Kelly McGonigal, PhD is a leading expert on the mind-body relationship and the psychology of yoga. She teaches yoga, meditation, and psychology at Stanford University, and is a passionate editor and freelance writer in the areas of mind-body psychology and integrative healthcare. 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 many publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Body + Soul, Fitness, Women’s Health, Martha Stewart Weddings, Readers Digest,  Runner’s World,  and MSNBC.com. She has presented at many 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, Omega’s Being Yoga Conference, and the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. Her book Yoga for Chronic Pain will be published by New Harbinger in 2009.      

Dr. McGonigal is 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 (IAYT). Through her work with IAYT, she supports research and education on mind-body practices and holistic healthcare. She also leads yoga teacher trainings that take a unique and integrative approach to yoga philosophy, anatomy, physiology, and psychology. She has taught the psychology, philosophy, and practices of yoga in studios and at conferences around the U.S., and her online yoga philosophy courses through Open Mind Open Body have reached students around the world.

She received her PhD in psychology from Stanford University, with a concentration in humanistic medicine, the study of how emotions, spirituality, and the caregiver-patient relationship influence healing. Her research in the Stanford Psychophysiology Laboratory focused on how emotions influence the body and how people cope with difficult life transitions. While a graduate student at Stanford, she co-founded the Stanford 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. Her role in both organizations launched her ongoing mission of making wellness part of the fabric of Stanford's community, accessible to everyone and a source of social connection as well as personal healing.

She currently teaches wellness classes for the Stanford 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, stress reduction, meditation, and yoga 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 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 news service and a freelancer writer on the topics of psychology and alternative medicine, and was active in a wide range of fundraising for non-profit organizations. She received the "Distinguished Graduate Award" from Boston University's College of Communication for demonstrating the ideal of having "not just a brain, but a heart, and using both." She has received a number of other awards and honors, including the prestigious National Science Foundation Fellowship for her research on emotions and stress.

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. She also serves on the board of Yoga Bear, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing cancer patients and survivors with more opportunities for wellness and healing through the practice of yoga.

Listen to a 30-minute interview with Kelly McGonigal from the podcast Yoga Peeps.