LAURA SCHMALZL
Ph.D., C-IAYT
About
Laura
I am a Clinical Neuropsychologist, Cognitive Neuroscientist and Yoga Therapist. For the past decade, I have been combining my background in psychology and neuroscience, with my passion for yoga as a healing modality. I believe that Western Science and Eastern Wisdom Traditions beautifully complement each other in their perspectives on how we function as human beings, and that combined they provide a powerful integrative toolbox for healing and personal development.
In my career as a researcher, I was primarily interested in understanding the mechanisms through which yoga-based practices impact body awareness, emotional self-regulation and cognitive functioning. As an educator, I implemented yoga as an experiential learning tool within the neuroscience curriculum for medical students. I also served as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy for six years, and have been part of the contemplative faculty for the Mind & Life Institute for three years.
My vocational trajectory took a turn, largely influenced by the experience of assisting my mother in her journey of dying from cancer, and by how my own yoga practice helped me through that process.
After two decades in academia and several years of being a yoga instructor, I decided to devote myself to further clinical training in yoga therapy with a particular interest in assisting individuals as they navigate major life transitions. This led me to my current vocation as an integrative mind-body therapist and I’ve never looked back.
In my work with clients, privately and on retreats, my purpose is to empower individuals to take an active part in their healing journey and find renewed purpose in their lives through psychological counseling, life coaching and specifically targeted yoga practices. The practices are informed by a neuroscience and yoga therapy framework, and aimed at restoring balance within the physical, mental and emotional “layers” of the human system.
I am also a faculty member and mentor for YogaX, a yoga certification program for healthcare professionals at Stanford School of Medicine, as well the Optimal State Yoga Therapy School.
Laura’s
Background
M.A., Clinical Neuropsychology
2004
Ph.D., Cognitive Science
2008
Certified Yoga Instructor RYT-500
2012
Certified Yoga Therapist C-IAYT
2022
