HHP? C-IAYT? HUNH?
There are a number of obscure letters after my name that you may not be familiar with. So let me break them all down for you.
C-IAYT
The International Association of Yoga Therapists was founded in 1989 by Larry Payne, PhD and Richard Miller, PhD. I have had the privilege of studying with both of these brilliant people. The organization fulfills many duties including working to further evidence-based research on the efficacy of Yoga Therapy, accrediting viable Yoga Therapy schools, and certifying therapists who have successfully completed an Accredited Yoga Therapy program. C-IAYT stands for Certified by the International Association of Yoga Therapists. This means I have successfully completed over 1000 hours of training by an Accredited Yoga Therapy school.
HHP
Holistic Health Practitioner is a designation unique to California. It is regulated by the state and the education for the designation is only offered by state-accredited schools. The education requirement is at least 1000 hours (folks seem to like that number) focused on nutrition, exercise physiology/kinesiology, massage, and stress management. During the completion of this program I also completed…
LMT
Licensed Massage Therapist is a license regulated at the state level. The hours of education vary state by state. California requires 500 hours of massage-focused education, successful passing of a lengthy exam called the MBLEx, a background check, and other sundry paperwork before an applicant is granted this license.
MBSR
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction is a course created by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Amherst, Massachusetts. This course has over 30 years of evidence-based research proving its efficacy at improving health outcomes for a variety of conditions. I have moved through Kabat-Zinn’s original teacher-training program at University of Massachusetts Medical School and have also participated in a number of MBSR trainings offered by University of California San Diego. While I do not have a firm count on the number of hours this training required, I can tell you it was at least as lengthy as the other certifications I hold!
REIKI
This is not an acronym but the letters may be just as unfamiliar as the others. Reiki is a Japanese energetic healing art. I have gone through all three levels of Reiki training and am a certified Reiki Master. I incorporate Reiki in a subtle way.
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What does all of this mean for you?
It means that while I am not yet done learning (working toward my doctorate as we speak) I have completed several thousand hours of training in the disciplines I believe are important foundations for holistic health. What is holistic health, exactly? Now that’s a topic for another post entirely.