You're Invited to the Yoga and Science Conference in NYC

The annual Yoga & Science Conference is returning to the U.S. this January 19 and 20 after hosting events in Moscow and Stockholm last year. The two-day event is coming back to its roots in Brooklyn, where it debuted in 2017, this time at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. As in previous years, this gathering of great minds brings together thought-leaders in yoga and science to discuss this ever-deepening relationship—and Sonima readers are invited to attend!

Organizers Eddie Stern and Marshall Hagins, Ph.D., along with their amazing roster of guest speakers, including Deepak Chopra who’s delivering the closing keynote, will focus on the theme of “neurophysiological mechanisms, which support effective yoga and meditation practices.”

Sounds daunting, but rest-assured that a hallmark of this event is accessibility and relevance to a non-specialist audience. In other words, you don’t need a Ph.D. to understand the “state of the fields.” All the latest scholarly papers—spanning half a dozen different fields of research and clinical practice—have been read and digested for you, so all you have to do is come with open ears to absorb all the invaluable knowledge.

“We want both yogis and scientists to leave [the conference] with a better understanding of why yoga is so effective for so many people, and also how they can use specific yoga practices to achieve the effects that they are looking for,” says Stern, who’s particularly excited about the multi-national assembly of researchers from the U.S., Germany, and India attending this year.

Speakers and topics to look forward to include:

Stacey D. Hunter, PhD, an expert in sports physiology and researcher on the impact of yoga on vascular function. Her talk, “Hot Yoga and Vascular Function: Effects of Practice Temp on Health Benefits” will present her research on the effects of heated vs. “thermoneutral” yoga practices on vascular function in adults at elevated cardiovascular disease risk.
Shirley Telles, PhD, director of the Patanjali Research Foundation in Haridwar, India will deliver a talk covering the “physiological effects of various pranayamas and yoga meditation.”
Bethany Kok, PhD, a meditation researcher, and Stephan Porges, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium within the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, will be presenting on his groundbreaking work examining yoga in terms of “neural exercises that promote self-regulation, resilience, and social connectedness.”
Sat Bir Khalsa, PhD, a veteran of the 2017 conference, will discuss the “multiple mechanisms” of yoga’s multiple practice modalities, “each of which exerts effect via different and sometimes overlapping mechanism.”
Crystal Park, PhD, will be describing “the evidence base for yoga’s stress-reducing properties and the physiological and psychological mechanisms” for this stress reduction.
Pam Jeter, PhD, Scientific Review Officer at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the NIH, will discuss the vitally important topic of research funding for mind and body interventions in the U.S.
Gail Parker, PhD, explores “Healing the Wounds of Racial Distress: What’s Yoga Got to Do With It?” – a talk based on her crucial work with mind/body strategies for healing race-based stress and trauma and for promoting “more adaptive responses to stressful and traumatic events.”

With its presentations in ground-breaking research, guided yoga and mindfulness practices, along with Q&A panels on both days, plus an evening social event, this conference promises to afford all those in attendance with rare, if not unique, opportunities to interact with these leaders in their respective fields of research and clinical practice. You won’t want to miss this!

Good news for folks living in Europe: The conference is also coming to the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden for one day only on January 29 as well as Zagreb, Croatia on June 16th. Click here for more information on all conference locations.

>>Get your tickets today! It costs $145 for the two-day conference in NYC this January 19 + 20, however, since Sonima is a sponsor, the first 50 readers to sign up before December 31 will get $45 off each ticket. Grab your seats fast as there are only 100 spots left!