The vision of The Yoga In Healthcare Alliance (YIHA) is to integrate the benefits of evidence-based yoga into healthcare. By initially collaborating with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and supporting their unique position as a public health service, YIHA’s aim is to create a successful model that can be used to help integrate yoga into additional health care systems throughout the world.
The Yoga In Healthcare Alliance is committed to:
- Promoting dialogue between all schools of yoga to offer a unified yet diverse vision of yoga’s role in health care.
- Raising international awareness of the mental and physical health benefits of yoga by disseminating research evidence.
- Empowering individuals to take active roles in maintaining and restoring their own health through yoga.
- Providing guidance regarding which types of yoga are supported by evidence (systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials) and for which ailments.
- Communicating and collaborating on the drafting of health care policy in conjunction with interested providers.
- Increasing accessibility to yoga for all populations.
To date, YIHA has collaborated with a variety of dedicated individuals and forward-thinking organisations, all committed to preventing the growing epidemic of chronic mental and physical health conditions throughout society.
These include:
- The NHS, most notably with the West London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
- Westminster University
- The UK government and the Indian High Commission
- Nurses, doctors, yoga teachers and members of the public
Heather Mason, Founder and CEO of The Minded Institute, is also a director at YIHA. The Minded Institute and YIHA’s Missions are closely aligned and are seen as making groundbreaking shifts to bring yoga into healthcare. Heather is actively involved in bringing collaboration to the UK yoga community, including organising national conferences and community events, lecturing on the science of yoga in the UK and beyond, and regularly speaking at the APPG on bridging the world of yoga and medicine.