Kelly McGonigal, PhD, is a leading expert on the mind-body relationship. She teaches yoga, meditation, and psychology at Stanford University. Her writing and work has been featured in Yoga Journal, Yogi Times, L.A. Yoga, Yoga Chicago, Yoga for Everybody, and IDEA Fitness Journal, and she has been featured as a mind-body expert for publications as diverse as the New York Times, the Washington Post, Women’s Health, Martha Stewart Weddings, Readers Digest, and MSNBC.com. She is a frequent presenter at national mind-body conferences, including the Body Mind Spirit Conference, the Inner Idea Wellness Conference, the Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research, the International Yoga Therapy Conference, and Omega’s Being Yoga Conference.
She received her PhD in psychology from Stanford University, with a concentration in humanistic medicine, the study of how emotions, beliefs, spirituality, and the caregiver-patient relationship influence healing. Her research in the Stanford Psychophysiology Laboratory focused on how people cope with stress and build the kind of social support network that is so important for mental and physical well-being. While a graduate student at Stanford, she co-founded the Women’s Wellness Network, which organized educational and social events designed to serve all aspects of wellness, from nutrition to stress reduction. She also coordinated the Stanford Aerobics and Yoga Program, which offers exercise and wellness classes to the Stanford community. She received a B.S. in Communication and a B.A. in Psychology from Boston University. While studying at B.U., she worked as the health editor of an online new services and was a freelancer writer on the topics of psychology and alternative medicine.
She is currently the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal for yoga professionals and healthcare providers, as well as Yoga Therapy in Practice, the tri-annual publication of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She leads yoga teacher trainings that take a unique and integrative approach to yoga philosophy, anatomy, physiology, and psychology.
At Stanford University, she teaches wellness classes for the School of Medicine’s Health Improvement Program and coordinates the Psychology Department’s Psychology One Program. She is a lecturer for the Continuing Studies Program as well as a frequent guest lecturer on the topics of health psychology and stress reduction, for courses and programs as diverse as the School of Engineering, the Department of Recreation and Athletics, and Vaden Counseling Services. She has received a number of teaching awards, including Stanford University’s highest teaching honor, the Walter J. Gores award. She has consulted for Stanford’s Center for Teaching and Learning, and her articles about teaching and learning have appeared in a variety of higher education publications.
She is dedicated to bridging her professional life and personal values, including her commitment to healthy communities, human rights, and animal welfare. For this reason, she established the Network of Compassion and Support, a way for her students and clients to contribute to such organizations as the Red Cross, Kiva Loans that Change Lives, the SEVA Foundation, the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, and Living Compassion.
Interviews
For
more information about my work, visit my professional website.
Contact:
kmcg "at" psych "dot" stanford "dot"
edu
