Mindful Yoga-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Simple Postures and Practices to Help Clients Achieve Emotional Balance

The ancient wisdom of yoga meets the evidence-based effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in this breakthrough professional guide for both yoga instructors and ACT clinicians.

Mindful yoga-based acceptance and commitment therapy (MYACT) is a holistic mind-body program that integrates psychology, yoga, and behavior change. In Mindful Yoga-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a psychologist, social worker, and yoga instructor team up to offer comprehensive training in MYACT. Using the holistic therapy outlined in this manual, clinicians and yoga instructors alike will discover ways to guide clients toward emotional balance and wellness, with the perspective that healing suffering requires treating both the body and the mind.

This unique book offers proven-effective interventions informed by the model of psychological flexibility--the foundational underpinning of modern third-wave cognitive behavioral therapies. Mental health professionals who are interested in yoga, mindfulness, and holistic approaches to health will rejoice in this evidence-based program, while yoga instructors who wish to incorporate well-researched health care interventions into their yoga practice and teaching will also celebrate this much-needed resource.

Whether you are new to yoga or ACT or both, or have a long history with either, this book will provide you with the tools and foundational understanding needed to bring this practice into the scope of yours.

Timothy Gordon, MSW, is a social worker in Canada, and an internationally recognized, peer-reviewed acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) trainer. He specializes in treating attachment- and trauma-related disorders. Tim is also a yoga teacher who integrates movement and yoga practices into his work. Tim’s research has included yoga as a mental health intervention, ACT for chronic pain, and ACT with neonatal intensive care units. Tim is passionate about empowering people in various settings to use ACT. He has worked with the Parliament of Canada, and is involved in bringing ACT to sub-Saharan African countries with his colleagues at Commit and Act. Gordon, along with Jessica Borushok, is award-winning coauthor of The ACT Approach.

Jessica Borushok, PhD, is a clinical psychologist specializing in health-related problems, including obesity, chronic pain, and coping with chronic medical conditions. In addition to clinical work, Jessica provides ACT trainings and program development internationally. She has conducted a National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) grant-funded pilot randomized controlled trial exploring the impact of ACT on physical activity among sedentary workers, and consulted on a grant-funded program using ACT with parents of children in neonatal intensive care units.

Steve Ferrell, E-RYT, teaches yoga, Ayurveda, anatomy, biomechanics, meditation, and mindfulness practices nationally across Canada. Steve has been studying and practicing yoga and meditation for over a decade. Over this time, he has worked with many techniques from different lineages of yoga and Buddhism, as well as studying Western-based psychological/behavioral perspectives. Steve is certified in integrative yoga therapy: a yoga school started by Joseph LePage, founder of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. He continues to study with notable figures in the field and is involved in ongoing research studies to see how yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda can help people primarily in the mental health field.