More About the Course

This one-of-a-kind course bridges the gap between medical fitness and yoga program design, development and delivery! This course delivers what you need to know to partner with your client in the co-creation of a tailored medical fitness yoga program – from promotion in the scope of practice, through assessment-based planning, to program design and progressions.

Along the way, you’ll learn and love the Traffic Light Method, developed by the MFYS course author and yoga therapist Dr. Suzie Carmack and MedFit’s chronic disease course author Dr. Dan Mikeska. You’ll learn how you can apply this method in giving clients red, yellow, and green options for “driving” their practice on the mat safely, based on their medical needs, stress management concerns, physical capabilities, and intuitive guidance. Plus you’ll learn how you can apply this method in the client assessment process; in the planning of a yoga program and in the practice of 44 different asanas (yoga poses).

Course Delivery and Assessment

Course Length: 10 hours

This is an online, self-paced course; all materials are delivered digitally.This course includes narrated slide videos and course manual. Comprehension of the material will be measured via a mandatory competency assessment requiring a minimum of 80% correct responses.

Prerequisites

All of the online courses on MedFit Classroom which lead to a Certificate of Specialization are considered advanced level education, and are meant to be taken by fitness professionals who have previously acquired education and experience as a professional within the health and fitness industry. In order for one to receive the Certificate of Specialization conferred upon those who obtain and complete this specialist course, one must be able to demonstrate that he or she has the following:

1. Evidence of a bachelor’s or master’s degree in fitness or health related field AND/OR possess a certification from a nationally-recognized certification, NCCA or ANSI/ISO accredited program OR a current yoga certification at the 200–hour level or above AND
2. Evidence of professional liability insurance.

Renewal of Specialization

The completion of this specialization course, and the passing of its corresponding competency assessment, leads to a Certificate of Specialization. This Certificate of Specialization will be considered valid for a period of two years. To keep the certificate current, you must complete 10 hours of continuing education, on relevant subject matter, and formally renew the certificate prior to the date of its expiration. As with many certifications and specializations in our field, professionals should anticipate some costs to continuing education and renewal of this certificate.

MedFit Classroom CEUs

This Specialist Course provides up to 10 CEUs for other MedFit Classroom Specializations. Download our CEU chart (PDF) to find out what specializations it will provide credit CEUs for.

Other Continuing Education Credits

• Approved by NASM for 1.0 CEU.
• Approved by canfitpro for 4 CECs.
• Yoga Alliance for 10 CECs.
• Pending approval by ACE.

About the Course Author

Dr. Suzie Carmack, PhD, MFA, MEd, ERYT 500, NBC-HWC, C-IAYT is an award-winning yoga therapist, #1 best-selling author (twice), public health scholar, trainer, and trusted c-suite coach to senior leaders in the private and public sectors.

As the Creator of the YogaMedCo Method, Dr. Carmack has trained 100’s of coaches and yoga teachers on 5 continents in her signature and evidence-based approach to supporting clients in bringing the practices of yoga, lifestyle medicine and coaching together. She currently serves as the Department Chair of Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda at the Maryland University of Integrative Health, where she guides the training of tomorrow’s Yoga Therapists and Ayurveda specialists in the only accredited M.S. and C-IAYT program in yoga therapy in the world. She has also trained 1000’s of yoga teachers at the 200- and 500-hour levels globally since 2006.

As a pioneer in the office and school yoga movements of the early 2000’s, Dr. Carmack has been demystifying yoga for providers and patients for over two decades. Her two #1 best sellers (Well-Being Ultimatum, 2015 and Genius Breaks, 2017) help the world’s busiest people to bring more yoga into their daily lives (on and off of the mat). She was the leading science contributor and stress management chapter author for Weight Loss for Life (2021) by Johns Hopkins Press, and she has authored multiple book chapters, journal articles, and adjudicated conference presentations focusing on the mind-body connection and the science of compassion. Her mindful movement vitamin intervention (2007; 2012) helped to raise awareness about the importance of bringing more movement into the day to counteract the 28 adverse health outcomes associated with sitting disease.

Dr. Carmack is regularly commissioned to co-create yoga, mindfulness, resilience, and well-being training programs, interventions, workshops and keynotes for federal and global health organizations such as the Pan American / World Health Organization (2013-2015); the Department of Defense (2015); the U.S. Air Force (2018; 2019; 2021; 2022); the U.S. Treasury Department (2020); and the U.S. Department of Education (2021-2022). She was also personally invited by then Gen. James Michael Holmes, USAF (now retired) to develop and deliver the first-ever resilience training for senior leaders (2-, 3- and 4-star generals) for the U.S.A.F. (2019). She is currently collaborating with the USAF’s 37^th Training Wing on the delivery of her Well-Being CONOPS intervention, inspired by her book Well-Being Ultimatum.

As a change agent and advocate, Dr. Carmack dedicates a portion of her time to promoting systems change in healthcare and public health. She currently serves on the Education Advisory Board of MedFit; as an Advisor to the Health Coaches Australia and New Zealand Association (NCANZA); and as a Senior Scholar with the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being with George Mason University. She also serves on the Group Coaching Committee of the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching, co-authoring the forthcoming group coaching competencies. Previously, she was the lead researcher and story-teller (conceptual designer) for the 2020 U.S. Surgeon’s General Report, guiding a team of scientists in exploring the intersections of public health, community development and business to advance the social determinants of health and health equity. She has conceptualized, designed, delivered and evaluated award-winning large-scale health communication campaigns, including the change management campaign that brought the Cloud to the CDC in 2016.

Concurrent to her work in the practice field, Dr. Carmack has 30 years of experience teaching in higher education as a multi-disciplinary scholar, educator and practitioner. Before joining MUIH, she most recently served as an Assistant Professor of Global and Community Health at George Mason University (a Research 1 institution), where she trained MPH students in community-based participatory research, leadership, advocacy and ethics.  She is the recipient of the 2018 Alumnae of the Year Award from George Mason University’s Department of Communication, where she earned her PhD in health communication in 2014. As a multi-disciplinary scholar, she also holds an MFA in Theatre (1991) and an MEd in Kinesiology (2009) — giving her a unique and transdisciplinary vantage point at the intersections of the social sciences, natural sciences and humanities. As a mind-body fitness instructor since 1997, she has earned multiple credentials, including national board-certified health coach; third-generation Pilates teacher; ERYT 500 with the Yoga Alliance; and C-IAYT with the International Association of Yoga Therapy.