A Unifying Theory of Lifestyle Medicine

$25 Early bird, use promo code MEDICINE, exp. 11/4
$30 Regular

We appreciate advance registration.

This presentation will explain why a whole foods plant-based diet, moderate exercise, stress management techniques, and love/social support are so beneficial in treating and preventing a wide variety of chronic diseases. They share common biological mechanisms which, in turn, are directly influenced to what we eat, how we respond to stress, how much exercise we have, and how much love and social support we experience. The health policy implications of this will also be explored.

This workshop will be recorded for later viewing and shared for limited time with all enrolled students.


An author of 7 bestselling books, Dean Ornish, MD, is founder and president of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and Ornish Lifestyle Medicine, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCSF. He directed groundbreaking randomized trials showing, for the first time, that lifestyle changes often reverse many chronic diseases, without drugs or surgery. Medicare created a new category to cover his program for reversing heart disease. He was recognized as a “TIME 100 Innovator;” a University of California, Berkeley, “National Public Health Hero;” a New Yorker cartoon and two Jeopardy answers; and by Forbes as “one of the world’s seven most powerful teachers.”

Satsang: The Healing Power of a Yogic Lifestyle

$5-$20 | Enroll for free, use promo code FREE.

Please register in advance; a Zoom link will be emailed 1 hour before the session, or join Zoom directly via your Momence dashboard.

Please review our In-person Safety Guidelines.

From cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and depression, many physical and mental conditions have not only been escalating for decades, they are accepted as a natural progression of aging by conventional medicine, which treats chronic conditions with drugs or surgery.

In this presentation, IYI certified yoga teacher and research scientist Larry Scherwitz will describe the scientifically validated, therapeutic approach that can prevent, halt, even reverse the underlying causes of chronic conditions: the yoga-based Lifestyle Medicine program inspired by Swami Satchidananda and developed by Dean Ornish, MD.

As Director of Research on the “reversal program” for 18 years, Larry will present the yoga-inspired clinical trials by Dr. Ornish and colleagues, which showed that comprehensive lifestyle changes can halt and reverse CAD, hypertension, prostate cancer, and Alzheimer’s–without drugs or surgery. Throughout the presentation, Larry will shed light on the healing power of such yogic lifestyle ‘ingredients’ as a predominantly plant-based diet, exercise, group support, asanas, yoga nidra (progressive relaxation), pranayama, meditation, and more.

You will learn the specifics of each modality of Ornish Lifestyle Medicine, and how, and how much practice is necessary to achieve the benefits of the practice.

Everyone is welcome to share a simple vegetarian meal and tea afterwards. Recommended donation $5-10.

Satsang is a special time for us to come together as a community. In Sanskrit, Sat means truth and Sangha means community. Satsang offers an opportunity to come together to share spiritual teachings. The philosophy of Integral Yoga is explored often through an informal discussion. Although our spiritual paths may diverge, the act of sharing spiritual teachings with others is inspiring and creates a solid foundation for continued practice.

People of all faiths are welcome.


Larry Scherwitz, PhD, C-IAYT is a behavioral medicine scientist with a doctorate in social psychology. He is also a certified Integral Hatha yoga teacher, who first met Swami Ramananda while being trained at IYI in 1989.
As an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, Larry met fellow yoga practitioner, Dean Ornish, who was a medical student at the time. Based on the suggestion of Dean’s guru, Swami Satchidananda–that heart patients adopt a yogic lifestyle–Dean was then in the process of conducting a pilot study to see if the yogic lifestyle could halt and reverse heart disease. As Dr. Ornish’s Director of Research over the next 18 years, Larry conducted three clinical trials at Dr. Ornish’s Preventive Medicine Research Institute (PMRI) in Sausalito, California, showing that the yoga lifestyle could reverse heart disease as well as related risk factors, such as high cholesterol. Based on the success of these studies, Larry became a Guest Professor at cardiovascular clinics in Germany, where, for two years,
He conducted clinical trials on Ornish Lifestyle Medicine in both Germany and the Netherlands. During this time, he did two keynote presentations in New Delhi, India, about the yoga-based heart disease reversal program.
Larry is the co-author of four books on diet and health, and Co-Founder of the Whole Person Integrative Eating dietary lifestyle–a science-backed program about the power of food to enhance physical, emotional, spiritual, and social well-being (ergo, ‘whole person’ integrative eating). He is married to nutrition researcher Deborah Kesten, MPH, who was the nutritionist on Dean Ornish’s first clinical trial for reversing heart disease.

2024-12-16T21:14:01-08:00December 16th, 2024|Tags: , , |
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