Living Well Institute (formerly PYTI®)  founder, Dr. Ginger Garner, developed Medical Therapeutic Yoga not as a type of yoga but as a method for delivering yoga in a safe, nondogmatic, inclusive way. She began writing the MTY Method 20 years ago after abandoning “yoga lineage”-based practices in the late 90’s in order to create a method of yoga practice that is scientifically sound, safe, and “guru” free. Dr. Garner also teaches Lifestyle & Functional Medicine at the Institute, in order to provide a whole-person, holistic model of care.

MTY is deliberately not associated with any yoga “lineage.” Dr. Garner’s own experiences as a yogi in the early 90’s exposed her to teaching that not only placed students in harms way (with regard to specific poses); but, also revealed patriarchal dogma. Recent research in 2019 confirms widespread abusive and dominating practices within many yoga lineages.

Rest assured, MTY is not affiliated with these organizations. No matter what your fitness level, spiritual or religious background, yoga background, or medical condition, your MTY Certified therapist/doctor is equipped to provide cutting edge healthcare based in Integrative, Lifestyle & Functional Medicine that will help you optimize your health and well-being through the lens of scientifically sound MTY techniques.

Yoga and Yoga Therapy are unlicensed trades, akin to a similar education level as a fitness instructor. There is no recognized educational pathway or certification needed in order to teach yoga or yoga therapy as a yoga teacher or yoga therapist is not a medical provider.

Living Well Institute graduates are licensed medical providers with years of experience in scientifically grounded patient care. They are able to evaluate, diagnose, and/or prescribe treatment for your medical condition(s) and/or impairments. Only a medical professional trained in the MTY method is able to use yoga through a prescriptive medical lens.

With MTY the focus is on you – not just a diagnosis. Our therapists are able to provide comprehensive, holistic care by being able to draw from both the best of biomedical care and the best of holistic care. Your therapist will work with you to:

• Decrease risk of chronic disease
• Manage new or persistent pain
• Prevent or manage injury
• Optimize yoga routine and minimize injury risk
• Optimize fitness & prescribe movement to fit your needs and lifestyle
• Manage of stress
• Develop healthy habits to prevent or arrest premature aging
• Improve sleep
• Optimize nutrition
• Improve epigenetics

Ask your health care provider today if they are trained in this method.

• What we do in Medical Therapeutic Yoga and what yoga teachers do are like apples and oranges. There is no direct comparison. However, here is a short overview of the background training it takes to qualify as a Professional Yoga Therapist.
• First, counting hours does not constitute qualification or safety. Measurable competencies can assure a basic level of competence, however.
• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field. 4 years of preparatory work, typically in a scientific field plus taking pre-med prerequisites. There are the basic requirements:
  • 1 semester Anatomy & Physiology 
  • 1 semester Developmental Psychology
  • 1 semester Research Methods/Statistics
  • 1 semester Sports Psychology (for some)
  • 2 semesters Chemistry/Organic Chemistry – which helps us understand biochemical processes that drive injury risk, growth, and repair 
  • 2 semesters Physics – which helps us understand movement vectors
  • 1 semester Nutrition (for some) 

• Master’s or Doctorate (the new minimum for PT) Degree in PT, OT, or AT, which are considered professional fields that are experts in human movement, physiology, and rehabilitation  
• Add – years and thousands of hours of direct patient experience and care, developing trust and therapeutic landscape, differential diagnosis, and prescription of lifestyle intervention 
• PLUS – residency, clinical rotation, and any fellowships completed 
• PLUS – all post-professional continuing education, which brings us to the PYT training 

Now add to that the PYT Certification, which requires:

• Medical Therapeutic Yoga training – 2-4 years time to complete 
• Over 12 case studies to complete in a peer reviewed setting
• 3 oral practicals to pass
• 2 exams, each which require 2-3 hours to complete 
• 3 levels of training and over 1200 pages of course manual to master, with over 1200 references that have been vetted (and it continues to grow) to support your yoga therapy practice
• 112 hours of direct classroom time
• Required peer reviewed articles to vet
• Post-professional medical yoga instruction delivered at a doctoral level 
• A community project, the CCC – which is like a thesis project that is karma yoga based
• PLUS, earning continuing education requirements to maintain your license annually on top of the training 

Lastly, there are Third Party Board Oversight and Competencies Measured

• 3rd party oversight to assure competencies are being measured and the information being taught and presented is best evidence informed (state board of PT and national board of OT, we’ve also been approved in nursing, medicine, and athletic training) 
• Hundreds of licensed doctors and therapists currently practicing MTY worldwide via the PYT Certification – they work in settings from ICU bedside care to yoga studios, providing best evidence yoga teaching and therapy through the lens of their medical specialty 
• Our trained therapists, doctors, and nurses go on to use yoga as medicine from the bedside to the boardroom – from hospital care to corporate wellness. We use it in the context and scope of our license, making it very different, but complementary to, how yoga teachers or yoga therapists would use yoga.

We’ve set up a Therapist finder to help you locate licensed professionals near you. If you search based on your location, but there are no providers in a close vicinity, you might consider suggesting to your current health care provider that they look into Professional Yoga Therapist Certification.