The renowned Cleveland Clinic recently became the first hospital in the U.S. to hire a full-time yoga therapist and program manager. Classes at the clinic will focus on a range of issues, including chronic pain, stress, obesity and multiple sclerosis. The classes will be offered to both patients and employees. John Kepner, the executive director of the International Association of Yoga Therapists in Prescott, Arizona says, “this is really an innovative program and a milestone for yoga.”
While not on the scale of Cleveland Clinic, other medical centers have integrated yoga into their menu of offerings for patients. Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, as well as MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston both employ yoga therapists for their patients. Yoga is extending it’s reach to children as well. There are 60 classes offered every month – 40 for patients and 20 for staff at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver. Yoga Journal March 2013
