Matthew Sanford is the 2010 Honoree

As a leader in integrative medicine, the Institute for Health & Healing has long sought to honor international experts whose work is furthering the field. Every year we select and honor a "Pioneer in Integrative Medicine". We are privileged to honor Matthew Sanford on March 7, 2010.

Matthew Sanford has inspired and enhanced the lives of thousands as a public speaker, nationally recognized yoga teacher, critically acclaimed author, and a leading voice in the integrative health movement. At the age of thirteen, a devastating car crash took the lives of his father and sister and left him paralyzed from the chest down. Advice from his doctors to “forget his lower body,” however, was what really crippled him. At age twenty-five he discovered yoga and the healing power of the mind-body connection.

In 1998 he started teaching an adaptive yoga class for people living with a wide range of disabilities. Realizing all individuals could benefit from having a deeper connection between mind and body, he founded Mind Body Solutions in 2001. This non-profit organization is dedicated to transforming trauma, loss and disability into hope and potential by awakening and realizing the connection between mind and body. Matthew uses his personal experience with yoga, paralysis and disability to transform the current approach to rehabilitation.

In 2007, Mathew served as a keynote presenter at Donna Karan’s Urban Zen Initiative, a forum that brought together renowned leaders in integrative medicine and healing therapies. He is currently spearheading a groundbreaking pilot program at Courage Center, a leading transitional rehabilitation facility in Minnesota, which incorporates a holistic approach to rehabilitation. He is also working on a program for returning war veterans.

Mathew is the author of WAKING: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence. He’s been honored with several awards including a Karma Yoga Award (2003) from Yoga Journal, the Judd Jacobson Memorial Award (2004), and KARE-TV’s Eleven Who Care Award (2007). In 2008, Mathew was recognized as a national hero with a Volvo For Life Award. To learn more about Matthew, visit his webpage matthewsanford.com

For more information, contact Finola FitzClarence at (415) 600-1562 or email fitzclf@sutterhealth.org.