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Empowering Engagement: Yoga Psychology Pillar

Part of Sattva Yoga Therapy Program
PILLAR THUMBNAIL

Foundational Coursework:

  • Integrated Intentions (Yoga Therapy Defined and Vinyasa Krama)
  • Chakraology (CHAK300)
  • Tantra & Somatic Movement (PHIL300)

Required Textbooks:

  • Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers — Robert Sapolsky 
  • Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga — David Emerson & Elizabeth Hopper 
  • In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts — Gabor Maté 
  • The Path of Joyful Living — Dani McGuire 
  • Ethics in Energy Medicine — Heidi Light

Recommended Textbook:

  • Ayurveda and the Mind by Dr. David Frawley

Yoga Psychology: Regulating the Nervous System, Repatterning the Mind

The Yoga Psychology Pillar reveals how yoga therapy becomes truly transformative when we understand the mind not as a problem to fix, but as a system to study, soften, and retrain. Rooted in classical yoga philosophy and supported by modern therapeutic insight, this pillar helps us see how thought patterns, emotional states, and nervous system responses shape the way we experience our lives—and how yoga becomes a pathway for sustainable change.

This explores yoga as a timeless system for understanding the mind, transforming habitual patterns, and supporting sustainable change. Rooted in classical yoga philosophy, somatic practice, and modern therapeutic application, this pillar examines yoga as a form of behavior modification—supporting mood regulation, nervous system health, trauma healing, addiction recovery, ethical clinical reasoning, and the development of effective practices for yoga therapy.

Drawing from the lived experience and teachings of yoga therapist and author Dani McGuire, this program is complemented by reflective practices and applied tools from her book The Path of Joyful Living, as well as foundational perspectives on energy medicine introduced through the work of Heidi Light. Together, theory and practice invite students to understand not only how change occurs, but how to skillfully and ethically support that change through individualized, embodied yoga therapy.

In this pillar, you’ll learn the tools and language of healing-centered yoga therapy: mood regulation, trauma-informed care, nervous system support, addiction recovery principles, and ethical clinical reasoning. Through embodied frameworks such as chakra psychology, Tantra-based somatic practice, sacred sound (mantra), and breath-centered regulation, you will gain practical methods to restore steadiness, resilience, and inner clarity across the whole person.

Our courses guide you through subtle anatomy and energy medicine (CHAK300), the therapeutic foundations of Tantra and somatic healing (PHIL300), and applied clinical frameworks for working with anxiety and depression (PSYCH400), trauma (PSYCH401), and addiction and recovery (PSYCH402). You’ll also develop the professional skills that hold it all together through effective therapeutic relationships, scope, referrals, and communication (ASMT400)—so your care remains grounded, ethical, and supportive.

Each step invites you to meet care-seekers with greater discernment and compassion, offering comprehensive, trauma-informed, and healing-centered care that honors lived experience while guiding the mind and body back toward safety, integration, and wholeness.

Foundational Coursework: Sadhana: 

PHIL300: Tantra & Somatic Movement

This course introduces students to the foundations of Tantra yoga, somatic movement, and mantra as therapeutic tools for awakening, regulation, and transformation. Rooted in the philosophy of weaving body, mind, breath, and spirit into an integrated whole, Tantra offers a framework for healing old conditioning and habitual patterns.

Students explore the nervous system and embodied movement awareness, along with the subtle effects of sacred sound (mantra) on subconscious patterns. By combining somatic movement with vibration, breath, and non-linear practice, students learn how to support care-seekers in reconnecting with innate healing intelligence while releasing tension, trauma imprinting, and protective holding patterns.

CHAK300: Chakraology

This course offers a therapeutic exploration of the chakra system as a framework for understanding the multidimensional human system. Students study the seven primary chakras through subtle anatomy, physiology, psychology, and energetics—integrating them with the five vayus, surya/chandra qualities, and brmhana/langhana strategies. This course examines how imbalances in the chakra system may correlate with physiological systems, movement patterns, emotional states, and energetic regulation needs.

Students learn to design practices using asana, pranayama, mantra, mudra, and visualization techniques to restore energetic and physical balance. Chakraology emphasizes subtle awareness and intentional practice to support healing across the koshas, regulate systemic flow, and build therapeutic insight into how energetic patterns influence the whole person.

Principles Coursework: The Pillars

PSYCH400: Yoga Therapy and Anxiety/Depression

Using the ancient tools of yoga and the Yoga Sutras, this course explores the complex relationship between body and mind through a trauma-informed, spiritually-rooted approach to mental health. Students gain practical skills in adapting yoga therapy for individuals experiencing anxiety or depression, with an emphasis on nervous system regulation, pranic balance, and care-seeker empowerment.

Students learn how to assess which strategies are most supportive through brahmana and langhana approaches, and how to select asana, breathwork, and meditation practices that stabilize mood, restore agency, and support both private and group therapeutic settings.

PSYCH401: Yoga Therapy and Trauma

This course explores the psychological foundations and trauma-informed practices essential for working with care-seekers who have experienced mental distress or trauma. Students learn trauma-sensitive communication, nervous system responses to trauma (including hyperarousal, dissociation, and chronic stress), and how to safely integrate yoga therapy tools while staying within professional scope.

Emphasis is placed on pacing, consent, co-regulation, relational boundaries, and appropriate referral practices, preparing students to serve with competence, compassion, and ethical clarity across a wide range of mental health presentations.

PSYCH402: Yoga Therapy and Addiction

This course offers yoga therapists the foundational and applied knowledge to understand, assess, and support individuals navigating addiction and recovery. Through the lens of yoga, Ayurveda, neuroscience, and mental health principles, students learn how to offer trauma-informed support in both individual and group environments.

Students explore why addictive behaviors form, how cravings and trauma imprints affect physiology and behavior, and how yoga practices can reduce compulsive patterns, support mood regulation, and restore agency. Complementary tools such as CBT-informed strategies, journaling, sangha (community), and 12-step referral literacy support long-term planning, relapse prevention, and stigma-reducing care.

ASMT400: Effective Practices for Therapeutic Relationships

This course defines and strengthens the basic skills of therapeutic relationships, including how to observe, adapt, and support the care-seeker’s process and progress. Students learn to recognize and manage obstacles that arise in healing relationships while building competency in ethical scope, referrals, and professional communication.

This module prepares students for integrative collaboration by strengthening therapeutic presence, communication skills, and clinical reasoning. Students leave with a clear understanding of their role as a yoga therapist within an evolving healthcare-adjacent model and the relational skills required for safe, healing-centered care.

Upon successfully engaging and completing this pillar, you will have gained:

Trauma-Informed and Healing-Centered Care: 

  • Ability to provide comprehensive, trauma-informed, and healing-centered yoga therapy support through nervous system-aware pacing, safe relational presence, client empowerment, and practices that promote regulation and integration.

Foundational Knowledge:

  • Understanding of yoga as a system for mind training, habit transformation, and sustainable behavior change
  • Knowledge of the chakra system as a framework of subtle anatomy and its relationship to the pañcha vayus and physiological systems
  • Insight into surya (solar) and chandra (lunar) qualities and their role in energetic balance
  • Ability to apply brahmana/langhana strategies to influence energy flow and support regulation

    Therapeutic Integration:

    • Skill in designing embodied yoga therapy practices using:
      • asana, pranayama, mantra, mudra, visualization
      • somatic movement and nervous system-informed sequencing
      • chakra-based therapy approaches for mood and systemic balance
    • Capacity to support care-seekers navigating anxiety, depression, trauma responses, addictive patterns, and ingrained belief structures through individualized practice design

    Clinical Competency:

    • Understanding of the physiology, psychology, and behavioral patterns involved in mental health and recovery processes
    • Ability to apply safe adaptation strategies in both private and group settings
    • Competence in ethical clinical reasoning, including boundaries, scope, contraindications, and referrals
    • Readiness for professional collaboration and communication in integrative wellness environments

    Empowerment and Ethics: 

    • Ability to reduce stigma and support sustainable change through compassionate, sattvic engagement
    • Commitment to ethical, healing-centered care that honors lived experience while building resilience and self-responsibility
    • Increased confidence in holding a therapeutic container rooted in clarity, presence, and attuned support



    Calendar at a Glance: February Enrollment.

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