Yoga and Pilates Go to Medical School

April 14, 2011 - PRLog -- Two New York City doctors are bringing a dose of health to health professionals through an innovative program called living anatome® (www.LivingAnatome.com ). Created by Stephanie Pieczenik Marango, MD, and Carrie McCulloch, MD, living anatome® is an educational program that teaches anatomy to medical students via yoga and Pilates. Bringing wellness into the medical community has been a passion for Drs. Marango and McCulloch since they first developed living anatome® in 2004 while students at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

As medical students, Drs. Marango and McCulloch (yoga and Pilates experts, respectively) created living anatome® to address the disconnect they discovered between studying health and the reality of taking care of their own in the high-stress environment of medical school. “There is a huge hypocrisy in the medical system,” says Dr. McCulloch. “It would be apprehensible for law students to break the law every day, but for some reason it is acceptable for medical students, residents, and physicians to lead unhealthy lifestyles.”

The first living anatome® class was given in 2004 as a gift to fellow medical school students to help them study for a final anatomy exam and take a moment to invest in their own health. Since that inception, the program has grown to national acclaim, receiving accolades and press from the medical community, and becoming part of the official curriculum at Mount Sinai, where both Drs. Marango and McCulloch are alumni.

In December 2010, Drs. Marango and McCulloch published research on the program, which was featured on the cover of the international academic journal Anatomical Sciences Education. With the January 2011 launch of livinganatome.com, the program has gained additional exposure and momentum; the website brings living anatome® classes to medical schools nationwide and helps medical students, residents, and physicians address the challenges of staying healthy through chat rooms and advice from featured fitness and wellness experts.

A typical living anatome® class explores the anatomy and movements of a specific region of the body. For example, in a class focusing on the upper extremity, participants would review the muscles and joints of the shoulder region, and then explore the function of that anatomy through yoga and Pilates exercises. Each class is about an hour in length and concludes with a guided meditation and Savasana, a yoga pose intended for relaxation and rejuvenation.

“Learning about your own self and how to take care of it is an essential part of learning how to take care of others,” says Dr. Marango. “At the end of the day, no one wants to take health advice from unhealthy physicians. living anatome® brings this issue to the forefront and helps burgeoning physicians start practicing what they preach. ”

To arrange an interview with Stephanie Pieczenik Marango, MD and Carrie McCulloch, MD, contact Haasan Morse at Haasan@MorseCodePR.com or 917-576-0130. To learn more about the Living Anatome® program, visit www.LivingAnatome.com.

# # #

Morse Code PR is a results-driven, boutique PR firm. By connecting the dots with leading national media, we significantly increase exposure, revenue, credibility & opportunity for our lifestyle, health/wellness, fashion, beauty and entertainment clients.