Online CPD: Advanced Yoga Therapy and Mindfulness Skills for Mental Health

Description

Now updated and expanded, this advanced yoga therapy skills course is designed for experienced yoga teachers and yoga therapists seeking to refine their therapeutic approach for mental health contexts. With over 15 hours of fresh, pre-recorded content complementing previous modules, it offers a unique opportunity to integrate advanced techniques into your practice with greater clarity, structure, and clinical precision.

“Yoga’s ability to transform psychological health is no coincidence. As Patanjali expressed, ‘Yoga leads to the cessation of the agitated mind.’ The eight limbs of yoga were designed for profound mental transformation. Today, as research into yoga’s clinical benefits flourishes, its efficacy in mental health care stands out as both remarkable and deeply relevant.”

Heather Mason, Founder of The Minded Institute

Why Take This Advanced Yoga Therapy Training?

This programme is for seasoned yoga professionals already working with mental health who want to enhance their skills with evidence-based, person-centred methods. You’ll work with the Minded Yoga Therapy Model, a clinically informed framework developed specifically for working with mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and trauma. This model integrates:

• Psychophysiology
• Therapeutic breathwork
• Mindfulness
• Neuro-informed somatic techniques

Built on rigorous academic research, lived experience, and the insights of healthcare professionals, the model equips you with practical yoga therapy skills that can be applied confidently in diverse mental health contexts.

Learn from World-Leading Experts

The course is led by:

• Heather Mason – Internationally recognised pioneer in yoga therapy for mental health, founder of The Minded Institute

• Dr. Samantha Bottrill – Senior clinical psychologist, yoga therapist, and long-standing Minded faculty member

With over 15 years of shaping the integration of yoga therapy into mental health care, The Minded Institute brings a unique depth of expertise to your professional development.

What You’ll Learn – Advanced Yoga Therapy Skills

Core Theoretical Foundations

• Depression, anxiety, and PTSD: key features, best practices, and therapeutic considerations
• Transdiagnostic approaches: beyond diagnosis to individual experience
• Cellular biology, inflammation, and epigenetics in mental health
• Neurons, neurotransmission, and neuroplasticity
• Psychoneuroimmunology, the HPA axis, and stress-related disease
• Central, autonomic, and somatic nervous systems
• Polyvagal theory and current controversies, vagal tone, and heart rate variability

Psychotherapeutic Integration

• Overview of psychotherapy in yoga therapy contexts
• Attachment theory, object relations, and therapist self-awareness
• Emotional and somatic attunement
• Countertransference, boundaries, and ethics
• Motivational interviewing and behaviour change
• Therapeutic use of inquiry: Parts I & II

Therapeutic Relationship & Presence

• Establishing safety, trust, and grounding
• Active listening, mirroring, and paraphrasing
• Creating and maintaining therapeutic space
• Managing overwhelm in individuals and groups
• Intake processes and initial session planning (online and in person)
• Therapist grounding and presence as clinical tools

Yoga Therapy-Specific Frameworks

• Distinguishing yoga therapy from therapeutic yoga
• Scope of practice and integration with healthcare
• The Eight Limbs of Yoga through a mental health lens
• The kosha model for psychological formulation and assessment
• Combining neuroscience, psychotherapeutic tools, and mindfulness

Breath and the Nervous System

• Respiratory anatomy and physiology under stress
• Breath assessment in clinical settings (in person and online)
• Using breath data to inform interventions
• Teaching Ujjayi breath within a therapeutic framework

Working with the Body and Emotional States

• Interoception, proprioception, and exteroception in mental health
• Postural patterns and emotional regulation
• Somatic approaches for dissociation and fear
• Assessing readiness and building interoceptive vocabulary

Mindfulness and Compassion-Based Approaches

• Mindfulness in Buddhism and modern science
• Body scanning, mindfulness of mind, and mental labelling
• Walking meditation for rumination and cognitive regulation
• Loving-kindness and compassion practices: applications and cautions
• Introducing forgiveness in therapeutic work

Advanced Trauma-Informed Practice

• PTSD: history, prevalence, subtypes, and presentations
• Trauma triggers, responses, and treatment efficacy
• Yoga therapy safety guidelines for trauma-sensitive work
• Integrating mindfulness, movement, and body awareness in recovery

 Optional Post-Course Add-Ons (£150)

• PTSD and the brain
• Exteroception
• Emergency response situations in yoga therapy

Course Format, CPD Hours & IAYT Accreditation

This 95-hour mental health yoga therapy training combines:

• Pre-recorded lectures – Study neuroscience, anatomy, physiology, and theory at your own pace

• Live online sessions – Practice techniques, discuss applications, and refine clinical reasoning

• Hybrid structure – Revisit complex material, strengthen applied skill, and grow therapeutic confidence

Participants who complete the course will receive a certificate for 95 hours of continuing professional development (CE Points).

This training is approved by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) and meets international standards for yoga therapy education and approved professional development (APD).

The course runs live each day from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (UK time).

• We recognise these hours may not suit all time zones, and in some cases, we may be able to offer limited flexibility through partial live attendance and access to recordings.
• If you’re joining from outside the UK and anticipate time zone challenges, please contact us — we’ll be happy to discuss what may be possible.

Who This Course Is For

• Yoga therapists seeking advanced skills in mental health care

• Experienced yoga teachers working with clients managing depression, anxiety, PTSD, or trauma

• Accredited yoga therapists from other training backgrounds wanting to progress to the Minded Integrative Yoga Psychotherapy Diploma

Ready to deepen your practice and support mental health with confidence? Enrol now.

Payment Plans Available – Contact accounts@themindedinstitute.com for details.

Advance Your Yoga Therapy Career

This training is also cross-listed as the Bridging Course for The Minded Institute’s Integrative Yoga Psychotherapy Training. Completing it makes you eligible to apply for the full IYP diploma.

For over 15 years, The Minded Institute has been globally recognised for excellence at the intersection of yoga, mental health, and neuroscience. Now you can bring that depth of expertise into your own practice.

You can read more about the course here.