Yin Yoga Therapy and Mental Health: An Integrated Approach

by Tracey Meyers, Sarah Powers (Foreword by)

Overview

This highly illustrated guide teaches yoga therapists and mental health professionals how to integrate Yin Yoga into practice and treatment plans as part of a holistic approach to healing and treating a variety of mental health challenges and brain injuries.

Yin yoga is an accessible form of yoga consisting of mainly floor based low force stretching, perfect for all patients regardless of physical limitations. The use of Yin yoga when combined with breath work and meditation can decrease anxiety, improve overall mood, and create a sense of well-being.

With explanations on the principles of practice, such as asanas, meditation, breathwork and how to integrate different psychological methods to decrease emotional suffering and increase self-care along with examples of how to apply these principles for a range of mental health conditions; this guide is essential reading for all practitioners interested in an integrated approach to healing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857013835
Publisher:	Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Publication date:	06/21/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	800,940
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Tracey Meyers is a Clinical Psychologist, a yoga therapist and an advanced yoga teacher and has contributed to publications such as Yoga and Science in Pain Care, edited by Neil Pearson, Shelly Prosko and Marlysa Sullivan and Yoga Therapy Foundations, Tools, and Practice, edited by Laurie Hyland Robertson and Diane Finlayson.. She is Assistant Professor at Department of Psychiatry, Yale University and Adjust Professor at both Maryland University of Integrative Health and University of Hartford. She also leads nationally recognized mindfulness programs and retreats, and Yin Yoga Teacher Training Immersions for yoga teachers, yoga therapists, and mental health professionals.

Table of Contents

Foreword Sarah Powers 7

Acknowledgments 9

Introduction 11

Part 1 Yin Yoga and Mental Health Foundations

1 What Is Yin Yoga? 15

2 Yin Yoga: An Integrative Healing Approach 24

3 More Than Just a Pose 33

4 Impact of Yin Yoga on the Nervous System 42

5 Impact of Yin Yoga on Emotions 53

6 Breathing into Yin 69

7 Easing Suffering through Yin Yoga 79

8 Opening the Compassionate Heart 87

9 Turning Within 98

10 Yin Yoga for Depression 112

11 Yin Yoga for Anxiety 124

12 Yin Yoga for PTSD and Complex Trauma 135

13 Yin Yoga for Traumatic Brain Injury 149

14 Yin Yoga for Schizophrenia 165

Part 2 Yin Yoga and Mental Health Practices

15 Pose Descriptions 185

16 Practices for Emotional Well-Being 246

Conclusion 298

Index 299

Editorial Reviews

Dr. Meyers has delivered a practical guide to help mental health professionals across disciplines gain the knowledge and skills to effectively integrate yin yoga into existing treatment approaches. Her method, applicable to diverse and challenging clinical presentations, is reinforced with case vignettes, and infused with easy-to-understand illustrations. It is refreshing to see renewed support of treating the mind-body connection in a way that perfectly complements a traditional model of psychiatric care.

Peter Tolisano

The clear, clean writing of Tracey Meyers, "Yin Yoga and Mental Health," cultivates the reader's attention in the same manner a yin posture invites the practitioner into a deeper, more meditative understanding of ways to engage in their lived experience.

Diana Finlayson

Tracey Meyers deftly integrates Yin Yoga with psychotherapy in her thoughtful, scholarly approach to treating anxiety, depression, trauma, schizophrenia, and brain injury cases. Rare in its depth and clarity.... a must-read for clinicians and yoga therapists.

Patricia L. Gerbarg

Tracey's writing offers a rich and unique tapestry of philosophy and practical application from yoga, Buddhism, and psychology seamlessly weaving personal story and client examples that empower the reader in applying this work. Her writing is personal, approachable, and inspiring-full of both wisdom and heart.

Marlysa Sullivan DPT

Yin Yoga and Mental Health is sure to become a classic and staple in the library for yoga and mindfulness educators and clinicians alike. Tracey's lifelong dedication to exploring new, integrative models for whole person healing are a gift to all of us.

Jennifer Ciarimboli

In today's movement towards making yoga more widely accessible and trauma-informed, this book is a must read. Tracey skillfully weaves together compelling stories, robust scientific and public health data, and step-by-step guidance in transformative yogic techniques, leaving the reader both inspired and empowered to support their own and others' mental health through the healing powers of yoga.

Kyla Pearce

Dr. Meyers' vision of the hybrid modality of yin yoga as an accessible, complete practice is well-suited to support the range of mental health conditions she outlines through the lens of Western psychology. Of particular value for physical health providers, this practical text engagingly draws on personal clinical experience as well as ideas from a number of mind-body traditions to demonstrate how the tension experienced in yin-style practice can help us to access "fluidity, range of motion, comfort, and ease." In so doing, we nudge open the doorways of perception, creating possibilities for skilled response rather than habitual reaction.

Laurie Hyland Robertson

Dr. Meyers gives us thoughtful and real examples of how these yoga and breathing practices have been used in her personal and professional life. The stories about individuals being introduced to mind-body practices and their reactions made the book engaging versus a basic instructional manual. Each story that was presented in the book was thoughtfully and respectfully written. As a trauma thriver I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning mind-body practices as a form of healing.

Linda Lentini