Comprehensive Yoga Therapy Take Home Final Exam

Name:

Comprehensive Yoga Therapy Take Home Final Exam

Please answer the questions below to fullest and best of your ability. These questions are to be returned at the beginning of the June Saturday session. Please secure all pages of the exam. If you have any difficulties with questions, please compile your inquiries and forward them to Bob via email.

1) Briefly define the following conditions of when the immune system falls out of balance. Include in the definition whether the condition is the result of an over- or under-active immune system.

Autoimmunity Disorders –

Allergies –

Inflammation –

Cancer –

AIDS –

2) List and define the five Yamas and Niyamas. Give one creative example of how you might utilize these simple precepts for use in a client’s daily life.

Yamas:

Niyamas:

3) The Chakra and endocrine systems share many parallels in energetic anatomy. For each of the endocrine glands below, indicate which Chakra it most closely relates to, and one function that gland controls.

Thyroid–

Pancreas –

Pituitary–

Pineal –

4) It is well known that the endocrine and nervous systems work very closely with each other. What are the similarities and differences between how these two systems transmit information to other body systems (ie. speed of signals, mode of transmission, etc)?

5) List the five koshas (sheaths) of our whole being and give one practice to feed each of those koshas if they are out of balance.

6) For each of the following body systems that we discussed, give one yogic hygiene practice to nourish the system:

Nervous System –

Cardiovascular System –

Respiratory System –

Immune System –

Digestive System –

Immune System –

Endocrine System –

7) Explain the process of working with an emotion from gross to subtle elements (Meaning to Source chart). (In other words, what is the essence of this process? The individual steps can be arbitrary, so what purpose does this process serve for clients?)

8) Choose one Yoga Sutra that pertains most to relationships (Bhakti Yoga) in your perspective and describe why you choose this Sutra.

9) A new potential client telephones you describing that they have been having difficulty sleeping. Based on this preliminary conversation, devise a “blueprint” for your first session with this client.

a) What one or two assessments would you expect to be most helpful, and what are you looking to learn from them?

b) Define what the healing intention would look like for both yourself and the client in this situation.

c) List one or two practices you would try to introduce to the client in the first session and a brief rationale of why you chose those practices.

10) During your first session with a client, you work through the Bhakti assessment. Your client returns to you with some of the following responses:

a) What (if anything) jumps out to you from the responses to this assessment?

b) Where do you proceed with this client considering their response? Explain your approach.

11) Define the term homeostasis, and describe three ways that the body can bring it about.

12) A Yoga Therapy student that you have been working with for a few sessions begins to inquire about meditation. Describe three focuses for meditation that might be helpful for this student. If you can, make each focus fit one of the three learning styles (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic).

13A) A yoga studio owner drops in on one of your classes at a nearby studio. After class, the outside studio owner approaches you to ask if you would offer a Yoga Therapy seminar at their studio as they appreciate the transformative power of your teaching. This other studio is within five miles from your present teaching location.

a) How do you respond to this heartfelt request?

b) What are the steps you would take in conversing with this outside studio owner?

13B) From the above situation, instead of confronting you right after class, the studio owner from the previous question sees you shopping at your local whole foods grocery the next day and poses the same inquiry as above.

a) Would you respond differently to this set of conditions as opposed to the previous scenario?

b) If your response is the same, explain why. If it differs, explain why they are not the same.

14) At a holistic networking event, you are approached by a chiropractor that has some exposure to yoga, but is curious about what Yoga Therapy is about. Considering the nature of the situation, briefly describe how you would explain what Yoga Therapy is and how you might develop a referral relationship with them.

15) Grace, a student of asthma for many years, has been making great strides with her three-part breathing. After reading about the benefits of Pranayama to lung capacity, she begins to bring you questions about other breathing practices. Knowing her capabilities and limitations, what are three breathing practices you might consider discussing with her, and why?

16) Carl is a high-stress, high-energy businessman who has come to you for Yoga Therapy at the request of his wife to help him “chill out”. A former athlete with numerous low back and knee issues, and not ever having done Yoga before, where would you start Carl with regard to relaxation?

17) A new Yoga Therapy client begins to come to you for assistance with body awareness following an injury. On reviewing the health history intake form, you notice that though cleared by their PT to practice gentle yoga, the previous injury resulted in fairly serious damage to their right forearm and wrist. With this knowledge in mind, list three poses which would require some modification, and how you might creatively modify them to best serve your client.

18) Articulate three ways in which you might cue your client to end in this position (hint: think koshas!):

19) Review some recent research in Yoga Therapy to encourage the habit of staying up with the field (PubMed and the IAYT are great places to start). Provide a brief synopsis of one article or compare Yoga Therapy’s approach to traditional therapies for a given condition. Have fun with this; this is a form of expanding your learning!

Please attach your synopsis/comparison to the exam on separate pieces of paper.

20A) Make a list of 6 health care professionals in your area from whom you can network with, gain referrals from, as well as refer clients to. Try to vary the list. Include at least 3 from credentialed medical field (doctors, dentists, psycho- and physical therapists) as well as Holistic practitioners (massage therapists, acupuncturists, colon hydrotherapists).

The information you list here is entirely for your own benefit! All “answers” will be kept completely confidential. The preparation of this list can bring awareness to and motivate you towards your referral partners, building your repertoire and future business.

Medical Referrals

Practitioner

Name of Practice

Address

Phone, Email, Website

Practitioner

Name of Practice

Address

Phone, Email, Website

Practitioner

Name of Practice

Address

Phone, Email, Website

Holistic Referrals

Practitioner

Name of Practice

Address

Phone, Email, Website

Practitioner

Name of Practice

Address

Phone, Email, Website

20B) As above, list 3 places where you could plan to offer a Yoga Therapy seminar or a free introductory class related to your niche demographic.

Business/Organization

Contact Person

Address

Phone, Email, Website

Business/Organization

Contact Person

Address

Phone, Email, Website

Business/Organization

Contact Person

Address

Phone, Email, Website

BONUS!!!

Feedback Questions are also a part of the Learning Celebration!

a) What did you learn most about yourself from this 10 month experience?

b) What did you learn most about the process of the entire yogic approach that you hope to share with students?

c) As this is an entry level course, the goal was to learn to use the Yoga Lifestyle as a means of reducing stress in student’s lives to improve their health of mind and body. With that in mind, what further information are you interested in learning?

From All of Us at YogaLife,

May You Celebrate All That You Learned This Year!!!