Yoga Medicine® Innovation Conference | Online 2026
Welcome to your Yoga Medicine® Innovation Conference Online Portal!
We are so excited to have you with us for the Yoga Medicine® Innovation Conference this year! This virtual conference will focus on innovative new techniques and research-informed approaches to yoga therapeutics, along with new adaptations of traditional practices for modern issues. Showcasing our experienced teachers and specialists (in healthcare, research and yoga), each presenter will share their research, experience and yoga techniques related to specific issues or demographics in their field of expertise with applications to therapeutic yoga.
We created this conference to bring a high level of expertise and knowledge in various fields to the yoga world from our experienced teachers, researchers, PhD’s and healthcare providers. Our purpose with this conference is to educate and inspire teachers around the globe with specialized therapeutic information they can use with their students right away.
Schedule
- 9am PST | Valerie Knopik, PhD – Epigenetics, Gene Expression, & Mindfulness-Based Practices
- 10am PST | Daya Grant, PhD – Effortless Excellence: The Neurophysiology of Flow State through the Lens of Yoga
- 2pm PST | Monisha Bhanote, MD – Resilient by Design: The Science of Travel Stress & Yoga’s Role in Resetting the Body-Mind System
- 3pm PST | Melissa Oleson, DPT – The Tension Trap: How the Nervous System Shapes the Pelvic Floor
- 9am PST | Jenni Tarma & Michaela Smith – Beyond Bone Density: The Real Role of Yoga in Osteoporosis Care
- 10am PST | Erin Holt – When the Gut Talks to the Pelvic Floor: A Functional Medicine Perspective for Yoga Teachers
- 2pm PST | Marnie Hartman, DPT – Presencing Life: Can Death Awareness through the Lens of Yoga Offer Us a Greater Embodied Life?
- Marnie requests that all participants have the following items available during her presentation: a journal & writing utensil, 20 small slips of paper (like a post-it or 3×5 or torn scraps large enough for a word or two), a candle, a comfortable place that you can lie down, blanket & bolster or whatever you like best for a supported svasana.
- 3pm PST | Bethany Leavitt, MPH – Purpose in Life & All-Cause Mortality: Implications for Meaningful Yoga Instruction
- 4pm PST | Kylie Rook – Chronic Pain & the Soft Path to Healing: Safety & Trust
- 9am PST | Nikki Tugent, MD – Fatigue, Pain, Flares & Recovery: Teaching Yoga in Autoimmune Populations
- 10am PST | Katja Bartsch, PhD, BSc, ATSI – Unraveling the Achilles Tendon: Research Insights for Yoga & Movement Practice
- 2pm PST | Doreen Wiggins, MD – Integrating the Five Koshas: A Somatic & Neurophysiological Framework for Healing & Resilience in Breast Cancer Survivors
- 3pm PST | Kelsea Wright – Hope, Health, & Healing the Lower Back: The Mind-Body Connection
- Kelsea requests that all participants have the following items available during her presentation: for the movement part of the presentation, please have a yoga mat, two tennis balls, a strap, and two blocks.
- 4pm PST | Jennifer Beal – Integrating Yoga into Healthcare: Practical Tools & Lessons from a Large-Scale Medical System
- 9am PST | Firdose Moonda – Feminizing the Yoga Body
- 2pm PST | Lisa Ash – Eyes Wide Open: Using Visual Awareness to Modulate Stress & Anxiety within a Yoga Therapeutics Setting
- 3pm PST | Tiffany Pridgen, MS – Visceral Fascia & Enteric Nervous System Regulation: A Therapeutic Yoga & Myofascial Release Approach
- 4pm PST | Sava Papos – From Synapse to Savasana: Principles of Neuroplasticity & Motor Learning for Yoga Professionals
Innovation Conference Presentation Details
Live Presentation Recordings
You can watch the live presentation recordings using the video player below – each day there will be 2 new recordings added to the playlist (one for the morning presentations & one for the afternoon presentations). Just use the white dropdown arrow in the upper left-hand corner of the video player to toggle between each recording. Within this video player, you can go fullscreen, change the speed, add closed captioning, and more. You will have limited access to watch them in the online portal for 75 days after the conference, the recordings will be removed from the online portal on March 31, 2026.
Completion Policy:
This Innovation Conference will count as 18 hours of online education towards your 500-hour/1000-hour Yoga Medicine certification. Directly following the conference you will be invited to take an online exam to receive your certificate of completion and course hours. You will have 75 days after the conference ends to pass the exam. Therefore, the optional exam must be completed by April 30, 2026 @ 11:59pm PST to receive your hours and certificate of completion. The recordings and exam will be removed from the online portal on May 1, 2026. So if you do not pass your exam by April 30, 2026 @ 11:59pm PST, you will not be able to receive your hours and certificate of completion.
Presentation Handouts Links, Resources & Chat Boards
- Beyond Bone Density: The Real Role of Yoga in Osteoporosis Care by Jenni Tarma & Michaela Smith – Handout
- When the Gut Talks to the Pelvic Floor: A Functional Medicine Perspective for Yoga Teachers by Erin Holt – Handout
- Presencing Life: Can Death Awareness through the Lens of Yoga Offer Us a Greater Embodied Life? by Marnie Hartman – Handout
- Purpose in Life & All-Cause Mortality: Implications for Meaningful Yoga Instruction by Bethany Leavitt – Handout
- Feminizing the Yoga Body by Firdose Moonda – Handout
- Visceral Fascia & Enteric Nervous System Regulation: A Therapeutic Yoga & Myofascial Release Approach by Tiffany Pridgen – Handout
Questions
If you have any technical questions, email them to Katie at info@yogamedicine.com.
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