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Day 3 Presentations - Yoga + Schools & Neurodiversity
*Click here to view Day 2's presentations , available until March 21 at 11:59 PM EDT*
Today's presentations are available until Sunday, March 22 at 11:59 PM EDT
You can click a title to quickly jump to that presentation, or scroll through this page. The presentations today are:
Pre-recorded Presentations
- Yoga and ADHD: What the Evidence Actually Shows - Kristin Anderson, PhD
- Yoga in the workshoproom: From Pre-K to 5th Grade - Charlotte Multon
- Yoga Workshop: Talk Yoga™: Supporting Communication Development and Learning Readiness in Young Children Through Mindful Movement - Amy Roberts and Kim Hughes, Talk Yoga
- Yoga-Mindfulness for Autistic Children: Promise, Problems, and Practical Implications - Tundi Loftus, PhD
Live Presentations
*ALL TIMES ARE IN EDT
- 9:00 AM - Yoga in Schools: The Scientific Rationale and Research Evidence - Sat Bir Khalsa, PhD JOIN LIVE HERE
- 10:00 AM - Creating Space to Breathe: Yoga for Neurodiversity and Childhood Trauma - Nóra Kerekes, PhD JOIN LIVE HERE
- 11:00 AM - Schools & Neurodiversity Q&A Session - UPGRADE TO ACCESS
- 1:00 PM - Yoga: The First 1500 Years, 500 B.C.E. to 1000 C.E. - Christopher Key Chapple, PhD JOIN LIVE HERE
- 2:00 PM - Adaptive Yoga for Neurodiverse Children - Renata Sumar Gaertner JOIN LIVE HERE
- 3:00 PM - Yoga Workshop: Meeting Students Where They Are: Teaching Yoga Across Developmental Stages in Classrooms - Anne Desmond & Tanya Farmer from Bent on Learning JOIN LIVE HERE
- 6:00 PM - Discussion Group - Jonathan Rosenthal, MD - UPGRADE TO ACCESS
- 7:00 PM - Schools & Neurodiversity Q&A Session - UPGRADE TO ACCESS
Note: the live presentations will become available after they air and are processed (usually 2-4 hours).
Remember to check out the Yoga + Schools and Neurodiversity sponsors, Bent on Learning & Talk Yoga
Charlotte Multon
Yoga in the workshoproom: From Pre-K to 5th Grade
Charlotte Multon is the founder of Sadhana, a Yoga School in the French countryside just outside Paris. She is passionate about neuroscience, and believes yoga and neuroscience can help us better understand ourselves, in practice and in theory. At Sadhana, the primary areas of research are the effects of yoga on stress, anxiety and body image.
Charlotte studied Political Sciences & Entrepreneurship in undergrad. She worked for 3 years in the French tech world. As she was struggling with anxiety and could not find solutions to feel better in France, she flew to India looking for answers, where she spent a year studying and practicing. She came home with the urge to teach yoga to those who were struggling with mental health issues. She also wanted to understand and share with other how yoga actually works on their mind. She created a school where you can learn yoga and its effects on the brain and psychology.
Please note: this presentation is education, not personalized medical advice.
Submit your questions for the presenters below! Each submission is another entry on the bingo raffle prizes!!
Kristin Anderson, PhD
Yoga and ADHD: What the Evidence Actually Shows
Kristin is a neuroscientist and science communicator specializing in the neural circuitry underlying affective disorders, including depression and anxiety. Her research focuses on the mechanisms of stress susceptibility and resilience, with the goal of advancing a deeper understanding of how brain circuits shape emotional health.
Beyond the laboratory, Kristin works at the intersection of science communication and science policy. She translates complex scientific evidence into accessible, evidence-based strategies that inform the development of equitable and meaningful public policy. In addition, she is engaged in internationalization efforts within higher education, contributing to the global exchange of knowledge and research collaboration.
Please note: this presentation is education, not personalized medical advice.
Submit your questions for the presenters below! Each submission is another entry on the bingo raffle prizes!!
Amy Roberts and Kim Hughes, Talk Yoga
Talk Yoga™: Supporting Communication Development and Learning Readiness in Young Children Through Mindful Movement
Amy Roberts and Kim Hughes are Speech-Language Pathologists and RYT-200 yoga teachers, and the co-founders of Talk Yoga™. They first met in 2005 while working at a Washington, DC school for students with learning differences, where they quickly discovered a shared passion for speech and language therapy — and a shared love of yoga. With more than 45 years of combined clinical experience, Amy and Kim have worked extensively with children with articulation and language disorders, ADHD, ASD, dyslexia, and other learning differences. Collaborating closely with occupational and physical therapists, they witnessed firsthand how movement, regulation, and sensory integration profoundly impact communication and learning.
They believe that when a child’s body, mind, and heart are calm and connected, the brain is ready for learning. Talk Yoga™ was born from that belief — integrating yoga principles with speech and language therapy to help children feel confident, regulated, and empowered to communicate.
Their work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, yoga, communication, and the power of human connection.
Please note: this presentation is education, not personalized medical advice.
Submit your questions for the researchers below! Each submission is another entry on the bingo raffle prizes!!
Tundi Loftus, PhD
Yoga-Mindfulness for Autistic Children: Promise, Problems, and Practical Implications"
Tundi Loftus, PhD is a lecturer and psychology researcher at Murdoch University with a focus on child development and maternal mental health. Her PhD has focused on the co-development of a yoga intervention for anxiety in autistic children. In addition to her academic work, she also helps families to support their children's development and behaviour through holistic, evidence-based strategies. Tundi has been using mind-body regulation practices, including breathwork, stretching and exercise, for over 15 years.
Please note: this presentation is education, not personalized medical advice.
Submit your questions for the researchers below! Each submission is another entry on the bingo raffle prizes!!
Sat Bir Khalsa, PhD
Yoga in Schools: The Scientific Rationale and Research Evidence
Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Ph.D. is a Corresponding Member of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard Medical School retiring as Associate Professor of Medicine. He is Director of Research for the Kundalini Research Institute, Research Associate at the Benson Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, and Research Affiliate of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. He has conducted clinical research trials evaluating yoga interventions for insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic stress, and anxiety disorders, and also for adolescents in public schools and workers in occupational settings. He works with the International Association of Yoga Therapists to promote research on yoga as editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy and as chair of the scientific program committee for its annual conference. He is chief editor of the medical textbook The Principles and Practice of Yoga in Health Care and co-editor of the textbook The Principles and Practice of Yoga for Children and Adolescents.
Please note: this presentation is education, not personalized medical advice.
Submit your questions for the researchers below! Each submission is another entry on the bingo raffle prizes!!
Nóra Kerekes, PhD
Creating Space to Breathe: Yoga for Neurodiversity and Childhood Trauma
The subtitles aren't loading properly for this video, we apologize.
Professor Kerekes holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and serves as both an Associate Professor of Experimental Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg and a Professor of Medical Sciences in Psychiatry at University West, Sweden.
With over 35 years of experience in research and teaching, Professor Kerekes has made significant contributions to psychiatry, neuroscience, and higher education. She has trained and mentored a wide range of professionals, including physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, pharmacists, and even molecular biologists, at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.
Her research focuses on holistic and integrative approaches to mental health, particularly among vulnerable populations. She is the founder of the Centre for Holistic Psychiatry Research (CHoPy) an international and interdisciplinary platform. One of its leading programs, Yoga to Care, explores the use of yoga-based interventions in institutional settings, psychiatric clinics, as well as in support services for individuals affected by domestic violence, sexual abuse, and other forms of trauma.
Please note: this presentation is education, not personalized medical advice.
Submit your questions for the researchers below! Each submission is another entry on the bingo raffle prizes!!
Christopher Key Chapple, PhD
Yoga: The First 1500 Years, 500 B.C.E. to 1000 C.E.
Christopher Key Chapple serves as the Doshi Distinguished Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles, where he joined the faculty in 1985. He is founding director of Yoga Studies at LMU which includes comprehensive certificate programs and America's first MA in Yoga Studies. He trained in classical Yoga with Gurani Anjali Inti (www.guranianjali.org) from 1972 until her passing in 2001. He has translated numerous texts on Yoga, distilled in the recently published Sourcebook of Yoga Philosophy and Practice (DK Printworld, 2026) which includes the entire Yoga Sutra and Samkhya Karika as well as Yoga excerpts from the Upanisads, the Bhagavad Gita, and core texts from Buddhism and Jainism, including the Yogabindu.
Please note: this presentation is education, not personalized medical advice.
Submit your questions for the researchers below! Each submission is another entry on the bingo raffle prizes!!
Renata Sumar Gaertner
Adaptive Yoga for Neurodiverse Children
Renata Sumar Gaertner is an educator, program developer, and co‑owner of Yoga for All Abilities, carrying forward the Sonia Sumar Method — a pioneering approach to adaptive yoga for neurodiverse children and adults. Renata began practicing yoga at the age of three and completed her first teacher training at just twelve years old. By fifteen, she was already teaching in Brazil, where she went on to lead classes, trainings, and family programs for the next twenty years.
She later continued this work in Florida for fifteen more years, expanding the methodology and supporting families, therapists, and educators across the United States and internationally. Renata holds a master’s degree in Language Impairment and has clinical training as a Speech‑Language Pathologist, which deeply informs her approach to working with individuals with Autism, ADHD, and other developmental differences.
Please note: this presentation is education, not personalized medical advice.
Anne Desmond & Tanya Farmer, Bent on Learning
Yoga Workshop: Meeting Students Where They Are: Teaching Yoga Across Developmental Stages in Classrooms
Anne Desmond is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Bent On Learning, a nonprofit that has integrated yoga and mindfulness into New York City public schools for more than 25 years. She taught yoga in middle and high schools for a decade and developed Bent On Learning’s curriculum for adolescents. Today, she focuses on supporting the adults who serve youth by training educators, counselors, yoga teachers, parents, and caregivers, and working with school leaders to center well-being in school communities. Before founding Bent On Learning, Anne worked in technology consulting and systems engineering, experience that continues to inform her structured approach to curriculum design and implementation in complex school systems.
Tanya Farmer is a yoga, meditation, and mindfulness educator who has been teaching in New York City public schools for over a decade. She is passionate about creating spaces where young people feel safe, seen, and empowered. With a background in psychology and graduate studies in K–12 School Counseling at SUNY Oneonta, her work focuses on youth mental health, social-emotional learning, and integrating mindfulness practices into school communities. Tanya maintains a dedicated yoga and meditation practice and brings both personal experience and research-informed approaches to helping students cultivate clarity, calm, and confidence.
Please note: this presentation is education, not personalized medical advice.
Submit your questions for the researchers below! Each submission is another entry on the bingo raffle prizes!!
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