Photo: Dr. Cunningham and Dr. Shirley Telles during Yoga Therapy program at Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville.
Dr. Mala Cunningham’s trailblazing book, Neuroscience, Yoga, and Psychology: Vagus Nerve Regulation for Healing and Peak Performance will be an incredibly valuable contribution to the Yoga Therapy/Medical Yoga field when it’s published in Spring 2026. Stay tuned here for pre-order information and more regarding this new book.
Dr. Cunningham is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia’s School of Nursing and a longtime student of Swami Satchidananda. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek foreword to the book by Dr. Amy Wheeler, Chair of the Yoga Therapy & Ayurveda Department at Notre Dame of Maryland University’s School of Integrative Health:
It is a rare gift when someone devotes her life to weaving together ancient wisdom traditions and modern science in a way that is both rigorous and deeply human. Dr. Mala Cunningham has done just that. This book represents decades of her work at the intersection of Yoga, Psychology, and Neuroscience, and it offers a comprehensive and visionary model for the future of Integrative Health.
Over the years, I have watched our fields of Yoga, Psychology, and Neuroscience slowly begin to recognize one another. We now know that practices such as meditation, prāṇāyāma, mindful movement, and chanting change the brain, regulate the nervous system, and influence both mental health and physical well-being. Positive psychology has highlighted the importance of cultivating strengths, resilience, and meaning in life, while Yoga has given us time-tested tools to embody these qualities. Neuroscience now provides the data to show why these practices work, mapping their effects at the level of neural circuitry and brain states.
What Dr. Cunningham has done through her Neuro-Yoga Psychology Model is take the best of each of these disciplines and show us how they overlap and reinforce one another. She has distilled the wisdom of Yoga, grounded it in the evidence base of Psychology and Neuroscience, and created a framework that is both intellectually clear and practically applicable.
This is the future of healthcare. It is not “East versus West,” or “ancient versus modern.” The path forward lies in finding where we agree, where the models converge, and then building a body of research and clinical application over time. By doing so, we not only elevate Yoga as a valid profession, but also expand the possibilities for the field of Integrative Health.
What I admire most about Mala’s work is her ability to hold this vision with both precision and compassion. She speaks the language of research, medicine, and Psychology, while never losing sight of Yoga’s heart and spirit. In her model, clinicians will find a structure they can use to communicate with colleagues in medicine and mental health. Yoga practitioners will find a language to bridge tradition and science. And individuals seeking transformation will find practices that are both evidence-based and deeply human.
I believe that this book marks an important milestone in the evolution of the fields of Yoga and Integrative Health. Dr. Cunningham has shown us what is possible when we bring disciplines together with respect, rigor, and creativity.
It is my honor to write this Forward and to celebrate the groundbreaking vision of my colleague and friend, Dr. Mala Cunningham. May these pages inspire you to see the profound connections between Yoga, Neuroscience, and Positive Psychology—and help you to carry this integrative vision of health and healing into your own life, your practice, and your work in the world.
