Description
Michael Lee, founder of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and widely regarded as a forefather of contemporary yoga therapy, has long said that the most difficult aspect of training yoga therapists is not teaching methods, but supporting people to see themselves and face themselves. This two-part seminar explores authentic leadership in therapeutic and yogic practice, with a focus on integrity, self-awareness, and remaining human while supporting others.
Helping others come into relationship with what they habitually avoid is demanding work. It means engaging with resistance, defence, and the strategies people use to maintain coherence and safety. Unlike the transmission of skills or theory, this work unfolds slowly, resists simplification, and places a particular ethical and psychological weight on those who lead it.
In this two-part seminar, Michael will speak openly about his own ongoing patterns, including subtle addictive behaviours and the impact of generational trauma. Heather Mason, founder of The Minded Institute, will share insight from her clinical and teaching experience, including her long-standing relationship with anxiety.
This honesty allows for a more grounded dialogue about remaining imperfect whilst working as clinicians and leaders. It brings into question the expectation of being resolved, enlightened, or complete, and the quiet pressure this can create for students, clients, and trainees. The seminar opens space to consider how development can continue without collapse, and without pretending to be what we are not.
Rather than offering ideals to aspire to, the seminar invites a grounded inquiry into authentic leadership and what it means to remain ethically present in professional roles.
Session One: Authentic Leadership and Knowing Ourselves as Professionals
Where are we in our own growth, and how do we own it?
The first session explores the reality of spiritual bypassing across therapeutic and yoga contexts, grounded in Michael’s and Heather’s lived experience. They will discuss how this shows up in professional life, training environments, and personal practice, and how they continue to work with themselves in relation to the roles they hold in supporting others.
The session opens to the group for questions and reflection, before moving into ethical and moral considerations for contemporary practitioners: What does it mean to live in integrity? How is our relationship with ourselves part of that?
Session Two: Our Commitment to Integrity and Authenticity in Our Own Yogic Path
Practical considerations
The second session shifts toward practical application, exploring how healing professionals can structure their lives to support ongoing development and honest leadership. Michael will share the practices and frameworks that inform his own process, including his use of the Eightfold Path and embodied awareness.
Through guided reflection and dialogue, participants will explore how to continue growing, face what is difficult, and lead with integrity whilst remaining human with incompleteness and struggle.
Format
Two 90-minute recorded sessions are included.
About Michael Lee
Michael Lee is the founder of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and a pioneer in the integration of mindfulness, somatic awareness, and therapeutic dialogue. With over four decades of clinical practice and teaching, he has influenced the development of yoga therapy and embodied mindfulness internationally. A full bio can be found in the tabs below.
