Dr. Lewan's enthusiasm for bringing evidence into clinical practice is contagious. She uses her experience as a therapist, teacher and performing artist to create Continuing Education that is engaging and educational.

Upcoming workshops for yoga teachers and enthusiasts:

James Island Yoga Anatomy series: This series of workshops is intended to create a safe space to get curious about your own body. How does it work and how can yoga help? Each workshop will compliment the others for a more complete understanding of human anatomy and physiology. To be prepared for these workshops, bring your curiosity and perhaps a notebook, and wear comfortable clothes you can move in. Additional resources and reflections will be offered to help you integrate your experience on and off the mat. Please let the instructor know in advance if you require any special accommodations to facilitate your participation in the workshop. Sign up HERE

JIY Yoga Anatomy series: Skeletal System

FEEL it in your BONES 

Mar 2, 2024 James Island Yoga

How exactly do we feel or sense our bones, joints, and what position they are in? This experiential anatomy workshop will explore the structure and function of the skeletal system and proprioception– how we feel where our bodies are in space. These concepts will be applied to active yoga practice and partner/group exercises designed to help you better feel and appreciate your bones, with notes on how you can adapt your practice to include bone, joint, and sensory health. Topics covered include:

• Bony landmarks and alignment
• How to adapt a yoga practice for joints that are too stiff or too loose
• Planes of movement that allow for healthy joints that move freely
• Bone density and how it is affected by yoga
• Common issues with joints, ligaments, bones and adaptations for yoga practice
• Ways yoga can improve balance (and reduce falls and injuries)
• How to facilitate improved proprioception (body sense) with yoga practices and props

Participants may want to review this brief overview of the skeletal system prior to the workshop so that we can focus on kinesthetic/experiential learning rather than lecture: 

JIY Yoga Anatomy series: Muscular/movement system

MOVEMENT, MIND, and Muscles

Mar 3, 2024 James Island Yoga

What moves you? We will explore various aspects of movement and how it affects your physiology to impact the strength, speed, power and flexibility of your body and mind. What is “muscle memory?” How do we leverage it to create healthy patterns or deconstruct unhealthy ones? Join us as we bust the myth of “isolating a muscle” and explore how muscles work in collaboration with each other, the nervous system, bones, joints and their environment (hello gravity and momentum! Move with us through various topics:

• Movement and mood, cognition and neuroplasticity (your ability to create change)
• Motor learning: how do muscles learn coordinated, helpful movements?
• What is the overload principle and how does it relate to “the edge” in yoga?
• What cues or adjustments help to activate or release target muscles?
• How can variety of movement translate to better movement on and off the mat?
• Why do some people feel muscles or movements differently than others?

Participants may want to review this brief overview of the skeletal system prior to the workshop so that we can focus on kinesthetic/experiential learning rather than lecture: 

Professional Education Courses

AVAILABLE NOW

• Long COVID: Biopsychosocial Considerations for Rehabilitation-- 7.5 hour CE hours of a recorded live course that covers a variety of post-COVID phenotypes and includes lecture, discussion and experiential labs for self-paced learning. CE is pre-approved for physical therapists in Illinois and for yoga therapists through the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Purchase using the button below to access a dropbox folder with videos of the course as well as additional resources for working with post-COVID clients.