This is Yoga Therapy

What if anxiety isn’t an enemy to conquer, but a protective messenger asking for our attention? In a modern landscape where chronic tension, social ambiguity, and constant stimulation have made anxiety feel like society’s default baseline, trying to eliminate anxious sensations is often the wrong therapeutic goal.

In this episode of This is Yoga Therapy, host Michele Lawrence sits down with her long-time teacher, colleague, and friend, Antonio Sausys, MA, CMT, C-IAYT—somatic psychotherapist, author of Yoga for Grief Relief, and pioneer in integrative mind-body health. Drawing from his featured article in Yoga Therapy Today, Antonio unpacks why our nervous systems run so hot, why fear and anxiety are fundamentally different biological signals, and how learning to "pause at the yellow traffic light" changes our entire relationship with discomfort.

Together, Michele and Antonio walk step-by-step through his Four-Step Clinical Model for working with anxiety, explore the difference between cognitive management and physiological regulation, break down his Three-Layer Practice, and discuss how clinicians and practitioners can hold steady somatic boundaries while breathing the same uncertain air as their clients.

Key Discussion Points & Takeaways

• Society’s Default Baseline: Why modern communication shifts, prolonged uncertainty, and constant vigilance have elevated our baseline nervous system arousal—and why inherited "jumper" biology overestimates danger in daily life.
• Fear vs. Anxiety: Understanding fear as immediate, visceral, and biological versus anxiety as imaginative, slower, and future-projected.
• The Yellow Traffic Light Metaphor: Why we tend to either slam on the brakes or blow right through anxiety signals—and how to cultivate the pause.
• The Four-Step Model for Transforming Anxiety:
  1. Naming the Experience: Creating immediate psychological distance and physiological traction.
  2. Identifying Manifestations: Tracking how anxiety moves through Kaya (body), Manas (mind), and Vac (speech) across onset, transit, and offset.
  3. Managing vs. Regulating: Distinguishing between cognitive problem-solving (answering anxious thoughts with practical plans, reframes, and constructive strategies) and somatic regulation through the breath and body.
  4. Staying Functional: Why the true mark of resilience isn't the absence of anxiety, but teaching the nervous system that discomfort and capability can coexist.
• The Three-Layer Practice: Bridging theory into daily reality through regulation, orientation and response, and embodiment and integration.
• Therapist Self-Care: How yoga therapists and space-holders can sustain their own somatic boundaries when working with collective and client anxiety.
• Upcoming Workshops: Details on Antonio’s experiential workshop series translating this methodology into clinical and personal practice.

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Antonio Sausys’s Website: antoniosausys.com
• Featured Article: "Turning Anxiety from Enemy to Ally: A Yoga Therapy Approach for Today’s World" by Antonio Sausys (published in Yoga Therapy Today, Member Magazine of the International Association of Yoga Therapists).
• Book: Yoga for Grief Relief: Simple Practices for Transforming Your Grieving Mind and Body by Antonio Sausys.

About the Guest

Antonio Sausys, MA, CMT, C-IAYT, is a somatic psychotherapist and certified yoga therapist who specializes in integrative grief relief and somatic applications of classical yoga. He is the author of Yoga for Grief Relief, creator of specialized yoga therapy protocols for grief and cancer support, and founder of the Yoga for Health International Yoga Therapy Conference. Antonio leads trainings, clinical workshops, and lectures internationally, blending modern psychological insights with classical yogic science.

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In this episode, host Michele Lawrence sits down with certified yoga therapist, Inner Peace Yoga Therapy graduate, and founder of Soul Power Sangha, Erin Alexander. Grounded in Erin’s article in the Summer 2026 issue of Yoga Therapy Today—"Thriving Together: Healing Through Posttraumatic Growth and Sangha in Personal Challenge, Postwar Uganda, and a U.S. Women’s Shelter"—this heartfelt conversation examines why individual practice alone cannot replace social safety, what indigenous communal wisdom reveals about stress resilience, and how clinicians can create trauma-informed healing containers.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• The Biology of the "Pack" vs. Modern Isolation: Why the nervous system registers persistent loneliness as an active biological threat that solitary asana practice cannot simply override.
• Navigating "Yoga Teacher Shame": Erin's personal story of postpartum dislocation and climate stress in Northern California, and releasing the expectation that clinical expertise grants immunity from trauma and dysregulation.
• Grief Resourced by Community Care: How communal rituals, food deliveries, and shared storytelling created an oasis of safety during profound loss.
• Vagal Toning Through Indigenous Culture: Lessons in resilience, song, dance, and daily living (tapas, svadhyaya, ishvara pranidhana) learned from the Acholi people in postwar Northern Uganda.
• Philosophy as Active Therapy: How applying Samkhya philosophy (Purusha vs. Prakriti) and the gunas empowers women navigating trauma, addiction, and recovery at Acres of Hope.
• The Architecture of Posttraumatic Growth: Integrating the clinical stages of Dr. Joyce Mikal-Flynn’s Anatomy of a Survivor alongside bottom-up somatic tools.
• Foundational Agreements for Sangha: Concrete ways yoga therapists and educators can build non-judgmental, culturally appreciative containers where clients feel seen, held, and safe.

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Read the Article: "Thriving Together: Healing Through Posttraumatic Growth and Sangha in Personal Challenge, Postwar Uganda, and a U.S. Women’s Shelter" (Yoga Therapy Today, Summer 2026)
• Connect with Erin Alexander: Wild Temple School
• Erin’s Community: Soul Power Sangha
• Community Initiatives:
  • Support the Acholi people via Peace Harvest
  • Support women in recovery at Acres of Hope
• Books Mentioned:
  • Anatomy of a Survivor: Building Resilience, Grit, and Growth After Trauma by Dr. Joyce Mikal-Flynn
  • Ignite Your Yoga: How to Live, Practice, and Teach as an Authentic Yoga Steward by Susanna Barkataki

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In traditional education and clinical settings, anatomy is typically taught from the outside in: Latin terminology, mechanical levers, origins, and insertions. But reciting muscle attachments does not heal a dysregulated nervous system or chronic somatic pain.

In this episode, host Michele Lawrence sits down with pioneering yoga therapist and author Leila Stuart to explore the shift from intellectual, structural anatomy to living, experiential inquiry. Leila breaks down how reclaiming a felt sense of our tissues and bones serves as the foundation for autonomic regulation, emotional resilience, and deep trauma-informed healing.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• Shifting from "Cadaver" to Lived Anatomy: Moving past textbook diagrams and objectified views of the body into somatic, interoceptive inquiry.
• Embodiment as Resistance: Unpacking Leila’s perspective on why guiding people into their felt physical experience is a profound counterweight to modern digital disembodiment.
• The Learn It, Feel It, Heal It Framework: A breakdown of Leila’s three-part cycle for somatic integration and how to apply it across different regions of the body.
• Interoception and the Pancha Kosha: How developing direct internal awareness of bones, muscles, and viscera (Annamaya) reverberates through our vital energy (Pranamaya), emotional weather (Manomaya), and inner wisdom (Vijnanamaya).
• Trauma-Informed Somatic Pacing: Clinical strategies for introducing experiential awareness to clients experiencing hypervigilance, dissociation, or chronic pain without triggering overwhelm.
• The Power of Somatic Inquiry: Why neutral, non-judgmental language during self-palpation and breath awareness changes how the nervous system receives sensation.
• Practical Invitations for Clinicians: Simple steps yoga therapists and practitioners can take today to embody experiential anatomy in their own bodies and clinical practices.

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Leila Stuart’s Books:
  • Experiential Anatomy: Therapeutic Applications of Embodied Movement and Awareness
  • Pathways to a Centered Body (co-authored with Donna Farhi)
• Connect with Leila Stuart: https://leilastuart.com/

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What happens to human connection when speech, memory, and cognitive faculties begin to fade?

In this episode of This is Yoga Therapy, host Michele Lawrence sits down with colleague Denyse LeFever, MBA, C-IAYT, a certified yoga therapist specializing in healthy aging, cancer support, and cognitive longevity.

Denyse recently authored the chapter "Connecting With Those Who Forget" in the newly released The Caregiver’s Advocate (Volume 3). In her writing and in this conversation, Denyse shares a raw, intimate look at navigating caregiving from two distinct vantage points: first as a daughter witnessing her brilliant father’s decline from Alzheimer’s, and years later as a wife sitting bedside in the ICU as her husband emerged from an extended bypass coma with acute post-operative delirium ("pumphead syndrome").

Together, Michele and Denyse explore how the philosophical frameworks of yoga therapy—specifically the Panchamaya Kosha model—allow us to recognize that the true self (Anandamaya Kosha) remains whole even when the thinking mind (Manomaya/Vijnanamaya) is impaired. Denyse breaks down the neuroscience behind evidenced-based practices like Kirtan Kriya, and restorative  tools like Yoga Nidra that offer support for caregivers navigating chronic stress and burnout.

What We Discuss in This Episode:

• Navigating the Unthinkable in the ICU: Denyse recounts the moment her husband, Pierce, opened his eyes after a three-week medically induced coma following open-heart surgery, and what it meant to face the cognitive fallout of post-perfusion syndrome ("pumphead").
• “He’s Still There!” — The Koshas & Cognitive Decline: Why friends questioned her visits to her non-verbal father with Alzheimer’s, and how yoga philosophy teaches us to connect beneath language and intellect through non-verbal presence, tactile contact, and music.
• The Clinical Science of Kirtan Kriya (Sa Ta Na Ma): Denyse’s work with the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation (ARPF), explaining how the 12-minute combination of tongue-to-palate reflex points, fingertip mudras, and sound vibration enhances cerebral blood flow and telomerase activity.
• Meeting Clients Where They Are: Simple modifications to traditional practices for clients with religious hesitation or cognitive fatigue.
• Caregiver Stress & Burnout: Addressing the hidden reality of caregiver PTSD, the physical cost of putting one's life on hold, and how Yoga Nidra offers true physiological reset when sleep feels impossible.
• The 60-Second Reset: A simple, accessible pranayama tool ("Blow Out the Candles") that any caregiver can use during acute moments of stress or sundowning.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Denyse’s Website & Classes: Lavender Om Wellness (Explore Denyse’s guided Kirtan Kriya, restorative practices, and Yoga Nidra recordings)
• Book: The Caregiver’s Advocate (Volume 3) — featuring Denyse’s chapter: "Connecting With Those Who Forget: Yoga for Stress Relief and Better Brain Health"
• Research Partner: Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation (ARPF) — Access clinical studies on Kirtan Kriya and the 4 Pillars of Alzheimer’s Prevention

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How does yoga therapy interface with modern healthcare systems, and what does it take to establish evidence-informed mind-body practices as standard clinical care?

In this episode of This is Yoga Therapy, host Michele Lawrence sits down with visionary educators and researchers Dr. Amy Wheeler, PhD, C-IAYT, and Dr. Marlysa Sullivan, DPT, C-IAYT. Together, they explore the release of their ground-breaking new textbook, Applying Therapeutic Yoga in Integrative Health.

Amy and Marlysa unpack the systemic shifts occurring across medicine, how to clearly communicate the clinical scope of yoga therapy to conventional providers, and practical strategies for building collaborative, equal partnerships across multidisciplinary teams. They also discuss the future of the care economy, highlighting how universities, healthcare systems, and private practitioners can create viable, sustainable career ecosystems without losing touch with the classical roots of yoga.

Key Topics Covered:

• Filling the Clinical Literature Gap: The origins of Applying Therapeutic Yoga in Integrative Health and why this textbook marks a crucial step in the academic formalization of yoga therapy.
• The Current Healthcare Climate: Why modern healthcare’s shift toward whole-person and lifestyle medicine makes this the pivotal moment for therapeutic yoga integration.
• Defining Scope & Clarifying Misconceptions: Moving past vague definitions of "wellness" to articulate the specific clinical and multidimensional scope of yoga therapy to medical providers.
• The Imperative of Practical Application: Why focusing on real-world clinical implementation is essential for moving from theoretical models to measurable patient outcomes.
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Action: How yoga therapists can effectively interface with physicians, physical therapists, and mental health providers to become trusted members of healthcare teams.
• Building a Sustainable Care Ecosystem: Practical pathways for emerging and experienced yoga therapists to build sustainable, impactful careers through partnerships with academic institutions, hospital systems, and private enterprises.

Featured Guests:

• Dr. Amy Wheeler, PhD, C-IAYT Department Chair and Professor of Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda at the School of Integrative Health at Notre Dame of Maryland University. Amy leads advanced graduate programs, including the Master of Science in Yoga Therapy, and is a researcher, educator, and former President of the Board of Directors for the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT).
• Dr. Marlysa Sullivan, DPT, C-IAYT Physical therapist, yoga therapist, author, and researcher. Marlysa serves as the Physical Therapy Coordinator of the Empowered Veterans Program at the Atlanta VA Healthcare System and holds an adjunct faculty position at Emory University, where she teaches the clinical integration of yoga and mindfulness into physical therapy.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Get the Book: Applying Therapeutic Yoga in Integrative Health by Dr. Amy Wheeler and Dr. Marlysa Sullivan
• Explore Accredited Programs: Foundations in Yoga Therapy (300-Hr & 800-Hr IAYT Pathways)

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Can vocal chanting and intentional vibration measurably alter our neurobiology? In this episode of This is Yoga Therapy, host Michele Lawrence sits down with scientist, researcher, and educator Dr. Gemma Perry. Dr. Perry shares findings from her doctoral research on the physiological and psychological mechanisms of chanting—from vagal nerve stimulation and heart rate variability to stress reduction and social connection.

We discuss:

• The Neurobiology of Vibration: What happens to the brain and autonomic nervous system when we chant.
• Combating Chronic Sympathetic Arousal: Specific physiological shifts that counteract modern corporate burnout.
• Translating Science into the Workplace: How Dr. Perry structures evidence-based sound and mindfulness programs for executive leadership and corporate wellbeing.
• Science Meets Soul: Why understanding clinical data deepens an embodied, therapeutic practice.
• The Future of Sound Therapy: Bringing integrative sound practices as front-line tools in healthcare, education, and mainstream institutions.

Resources & Links:

• Explore Dr. Gemma Perry’s research, workplace programs, and workshops at drgemmaperry.com.au.

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Long before yoga therapy was recognized by mainstream healthcare institutions, Michael Lee, MA, Dip.Psych, C-IAYT, was pioneering an internationally acclaimed method that bridged classical yoga, depth psychology, and body-centered awareness. In 1986, he founded Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, establishing a lineage that uses the body as a direct gateway to emotional and mental liberation.

In this episode of This is Yoga Therapy, host Michele Lawrence sits down with Michael to reflect on four decades of his work in this field. Together, they explore how integrating Rogerian person-centered psychology with yoga creates a powerful space for transformation—shifting the therapeutic goal away from "fixing" clients and toward heart-centered accompaniment.

In this conversation, we explore:

• The Roots of Phoenix Rising: How Michael brought together behavioral science, psychology, and traditional yoga lineage over 40 years ago.
• Dual-Centered Awareness: Why the therapeutic relationship and non-judgmental presence are essential for deep, long-term growth.
• Shifting From "Fixing" to "Accompaniment": How yoga therapists can serve by shifting from trying to fix problems to holding space for the client's innate wisdom.
• Turning Stress into Bliss: Practical strategies from Michael’s book to move from chronic existential burnout into deep meaning and fulfillment.

Resources

• Connect with Michael Lee: Explore Michael’s books (Turn Stress into Bliss and Yoga Therapy and Integrative Medicine), courses, and global events at michaelleeyoga.com.
• Learn About Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy: Discover programs and resources at pryt.com.

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When someone has experienced trauma, chronic stress, or progressive illness, their own physical body can start to feel like an unsafe environment. They often report feeling disconnected from or even "betrayed" by their physical shape. How do we help clients shift out of a constant, cellular state of survival and return to a state of safety, trust, and connection?

In this episode of This is Yoga Therapy, host Michele Lawrence sits down with Meredith Phipps, C-IAYT, founder of Essentia Yoga Therapy. Meredith masterfully weaves together traditional yoga therapy, somatic practices, and polyvagal theory to help clients reforge a trusted relationship with their physical selves.

Together, they explore the somatic architecture of trauma, how polyvagal-informed tools adapt seamlessly to changing and aging bodies, and why building a completely new relationship with the body is a radical—yet necessary—shift in clinical care.

In this conversation, we explore:

• The Cellular Level of Survival: Why trauma alters a person's relationship with their body and why top-down talk therapy sometimes struggles to reach deep somatic holding patterns.
• Polyvagal Theory on the Mat: How to demystify complex nervous system states (fight, flight, freeze) so clients in heightened defense can practically track their state.
• Trauma Recovery & Aging: The surprising intersection between trauma-informed somatic tools and supporting individuals navigating progressive illness or changing physical capabilities.
• Personalized Inquiry vs. Fixed Shapes: How tailored, responsive yoga therapy alters clinical outcomes compared to standard, general studio classes.
• From Management to Awe: How practitioners can help clients shift away from viewing the body as "something problematic to manage" toward treating it as a sacred space of reverence and wonder.

🔗 Show Notes, Resources, & Guest Links

• Connect with Meredith Phipps: Learn more about her clinical practice, telehealth sessions, and evidence-based workshops at EssentiaYogaTherapy.com.

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After sustaining a severe back injury, yoga therapist Jen Peterson, C-IAYT, found herself completely ostracized by modern, fitness-based studio spaces that prioritized rigid, hyper-flexible physical shapes. That turning point sparked a lifelong vow: to champion the truth that the pose is meant to serve the body—not the other way around.

In this episode of This is Yoga Therapy, host Michele Lawrence sits down with Jen Peterson, C-IAYT, an Ayurvedic Health Counselor, Reiki Master, and the founder of Yoga Grace. Jen beautifully splits her time between her private practice and working as an integrated provider at the University of Vermont Medical Center’s Comprehensive Pain Program, treating patients with complex chronic conditions.

Together, they dive into why physical poses only scratch the surface of true healing, what happens when you bring bottom-up somatic tools into an allopathic hospital setting, and how the clinical application of yoga therapy can change the landscape of modern pain management.

In this conversation, we explore:

• The Injury Pivot: How feeling isolated by Western studio culture redefined Jen's clinical framework of what a "successful" practice looks like.
• Yoga in the Hospital System: The shifts that occur in patient outcomes when bottom-up tools like pranayama and gentle asana are woven into traditional medical pain management.
• Moving Beyond the Physical Layer: A multi-dimensional look at why long-term healing is impossible if we only address the physical body (Annamaya Kosha).
• The Intersect of Yoga & Ayurveda: How circadian medicine and lifestyle rhythms change the way we assess root causes like chronic insomnia, anxiety, and digestive unrest.
• Advice for Emerging Therapists: The single most critical mindset shift a fitness-focused yoga teacher needs to make to transition into safe, therapeutic work with complex populations.

Guest Links

• Connect with Jen Peterson: Explore her virtual practice library, register for asynchronous recordings, and book private yoga therapy or Ayurvedic consultations at YogaGraceVT.com.

Enjoyed this conversation? Please leave a 5-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Share this episode with a healthcare provider, yoga teacher, or anyone navigating chronic pain who needs to hear that if they can breathe, they can practice.

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What if the secret to your next professional breakthrough isn't doing more—but mastering the art of the somatic off-switch?

In a high-intensity culture that treats "the hustle" and sleep deprivation as badges of honor, ambitious women are facing a quiet epidemic of chronic exhaustion, nighttime panic, and the dreaded 3:00 AM wake-up call. In this episode of This is Yoga Therapy, host Michele Lawrence sits down with Monica Le Baron, MBA, C-IAYT, a globally recognized sleep expert, certified yoga therapist, and the bestselling author of Sleep Simplified.

Monica beautifully bridges the gap between high-level business strategy and somatic therapy because she lived it. After climbing the corporate ladder while silently battling debilitating insomnia, chronic pain, and anxiety, she found her pathway out of burnout through yoga therapy. Today, her signature Sleep Simplified™ method helps hundreds of high-achieving women worldwide drop the stress of rigid sleep tracking and reclaim deep, restorative rest.

In this conversation, we dive into:

• The Corporate Pivot: Monica's personal turning point from corporate exhaustion to somatic alignment.
• Stripping Away Bedtime Anxiety: The core philosophy behind her 4-step framework and why rigid sleep hygiene rules can sometimes fuel insomnia.
• Rest as a Foundation, Not a Reward: Re-framing rest as a non-negotiable metric for professional longevity, success, and leadership sustainability.
• The Neurobiology of Self-Love: How a lack of self-compassion keeps the sympathetic nervous system on high alert at 3:00 AM, and how to transition into a physical state of safety.
• Mind-Body Mechanics for Nighttime Panic: A practical, in-the-moment breathwork tool to down-regulate an anxious nervous system directly from bed.
• The Next Chapter: An exclusive sneak peek into the central message of Monica's highly anticipated upcoming book.

🔗 Resources, & Guest Links

• Connect with Monica Le Baron: Visit MonicaLeBaron.com to find her bestselling book Sleep Simplified, explore her guided audio practices on the Insight Timer app, and sign up for updates on her upcoming book.
• Deepen Your Training: Discover advanced modules and clinical pathways to bring mind-body tools into specialized care at Inner Peace Yoga Therapy.

Enjoyed this episode? Please take a moment to leave a 5-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Share this episode with a high-achieving friend, colleague, or client who needs permission to put down the trackers and reclaim the courage to rest.

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