Episode 35 | Taking Your Time to Shine Online

The Group Work Podcast. Find out what happens in the space where group therapy takes place.

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Summary 

Yoga therapist Kanjana Hartshorne joins Katie to discuss what it’s like to run yoga therapy groups. Kanjana runs a group called Taking Your Time to Shine which requires a 2-3 hour weekly commitment from its members. In their discussion, they explore what yoga therapy is like, how to run an evidence-based yoga group, what you need to do to be certified as a yoga therapist, and plenty of ideas on how to create and structure your own yoga group. 

Kanjana Hartshorne, LCSW is a psychotherapist and IAYT Certified Yoga Therapist. Her 8-week group Taking Your Time to Shine amounts to 30 CE units for therapists.

“All yoga is therapeutic, but one yoga class isn’t going to help every single individual” 

-  Kanjana Hartshorne

Timestamps

[00:00] Who is Kanjana?

[01:14] What is yoga therapy and how do you get certified?

[04:00] Why did Kanjana decide to become a yoga therapist?

[06:25] What does yoga therapy look like in practice?

[09:56] Who is yoga therapy good for? 

[12:09] Breaking down your yoga group into weekly themes. 

[13:26] A curriculum you can use in your yoga therapy group. 

[16:06] Kanjana’s favorite group theme and activity. 

[19:13] Challenges of running a yoga group.

[22:26] Who is a good fit for a yoga therapy group? 

[23:00] How many people should you include in your yoga therapy group? 

[25:27] How to start your own yoga group. 

[27:52] How to connect with Kanjana Hartshorne.

3 Key Takeaways

1. To become a yoga therapist, you have to get certified. It is a 3-year program that takes up approximately 3000 hours to complete. There are around 1000 hours of training and 2000 hours of practice. Yoga therapy is governed by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT).
2. When running a yoga group, it can be useful to limit the group to people who have common traits. For example, in Kanjana’s group Taking Your Time To Shine, she focuses on people who are givers and are feeling burnt out by that. 
3. You don’t have to develop your own curriculum if you are running a yoga group. You can use already developed programs such as the Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice (MBSP). 

Tools & Resources

Connect with Kanjana Hartshorne: LinkedIn | Instagram | Taking Your Time to Shine | Website 

Yoga therapy governing board: International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT)