51ÊÓƵ

This program is designed for the licensed health care provider (LHCP) who recognizes the value of yoga and meditation for their clientele and is interested in adding yoga therapy tools and services to their practice without becoming a fully certified yoga therapist. This program provides LHCPs the opportunity to learn and apply the tools that are appropriate to their scope of practice. Graduates of the program will differentiate themselves from other practitioners in their field by developing a therapeutic yoga specialty in their practice.

This program fills the unique educational needs of LHCPs by providing the appropriate level of skills and knowledge needed for integrating therapeutic yoga. Studying to become a yoga teacher does not provide the depth and breadth of expertise that LHCPs require to support their patients with individualized therapeutic yoga practices. Likewise, some LHCPs may not need the multiyear plan of study required for a master’s degree in yoga therapy.

This online program enables the healthcare professional in hospital settings, wellness organizations, healthcare, mental healthcare and even school settings  to understand the framework of yoga therapy and its application to healthcare practice. Students will learn the proposed mechanisms through which therapeutic yoga has its effects, evidence of efficacy and effectiveness for various patient populations, how to integrate yoga practices in their professional practice, and how and when to refer and collaborate with yoga therapists. Students will call upon their prior training in yoga teaching (RYT-200) and their practice as a licensed health care provider to inform their experiences in the program.

Coursework includes the exploration of key yoga teachings and philosophies that relate to modern frameworks relevant to healthcare providers and the application of these concepts within the LHCP’s or master’s degree professional’s original scope of practice. The mind-body practices include but are not limited to meditations, visualizations, movement, relaxation, and breath. Additionally, the student will explore evidence for the application of these practices to promote biopsychosocial-spiritual health and will analyze a range of practices for common conditions including relevant precautions and contraindications.

Clinically, students will apply these principles to working with patients, students, and other providers. They will conduct assessments to identify the appropriate application of yoga tools within their scope of practice, develop treatment plans and evaluate when to refer and/or collaborate with a C-IAYT Yoga Therapist or other practitioner. Students will apply these practices for patient care in individual and/or group settings.

For more information about yoga therapy:

• What is yoga therapy and how is it different from yoga? (Originally published by the  â€“ Shared with permission.)
• What do yoga therapists do? (Originally published in Yoga Therapy Today, a publication of the  â€“ Shared with permission.)

Required Courses

This program consists of 12 credits of the following required courses:

• YOGA650 Theoretical Foundations of Yoga for the LHCP (3 cr)
• YOGA660 Theoretical Foundations of Health and Disease for LHCP (3 cr)
• YOGA670 Professional Practices for LHCP (3 cr)
• YOGA680 Integrating Practices for LHCP (3 cr)

Course descriptions are available in the Academic Catalog.

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• Describe the yoga therapy framework and its application to integrative healthcare practice.
• Apply yoga therapy principles and evidence-informed practices within the licensed health care provider’s scope of practice.
• Identify opportunities for appropriate referral and collaboration with yoga therapists.

Program Format

This program is offered in the online format.

Program Schedule

For trimester start and end dates, see the Academic Calendar.

The schedule of courses for this program is shown below.

Trimester 1

• YOGA650 Theoretical Foundations of Yoga for the LHCP (3 cr)

Trimester 2

• YOGA660 Theoretical Foundations of Health and Disease for LHCP (3 cr)

Trimester 3

• YOGA670 Professional Practices for LHCP (3 cr)

Trimester 4

• YOGA680 Integrating Practices for LHCP (3 cr)

Tuition and fees for 51ÊÓƵ SOIH are listed under Graduate & Professional Tuition & Fees and Miscellaneous Fees sections on this page. 

Graduates of 51ÊÓƵ's School of Integrative Health's ( 51ÊÓƵ SOIH) yoga therapy program are employed in a variety of settings including private practice; integrative group practices; health care systems; hospitals; U.S. military; veterans and military organizations and agencies; school systems; and colleges and universities. Many graduates chose to have a portfolio career in which they have multiple positions and employers within one or more profession, rather than one full-time job. A portfolio career provides such individuals with variety in their work life and the opportunity to develop a wide and varied professional network.

The use of yoga in the U.S. continues to grow steadily leading to an increasing need for professionals trained in the field; individuals who complete the proposed program will be prepared to meet the growing expectations of the general public that yoga and meditation approaches be applied to support them. The 2017 National Health Interview Survey revealed significant increases in the use of yoga-based mind and body approaches. Yoga was the most commonly used complementary health approach among U.S. adults in 2012 (9.5%, 22.4 million individuals) and 2017 (14.3%, 35.2 million individuals) and demonstrated an increase in usage during that five-year period. The use of meditation increased more than threefold from 4.1% in 2012 to 14.2% in 2017. Similar increased usage of these modalities was observed in children aged 4-17 years. The percent of children who used yoga increased significantly from 3.1% in 2012 to 8.4% (4.9 million children) in 2017. The use of meditation among children also increased significantly from 0.6% in 2012 to 5.4% in 2017.

The earlier 2016 Yoga in America Study conducted by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance also indicated significant and widespread use of yoga. 28% of all Americans had participated in a yoga class at some point in their lives. The number of Americans practicing yoga increased to over 36 million in 2016, up from 20.4 million in the 2012 study. There were more older practitioners than ever before; nearly 14 million practitioners were over the age of 50, up from about 4 million in 2012. One in three Americans had tried yoga on their own (not in a class) at least once. 34% of Americans said they were somewhat or very likely to practice yoga in the next 12 months, equal to more than 80 million Americans. Since 2012, the percentage of Americans aware of yoga grew from 75% to 90%.

Healthcare governing bodies such as medicine’s leading accreditor, The Joint Commission, the federal government’s lnter-Agency Task Force on Pain Management, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services , the American College of Physicians, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend and, in some cases, require nonpharmacologic treatment as part of patient treatment planning. Yoga is among the key modalities cited for such non-pharmacologic approaches.

The job market for yoga professionals is robust. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects jobs for yoga professionals (included in BLS’s fitness trainers and instructors category) to grow 19% from 2021-2031, much faster than average. There are currently 90,000 registered yoga teachers in the U.S. who possess the base level of non-academic training. 51ÊÓƵ’s Master of Science in Yoga Therapy provides such individuals with the opportunity to differentiate and distinguish themselves from others and to their clients and potential employers.

View more about career opportunities.

Contact the Department: muih-yoga@muih.ndm.edu

Program Administration 

Amy Wheeler, Ph.D., C-IAYT, ERYT-500, 
Department Chair, Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda 

Rachel Voss, MPA, RYT-500 
Department Manager 

 
Academic Advisor 

Click here to view the faculty.

Program Faculty 

Kellie Finn, M.S. 

Dana Halkowski, M.S. 

Marilyn Peppers-Citizen, Ph.D. 

Denyse Peterson, M.S. 

Rachel Sammon, M.S. 

Kimberly Searl, M.A. 

Marlysa Sullivan, D.P.T. 

Sara Walsh, M.A. 

Amy Wheeler, Ph.D.