Carola will present her latest opinion piece on the effective components of mind-body therapies, as well as the questionnaires, biological, and EEG findings from her PhD research on the psychoneuroimmunology of yoga nidra and restorative yoga. 

Carola is a British-Italian Yoga Therapist and Cognitive Neuroscientist currently working on her PhD in the Department of Neuroimaging at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London.

She has an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience from King’s College London with Distinction, an MSc in Social Policy and Development from the London School of Economics and a BA in International Relations from Hult International Business School.

Her PhD, in collaboration with the Neuroimaging department and the SPI Lab, investigates Yoga Nidra’s psychoneuroimmunological mechanisms in chronic stress and depression and she will be sharing her insights from her research with us.

She wants to develop neurofeedback therapies to reduce depressive symptoms in treatment-resistant depression.

Carola has a multi-disciplinary background in mind-body therapies, neuroscience, behavioural economics, growth marketing, international development and management consultancy. Working as a yoga therapist with clients experiencing neuropsychiatric and neurological conditions inspired her to investigate mind-body therapies’ biological mechanisms. She is passionate about making complementary therapies part of the NHS. She has lived, worked and studied in Italy, the United States, China, the UK and Rwanda. Carola co-founded Women for Rwanda, a small charity working with genocide survivors.

The Evolution of Yoga Therapy in Healthcare: Past Lessons, Present Growth, Future Promise  

Over the past decade, yoga therapy has been steadily making its way into healthcare systems, gaining traction through both clinical inclusion and increased practitioner recognition. There are now a number of large-scale examples of integration and documented grassroots instances of its integration across diverse settings, signalling not just acceptance but appreciation for its distinct contribution. What sets yoga therapy apart is its inherently biopsychosocial framework—one that addresses mind, body, and behaviour—and its capacity to honour the spiritual dimension of human experience, a facet that is now increasingly acknowledged rather than dismissed in contemporary healthcare.

This talk will trace the development of yoga therapy within healthcare, highlighting where and how it has gained ground, why its future looks promising, and how yoga therapists can help sustain and expand this momentum. We’ll consider practical routes to integration—such as building clinical partnerships, using outcome-based language, and aligning with healthcare frameworks—alongside challenges such as institutional resistance.

Heather Mason, MA, MA, MSc, is the founder of The Minded Institute, a world leader in yoga therapy education, and of The Yoga in Health Care Alliance, a charity dedicated to bringing yoga into the NHS. She is also co-founder of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Yoga in the UK.

Heather holds master’s degrees in Buddhist Studies, Psychotherapy, and Medical Physiology, and has undertaken extensive training in neuroscience. She has been teaching yoga since 2001 and specialising in yoga therapy for mental health since 2007.

Recognised as a global leader in the field, Heather has lectured at institutions ranging from Harvard to UCL and spoken at numerous academic conferences worldwide. She was the first person in the UK to train with the Boston Trauma Center to offer yoga for trauma, launched a yoga programme at The Maudsley Hospital’s Traumatic Stress Service, and has been training professionals in yoga therapy for PTSD since 2012.

Heather is the co-editor of Yoga for Mental Health and co-author of Yoga on Prescription. In 2023, she co-created the world’s first accredited psychotherapy training programme designed specifically for yoga therapists.