Course Description

Level I certification fully prepares PT's, OT's, ATC's and any healthcare providers that provide patient education to implement  Integrative & Lifestyle Medicine, into your clinical specialty. You will learn:

  • Trauma-informed principles of yoga and best-evidence care using Medical Therapeutic Yoga, plus 
  • A complete system of Lifestyle Medicine care that is urgently needed in our COVID ridden, pandemic world right now. 
  • How to determine root cause(s) of a condition in the context of Lifestyle Medicine using Biopsychosocial and Functional Movement Assessment(s).
  • How to manage and/or lower your risk of burnout and compassion fatigue. 
  • How to lower your overhead and fiscal strain, and shift toward telehealth care.
  • How to use pain science to get quicker and long-lasting results with patients and clients. 
  • How to expand your services to offer telehealth, group, and more extensive in-person wellness services. 
  • How to impact multi-morbidity through sleep, nutrition, mindful movement, environmental, and stress management intervention.
  • Strategies that support optimal patient outcomes including mindfulness, health promotion and sustained adherence through affecting behavioral change  


The course is: 

  • interactive, 
  • on-demand (instantly available!)
  • self-paced, and
  • entirely online! 
  • It also includes a Call Calendar, where you will complete 7 hours of Live Training with faculty mentors. Calls are ongoing and available WEEKLY! This kind of constant support is unprecedented for a CE offering. 


All of the techniques you learn in this level are: 

  • telehealth friendly
  • COVID sensitive
  • trauma informed
  • group coaching friendly
  • not just for in-person care. 


PLUS: 

You get lifetime access for the life of the course. Our courses are generally updated every 3-5 years to remain current and best evidence-informed. You can return to this course at any time during that 3-5 year period. If any material is updated or added, you will have access to the new content during the life of the course.

What You Will Need to Participate

  • A dedicated computer that can run Zoom
  • Hardwire internet (better than a wifi connection, which can be unstable, although using wifi is fine)
  • Your yoga equipment - you will get an email with a list of equipment you will need
  • Modules 1-2 (see prerequisites below) from the ILM Training. 
  • Optional - a patient model that you can "teach" during the on-demand lab sessions in order to practice your skills, although this isn't required. You can certainly practice the poses yourself.


CE & Pre-Requisites

A total of 27 CE is awarded for PT/PTA's in most states and all OT/COTA's (AOTA). See details at bottom of page.

  • Take the Integrative Lifestyle Medicine Certificate Modules 1-2, which is included as part of the Level 1 Bundle.
  • No other experience in yoga or lifestyle medicine is needed.


Clinical Objectives

  1. Apply the 10 MTY Precepts to your clinical practice in order to increase clinical efficacy and safety of yoga prescription as lifestyle medicine. 
  2. List the implications for use of MTY to impact health promotion and wellness practice. 
  3. Identify quantitative and qualitative outcome measures to use in MTY.
  4. Practice & demonstrate understanding of the FMA algorithm in the context of Lifestyle Medicine evaluation, diagnosis, and prescription. 
  5. Demonstrate multidisciplinary knowledge of indications and contraindications for using the FMA for prescriptive movement and/or manual therapy. 
  6. Critically analyze physical yoga movement and respiratory therapies and their modifications in a lab setting. 
  7. Complete case studies via real time assessment with peers using live model(s) to address complex medical histories and pain. 
  8. Demonstrate knowledge of guidelines to practice, teaching, manual cuing, and instruction in yoga postures, breathing techniques, mindfulness and meditation practice.
  9. Integrate the biopsychosocial, lifestyle medicine driven Vector Analysis into practice in a lab setting. 
  10. Describe the code of ethics for becoming a Lifestyle Medicine practitioner & certified Professional Yoga Therapist. 
  11. Discuss research and legal implications for licensed versus unlicensed use of yoga in the United States.
  12. Practice MTY to address multi-joint and systemic stabilization in a lab setting. 
  13. Practice safe polyvagal intervention in a lab setting.
  14. Critically analyze how myofascial and neurovascular impairment can be addressed through MTY. 
  15. Demonstrate competence with use of yoga props and blanket folding. 
  16. List the tenets of including meditation and postural practice sequences in clinical practice. 
  17. Discuss business matrix analysis for health promotion, and both cash-based and insurance-based practice. 
  18. Understand coding and billing practices for licensed providers. 
  19. Pass a quiz to demonstrate competency with Level 1 principles.

What People Are Saying

Life changing program

Dr. Kassandra Schuhmann, PT, DPT

The impact Ginger's MTY program has made on my life is staggering. It has changed my perspective as a clinician completely and has allowed me to look forward to treating even the most complex patients.

MTY is the addition to my physical therapy practice that I have been searching for

Dr. Jenna Weitzman, PT, DPT

MTY has been an incredible tool to help my clients reconnect to their true self through breath work, postures/asanas, visualizations, and meditation. MTY takes an approach that incorporates all these pieces (spiritual, physical, emotional), and then some. I have witnessed my patients find a deep sense of relief with the implementation of MTY, both in their body and mind.

MTY is a life-changing approach in prevention and intervention

Jamie Jacobsen, OTR/L

I have countless examples of how MTY has positively impacted the patients I work with on a daily basis. Pranayama has been one of the best tools, and is a powerful approach to re-building the foundation of an individual’s therapeutic success and well-being. Patients, who refused to get out of bed due to anxiety and fear were able to breathe (literally) past their fears and achieve their OT goals for the day. MTY encompasses the compassion needed to make real change. I am committed to continuing my training in MTY and further my abilities to heal in acute settings and beyond.

With my training in MTY, I have found my professional missing link.

Hallie Sikes, PT

Ginger has taken the art and philosophy of yoga and looked at it through the eyes of of medical research to discern what is safe and beneficial or what is likely to cause injury. She teaches us to focus on stabilization of the body and protection of the spine and joints, and she uses yoga poses to create the most functional strengthening framework that I’ve ever seen as a PT.

I'm a better therapist AND mom thanks to Ginger.

Dr. Becca Ellis PT, DPT

Ginger's knowledge and experience have completely shaped my professional career, and her guidance has truly helped me be a better mom to my sweet boys.

The best method I've seen for patient care in 20 years of practice

Jessica Smithson, OTR/L

Over the course of my professional career I have been striving to find the best treatment method that would make the biggest impact on my patients. Almost 20 years, and many continuing education courses later, I believe that I have come upon the best methodology that satisfies these requirements. That method is Medical Therapeutic Yoga. The BPS model and MTY can help support our patients on their human-spiritual journey while using evidence- based techniques that combine eastern ideology with western science. It can effectively guide our patients (and ourselves!) to deeper levels of self- awareness and wholistic healing.

Feel better than I've felt in years, AND that's during the pandemic!

Dr. Michelle Walendowski PT, DPT

I’ve been practicing everything from your weekend Level I Certification on a (mostly) daily basis, and I have to say I feel healthier and just generally better than I have in years. And that’s during a worldwide pandemic!

A sustainable model for healthcare delivery

Kanchan Thakar, PT

Honestly speaking, words cannot do justice to the experience of learning from Ginger. My hope is that all DPT students will avail of her teachings sooner than later and begin to practice PT with enthusiasm and compassion. Thanks to Ginger for creating a sustainable model of healthcare delivery.

Level I MTY Certification is an amazing body of work.

Melinda Halford, PT, MFA, CLT, Cert. MDT

What a body of work you have put together in Level I! It is amazing! I have taken off most of this week to re-review all the material. I think it is very useful to see it more than once. The more I engage with this material the more I learn! The online version is so well done. I can just imagine the work you put into offering it virtually - and it shows. 

I use MTY with every patient because of its impact on pain.

Brandis Gunderson, PT, MPT

I use MTY with every patient, regardless of if they are 80 with chronic pain, an acute shoulder, or someone in an MVA with whiplash injury. The majority of these patients all have 2 things in common: pain & response to pain.

Course Curriculum

    1. Program Registration / Terms and Conditions

    2. Start Here (Pssst - This is also where you'll find out about your Membership Activation Code!)

      FREE PREVIEW

    3. Activate Your Free Provider Membership

    4. NEW for 2022: Must Read

    5. A message from Ginger

      FREE PREVIEW

    6. A message from Jeff

    7. How to navigate your course material

    8. Required Forms to Complete

    9. Release of Liability

    10. Living Well Institute Ethics Agreement

    11. Living Well Institute IP Policy

    12. Table of Contents & Course Matriculation

    13. Course Handouts - Download Option

    14. Matriculation Matrix

    1. Welcome

    2. Blanket Folding

    3. Syllabus

    4. Social Media & Syllabus Review

    1. Welcome to the MTY Asynchronous Interactive Q&A Portion of your Coursework! (2023 and Beyond)

    2. Technology Tea Submission

    3. Mindful Movement Submission

    4. Behavioral Change Level 1

    1. Mindfulness and Meditation Posture Options

    2. What is Mindfulness?

    3. Mindfulness & Meditation Practice & Types

      FREE PREVIEW

    4. Trauma Informed Yoga

    5. Orofacial Assessment Checklist - PRINTABLE

    6. Orofacial Exam

    7. Yogic Locks

    8. FMA Introduction

    9. FMA Column 1 Part 1

    10. FMA Column 1 Part 2

    11. FMA Column 2

    12. FMA Column 3 Part 1

    13. FMA Column 3 Part 2

    14. FMA Column 1 Review

    15. FMA Column 2 Review

    16. FMA Column 3 Review

    1. Restoratives

    2. FMA Column 4

    3. FMA Column 5

    4. FMA Column 6

    5. FMA Review

    6. Yoga Nidra

    1. Morning Meditation

    2. Special Postures Introduction

    3. Special Postures Mudras

    4. Special Postures Posture Scaffolding

      FREE PREVIEW

    5. Special Postures Tree

    6. Special Postures Eagle

    7. Special Postures Squat

    8. Special Postures Lunge Transition

    9. Special Postures Thread the Needle

    10. Special Postures Gate

    11. Special Postures Warrior I

    12. Special Postures Triangle

    13. FMA Class

    14. BPS Review Part 1

    15. BPS Review Part 2

    16. BPS Review Part 3 & Case Study Requirements

    17. Technology Tea - Business Considerations

    18. Technology Tea - Matriculation

    19. Technology Tea - Business Plan

    20. Technology Tea - CCC

    21. Technology Tea - Resources

    22. SWOT Timeline Printable

    23. Technology Tea - SWOT

    24. Technology Tea - Social Media

    25. Technology Tea - Next Steps

    26. Technology Tea - Connect and Closure

    27. Walking Meditation

      FREE PREVIEW

    28. Reclaiming You Meditation

About this course

  • $1,455.00
  • 78 lessons
  • 18.5 hours of video content

Meet Your Instructor

Executive Director, Living Well Institute Dr. Ginger Garner

Dr. Garner, PT, DPT, ATC-Ret is a clinician, author, educator, and longtime advocate committed to improving access to physical therapy services. She is the CEO of Living Well Institute, which has trail blazed interdisciplinary training in Therapeutic Yoga and Lifestyle Medicine since 2000. She also owns Garner Pelvic Health, a private practice located in Greensboro, NC. Dr. Garner specializes in chronic pelvic pain including endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, prolapse, and incontinence, and also serves the performing arts and public speaking community with her unique "voice to pelvic floor" therapy, as well as post hip arthroscopy rehab. Dr. Garner is the author of multiple textbooks and book chapters and has presented at more than 2 dozen conferences worldwide about integrative physical therapy and health promotion across a range of topics impacting pelvic and orthopaedic health. She is an adjunct and guest lecturer for several DPT programs worldwide on topics related to advocacy, as well as endocrinology and pelvic health; and she also teaches for Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute. She is an active member of APTA, serving as the Legislative Chair for APTA NC Chapter, a Key Congressional Contact for APTA Private Practice, and a member of the Prenatal & 4th Trimester Task Force for APTA Academy of Pelvic Health. She most recently launched her new podcast on advocacy, the Living Well Podcast. Ginger lives with her family in Greensboro, NC. Visit her at www.integrativelifestylemed.com, www.garnerpelvichealth.com, and on Instagram and YouTube @drgingergarner

More Information

  • Total Cost

    The total cost for both programs is incredibly affordable and the lowest priced of similar programs out there.

  • Time to Complete the Program

    121 total hours (CE) are required to receive the Professional Yoga Therapist Certification and Integrative Lifestyle Medicine Certificate and can be completed entirely online.

  • Prerequisites

    A valid medical license (PT, OT, etc) in your state. No experience in yoga or Lifestyle Medicine is necessary. For the BEST learning experience, please complete the online Integrative Lifestyle Medicine prerequisites in this order: Level I - Modules 1-2 Level II - Modules 3-4 Level III - PA and Environmental elective

  • CE Credit

    PT - This course is approved in New Jersey, California, Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. OT - We are an AOTA-approved provider.

AOTA Approved Provider

Living Well Institute is an approved AOTA CE provider. The Medical Therapeutic Yoga Certification is approved as an individual course by AOTA. AOTA does not endorse specific course content, products, or clinical procedures.
AOTA Approved Provider Image

Sign up for the Free Workshop First

Not sure if you want to sign up for the Certificate yet? Then take the Complementary 1 hour Introduction to Medical Therapeutic Yoga Workshop first. Spoiler Alert: There's a FREE $140 Gift in it for you!

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