Eddie Stern is a Yoga instructor, author and lecturer from New York City, who has been actively involved in many facets of Yoga education for over 30 years, including the running of his school Ashtanga Yoga New York since 1995 (now closed). In NYC he has been committed to programs that have been shown to reduce gun violence and the traumatic effect of gun violence on affected communities through Yoga, meditation, and therapeutic wellness interventions. He has authored curriculum and led trainings in wellness practices for public education that have reached over 80,000 school children and educators in several states. Since 2010 he has written Yoga protocols that have been used in research studies examining the efficacies of asana based practices. He is the co-board chair of LIFE Camp for the reduction of gun violence in NYC, an advisory board member for the Black Yoga Teacher’s Alliance, creator of The Breathing App, Yoga365 App, co-author of Engineering Health, an online yoga and physiology course with NYU Tandon School of Engineering, co-publisher of Namarupa Magazine, and currently gives weekly talks with Dr. Deepak Chopra on the inner meanings of Yoga as a practice for enlightenment. His latest book is called One Simple Thing, a New Look at the Science of Yoga and How it can Transform Your Life.
Neuroscience and Yoga Online Conference
Conference Speakers
Presenters
Kristin Anderson, PhD
Kristin is a neuroscientist and postdoctoral research fellow in the departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center. Her research focuses on understanding the biological basis of our individual stress responses and asks why individuals can have vastly different outcomes to same stressor. Her goal is to understand these individual differences in such a way that we can not only more effectively treat disorders stemming from stress susceptibility - but also harness the power of natural resilience into primary preventative measures.
She is a relatively new yogi, just beginning her yoga journey at the start of pandemic in March 2020 through virtual yoga that many NYC studios so graciously offered for free. She quickly began to see the incredible benefits in her physical and mental health following a consistent practice. The scientist in her wanted to understand what these exact changes were and the mechanisms behind them are.
Lastly, Kristin is passionate about science outreach and science policy. She works to take scientific data and turn them into actionable points for both policymakers and for society. She hopes conferences like this can help spur our communities and collect the needed data to one day see yoga as a widely utilized evidence-based tool in our prevention toolbox that is used across society and medicine.
Presentation
Yoga for Stress Reduction in Developing Brains
Available March 17 at 5 PM EST for 24 hours
Q&A Sessions
March 18 at 5 PM EST, live
Where to learn more
Twitter and Instagram @NeuroKristin
Dessa Bergen-Cico, PhD
Dessa Bergen-Cico, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Public Health and Coordinator of the Addiction Studies program at Syracuse University. She is also a faculty member in Trauma Studies and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at Syracuse University. Dr. Bergen-Cico is a Fellow of the American Academy of Health Care Providers in the Addictive Disorders, a Certified Addiction Specialist (CAS) and Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Teacher. She has been teaching and conducting research on MBSR and mindful yoga for 15 years. Her areas of teaching and research focus on a.) alcohol, other drugs, and addictive behaviors; b.) traumatic stress, c.) the use of mindfulness-based practices for prevention and recovery and d.) geo-politics of drug policy. Dessa has authored more than 50 scholarly publications, including the book “War and Drugs: The Role of Military Conflict in the Development of Substance Abuse.”
Presentation
The Neurophysiology of Yoga for Addiction Prevention and Recovery
Available March 19 at 9 PM EST for 30 hours
Q&A Sessions
Possibly March 20 at 9:30 AM EST, live
Where to learn more
Alyssa Chimiklis, PhD
Dr. Alyssa Chimiklis is a licensed clinical psychologist in California and New York. Presently, she is a psychologist at Equip Health and sees patients in private practice. Dr. Chimiklis received her PhD (2019) in Clinical Psychology from The Graduate Center, City University of New York and completed her APA Accredited Pre-Doctoral Internship at MercyFirst. In 2021, she completed her postdoctoral training at UC San Diego Health Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research with specialized training in the treatment of adolescents with a range of eating disorders. She has extensive experience working with a range of mental health disorders including eating disorders, ADHD, and complex trauma across the life span.
Dr. Chimiklis’ research interests include how yoga/mindfulness interventions influence higher order executive functions, as well as emotion regulation in youth with ADHD. She is also interested in how yoga may influence body image and eating disorder symptomology. She is delighted to be speaking at the conference, as she has been avidly practicing yoga in New York and California for over 10 years and is a licensed yoga teacher for children and adults (RY200 and RCYT).
Presentations
Yoga and Mindfulness Interventions for ADHD
Available March 17 at 5 PM EST for 24 hours
Being Me: A Yoga-Based Program for Positive Self-Embodiment
Available March 17 at 5 PM EST for 24 hours
Q&A Session
March 18 at 5 PM EST, live
Where to learn more
Donations to her research: My mentor Dr. Anil Chacko of NYU - Families and Children Experiencing Success (FACES Lab)
Deepak Chopra, MD
Dr. Chopra is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. He is the founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality. Dr. Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is the author of over 90 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. For the last thirty years, Chopra has been at the forefront of the meditation revolution and his 92nd book, Abundance provides an enlightening guide to success, fulfillment, wholeness, and plenty, offering practical advice on how to cultivate a sense of abundance in times of fear and insecurity. TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as “one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.”
Presentations
Yoga, Consciousness, and the Abundance Mindset for Brain Wellbeing
Available March 18 at 6 PM EST for 24 hours
Where to learn more
Marshall Hagins, PhD
Dr. Marshall Hagins first career was as a professional dancer on Broadway. Leaving dance he received his PhD in Biomechanics from New York University and a second doctorate from the University of St. Augustine in manual physical therapy. Dr. Hagins is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Long Island University and Senior Clinical Research Associate at Harkness Center for Dance Injuries in Manhattan. Dr. Hagins has worked with members of the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, among others and has been the company physical therapist for Mark Morris Dance Group for over 25 years. He has published over 40 papers in the areas of Dance Medicine, Ergonomics, and Yoga and has received funding from the National Institutes of Health for a study of the effects of yoga on hypertension.
Workshop
Results May Vary: How to Read a Scientific Abstract
March 17 at 10 AM EST, live and then available for 24 hours
Where to learn more
Website: https://yogaandscience.com/
Andrew Jones
Andrew Jones is a senior teacher at the Dharma Yoga Center, and a long-time student of Sri Dharma Mittra since 2006. He helps lead teacher trainings at the Dharma Yoga Center. He has a background in advertising. He is fun, light-hearted, and happy to help students at all levels. He teaches spiritual knowledge, with compassion as the foundation of yoga.
Interview
Introduction to Yoga
March 17 at 6:30 PM EST, live and then available for 24 hours
Where to learn more
Sat Bir Khalsa, PhD
Dr. Khalsa is the Director of Yoga Research for the Yoga Alliance and the Kundalini Research Institute, a Research Associate at the Benson Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, a Research Affiliate at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He has conducted research on yoga and yoga therapy since 2001 and has been a practitioner/instructor of Kundalini Yoga since 1973. His research has evaluated yoga for insomnia, chronic stress, and anxiety-related disorders, and in workplace and public school settings. He works with the International Association of Yoga Therapists promoting yoga research as scientific director for the annual Symposium on Yoga Research and as editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy. He is medical editor of the Harvard Medical School Special Report Introduction to Yoga, and chief editor of the medical textbook The Principles and Practice of Yoga in Health Care.
Presentations
Understanding the Biomedical Science and Research on Yoga and Accessing and Interpreting Published Papers
March 17 at 9 AM EST, live and then available for 24 hours
The Scientific Rationale and Research on Yoga in School Settings
March 20 at 7:30 AM EST, live and then available for 24 hours
The Science and Research on Yoga for Sleep and Insomnia
March 20 at 8:00 AM EST, live and then available for 24 hours
The Science and Research on Yoga for Addictions
March 20 at 8:30 AM EST, live and then available for 24 hours
Q&A Session
March 20 at 9:30 AM EST, live
Where to learn more
Lab website: https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/59415
Donations to his research: https://kundaliniresearchinstitute.org/donations/ or https://www.iayt.org/donations/
Sheila Patel, MD
Sheila Patel, MD is Chief Medical Officer for Chopra Global and a board-certified family physician. For more than a decade, she practiced full-spectrum family medicine, and currently maintains an outpatient family medicine practice in Southern California where she integrates mind-body practices into patients' treatment plans.
She joined the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, California, in 2010 where she provided integrative medical consultations and was part of the Chopra team that led a 6-day Ayurvedic immersion program which included meditation and yoga. She is a certified instructor of Ayurveda, yoga, and meditation and is a lead educator for the Chopra certification programs. Dr. Patel speaks at Chopra Global events as well as at other integrative medical conferences.
Dr. Patel maintains a voluntary clinical position at the University of San Diego School of Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health. She is a Board member of BeWell Therapy, a non-profit organization based in Southern California that offers classes and teacher training in yoga for cancer recovery. Dr Patel is also on the Clinical Research Team for the Chopra Foundation, with a commitment to bringing scientific validation to mind-body practices, and is the co-author of multiple publications on the subjects of meditation and Ayurveda. She enjoys the opportunity to bring light to the mechanisms of action of mind-body practices and sharing this knowledge with others.
Presentations
Yoga for Chronic Diseases
Available March 18 at 6 PM EST for 24 hours
Yoga and Mechanisms of Brain Aging
Available March 18 at 6 PM EST for 24 hours
Q&A Session
March 19 at 6 PM EST, live
Where to learn more
Longevity Experiment: https://longevity.choprafoundation.org
Abha Rajbhandari, PhD
Dr. Abha Karki Rajbhandari is an Assistant Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She has been studying the neurobiological mechanisms of fear, stress and anxiety that are relevant for basic science studies of conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder for almost 14 years. Her graduate and post-doctoral works centered on understanding the neuromodulatory actions of norepinephrine, CRF, PACAP and others in fear and stress regulation via the amygdala. In her own lab, she is taking a broad approaches through the brain, breath and body interactions in regulating the autonomic aspects of fear and stress such as cardiorespiratory and metabolic functions. She has been practicing yoga since childhood in Nepal and has been approaching her research questions also through the lens of yoga's beneficial effects on the brain and the body.
Presentation
Yoga for Addiction: the Connection to Stress
Available March 19 at 9 AM EST for 30 hours
Q&A Session
March 20 at 9:30 AM EST, live
Where to learn more
Rachel Razza, PhD
Rachel Razza is an associate professor of Human Development and Family Science at Syracuse University. Her educational journey includes a BA in Psychology from the State University of New York College at Geneseo, a masters and PhD in Human Development and family Studies from Penn State University, and a post-doc at Teachers College, Columbia University. Rachel specializes in social and cognitive development in at-risk children and youth, the different facets of self-regulation, and mindfulness-based practices as an intervention strategy for fostering resilience and promoting wellbeing. She has been trained in multiple child mindfulness and yoga curriculums and helps implement and evaluate school-based programs. Rachel also collaborates with neuroscientists to examine the impact of mindfulness on cognitive performance and brain activity. In addition, she is Associate Director for the Contemplative Collaborative, a community of faculty, staff, and students across the University who are invested in contemplative pedagogy, research, and/or practice, serves as the Coordinator for the Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies minor, and is a Certified Mindfulness in the Workplace facilitator through Mindful Life. Rachel was fortunate to discover yoga in graduate school and has continued to cultivate her professional and personal mindfulness practice over the last decade with her colleagues and three children.
Presentation
Mindful Yoga for Children
Available March 17 at 5 PM EST for 24 hours
Yoga for Adolescent Wellbeing
Available March 17 at 5 PM EST for 24 hours
Q&A Session
March 18 at 5 PM EST, live
Where to learn more
My research team is always interested in connecting over opportunities to help evaluate programs. If you are interested, you can email Rachel: [email protected]
Lab website: https://falk.syr.edu/selfregulation/
Ben Rein, PhD
Ben Rein, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience at Stanford University. Ben's doctoral research focused on the neurobiology of autism spectrum disorder, and uncovered how certain gene mutations alter brain function to produce changes in social behavior. In his current work, Dr. Rein is investigating how social experiences in early life shape the development of the brain.
Outside of the lab, Ben shares educational science videos on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, BiliBili and Ibble, to a collective audience of more than 800,000 subscribers. In his videos, Ben shares breaking scientific discoveries, debunks "viral" videos containing misinformation and teaches fundamental neuroscience principles. He also provides guidance to students through a video series called "Scientips" and leads the Aspiring Scientists Coalition, a global community organization providing free guidance & mentorship to students.
Presentation
Introduction to Neuroscience
March 17 at 5 PM EST, live and available thereafter
Where to learn more
Instagram: @doctor.brein
TikTok: @dr.brein
Annika Rosenthal, PhD-To-Be
Annika Rosenthal is a PhD student in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Charité University Hospital in Berlin. After receiving an undergraduate degree in Psychology she decided to study Neuroscience and commit to research. With a focus on drug and addiction research, her PhD project centers around the effect of mindfulness in alcohol use disorder. With an interventional approach, she studies how yoga modifies top-down control, learning and decision-making. She considers yoga her go-to strategy to manage stress during her PhD.
Presentation
Yoga and the Brain Mechanisms of Addiction
Available March 19 at 9 PM EST for 30 hours
Q&A Session
March 20 at 9:30 AM EST, live
Where to learn more
Stephanie Sohl, PhD
Dr. Stephanie Sohl earned her doctorate in Social and Health Psychology from Stony Brook University in 2008. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. Sohl aims to bridge knowledge from behavioral science with wisdom from contemplative practices to improve healthcare. Her research focuses on strengthening the evidence base for these practices, such as yoga, that provide strategies for managing symptoms and health behaviors. Her work is innovative because she facilitates adapting yoga to integrate into clinical care and community settings. For example, she recently led a NIH-funded investigation of a yoga intervention targeted to reduce fatigue taught in the clinical setting during chemotherapy administration. Dr. Sohl regularly practices yoga, became a certified Kripalu yoga teacher in 2007, and previously served as member of the Scientific Program Committee for the Symposium of Yoga research.
Presentation
Yoga for Worry in Older Adults
Available March 18 at 5 PM EST for 24 hours
Q&A Session
March 20 at 8 AM EST, live
Where to learn more
Twitter: @sohl_dr
Eddie Stern
Workshop
Results May Vary: How to Read a Scientific Abstract
March 17 at 10 AM EST, live and then available for 24 hours
Classes
Yoga
March 18 at 3 PM EST, live
Where to learn more
Shirley Telles, PhD
Dr. Telles's educational background is in conventional medicine with a doctorate in neurophysiology. For her thesis she looked at brain activity during yoga breathing and meditation. She has dedicated her life to yoga research, and is currently the Director at the Patanjali Research Foundation, Haridwar, India. She is an active practitioner of yoga and believes it is vital to be enthusiastic about what you do. She has received numerous awards for her work, including from the Templeton Foundation for Creative Ideas in Neurobiology, a Fulbright award, and national awards.
Presentation
Yoga and Sleep Across Different Ages
Available March 18 at 6 PM EST for 24 hours
Q&A Session
March 19 at 8:30 AM EST, live
Where to learn more
Lab website: www.patanjaliresearchfoundation.com
Donations to her research: by writing to divyayoga (@) rediffmail.com
Yoga Teachers
Lauren Duke
Lauren Duke is a writer, educator, entrepreneur, and community activist. She’s taught thousands of yoga students over the last 20 years, led dozens of international retreats, and continues to push the edge between yoga, mental health, and trauma. She founded a one-of-a-kind community center and yoga studio in Encinitas, California called Gather. In a sea of corporate yoga, where most independent studios don't survive, she created a thriving community, teaching and hosting a variety of beloved yoga classes, educational seminars, and writing workshops. Using Yoga and Writing as a template, she devotes her time to helping educate people on the anatomy of trauma and how those experiences are woven into their nervous system. Her mission is to encourage people to join the autonomic conversation as an entry point to healing. Lauren has studied with the world’s leading traumatologists: Bessel van der Kolk, Peter A. Levine, Gabor Mate, Deb Dana and Stephen Porges.
Classes
Yoga Class: The Art of Psychosomatic Practice
March 17 at 1 PM EST, live
Where to learn more
Her debut memoir “Sh!thouse,” about healing generational trauma was just published on January 11th, 2022. You can order a copy here
Instagram:
@dollieduke83
@shithousebook
@gatherencinitas
Taylor Hunt
Taylor Hunt is a devoted practitioner and teacher of Ashtanga yoga. He makes yearly trips to Mysore, India to study under the guidance of his teacher, R. Sharath Jois. In 2013, Taylor was granted Level 2 Authorization to teach and has had the honor of assisting Sharath on several occasions. Taylor is dedicated to sharing the healing practice with others and providing a community where practitioners can find support in their practice and daily lives. Seeking to preserve the traditional method, Taylor teaches daily Mysore classes at Ashtanga Yoga Columbus and offers workshops around the world. He is also the author of A Way From Darkness and director of the Trini Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing the life-changing practice of Ashtanga with those suffering from addiction. He continues to inspire others through his story of personal transformation and accessible approach to the practice.
Classes
Addiction, Recovery, and Ashtanga Yoga
March 20 at 6 PM EST, live
Where to learn more
Please visit www.awayfromdarkness.com and www.trinifoundation.org
Sri Dharma Mittra
Sri Dharma Mittra is a yoga master who has dedicated his life to the karma yoga or selfless service of sharing the accumulated wisdom gained through constant practice and teaching over a half-century at his school in New York and around the world. Sri Dharma met his guru, Swami Kailashananda in 1964 and immersed himself in intense study of the classical eight limbs of yoga and dedicated ten years of his life to the full-time practice of karma yoga. Since 1967, he has been teaching classical yoga: advanced postures, yama and niyama, and how to lead a content, simple and happy life. Teachers from other schools and ashrams have always come to him to learn, practice, and then teach elsewhere. Sri Dharma is truly a sweet, gentle master who sets the greatest example of yoga by living what he teaches and asking nothing in return. He continues to be that same selfless, shining example today.
Classes
Maha Shakti
March 19 at 10 AM EST, live
Yoga Nidra
March 19 at 11:30 AM EST, live
Where to learn more
Eddie Stern
Eddie Stern is a Yoga instructor, author and lecturer from New York City, who has been actively involved in many facets of Yoga education for over 30 years, including the running of his school Ashtanga Yoga New York since 1995 (now closed). In NYC he has been committed to programs that have been shown to reduce gun violence and the traumatic effect of gun violence on affected communities through Yoga, meditation, and therapeutic wellness interventions. He has authored curriculum and led trainings in wellness practices for public education that have reached over 80,000 school children and educators in several states. Since 2010 he has written Yoga protocols that have been used in research studies examining the efficacies of asana based practices. He is the co-board chair of LIFE Camp for the reduction of gun violence in NYC, an advisory board member for the Black Yoga Teacher’s Alliance, creator of The Breathing App, Yoga365 App, co-author of Engineering Health, an online yoga and physiology course with NYU Tandon School of Engineering, co-publisher of Namarupa Magazine, and currently gives weekly talks with Dr. Deepak Chopra on the inner meanings of Yoga as a practice for enlightenment. His latest book is called One Simple Thing, a New Look at the Science of Yoga and How it can Transform Your Life.
Workshop
Results May Vary: How to Read a Scientific Abstract
March 17 at 10 AM EST, live and then available for 24 hours
Classes
Yoga
March 18 at 3 PM EST, live
Where to learn more
Conference Staff
Kristin Anderson, PhD
Kristin Anderson is a postdoctoral research fellow at Columbia University Medical Center studying the neural circuits of stress susceptibility and resiliency. One of her passions is to bridge the gap between neuroscience research and the community through outreach events and collaboration with policymakers. She has seen the impact of yoga on her own well-being and is eager to find ways to use the neuroscience of yoga to jumpstart conversations centered around how to integrate the knowledge into science-based policy for the prevention of undue suffering.
Where to learn more
Emily Jones
Emily Jones is an E-RYT 200 instructor from Dallas, TX. She is currently the Yoga Coordinator for Summit Climbing Yoga & Fitness, and Lead Trainer for their Yoga Teacher Training Program. She has been professionally teaching for 5 and a half years. Emily's personal mantra for the way she teaches is to give people faculty over their body and mind through the practice of yoga, and help them connect with others by first connecting with themselves.
Where to learn more
Ekaterina Lebayle
Student of Sri Dharma Mittra, Dharma Yoga instructor and Physiological Psychology student at Hunter College. Her future goal is completing a Ph.D. program in Neuroscience and researching the effects of yoga on the brain in order to develop therapeutic treatments for psychiatric diseases with the implementation of yoga. Another research interest of hers is understanding the neural basis of thought processes as dysfunctional thoughts alone can turn on the stress response system, lead to hormonal imbalances and affect physical and mental health. In addition, she is interested researching the implementation of yoga in addiction recovery treatments and developing programs that will allow underserved communities to access yoga.
Sarah Margaux
Sarah Margaux Drexler has been studying contemplative practices for over 25 years. She is a dedicated teacher and practitioner of Yoga and meditation, a published photographer and author, an artist, and a deep ecologist. Sarah creates and holds space for community, designs wellness programs for corporate clients, and produces written and visual communication around topics of health, equanimity, balance, symbiosis, and sustainability. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Sarah teaches regular weekly public and private Yoga classes in addition to hosting events and retreats.
For more information visit: www.sarahmargaux.com
Katja Prager, PhD
Katja Prager completed her PhD in Biology and is a certified Dharma Yoga Teacher. Interested in the interconnectedness of life, she decided to study biology and focused on circadian rhythms during her doctoral work. However, her quest to understand the relatedness of all life was quenched only after she began to apply yoga and meditation to her own life. She studies yoga under the guidance of the yoga master Sri Dharma Mittra and has 5+ years of teaching experience. She is an avid traveler, and has lived in >10 countries, speaks 3 languages, and is trained in Buddhist and Vipassana Meditation.
Where to learn more
Jonathan Rosenthal, MD
Jonathan Rosenthal is a resident physician in New York City, and a yoga student of Sri Dharma Mittra. Since 2014, he has worked to bridge the neuroscience world and the yoga world by hosting neuroscience outreach events. He is hosting the Neuroscience and Yoga Online Conference to further this mission.
Where to learn more
Rukmini Roy, MSc
Previously a strategy/tech consultant, Ruki is currently pursuing a master's in neuroscience at King's College London. Her areas of research include mental health (psychosis, addiction) and alternative/complementary medicine (mindfulness/yogic practices, hypnosis, etc.). Her initial fascination with the brain stemmed from yoga. After being introduced to the eastern philosophy of the mind and body through YTTs, she began studying neuroscience to explore these concepts from a scientific lens. Ruki is a certified Hatha, Ashtanga, and Rocket yoga teacher, a licensed hypnotherapist, and an aspiring Neuroscience Ph.D. candidate.
Where to learn more
Claire Sun
Claire graduated with degrees in Neuroscience and Computer Science from
Brandeis University in 2018. Since then, she has been exploring where
these fields intersect. Currently, she is a Researcher Associate at the
Icahn School of Medicine of Mount Sinai in New York City. She is
interested in questions regarding learning and memory. Particularly,
how memory and other functions of the brain can go awry in regards to
psychiatric disorders. She believes that investigating brain
irregularities can illuminate a better understanding of our behavior.
Interested in Registering for the Neuroscience and Yoga Online Conference?
© 2023 Neuroscience and Yoga Online Conference is curated by NeuroYogaNYC.