A panel of nine distinguished physicians will discuss how they successfully integrated the principles and tools of Yoga Science into their professional medical practices and personal home life at the American Meditation Institute’s 12th annual Heart and Science of Yoga CME Conference October 17-21, 2023 at the Equinox Resort and Spa in Manchester, Vermont. This comprehensive training in Yoga Science as Holistic Mind/Body Medicine, accredited by the American Medical Association for 34 CME credit hours, will be offered simultaneously in-person and virtually on Zoom.

Previous conference attendee and 2023 panel speaker Renee Rodriguez-Goodmote, MD currently serves as Medical Director at the Saratoga Hospital Community Health Center, and is Co-chair of the AMI Department of Medical Education. In speaking of her personal experience with Yoga Science and AMI Meditation®, Dr. Goodemote notes, “The curriculum of this conference should be a part of all medical education. It teaches you how to turn inward to understand how creative we can all be when we just allow the mind to rest and meet its capacity. After I began using the principles and tools I learned, I found I had greater clarity of mind within the office, and when with a patient, I was more observational––certainly more calm and clear. It was then that I started infusing what I learned at the conference into conversations with patients, and it’s been very effective. I’ve also employed it in some of my programs and group visits at our various health centers.”

In a dramatic step toward lowering today’s unprecedented burnout rates and promoting holistic mind/body healing among the medical community, a clinical study published in the November 2022 issue of “Lifestyle Medicine” reported that the proprietary curriculum taught at AMI physician conferences reduced physician Burnout levels 23.3%, reduced Secondary Traumatic Stress levels 19.9%, and increased Compassion Satisfaction levels 11.2%.

Upon completion of this CME conference, all participants will be able to: 1. Demonstrate knowledge of how Yoga Science as Holistic Mind/Body Medicine can help heal disease, manage addictive habits, alleviate stress, inflammation and physician burnout; 2. Develop equanimity, discrimination, will power, creativity and energy with a daily practice of AMI Meditation® and diaphragmatic breathing; 3. Incorporate long-term strategies for healthy lifestyle choices using Yoga Psychology; 4. Demonstrate knowledge of the principles of both Ayurveda and Epigenetics; 5. Utilize Yoga Science practices to transform trauma and increase resilience; 6. Utilize Food as Medicine to maximize personal wellbeing; 7. Demonstrate knowledge of the research and therapeutic modalities of yoga and meditation as Mind/Body Medicine; 8. Reimagine a medical practice that incorporates Yoga Science tools; 9. Recognize the physiological and psychological benefits of Easy-Gentle Yoga, and identify and disable chronic pain mechanisms for improved exercise, health and pain relief; 10. Help themselves and their patients reduce conditioned habits of negative thinking and other symptoms of burnout through the healing powers of the conference curriculum; 11. Use Chakra Psychology (subtle emotional/mental causes of stress) to assist in diagnosing and treating dis-ease; 12. Recognize how the practices of AMI Meditation® and meditation-in-action change neural pathways in the brain to help manage pain and increase creativity; 13. Identify altered pathways in the brain due to stress or trauma, and recognize the capacity of Yoga Science and AMI Meditation® to assist brain chemistry and circuitry to heal and rebuild itself; 14. Use the tools of Yoga Science to create a personal and medical culture of health and wellbeing.

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. In addition to Dr. Goodemote, other panelists will include AMI founder, curriculum developer and conference director Leonard Perlmutter; Mark Pettus MD, board certified internist and nephrologist and Director of Medical Education and Population Health of Berkshire Health Systems; Anthony Santilli MD, board certified in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Kristin Kaelber MD, PhD, board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics; Janine Pardo MD, board certified in Internal Medicine; 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, retired; and Gustavo Grodnitzky PhD, Chair of the AMI Psychological Education Committee.

According to Farhana Riaz MD, a pediatric radiologist and past participant from Boston, Massachusetts, “This course has given me a new and more positive outlook on life––and the tools to make it stick!”