The Therapeutic Wisdom of Yoga: Optimal Aging: Breath, Vitality, and Mobility

A training-intensive for yoga teachers and inquiring students

The theme for the 2026 training will again be Optimal aging — with deeper work along fascial lines and some fresh takes on the breath as a vital facet of healthy aging. 

The asana component will reinforce and delve deeper into fascial lines and approaches to asana that especially empower functional movement. This will include work with resistance bands to explore the fascial lines, as well as breaking down the poses to explore not only variations on the normal poses, but variations for chair yoga that make the poses more accessible, and also focus in on the key points to work in order to intensify the benefits. 

Our treatment of asana in the training will be oriented toward mobility via the fascia, joint freedom related to functional movement, and depth and efficiency of breathing. Much of the asana work  will of course be connected with the upper body. But the breath is really a whole body experience.

The lectures will focus on the fascial lines from this applied perspective, and will also bring in dimensions of breathing practice — breathing during asana practice, and key features in pranayama practice, specifically applied to the many dimensions of health and optimal aging. Our breath capacity and efficiency can’t be addressed in isolation from movement, especially when it comes to functional movement patterns. Although we usually think of pranayama in terms of seated or reclining practices, asana practice is really key, particularly if any seated or reclining practices are to ultimately be of benefit.

While this will certainly be relevant to teaching older students, it’s not just an ‘old person’s’ topic: the decline in our breathing capacity and vitality begins in our late 20’s, and can decline steeply through what we call ‘middle age,’ though we may not fully realize what has already taken place until later years. So it is never too early to start!

The ‘After-Sessions’ will be an exploration of the development of pranayama practice in all of its dimensions, putting the practices and their goals in the context of the development of the idea of yoga itself. The development of the idea of yoga — especially for the heath yogis, who brought together the many dimensions of yoga practice into a manageable and accessible system — was really driven by the understanding of Prana — which is even more ancient and fundamental than the idea of ‘yoga’ itself as a spiritual practice.

The theme will be a better understanding of ‘Being Yoga’ — what the ‘state’ of yoga is, as experienced through ‘doing’ yoga. This is intended not only to clarify your own practice for you, but also to strengthen and sharpen the message of your teaching.

What you’ll take from the training is a greater depth of knowledge directly related to actionable ways in which you and your students can benefit from yoga practice, a new take on both asana and pranayama that remains true to the tradition, and an even fuller appreciation of the therapeutic wisdom and applications of the full range of yoga practices.

Daily Schedule

The training will extend over 5 days (see below for Daily Themes), and the structure of each day will be:

Guided Asana Practice

• A guided asana practice centered around the theme of the day, which illustrates in its instructions and sequencing how this theme can be approached and incorporated into practice. The practice will incorporate some use of resistance bands, particularly to work better with the upper body, and will stick mainly to fundamental poses and stretches while clarifying their relation to the breath, and will include some chair work. 
  • 15:30-16:30 UK time (1 hour)
    • There will be a break from 16:30-17:15 UK time

Main Lecture

• The role of asana in relation to the breath will include discussion of the fascia and fascial lines at work in asana, particularly as they impact the breath as well as mobility and functional movement. The inclusion of resistance work will be especially in understanding and balancing these fascial lines, particularly in the upper body. And we’ll work with chair variations and modifications.
• We will be including practical consideration of joint and muscle issues that present obstacles in practice, such as in the shoulders, neck, low back, hips, and so on. What is covered in the lectures is accompanied by examples and exercises, and is also put further into practice in the guided asana sessions.
• Embedded within this will also be therapeutic topics, dealing with typical pain patterns and chronic pain problems that bring people to yoga seeking relief, including problems of plantar fasciitis, sciatica, knee, hip, and low back problems, and of course upper body problems centered around the neck and shoulders. 
  • 17:15-20:45pm UK time  (3½ hours)
    • There is a short break from 20:45-21:15

After-Session: ‘Being Yoga:’ Breath, Self-Regulation, and the Spiritual Dimension of Pranayama and Meditation

• The after-sessions explore the evolution of the pranayama tradition in relation to the spiritual dimension of practice: its role in meditation, and the role of practices specifically introduced by the hatha yoga tradition to support spiritual experience and progress — particularly the role of mudra. Ultimately this is about more deeply understanding what ‘Yoga’ itself is, and how the idea of yoga evolved through the understanding of Prana, particularly for the practice that most of us do: hatha yoga.
• While the main lectures focus on breath in conjunction with movement and asana, the after-sessions allow us to go more deeply into neglected aspects of pranayama practice which nevertheless make pranayama all the more effective.
  • The dimension of mudra is helpful in this treatment of the breath, and on a very practical level. We most often think of mudra in terms of hand gestures; but in the original hatha yoga tradition, mudra encompassed all aspects of hatha yoga — asana, bandha, drishthi, and levels of meditative states, as well as being specifically supportive in pranayama. 
  • Our treatment of mudra in connection with pranayama will be step-by-step and logical, tying the practice of mudra to specific breath and meditation practices, and in general will enhance your experience of the breath and meditation. 
  • Other aspects of practice — particularly drishthi or the gaze and focus of the eyes — are also important for unlocking deeper dimensions of the breath, as well as playing a profound role in reducing neck tension and ‘opening up’ the pathways of the breath.
  • In these sessions, modern understanding of the value and benefits of breath awareness are joined to an understanding of pranayama in the context of yoga, reinforcing your understanding of the essential place of the breath in yoga, along with confidence in your ability to practice with simplicity and clarity.
    • 21:15-23:00 UK time (1 3/4 hours)

The Daily Themes

Session 1: Wednesday August 5

Main Lecture: Dynamic Alignment and Joint Play: the Key to Asana Practice and to Chronic Pain Problems

The fundamental understanding of ‘alignment’ in yoga, as well as modern assessment tools for understanding chronic pain problems, has largely been static: how well the bones are lined up or ‘stacked’ in relation to gravity, whether in a neutral pose (Tadasana) or while ‘holding’ poses in yoga.

But pain problems, which primarily affect joints and in turn influence muscle tone and aches, have to do with movement and the ‘play’ within joints that allows joints their freedom to move while maintaining their integrity and stability. Pain in the joints as well as muscle aches are a first sign of a problem with this, that can ultimately lead to damage.

This session will introduce ‘alignment’ from the perspective of movement and proper joint freedom, specifically focusing on dynamic principles of the feet and knees, and relating their actions to the hips. This will include addressing typical pain problems such as plantar fasciitis and knee problems, and include some work with resistance bands for these areas that can be used in chair poses, or applied in asana practice.

This will include an initial reference to the fascial lines that govern the dynamic actions of the feet, knees, and hips, which will get deeper elaboration in the next session.

After-Session: Prana and Vitality: the Starting Point of Yoga Before it was Yoga, and the Fundamentals of Breath Practice from the Modern Perspective

Session 2: Thursday August 6

Main Lecture: The Sutras of Asana — Their Role in Movement and in Pain Patterns in the Lower Body

Building upon topics raised in the first session, including plantar fasciitis and knee problems, the perspective of fascial lines or ‘sutras’ in the lower body will be elaborated further, taking the different forms of sciatic pain (and their causes) as a focus. 

An understanding of how the fascial lines work dynamically in conjunction with joint play will allow us to find greater freedom of movement (‘flexibility’) as well as strength and stability in asana practice.

This will include focus on the hips and the issue of balance. It is pretty much universally the case that balance becomes more challenging with age, for quite a few reasons. Nevertheless, there are aspects of our ability to balance that can be improved through our practice, in terms of hip strength as well as attention to our foundation in our feet and dynamic alignment of our knees.

In this session we’ll make use of resistance bands as part of a program for increasing hip strength (the abductors in particular, which are key to balance) and range of motion. And we will work with our foundation for balance in the feet, and their connection to the knees.

After-Session: Prana, Pranayama and the Nervous System — the Dimensions of Its Influence through the Lens of the Vayus, and How to Focus the Intension of Your Practice

Session 3: Friday August 7

Main Lecture: The Main Sutras Impacting Low Back Health, and the Role of the Breath in Bone Health and Alleviating Back Pain Syndromes

The health of the spine/low back, pelvis, and hips relies upon the interplay between breath and movement, which includes the sutras governing movement in forward bending, back-bending, and twisting, as well as the stability that comes from the ‘core.’

Bone health as well as pain patterns and joint damage come from patterns of movement and breath. This session will integrate the fascial lines governing these movements with the breath and its influence upon the core, which includes the psoas. Resistance band work will begin to integrate movements of the upper body with the lower body (involving the shoulders especially) in healthier patterns of functional movement, through the vehicle of the poses.

After-Session: Awareness of the Breath for Clearing the Mind, and the Keys to Stillness Introduced by Patanjali: the Beginnings of a System of Breath Practice

Session 4: Saturday August 8

Main Lecture: Shoulder Freedom and the Space of the Breath

It’s largely overlooked just how much shoulder health and freedom is impacted by changes in the shape of the rib cage, and related capacity for the breath. This session will introduce the ‘sutras’ of the shoulders as well as principles of joint play for achieving greater pain-free mobility in the shoulders. The added dimension will be putting this in the context of the space for the breath in the upper body. This is often thought of simply in terms of ‘chest openers,’ but this approach can be unhelpful or even counterproductive when it overlooks the true mechanics of the shoulders as well as the space and flexibility of the rib cage that maintains healthy breathing patterns. The two are inextricably related and mutually supportive. 

The work with asana, variations, and resistance bands (often with the support of chairs) is refined along the fascial lines of the shoulder sutras, and serves the dual purpose of shoulder freedom — addressing capsular issues (frozen shoulder), arthritis and forms of tendonitis and ligamental damage — and maintaining healthy breath patterns in the upper body. 

Tools for assessment of pain problems will integrate postural and breath patterns, and look to dynamic improvements through movement and breath.

After-Session: The Prana Practices of Hatha Yoga — Mudra, Bhavana, and Bandha Put Prana and Pranayama Front and Center as the Key to Yoga

Session 5: Sunday August 9

Main Lecture: Asana is Mudra — the Limbs, Neck, and Breath

The focus on the upper body continues, turning to the wrists and elbows, and related movement and pain problems, and connecting them to the shoulders and neck through the fascial lines. The dimension we will add is the dimension of the movement and positioning of the hands and arms from the perspective of their influence upon the breath — particularly as it moves through the neck and head. This is where asana becomes mudra, influencing breath and mind.

This leads to a look at neck alignment through the vehicle of the breath, and the therapeutic issues that can be addressed through this approach. This will build on what we have been doing with pranayama and its benefits, and bring together fundamental points for breathing practice to be integrated with asana and movement, as well as provide the guide for healthy breath practice itself, providing some of the deepest and most profound health benefits of yoga.

After-Session: The State of Yoga — The Power of Drishthi and Dharana, and the ‘State of Yoga’ as a State of Awareness, Reflection, and Action

Learning Materials — the Manual

A manual for those participating in the full training will be made available in pdf form one week in advance of the training, in case you want to print it out. Each day will have a set of slides illustrating the points of the training, which will be available to those taking single days, as well as to those registered for the whole training. The manual is a more easily printable version of those notes.

Video Recordings — available for one year

All sessions are recorded with high quality video and sound, and the recordings will be available for a year — and can be downloaded to keep indefinitely. 

While the Zoom recording will be available immediately after broadcast for those who are not able to make the sessions (such as because of time differences), the high quality edited versions will be available through Vimeo, and are usually ready within 24 hours of the broadcast. The links for both the Zoom recordings and the final versions of the recordings on Vimeo will be sent to you via email.

Who is this for?

This training is for yoga teachers, yoga therapists and other professionals working with the human body.

For those who have taken this annual training in the past, this will be a refresher and an update, with fresh perspectives for moving forward as teachers in step with our times.

For those joining us for the first time, this will be an accessible introduction to a very modern and practical perspective on yoga. New teachers have comfortably put ideas from the training to use right away, and continued contemplation on the themes of the training has nourished their teaching for years afterward.

Continuing Education Credits

The training will grant continuing education credits, both for Yoga Alliance (Doug is ERYT500) and as an approved IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists) APD course.

Meet the Teacher

Doug Keller has been teaching workshops and trainings in the therapeutic applications of yoga for a decade, and is known not only for his effectiveness in communicating this ever-evolving approach in these trainings, but also for his extensive writing on the topic in magazines, journals and his two-volume work on Yoga As Therapy. He is also, in addition to his travelling and teaching, a Distinguished Professor at the Maryland University of Integrative Health in their Master’s Degree programme in Yoga Therapy. This programme is state-approved and accredited for granting a Master’s degree in this field, and is fully accredited by the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Doug has degrees in philosophy from Georgetown and Fordham Universities in the United States, and taught philosophy at college level for several years. He also spent a total of 14 years in Siddha meditation ashrams worldwide. He has produced three highly-respected books on asana, pranayama and yoga philosophy. Doug’s teaching is focused on the yoga of ‘Swatantrya,’ the yoga of one’s own inner expansion and awakening, and is rooted in a vast and inclusive perspective of study and practice that honours the insights of the many streams of wisdom that flow into the river of yoga.