The 11th Annual “Heart and Science of Yoga” Conference to be Presented October 22-26 for the Relief and Prevention of Physician Burnout

A complete curriculum of Yoga Science and meditation practices to relieve and prevent physician burnout will be taught at The American Meditation Institute’s (AMI) eleventh annual mind/body medicine 31 credit hour CME conference on October 22-26, 2019 at the Cranwell Resort and Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts.  Entitled “The Heart and Science of Yoga,” this 11^th annual comprehensive training, accredited through the American Medical Association and Albany Medical College Office of Continuing Medical Education, is designed to help identify, prevent and relieve stress and burnout currently being experienced by physicians and other healthcare providers.

As part of its ongoing effort to redress the physician burnout issue, The American Meditation Institute in 2009 conducted a retrospective case study of participants who previously completed “The Heart and Science of Yoga” curriculum. The findings included these positive, reproducible, long-term health-promoting changes: significant reductions in stress and fear, decreased anxiety and depression, lowered blood pressure, lowered heart rate, improved restorative sleep, improved energy levels, Increased creative capacity, diminishment of migraine headaches, elimination of irritable bowel syndrome, enhanced happiness and optimism, reduced cholesterol levels, diminished or extinguished acute and chronic pain, weight loss and increased breathing capacity.

According to the annual “National Physician Burnout, Depression & Suicide Report” recently published in the “Medscape Report,” the rate of physician burnout directly correlates to the numbers of hours a physician works each week.  Of physicians working 71 or more hours a week, 57% report burnout symptoms.  On the opposite end, of physicians working 31-40 hours per week, 36% report burnout symptoms.  Surveyed physicians cite increasing administrative tasks and computerization of practice as a major contributor to longer hours and burnout.

This year’s American Meditation Institute “Heart and Science of Yoga” CME conference is dedicated to providing quality, comprehensive and evidence-based education to physicians and other health care providers. The curriculum will provide easy-to-use, practical tools to prevent and reverse the debilitating causes and effects of physician burnout. Lecture topics will include AMI Meditation, diaphragmatic breathing, easy-gentle yoga, Yoga psychology, epigenetics and neuroplasticity, resilience, how to use the chakra system as a diagnostic tool, mind function optimization, ayurveda, nutrition, and lymph system detoxification.

The dedication, enthusiasm, and teaching methodology of the entire AMI faculty 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. This year’s faculty includes Leonard Perlmutter, AMI founder and conference director; Dr. Robert Schneider MD, Dean of the College of Integrative Medicine and Director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University; Anthony Santilli MD, board certified in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, PhD, Director of Research for the Kundalini Research Institute, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Renee Rodriguez-Goodemote, MD, Medical Director of the Saratoga Hospital Community Health Center; Susan Lord MD, a private practice holistic physician focusing on prevention and treatment, and former course director for the The Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s “Food As Medicine” program in Washington, DC; Jesse Ritvo MD, Assistant Medical Director, Inpatient Psychiatry, University of Vermont Health Center; Joshua Zamer, MD, Medical Director for Addiction Medicine at Saratoga Hospital Community Health Center and Chairman of the Department of Family Practice; Anita Burock-Stotts, MD, board certified in Internal Medicine; Kristin Kaelber MD, PhD, board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics; Janine Pardo MD, board certified in Internal Medicine; Gustavo Grodnitzky PhD, Chair of the AMI Psychological Education Committee; Jenness Cortez Perlmutter, faculty member of The American Meditation Institute, and Lee Albert, NMT, acclaimed neuromuscular therapist and gentle yoga instructor.

According to AMI founder and conference director Leonard Perlmutter, “The interface of lifestyle, inflammation and allostatic load is where meaningful change can happen. The more consistently the therapeutic practices of Yoga Science and AMI Meditation are incorporated into the daily lives of physicians and patients, most symptoms of stress related burnout and chronic complex diseases can be diminished or eliminated.”

Keyvan Hariri MD, board certified in Family Medicine in Manhattan Beach CA, attended the 2018 “Heart and Science of Yoga” conference. In his final evaluation he wrote,  “This curriculum has been transformational, inspiring and self-empowering.  I highly recommend this conference to every healthcare practitioner.”