Our History

Living Well Institute was founded by Ginger Garner as Living Well, Inc. in 2000. It became Professional Yoga Therapy Institute© in 2005, after she launched a nationwide interdisciplinary yoga therapist training program for medical providers in 2001. She started the Professional Yoga Therapist program to fill what she saw as a significant gap between yoga teaching and yoga therapy application in healthcare. Now 20 years later, she offers 2 fully developed programs: the Medical Therapeutic Yoga (MTY) and Integrative Lifestyle Medicine (Functional, Integrative & Lifestyle Medicine) Certifications, with a renewed focus and name, Living Well Institute. These programs, in addition to our specialty courses and workshops, are transforming healthcare & healthcare providers – one provider & one person at a time.

Battling the Growing Healthcare Crisis

Healthcare is undergoing rapid change—both in terms of delivery and policy.  Stressors related to funding as well as obtaining qualified candidates will continue to affect delivery of care. Add to this, skyrocketing chronic disease rates and you have the perfect storm. That is not even mentioning the pandemic that COVID-19 has touched every country and individual on the planet. Our healthcare system must rapidly evolve to meet our new needs, and the rates of chronic disease and pain are putting people at higher risk for health issues, including contracting COVID-19.

According to data released in 2018 from the United Health Foundation:

• Chronic disease deaths, (contributing to the nation’s premature death rate) increased for the fourth straight year, driven by suicide and drug deaths
• Drug deaths jumped 25 percent in a single year from 2017 to 2018
• Cardiovascular deaths have steadily risen since 2015
• Obesity is at an all-time high, doubling in adults and tripling in children in just under a decade, according to the CDC
• Mental distress measured by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) increased 7 percent from 2016 to 2018.
• More Americans than ever report poorer health – in fact the incidence of health distress is on the rise, showing a 5% increase in a two-year study.
• Implement Integrative Therapies through FILM – Functional, Integrative (Yoga & Mindfulness),
  & Lifestyle & Medicine.

These record-breaking stats point to a growing need to address the root causes of disease with evidence-based therapies based on lifestyle modifications in that areas of diet, exercise, sleep and stress. Runaway costs are forcing a greater emphasis on prevention. According to the American College of Preventive Medicine:

• 86% of all healthcare dollars spent go to chronic conditions
• More than half of US adults have at least one condition, accounting for 90% of healthcare spending
• The Federal Congressional Budget office estimates that if costs continue to rise, by 2050 Medicaid and Medicare alone will account for 20% of the GDP

Living Well Institute trains therapists, athletic trainers, nurses, and doctors to:

• Implement Integrative Therapies through Yoga, Lifestyle & Functional Medicine.
• Lower overhead and costs while improving patient outcomes with low-tech, low-cost, scientifically proven methods.
• Expand a facility’s reach by offering cutting edge Functional, Yoga, and Lifestyle Medicine programming.
• Tackle the opioid and chronic pain and disease epidemic by being able to offer Lifestyle & Functional Medicine and Medical Therapeutic Yoga Services.
• Lower burnout and compassion fatigue by adopting and teaching self-care & self-compassion.
• Improve public speaking, teaching efficacy, & expand and improve research methods in academic institutions.
• Increase their reach and impact by offering in-person, group, and telehealth services.

A future in which caring for the whole person using an integrative, lifestyle, biopsychosocial approach, while also prioritizing the well-being of the healthcare provider, is the industry standard in healthcare.

To Transform Healthcare:

To empower physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, their assistants and similar healthcare providers to effectively treat the whole patient through the evidence-based foundations of FILM by educating and coaching them on:

1. How to lower their own burnout risk by adopting and teaching self-care and self-compassion.
2. How to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction with faster, longer-lasting results.

To Transform Health

Over 20 years our program has reached 6 continents and thousands of people, teaching them how to use FILM – Functional, Integrative/Yoga, & Lifestyle Medicine) to improve their self-care and patient care.

1. We want every person to have access to high quality, affordable integrative care
2. We want every person to have access to high quality, affordable Integrative PT & OT Care.
3. To create practitioners who can speak a dual language – biomedical and biopsychosocial.
4. To advocate for gender and racial equity in healthcare through our commitment to policy creation and community service.
5. To support the existence of a sustainable integrative healthcare delivery model.
6. To teach everyone how to practice self-care.
7. To teach yoga and mindfulness in a way that is non-dogmatic and trauma-informed and welcoming to all religious backgrounds and belief systems.
8. To empower everyone to seek their best self.