Hi everyone. Welcome to the course. I'm just going to take a couple moments to explain, how the course is laid out and what you can expect. This course is intended for yoga practitioners and teachers, as well as college students and medical practitioners looking for a deeper understanding of the physiological benefits of yoga. It is also intended to broaden your understanding of therapeutic modalities. The value of taking this course is to understand the impact that yoga can have on reducing stress, and aiding in healing or preventing physiological pathologies. Throughout this course, we will learn about different physiological systems and highlight yoga practices that can influence different systems and reduce pathology. To be successful in this course, I would recommend scheduling a regular time and method of study. Learning does not happen from passively watching videos or reading the material. It requires active and daily application. I would recommend reading in conjunction with the lectures we have supplied both supplemental and required readings. In addition, the practices have been designed to be practiced and repeated over time. We encourage you to integrate the yoga and meditations daily, but at a minimum make an effort to practice at least twice a week. Research has shown that daily reinforcement greatly influences learning ability. Each week it is expected that you complete two modules. Each module includes readings that are both built into the module and additional readings. Optional textbook reading that correspond to the different physiological systems are also offered. This is especially helpful for those of you who are looking for a more in-depth understanding or new to physiology. As theories of instructional videos including short yoga and meditation practices, will be available to be repeated and will hopefully be experienced as beneficial additions to your life. Lectures will provide physiological foundation for the impacts of yoga and meditations practice on the body. Those will be enhanced by interviews, with leaders in the field and by yoga demonstrations that target therapy, prevention and overall wellness. To see if you're grasping the concepts and the lecture, in-video questions will accompany the instructions. Videos will also be followed by reflective yoga practice questions to help you connect with your experience. Summary quizzes will help you assess whether your grasping the material, and will help us as instructors to learn if we are presenting the material in a way that helps you learn. We also encourage you to try optional forum discussion topics, so that you are able to practice reading and evaluating research related to yoga's impacts on the physiological systems. Lastly, surveys seeking your feedback will help us with the future improvements to the course. This course aims to provide you with the vocabulary, tools for evaluating and utilizing evidence, and practice knowledge in order to practice and promote yoga as a preventative therapeutic and overall beneficial approach to wellness. The big ideas and questions answered in this course are to identify the role, structure, and function of the human physiological systems, and understand the normal versus pathological functioning in these systems. In doing so, we will examine the underlying physiological mechanisms that connect healthy physiological functioning to yoga practices. We will evaluate studies that are related to yogas impact on physiological systems. In addition, we will practice yoga that is able to be utilized as therapeutic intervention, prevention, and to improve overall wellness. Please keep in mind that the Coursera community is proudly diverse. Be inclusive in your discussion and reflections and remain aware of our diversity when participating in discussions. We are all here to learn and we want everyone to feel welcome and supported. Thank you and I hope you enjoy.