Yoga and Change (Perspectives and practice from antaranga yoga)

We all thrive on habit and stability. Change is stressful, even if change is for the better. Our ways of adapting to the stress which change brings are diverse. Yoga practice and philosophy are helpful in re-setting our baseline expectations and physiologically adjusting to change. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered most aspects of our lives. To some extent most of us have found ways to function despite the new norms of being in lockdown and social isolation. As we all attempt to deal with these changes we also need to be prepared to face long term (i.e., economic and other) consequences, as well as the change which resuming ‘normal’ life will entail. This presentation will attempt to look at how yoga can help us cope with change. A brief practice session and time for interaction is included.

Instructor: Shirley Telles

Shirley Telles has a degree in conventional medicine (MBBS) and a MPhil and PhD in Neurophysiology. Both MPhil and PhD theses were on the effects of yoga practice. Dr. Telles received a Fulbright fellowship in 1998 and in 2001 an award from the Templeton Foundation for creative ideas in neurobiology. In 2007 she received an Indian Council of Medical Research Center for Advanced Research to study meditation’s effects through autonomic variables, evoked and event related potentials, polysomnography and fMRI. Dr Telles has been the director of Patanjali Research Foundation, Haridwar, India; www.patanjaliresearchfoundation.com since 2007. Dr. Telles has over 185 research papers cited in bibliographic databases and authored 7 books. She is an enthusiastic practitioner of yoga.