Online CPD: Yoga Therapy Skills for Depression and Anxiety

Description

Yoga Therapy for Mental Health: CPD Training for Anxiety, Depression, and Emotional Wellbeing

Now updated with over ten hours of new pre-recorded content, this 50-hour blended yoga therapy course equips you with the skills to integrate yoga therapy confidently and effectively into mental health support. Combining neuroscience, psychology, and yogic wisdom, you’ll gain the tools to work safely with clients experiencing anxiety, depression, and related challenges.

According to the World Health Organization (2023), depression affects approximately 280 million people worldwide, while anxiety disorders impact more than 301 million. The scale of this crisis demands solutions that are compassionate, evidence-based, and sustainable. Yoga therapy offers just that,  bridging traditional practices with modern science to help regulate the nervous system, improve mood, and restore balance.

“The search for improved treatments, including non-drug based, to meet the holistic needs of patients is of paramount importance, and we call for more research into yoga as a global priority – if the promise of yoga on mental health was found in a drug, it would be the best selling medication world-wide.”

Dr. Doraiswamy, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences

Why Yoga Therapy for Mental Health?

In an average yoga class, you’ll likely meet students managing silent struggles with anxiety or depression. To support them effectively, yoga professionals need more than intuition; they need clinically grounded, trauma-aware, evidence-based skills.

Yoga therapy offers a person-centred approach that addresses the mind and body together, helping clients regulate stress, build resilience, and engage in their recovery process. When applied with clinical insight, it can be a powerful adjunct to both medical and psychological care.

A Leading Mental Health Yoga Therapy Course

For over 16 years, The Minded Institute has delivered rigorous yoga therapy training that bridges yogic wisdom, neuroscience, and clinical practice. This CPD course is led by Heather Mason, founder of The Minded Institute and international expert in yoga therapy for mental health, alongside Dr. Samantha Bottrill, senior clinical psychologist and yoga therapist.

Together, they offer an unparalleled depth of knowledge at the intersection of yoga, psychology, and neuroscience, giving you tools you can trust in both individual and group settings.

Yoga Therapy Skills That You Will Learn

This course covers the essential theoretical and practical skills to integrate yoga therapy for anxiety, depression, and related conditions. You will learn:

• Scientific foundations – cellular biology, inflammation, epigenetics, and how yoga influences neuroplasticity and neurotransmission

• Stress physiology and disease – HPA axis, psychoneuroimmunology, and central nervous system roles in mental health

• Understanding depression and anxiety – biomedical, psychological, and yogic perspectives for informed application

• Therapeutic presence and communication – active listening, mindfulness of self, and skills such as mirroring and paraphrasing

• The Minded Model – integrating science and spirituality, trauma-informed care, and client-centred practice

• Nervous system regulation – autonomic nervous system physiology, vagal tone, heart rate variability, and polyvagal theory

• The kosha model as assessment and formulation tool – how to conduct and apply kosha-based assessments therapeutically

• Breath and mood – breath mechanics, posture, stress response, and conducting breath assessments in person and online

• Ujjayi breath – physiological effects and safe teaching within a therapeutic framework

• Clinical structure and ethics – intake processes, session planning, boundaries, and ethical considerations

Who Is This Course For?

This CPD training is designed for:

• Qualified yoga therapists

• Mental health professionals

• Experienced yoga professionals seeking to deepen their skills in mental health support

It is ideal for those wishing to integrate yoga therapy into an existing clinical practice or therapeutic work.

Course Format, CPD Hours & IAYT Accreditation

This 50-hour blended training in yoga therapy for mental health includes:

• Pre-recorded lectures allow you to study neuroscience, anatomy, physiology, and theory at your own pace before and alongside the live content
  
• Live online sessions allow for practice, discussion, therapeutic application, and developing clinical reasoning in real time
• The hybrid design, totalling over 50 hours of content,  ensures that you can revisit complex ideas while growing your capacity for applied skill and therapeutic confidence

Ideal for yoga therapists, mental health professionals and experienced yoga professionals, this training prepares you to integrate mental health–focused yoga therapy skills into your existing practice or clinical work.

Graduates may choose to progress to our Advanced Yoga Therapy Skills for Mental Health course, which expands your scope of practice and introduces cutting-edge approaches to trauma and emotional resilience rarely addressed in traditional yoga or mindfulness training.

Participants who complete the course will receive a certificate for 50 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.

On Completion of This Yoga Therapy Course for Mental Health

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Apply evidence-based yoga therapy techniques safely for anxiety, depression, and related challenges

• Integrate neuroscience and yogic principles into mental health support

• Conduct thorough assessments using both biomedical and yogic frameworks

• Tailor practices for nervous system regulation, breath optimisation, and emotional wellbeing

• Maintain ethical, client-centred, and trauma-aware practice in both individual and group settings

Led by Leaders in the Field

This training is developed and taught by Heather Mason, founder of The Minded Institute and a pioneer in the field of yoga therapy for mental health, alongside Dr. Samantha Bottrill, senior clinical psychologist, yoga therapist, and long-standing Minded Institute faculty member.

For over 15 years, The Minded Institute has been globally recognised for its work at the intersection of yoga, mental health, and neuroscience, shaping both professional training and the broader integration of yoga therapy into mental health care.

Join us and become part of a growing movement of practitioners applying yoga therapy skills to meet real-world mental health needs.

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