Physicians to Receive 26 Continuing Medical Education Credits to Study Meditation, Yoga and Breathing as Mind/Body Medicine
Averill Park, NY (PRWEB) September 17, 2013 -- The American Meditation Institute (AMI) will present the fifth annual continuing medical education (CME) course on meditation, yoga and breathing for physicians and other health care professionals, November 6-10, 2013 at the Cranwell Resort and Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts. Entitled “American Meditation: The Heart and Science of Yoga,” this comprehensive, 26 hour CME training is accredited through the Albany Medical College Office of Continuing Medical Education. As part of AMI’s “Yoga of Medicine” program, this “Heart and Science of Yoga” CME curriculum is dedicated to providing quality, evidence-based education to physicians and other health care providers.
AMI’s in-depth study of the philosophical and scientific nature of meditation and yoga is designed to teach physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals practical skills that can positively enhance the making of health-affirming lifestyle choices. Topics will include an overview of mantra science, a systematic procedure for mantra-based meditation, diaphragmatic breathing, Yoga Psychology, the medical benefits of understanding the chakra system, mind function optimization, Functional Medicine, Epigenomics, Ayurveda, therapeutic easy-gentle yoga exercises and lymph system detoxification.
The dedication, enthusiasm, and teaching methodology of the entire AMI faculty will combine to create a dynamic and interactive course for their students. Each faculty member is committed to the advancement and training of Yoga Science as holistic mind/body medicine. Presenters will include faculty director Leonard Perlmutter, founder of the American Meditation Institute, meditational therapist and award-winning author of “The Heart and Science of Yoga;” Rudolph Ballentine MD, the holistic medicine pioneer and acclaimed author who helped establish and direct the Centers for Holistic Medicine for 25 years; Mark Pettus MD, a board-certified internist and nephrologist currently serving as Medical Director of Translational Education, Wellness and Population Health at Berkshire Health Systems, and Associate Dean of Medical Education at the UMass Medical School; Susan B. Lord MD, lecturer and holistic health consultant for Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health; Anita Burock-Stotts MD, board certified in Internal Medicine and Functional Medicine; and Beth Netter MD, Chief of the Division of Integrative and Holistic Medicine at St. Peter’s Hospital and Chair of the AMI Medical Education Committee.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia report that the key factors influencing an individual's state of health have not changed significantly over the past twenty years. Quality of medical care accounts for only 10%. Heredity accounts for 18% and environment 19%. But everyday lifestyle choices contribute an impressive 53%. The decisions people routinely make about their daily lives are by far the greatest factor in determining their wellness.
According to AMI course presenter Rudolph Ballentine, MD, identification with community can lead to good health whereas isolation can lead to disease. “We suffer from being isolated from others,” he said. “A community is like an organ, and each of us functioning in that community are like cells in search of an organ.”
For the past seven years, Ballentine has increasingly focused his medical efforts on examining how our sense of community correlates with well-being. “The relationship between people and the land, people and nature, and then people and each other, is a very complex and important one,” he said. “Community both supports and challenges you, and calls you into ever-increasing transformation.”
According to Dr. Ballentine, isolation has a profound effect on health. “The cell in search of an organ needs to find an organ to be healthy, and the immune system will often reflect that,” he explained. “We have an epidemic of immune deficiency and suppression that shows up as all kinds of diseases. Cancer is an immune disease. If the immune system is strong, it will identify a malignant cell as a foreign entity and eliminate it.”
Recalling a time when cancer was an uncommon disease, Ballentine cited the “absolutely astounding statistic” that one out of two people today will have cancer in their lifetime. “What are the ecological, community, emotional and spiritual factors that compromise the immune system?” he asked. “It’s always a nexus of things that lead to health problems. Your health prompts you. If you listen to what it is telling you and make the corrections you need to make, you will find yourself getting back on track.”
According to Joel M. Kremer, MD, a recent graduate of the AMI program and who is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology in Albany, New York, “This teaching has been an enormous benefit in my personal and professional life. I have less stress, more focus, and am able to serve my patients with greater clarity. It becomes surprisingly easy now to recognize the many clinical situations in which patients with somatic manifestations of 'dis-ease' could greatly benefit from Yoga Science.”
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About the American Meditation Institute
The American Meditation Institute is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization devoted to the teaching and practice of Yoga Science, meditation and its allied disciplines as mind/body medicine. In its holistic approach to wellness, AMI combines the healing arts of the East with the practicality of modern Western science. The American Meditation Institute offers a wide variety of classes, retreats, and teacher training programs. AMI also publishes “Transformation,” a bi-monthly journal of meditation as holistic mind/body medicine. Call 800.234.5115 for a mail or email subscription.
Media Contact:
Mary Helen Holloway
60 Garner Road, Averill Park, NY 12018
Tel: 800-234-5115
Fax: 518-674-8714
Mary Helen Holloway, American Meditation Institute, http://www.americanmeditation.org, (518) 674-8714, [email protected]
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