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Amy chats with Dr. Marlysa Sullivan who is a Physical Therapist and Yoga Therapist with over 15 years of experience. She is an Assistant Professor in Yoga Therapy and Integrative Health Sciences at Maryland University of Integrative Health. She is the author of Understanding Yoga Therapy: Applied Philosophy and Science for Well-being and co-editor of Yoga and Science in Pain Care: Treating the Person in Pain, as well as several peer-reviewed articles. While she has been focused on researching and treating chronic pain conditions and bridging evidence-based healthcare with western and yogic philosophy, her broader research interests involve defining the framework and explanatory model for yoga therapy based on philosophical and neurophysiological perspectives. Amy and Dr. Marlysa talk about her career, The idea of Pain is in the brain, and the recent critique of the work of Steven Porges and Polyvagal Theory.

They talk about the following:

·        Dr. Marlysa’s new fulltime job at the Veterans Administration for the Empower Veterans Program

·        Her background as a Physical Therapist and the change to Yoga Therapy

·        Dr Marlysa’s thoughts on Yoga therapists who don’t have degrees in Physical Therapy or a healthcare license but want to get jobs in the field.

·        Dr. Marlysa’s Yoga therapeutic perspective on pain science and how she works with clients

·        The principles Dr. Marlysa’s program covers in the Empower Veterans Program at VA

·        Pain Science and the idea that pain is in the brain and nervous system (not the tissues)

·        Pain as an output of the brain

·        Creating a safe space and the importance for healing

·        Self-regulation as the key to helping feel safe and do their deepest healing work

·        Dr. Marlysa’s thought on the critique surrounding Dr. Stephen Porges work

October/ November podcasts are sponsored by: International Association of Yoga Therapists

https://iaty.org

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We have all benefitted from the ancient wisdom of India and her people, so it feels really great to be able to serve in this way. The Optimal State family has pledged on-going support of $500 per month, to go directly to KYM Mitra (www.kym.org). We will collect the monies and gift them each month. Please consider a recurring monthly payment to the fund. Even a small gift or intention makes a difference! If we make more than $500 in any given month, it will roll into the following month’s payment. The hope is that we can contribute for many years to come. If you even lose the link to donate, it is at the top of the homepage at www.amywheeler.com also. I will be reporting on the website the progress; how much money is coming in at any given time and where we are in the process of getting this project off the ground.

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Books mentioned in the podcast:

Understanding Yoga Therapy: Applied Philosophy and Science for Well-being 

Co-editor of Yoga and Science in Pain Care: Treating the Person in Pain

Meet Dr. Marlysa Sulliva https://marlysasullivan.com/

Check out Amy's website http://www.amywheeler.com