Yoga for Ethical Case Management Practice

In American culture, yoga has become a popular form of exercise to promote well-being. Yet the physical aspect of yoga is a small piece of the larger practice of this ancient tradition. The roots of yoga include 10 ethical guidelines called the yamas and niyamas. To quote the prominent yoga author Deborah Adele, “These ten guidelines sit as both a vision of the possibilities of human existence, as well as providing the practical guidance to make skillful moment-to-moment choices in our daily lives.” The yamas and niyamas include non-violence, truthfulness, self-discipline, and self-study. Yoga’s ethical roadmap mirrors the case and disability management values of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and fidelity. The yamas and niyamas offer a unique way of viewing case management values. They can aid in fulfilling CCMC's Code of Professional Conduct for Case Managers and the CDMS Code of Professional Conduct underlying values. In this session participants will engage with the ethical principles through the lens of yoga’s yamas and niyamas. This session will offer a new, dynamic, and personalized way of relating to ethical decision-making in everyday case management practice.