oga

Beg

ins

with

the

Bre

ath

how

Breathing Exercise: Expanding the Ribs

Telescoping the Ribs

Lect

ure

2: Y

oga

Beg

ins

with

the

Bre

ath

Freeing Up the Diaphragm: Uddiyana

Warrior II Pose

The Bound Angle Pose

Downward-Facing Dog

Lect

ure

2: Y

oga

Beg

ins

with

the

Bre

ath

Suggested Reading

Practice

Lect

ure

3: Y

oga

and

Pain

Rel

ief

Yoga and Pain ReliefLecture 3

Pain and Stress

Pain-Reduction Tools

Lect

ure

3: Y

oga

and

Pain

Rel

ief

The Slump

Lect

ure

3: Y

oga

and

Pain

Rel

ief

Shoulder Shrugs

Chest Opener

Chaturanga

Chaturanga is a movement that helps strengthen the upper back.

Plank

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Lect

ure

3: Y

oga

and

Pain

Rel

ief

Dandasana

Yoga for Pain Relief

Suggested Reading

Practice

Lect

ure

3: Y

oga

and

Pain

Rel

ief

Lect

ure

4: Y

oga

for a

Hea

lthy

Hea

rt

Yoga for a Healthy HeartLecture 4

Heart Disease

Lect

ure

4: Y

oga

for a

Hea

lthy

Hea

rt

Four Heart-Healthy Elements

Breathing Exercises: Ujjayi

Breathing Exercises: Sitali

Breathing Exercises: Uddiyana

Breath Coaching: Seated Twist and Side Bend

Lect

ure

4: Y

oga

for a

Hea

lthy

Hea

rt

Increasing Exercise Capacity: Warrior I

Movements That Improve Posture: Wind-Relieving Pose

Movements That Improve Posture: Bridge Pose

The bridge pose is a movement that helps improve posture.

Lect

ure

4: Y

oga

for a

Hea

lthy

Hea

rt

Practice

Suggested Reading

33

34

Lect

ure

4: Y

oga

for a

Hea

lthy

Hea

rt

Yoga and Addictive BehaviorLecture 5

The Addictive Pattern

Lect

ure

5: Y

oga

and

Add

ictiv

e B

ehav

ior

Breaking the Addictive Cycle

Lect

ure

5: Y

oga

and

Add

ictiv

e B

ehav

ior

Becoming More Comfortably Uncomfortable

is

is

is

is

Bringing awareness to what is happening when practicing yoga can help you bring awareness to your life outside of yoga.

Lect

ure

5: Y

oga

and

Add

ictiv

e B

ehav

ior

is

Cat/Cow

Downward-Facing Dog

Savasana

Lect

ure

5: Y

oga

and

Add

ictiv

e B

ehav

ior

Practice

Suggested Reading

43

44

Lect

ure

6: Y

oga

for D

epre

ssio

n an

d A

nxie

ty

Yoga for Depression and AnxietyLecture 6

Depression and Anxiety

How Yoga Can Change Your Mind

Lect

ure

6: Y

oga

for D

epre

ssio

n an

d A

nxie

ty

How Yoga Can Change Your Neurochemistry

Best Approaches for Depression and Anxiety

Lect

ure

6: Y

oga

for D

epre

ssio

n an

d A

nxie

ty

Sun Salutations

Sun salutations are a series of movements that involve matching up your breath with each pose.

Lect

ure

6: Y

oga

for D

epre

ssio

n an

d A

nxie

ty Suggested Reading

Practice

Lect

ure

6: Y

oga

for D

epre

ssio

n an

d A

nxie

ty

Iyengar YogaLecture 7

Warrior II poses.

Lect

ure

7: Iy

enga

r Yog

a

Poses

Light on Yoga

Yoga

Suggested Reading

Practice

Power YogaLecture 8

Headstands.

Lect

ure

8: P

ower

Yog

a

Power Yoga

Poses

Power Yoga

The Science of Yoga

Practice

Suggested Reading

Lect

ure

9: Y

in Y

oga

Yin YogaLecture 9

Downward-facing dog.

Poses

The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga

Relax and Renew

Practice

Suggested Reading

Lect

ure

10: A

nusa

ra Y

oga

Anusara YogaLecture 10

Extended side angle.

Lect

ure

10: A

nusa

ra Y

oga

Poses

Anusara Yoga Training Manual

Suggested Reading

Practice

Forrest YogaLecture 11

Lect

ure

11: F

orre

st Y

oga

Child’s pose.

Poses

Fierce Medicine

The Molecules of Emotion

Suggested Reading

Practice

Lect

ure

12: E

very

day

Yoga

Everyday YogaLecture 12

Cobras.

Lect

ure

12: E

very

day

Yoga

Poses

Yoga Ph.D.

21st

Suggested Reading

Practice

Bibliography

Soul.

Workout

The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards

Annals of Internal Medicine

Practice of Yin Yoga

Bib

liogr

aphy

Clinical Journal of Pain

Alternative Medicine

and Behavior Management

and Ignite the Spirit.

Anusara Yoga Training Manual

JAMA

Alternative Medicine

Yoga Ph.D.: Integrating the Life of the Mind and the Wisdom

21st

Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika

Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health

Full Catastrophe Living: Using

.

Therapies in Medicine

Explore

Bulletin of the Messinger Clinic

Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times

Bib

liogr

aphy

PLoS ONE

Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind

Series).

Feel.

BioScience

The Essential Yoga Sutra: Ancient Wisdom for Your Yoga.

Yoga-sutras

The Journal of Alternative and

The Journal of Alternative

Yoga for Depression: A Compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering through Yoga

Alternative Medicine

Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling