Short course

Well Woman Yoga Therapy

with Ruth Gilmore, Uma Dinsmore-TuliLondon

This course is all about yoga for women’s health and vital energy. It shares techniques to feel, nurture and build the feminine energy of shakti for the practical healing and benefit of women through the whole of their life cycle. We will explore health issues that are particularly important for women, not only because they affect the female reproductive system, but because they are issues of especial relevance to experiences of femininity.

The course combines the theory of the female reproductive system and common reproductive disorders with practices to offer you fresh perspectives, new understandings and a deep appreciation of the healing power of yoga as therapy. We will explore experiential anatomy, esoteric anatomy, physiology and yoga techniques in a lively and accessible way. Some issues will be explored through discussion and question and answer sessions. The sharing of wisdom and expertise within the group is a valuable part of the learning experience, so please bring your queries, concerns and your professional and personal experience of womanhood. This is a supportive and nurturing course, and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers with babes in arms are welcome to attend.

The course includes practical programmes covering a range of different approaches to feminine sexuality in general and to the following topics in particular:
• menarche, menstruation and pre-menstrual tension – techniques for managing pain, and promoting healthy, regular menstrual cycles;
• fertility, subfertility and experience of IVF;
• pelvic pain;
• perimenopause and menopause – techniques for prevention and management of headaches, hot flushes and mood swings.

The course also includes detailed case studies on the following topics:
• subfertility and preparation for conception;
• endometriosis – pain management;
• health issues related to the pelvic floor, including prolapse – techniques for management and postnatal recovery.

In addition we will address the following women’s health issues: dysmenorrhoea, anaemia and low self-esteem, including the impact of eating disorders.

In all these cases we will explore the most appropriate range of yoga practices to provide suitable remedy, management and/or prevention within the context of a yoga therapeutic understanding of feminine emotional life, lunar cycles and the play of the elements in the female body. Practices will include asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha, nada yoga, meditation, and deep relaxation techniques, including yoga nidra.

The approach to yoga therapy presented in this course is rooted in yoga, tantra and structural and ayurvedic yoga therapy. Key concepts will include those which help us understand the yoga energetics of feminine health: in particular, the healthy functioning of apana prana for menstrual health, the development of ojas for optimum fertility, and the positive relationship and energetic freedom of movement between swadisthana and muladhara chakra for all aspects of feminine health.

Please be aware that many of the yoga therapeutic responses to women’s health offered in this course depend more upon an intuitive understanding and client centred application of general concepts than upon precise ‘yoga remedies’ for particular difficulties. Our focus will be client centred and holistic, rather than driven by a response to pathology. The course equips and encourages you to respond to the needs of women in your yoga classes and one-to-ones (and to your own needs) with sensitivity and informed understanding; helping to develop a more feminine practice that can promote healing and well-being.

The course is designed to encourage you to think for yourself, and will not give you lists of one size fits all standard remedial responses to set diagnoses. Please do not expect to be given simple yoga answers to all women’s health issues. Instead, expect to experience a full range of practical holistic practices that promote positive experiences of femininity, from which a truly well woman-centred yoga practice can develop.

Please note that although the context of the course is the WHOLE of a woman’s life cycle, and it includes an exploration of the impact of the experiences of pregnancy and birth on a woman’s health and vitality it is not within the remit of this course to cover in detail all issues relating specifically to pregnancy and postnatal recovery. Yoga for pregnancy is a big subject in itself, and merits its own course. The same is true for the postnatal period. If you are primarily interested in yoga for pregnancy and post-natal recovery, please consider our Pregnancy Yoga Teacher Training Course and Mother and Baby Yoga teacher training courses

There will be an end of course written assessment to complete.

anatomy and physiology mother and baby pregnancy yoga therapy

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Dr Ruth Gilmore was a full-time lecturer at the Queen’s University of Belfast for many years, first in physiology and then in anatomy, until she took early retirement in order to devote more time to yoga. In 1996 she qualified as a yoga teacher with the Yoga Fellowship of Northern Ireland (the governing body of yoga in Northern Ireland), and has since acquired additional training and expertise in the use of yoga for medical conditions and pregnancy. Read Ruth Gilmore's full biography.

Uma Dinsmore-Tuli was first introduced to yoga at the age of four, and has been teaching yoga and meditation since 1986. Read Uma Dinsmore-Tuli's full biography.

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