Yoga Therapy Pioneer Gary Kraftsow Scheduled as Keynote Speaker for Yoga Journal 12th Annual Colorado Conference

Gary Kraftsow, the founder and director of the American Viniyoga Institute on Maui, will serve as the keynote speaker at the Yoga Journal 12th Annual Colorado Conference in Estes Park on Sunday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. His presentation entitled “Ancient Insights for Modern Healing� will address the depth and breadth of the yoga therapy tradition and its relevance in modern health care as well as explore the level of training and education needed to produce competent yoga therapists. The conference dates are September 23-30, 2007.

In addition to serving as the keynote speaker, Kraftsow will be one of a handful of experts teaching a three-day therapeutic intensive September 24-26. In his workshop entitled “Viniyoga Therapy: The Lower Back, Sacrum, and Hips,� Kraftsow will introduce students to the protocol he developed for a National Institutes of Health research study on back pain that showed three months of a specifically designed yoga program gave significant relief and better back function to people suffering from back pain. Other therapeutic focused events with Kraftsow during the conference include workshops on the upper back, neck and shoulders; self-care for physiological and emotional conditions; and sequencing and adaptation for structural aspects of yoga therapy. He also will teach a workshop on understanding and practicing meditation.

Through the methodology and practice of Viniyoga, Kraftsow has been a leading advocate of the benefits of integrating yoga therapy into modern medicine. A pioneer in the transmission of yoga for health, healing and personal transformation for 30 years, he drafted the protocol for a National Institutes of Health sponsored clinical study that validated the effectiveness of Viniyoga therapy for back pain. Through his ongoing work, Kraftsow continues to show how Viniyoga therapy helps individuals facing health challenges manage their condition, reduce symptoms and restore balance.

For more information about the conference and a complete list of workshops with Kraftsow, visit the Yoga Journal conference website at www.yogajournal.com/conferences. For more information about Kraftsow, visit the American Viniyoga Institute website at www.viniyoga.com.

About Gary Kraftsow
Gary Kraftsow began his study of yoga in India with T.K.V. Desikachar in 1974. As the founder and director of the American Viniyoga Institute on Maui, he teaches classes, leads workshops, and trains teachers in the Viniyoga approach to yoga and yoga therapy. He is the author of Yoga for Wellness and Yoga for Transformation and has two educational DVDs on yoga therapy. Kraftsow designed the protocol for the successful National Institutes of Health clinical study on low back pain. One of the most respected yoga teachers and yoga therapists in the world today, he speaks, lectures, and teaches at conferences and events internationally.