M. Mala Cunningham, Ph.D., C-IAYT

                                             WELCOME!

            Bringing Yoga Therapy Into Hospitals and Academia

       Your Career As a Yoga Teacher and Spiritual Entrepreneur

Welcome to Part 1 of the course Bringing Yoga Therapy Into Hospitals and Academia.   This 40-hour APD (advanced professional development) workshop is designed for yoga teachers and yoga therapists who would like to bring medical yoga (or their specialization area) into an academic or hospital environment -- or any other medical establishment such as nursimg homes or private businesses etc.).  Please note: Part 1 of the course covers 23 hours and Part 2 of the course (which is normally in-person) covers 17 hours - totally 40 hours of APD credit. For the foreseeable future, due to Covid, Part 2 of the course will only be offered through Yogaville as an online / live zoom course. After you complete Part 1 of the course, please sign up for and complete Part 2. The link for Part 2 is:  https://www.yogaville.org/programs/9473/bringing-yoga-therapy-into-hospitals-and-academia-online/.

This workshop will provide opportunities for students to learn completency-based interviewing skills, planning strategies, marketing ideas, negotiation techniques, and important formula’s for the successful implementation of your idea or program.  Participants will learn the skills necessary for developing and writing a business plan and a professional proposal and will also receive guidance on how to successfully navigate within various types of  professional settings.  This competency-based workshop will enable Yoga Teachers and Yoga Therapists to acquire a higher level skill-set that will enable your successful  implementation of  the “approach, enter, and succeed” formula.   Participants will learn clear & comprehensive stratetgies for “what to do” and “how to do it.”  

Please note that this workshop covers two areas,  1) the various components that go into setting yourself up as the owner of a small business and/or a consultant, and 2) how to navigate all of the issues that go into contacting, entering, and succeeding in an existing healthcare system or in academia.  If you are only interested in getting your foot in the door of a hospital or in academia, it will still be very important to review all of the components of setting up a small business as a sole proprietor.  It is likely that some hospitals may only want to hire you as a part time contractor or fee-for-service employee.  If this is the case, you will want to have your own identity and business brand in the market-place and you’ll want to be able to pitch your ideas to other hospitals or businesses.  Also, it will likely mean that you will still have to obtain a business license, insurance, and to possibly set up an LLC or some other type of structure. 

The overall components of this course include:  1) the importance of listening to internal guidance and intuition, 2) brainstorming guidelines, 3) how to format a yoga therapy business plan and a mission statement, 2) who to contact within an Academic and Hospital setting, 3) how to develop networking opportunities,  4) how to write an effective & professional proposal in order to get in the door, 5)  how to hone your interviewing skills and how to “sell” your idea,  6) how to negotiate your salary and patient fees,  7) how to both navigate and understand what the protocols are for working in a hospital and academic setting,  8) how and why to keep clinical notes,  9) how to strategize & impact on getting referrals from medical providers, and 10) what the top three strategies are for successfully interfacing with medical professionals. 

Please follow the online component in a sequential a step-by-step manner as each section builds upon the previous one.  Read over each area and watch carefully for the required homework assignments.  You will need to bring your completed homework assignments to Part 2 of the training (offered through Yogaville and will be online / live via zoom).   The homework assignments are in bold under the various sections.  In addition, at the end of this online training there is a section that lists totality of all of the homework assignments.  Let’s get started!