Clinical Partnerships & Programs

Yoga Therapy,
In Clinical Practice.

UCI Health · Hoag Hospital · CHOC Children's · Federally Qualified Health Centers

We believe Yoga Therapy is Lifestyle Medicine. For nearly a decade, our clinicians and trainees have delivered group classes, 1:1 clinical services, and research-backed programming through formal partnerships with hospitals, health systems, and community clinics across Orange County.

Be the Change is home to Orange County's first and only Yoga Therapist Training, and our network of fully vetted, highly specialized certified yoga teachers and therapists implements comprehensive programs in multiple clinical and community settings, from integrative health institutes to federally qualified health centers.

This is personal transformation, professional development, and community wellness, woven together, exactly as Yoga intends.

PARTNER WITH US

Business Affiliate Relationship

Build a business affiliate relationship with Be the Change Yoga, and we'll provide our network of fully vetted, highly specialized certified yoga teachers and therapists to implement comprehensive programs across multiple locations, while administering the program from end to end.

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INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIP

UCI Health

Be the Change has partnered with the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute (SSIHI) at UCI Health to offer comprehensive yoga therapy programming in their Newport Beach clinic, as well as yoga therapy and health education services for UC Care members, UCI faculty, staff, and students.

Across a continuous three-year telehealth program (2020–2022), our group yoga therapy classes grew to 380+ classes delivered and 6,300+ cumulative student visits — with year-over-year participant acceptability consistently rated above 4.8 out of 5. Participants reported reduced pain, improved balance and mobility, better sleep, and a strong sense of community during a uniquely difficult time.

6-WEEK CURRICULUM

Yoga Therapy for Restful Sleep

A structured telehealth course combining yoga poses, breathwork, and sleep-preparation techniques. Participants reported improved sleep quality, increased daytime energy, and a calmer mind.

6-WEEK CURRICULUM

Yoga Therapy for Stress Reduction

A companion telehealth course teaching mindful meditation, the RAIN technique, and walking meditation. Rated 4.5/5 for benefit and 4.6/5 for likelihood to recommend.

9.3+ YEARS · CURRENTLY ACTIVE

Hoag's Center for Healthy Living

Be the Change has been working with the Melinda Hoag Smith Center for Healthy Living since January 2017 — one of the longest-standing institutional partnerships in our program portfolio. Our community yoga classes have run continuously through nine-plus years and a global pandemic, currently offered as bilingual All-Levels Yoga (English/Spanish) for Hoag-area community members.

In addition, our yoga therapist trainee interns have provided 1:1 clinical yoga therapy services within Hoag's Community Mental Health Department alongside nursing and social work interns since 2018 — an interprofessional clinical placement that has delivered an estimated 1,800+ supervised intern-hours of individualized care to underserved and at-risk community members.

UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES · MULTILINGUAL

Federally Qualified Health Clinics

Be the Change has developed yoga therapy programs for federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) throughout Orange County, providing group class services for patients in English, Spanish, and Korean, employee wellness programming for clinic staff, and 1:1 services as part of integrative care teams.

Through the Live Healthy OC initiative in partnership with UCI Health, our founder designed and implemented trilingual yoga therapy and health education programming across three community health centers — Serve the People Community Health Center (Santa Ana), Families Together of Orange County (Tustin), and Korean Community Services (Buena Park) — meeting underserved patients and providers in the languages they speak.

Multi-site FQHC penetration across three community health centers serving Orange County's most underserved populations.

A Case Study in Primary Care Integration

In a landmark collaboration, Be the Change Yoga and AlcheMē Yoga Therapy partnered with the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute at UC Irvine Health, together with Live Healthy OC (LHOC) and Serve the People Community Health Center (STP), to integrate yoga therapy into a primary care setting — piloting a paired-visit model in which patients see a Medical Assistant, then a certified yoga therapist who develops a customized, goal-driven practice as part of an integrative care team.

Read the Full Case Study

Serve the People is a federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Santa Ana, CA, committed to providing a comprehensive array of health services for their community. Working with the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, the aim was to bring an integrative model of care to individuals and families in the Santa Ana community — emphasizing prevention, self-care, personal empowerment, and community wellness.

In 2014, a partnership formed between the Health Funders Partnership of Orange County, the UC Irvine School of Medicine, the Samueli Foundation, the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine (SSCIM), and the Coalition of Orange County Community Health Centers to launch an initiative strengthening the healthcare delivery system and improving health outcomes for the underserved. That initiative, now known as Live Healthy OC, includes a network of seven community health centers throughout Orange County that have received integrative health education, technical assistance, and implemented integrative health practices to improve population health.

In 2017, the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute partnered with Serve the People to launch the first clinical site offering naturopathic health services. Led by Dr. Arvin Jenab, Director of the Naturopathic Medicine Services and the ND Residency Program, a team of naturopathic doctors and residents began seeing patients in January 2018, with the vision to integrate additional services including yoga therapy, acupuncture, nutrition, and massage therapy.

Shortly after the launch of naturopathic services, yoga therapists joined the team and began working closely with patients. AlcheMē Yoga Therapy's Clinical Supervisor, Megan McCarver, provided patient services while supervising interns Alexandra Boggio and Jade Lam, then enrolled in AlcheMē's 850-hour Yoga Therapist Training at Be the Change Yoga in Irvine, CA. Katie Allen oversaw the program as Yoga Therapy School Director and Public Health Advisor.

This innovative application used a paired-visit model: patients see a Medical Assistant who measures heart rate and blood pressure, then are referred to the yoga therapist. The certified yoga therapist or intern conducts a patient assessment, identifies patient goals, and develops a customized yoga therapy practice to address the patient's symptoms.

A therapeutic plan includes specific applications of yoga postures, breathwork, meditation, and lifestyle practices tailored to the patient's needs. Patients receive a home exercise program and schedule a follow-up appointment to measure progress and refine the practice. Afterward, the Medical Assistant rejoins the yoga therapist and patient to re-check vitals and discuss implementation of the home exercise program, reinforcing the patient's wellness plan. Yoga therapists then reconvene with the integrative team at the end of the shift to discuss patient progress, collaborate, and assess the need for referrals.

In piloting this innovative approach to wellness care, the aim is to develop best practices that can be replicated through numerous clinics in Orange County and beyond. It is truly an exciting time for yoga therapy and the field of integrative medicine as a whole — and, as this example shows, it takes continued effort across many organizations to break the mold and bring something extraordinary to life.

RESEARCH & CLINICAL OUTCOMES

Backed by Published Research

Yoga therapists are the health promotion specialists of the 21st century. Our clinical programming doesn't stop at the studio door — it's tested, published, and contributing to the growing evidence base for yoga therapy as lifestyle medicine.

PEER-REVIEWED RCT

Yoga for HEART — Older Adults

A 12-week feasibility trial led by our Sub-Investigator, Dr. Jennifer Barrows, found a significant improvement in BMI among older-adult participants compared to a control group — published as Barrows & Fleury (2022).

PEER-REVIEWED RCT · CHOC PARTNERSHIP

Yoga for HEART — Adolescents

Delivered through our partnership with CHOC Children's Wellness on Wheels and Hoag's Melinda Hoag Smith Center, this bilingual study with adolescents managing asthma and weight-related conditions achieved 100% retention, with participants reporting improved quality of life and several reducing their BMI — published as Barrows et al. (2025).

That CHOC and Hoag collaboration grew out of real-world community programming — bilingual, no-cost teen yoga classes built on formal partnerships, structured intake, and a flyer campaign reaching families across Orange County. The published trial represents the research arm of a relationship our community programming made possible.

Our research connections extend further: AlcheMē Yoga Therapy graduate Louise Mahoney, MS, C-IAYT, a clinical yoga researcher at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed yoga RCTs for veterans — including federally-funded research on yoga for Gulf War illness, chronic pain, and telehealth-delivered care. She currently serves as Co-Investigator on a $3.5 million NIH-funded randomized controlled trial studying yoga for chronic musculoskeletal pain in veterans, bringing her federally-funded research expertise back into our extended team.

Our founder, Katie Allen, has been designing, implementing, and evaluating community-based yoga therapy and health education interventions since 2006. Read more about her early work with MOMS Orange County below.

SINCE 2006 · SPANISH-LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING

Pasos Pequeños: Small Steps, Lasting Change

In 2006, our founder Katie Allen designed and led Pasos Pequeños (Small Steps), a six-week, Spanish-language yoga and health education program for low-income postpartum Hispanic women enrolled in MOMS (Maternal Outreach Management System), a community-based case-management program in Orange County, CA. The women in the program were already identified as at risk for gestational diabetes and chronic disease — making accessible, culturally adapted care especially urgent.

Each week paired a Spanish-language health education class — covering topics from nutrition and physical activity to stress and smoking cessation — with a yoga component led by Katie, fully in Spanish and culturally adapted for the women she served.

100% of women reported the program helped improve their stress levels, and all expressed a desire for continued yoga programming.

HEALTH KNOWLEDGE

+11%

Increase in health knowledge from pre- to post-program, measured by quiz.

BEHAVIOR CHANGE

2.7 behaviors

Average number of health behaviors improved per participant.

PERCEIVED STRESS

91% normal

Reported normal stress levels at post-test, a 21-point increase from baseline.

SATISFACTION

100%

Of women said they learned "a lot" and benefited from the class.

Yoga enjoyment was rated 4.45 out of 5, and the in-class experience 4.73 out of 5 — with every woman in the program stating she would participate in yoga again if MOMS offered it, and the majority requesting both prenatal and postpartum formats. Nearly twenty years later, Pasos Pequeños remains a foundational example of the culturally adapted, community-rooted approach that still guides Be the Change's clinical programming today.

What are the benefits of Yoga Therapy?