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Our Mission
To transform healthcare through addressing root causes of disease and pain.
Our Vision
A future in which caring for the whole patient, while also prioritizing the well-being of the provider, is the industry standard in healthcare.
Our Goal
To Transform Healthcare: To empower 77,000 physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers and their assistants over the next 10 years to effectively treat the whole patient through the evidence-based foundations of Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine by educating and coaching them on:
- How to lower their own burnout risk by adopting and teaching self-care and self-compassion.
- How to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction with Integrative & Lifestyle Medicine via Medical Therapeutic Yoga.
To Transform Health: So far Dr. Garner has reached 6 continents and thousands of people, teaching them how to use the Lifestyle Medicine of Yoga as Therapy to improve their health and well-being. Our goal is to reach many more!
Our Values
- We want every person to have access to high quality, affordable care through the lens of Integrative & Lifestyle Medicine.
- To create practitioners who can speak a dual language – biomedical and biopsychosocial in order to provide Integrative & Lifestyle Medicine.
- To advocate for gender and racial equity in healthcare through our commitment to policy creation and community service.
- To support the existence of a sustainable healthcare delivery model.
- To teach everyone how to practice self-care.
- To teach yoga and mindfulness in a way that is non-dogmatic and trauma-informed and welcoming to all religious backgrounds and belief systems.
- To empower everyone to seek their best self.
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 Certification & the Integrative Lifestyle Medicine Certificate 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.
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 – also known as Lifestyle Medicine. 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 a Lifestyle & Integrative Medicine program in their facility.
- 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, Integrative, and Lifestyle Medicine programming.
- Tackle the opioid and chronic pain and disease epidemic by being able to offer Lifestyle 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.