Turning Point Q&A with Bo Forbes

Bo Forbes, PsyD, E-RYT 500, is a clinical psychologist, yoga teacher, and integrative yoga therapist whose background includes training in biopsychology, behavioral medicine, sleep disorders, and stress management. Founder of Integrative Yoga Therapeutics, Bo conducts teacher trainings and workshops internationally, and is the author of Yoga for Emotional Balance: Simple Practices to Relieve Anxiety and Depression.

Describe what you do in 15 words or less.
I'm a teacher, healer, neuroscience geek, and an agent for global physical and emotional health.

Tell us about a turning point in your life.
My father had a rare neurological disorder. At the age of 80, he began a very dedicated yoga practice. Although I was his primary yoga teacher, I was really his student. He gave me a rare window through which to watch the role of the body and nervous system in physical, emotional, and spiritual transformation. Those experiences with him, and in the "learning laboratory" of my classes and teacher training in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and on the road, have had profound influences on my teaching and my life.

What do you love about teaching?
Like yoga, teaching is a living, breathing practice. When I'm fully present and seeing deeply, teaching always offers me new learning and discovery.

What are you passionate about right now?
I'm passionate about bringing together yoga, mindfulness, psychology, and science. Right now, that means marrying yoga's contemplative practices with mindful movement and bringing meditation into the body to create embodied stillness.

What do you do in your downtime?
I'm learning Italian. I also love swimming and spending time with family.

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