We all deserve to feel good in our bodies, but when we have negative perceptions of how our body looks, feels, or functions that experience can seem impossible.

Today host Rachel talks with returning guest Alison Heilig about the sometimes sneaky ways body image manifests in yoga. In this episode, we discuss how body image forms and the different ways negative body image can show up - including the perpetual optimization of health and demonization of the aging process. We also touch on implications for gender conformity and advocate normalizing diversity in ability and appearance in yoga classes. We share our tips on how yoga teachers can provide positive embodiment experiences, ensuring that body image isn’t what stops our students practicing.

Listen in as we talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of body image.

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• Defining body image, and why it matters more in yoga than you think [3:05]
• How does body image form [7:33]
• Personal experiences of poor body image [8:58}
• The added impacts of social media, photoshop, filters & AI [12:50]
• Body image challenges through life; perceptions of aging [14:39]
• The surprising ways poor body image can manifest [16:40]
• Orthorexia, perpetual optimization & the medicalization of body image [20:00]
• Implications in yoga [24:59]
• How yoga teachers can foster more positive body awareness [30:58]
• Tips on teaching groups [39:45]
• Advice for individuals & the slow journey to positive body image [53:33]
• The conversation continues: Fit Bottomed Girls [1:02:26]
• Final thoughts & key takeaways [1:08:04]

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• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Previous Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes:
  • 32: Yoga for Athletes
  • 96: Creating Change
  • 116: Yoga for Menopause & Beyond
• Yoga Journal articles:
  • Are the Poses You Hate The Ones You Need Most?
  • The One Cue I Never Use When I Teach
• Yoga for Athletes Teacher Training
• Connect with Alison Heilig:

Facebook | Instagram | Alison Heilig | Yoga Medicine Online Guest Teacher

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-119.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

Today hosts Tiffany and Katja dive into the common misconceptions around breath work and Pranayama. Is breathwork really the new Pranayama? Is deep breathing indeed always better? Does breathwork really need to be intense to work? In this episode, we unpack these and other common misconceptions about Pranayama and breathwork.

Listen in to find ways to feel better in your life through a better understanding of Pranayama.

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• Myth 1: Breathwork is the new pranayama [3:07]
• Myth 2: The ultimate goal of pranayama is to fully control the breath [9:02]
• Myth 3: Pranayama must be practiced over long periods of time to see benefits [16:31]
• Myth 4: Ujjayi and/or deep breathing is a superior technique [22:29]
• Myth 5: Breathwork involving hyperventilation is life-changing, always [30:36]
• Myth 6: Only advanced practitioners should do Pranayama [37:31]
• Myth 7: Pranayama has one magic rhythm/ pattern [41:17]

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• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Pranayama Yoga Teacher Training
• Previous Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes:
  • 85: Research Roundup: A Stroll Through the Breathwork Landscape
  • 87: The Science of Breathing Less: Research Roundup
• Connect with Katja Bartsch:

Facebook | Instagram | Kalamana Yoga | Yoga Medicine® Online Guest Teacher

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-118.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

Ahimsa or non-harming is a central value of yoga philosophy, but looking at the world around us it’s all too easy to find examples of systemic suffering that seem impossible to solve. Today’s episode tackles one such issue; gender-based violence and sex trafficking.

Host Rachel speaks with Sarah Symons, founder of international non-profit Her Future Coalition which has been working since 2005 to ensure that survivors of trafficking have what they need to remain free, safe and independent.

As well as sharing her own story, Sarah gives tips for those wanting to get involved in this or any other service work, including the importance of starting with a single step, listening to those who are closest to the issue, making mistakes and learning from them, and focusing your energy on the positives.

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• The mission of Her Future Coalition [2:17]
• Why it’s so difficult to face gender-based violence [3:25]
• Sarah takes her inspiration from survivors [7:04]
• Early mistakes: trying to rush the healing process [10:26]
• Survivors often can’t return to their family [13:38]
• Benefits of the shelter environment for survivors [17:05]
• The power of non-verbal healing modalities – art, movement, games [18:59]
• Looking to the long-term: vocational education [22:39]
• Ripple effect: Survivors become part of the solution [24:50]
• Handling despair [28:51]
• Keys to success in service work [31:26]
• Savoring joy [34:48]
• Final takeaways [40:04]

—

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Previous Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes:
  • 37: Yoga as Service with Amanda Cunningham
• Yoga Medicine® Seva Foundation
• Connect with Sarah Symons:

Facebook | Instagram | Her Future Coalition | TEDx

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-117.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

Perhaps you’ve heard that menopause is having a moment. But while menopause is more present in the media, there’s still a lack of balanced, nuanced, and honest information around this stage of life.

In this episode, host Rachel talks with yoga and Pilates teacher and teacher-trainer Niamh Daly about her passion project: yoga for the late reproductive stage, perimenopause, menopause, and beyond.

We discuss the lesser-known physical and mental implications of this menopause, and how we can fine-tune our yoga practice to support our changing needs.

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• The challenges of measuring the effects of yoga with research [3:00]
• What inspired Niamh’s fascination with this life stage [5:14]
• The new stigma around menopause [10:28]
• Perimenopause can trigger existential angst [14:57]
• Less discussed impacts of menopause: changes in perceived capacity [19:48]
• Rage and menopause [24:54]
• Changes in self esteem [28:47]
• The medicalization of menopause & health worries [31:01]
• Shifts in purpose, career, relationships & libido [33:35]
• Yoga asana through late reproductive stage, perimenopause & menopause [38:32]
• Differences in approach: perimenopause vs menopause [47:58]
• The vital importance of Satya in media coverage & in our teaching [51:58]
• Research on menopause and pranayama [58:00]
• Meditation, self-judgement, CBT & Pratipaksha Bhavana [1:02:46]
• Wrap up & more resources [1:05:07]

—

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Female Health Yoga Teacher Training
• Previous Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes:
  • 63: Yoga & Osteoporosis with Michaela Smith
  • 91: Balance Myths Busted with Sava Papos
• Connect with Niamh Daly:

Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Yinstinct Yoga

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-116.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

Any potent practice carries the potential for adverse effects, and yoga - while comparatively gentle - is no exception.

Yin yoga seems to generate especially polarized views, so today hosts Tiffany and Rachel unpack its common cautions and contraindications.

Listen in as we explore who Yin yoga is best for versus who might invest their time elsewhere, and share our tips on how we can all approach this nourishing practice to minimize risks and maximize benefits.

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• Polarized views of Yin yoga [3:33]
• Yin and hypermobility [6:09]
• Approaching Yin when you don’t need more range of motion [10:17]
• Yin during pregnancy [16:00]
• Yin during spinal injury: disc injury, osteoporosis [17:17]
• Yin for older populations: osteoarthritis, joint replacement [25:34]
• Ongoing themes: more isn’t better, take an individual approach [32:43]
• Yin for sedentary people & desk workers [36:01]
• Yin for athletes [38:25]
• Recap: It’s about HOW you approach Yin yoga [45:57]
• Tips for Yin yoga teachers [48:51]
• Final takeaways & resources [52:09]

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• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Yin & Meditation Teacher Training IN-PERSON in Colorado October 13-20 2024
• Yin & Meditation Yoga Teacher Training Online
• YMO Balanced Function for Flexible Folks Series
• YMO Tutorial: Practicing with Osteoporosis

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-115.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

“Is Yoga a religion?” is an often-asked question, and the deeper we delve into the historical and philosophical underpinnings of the practice, the less simple and straightforward the answer becomes.

Here to guide us on that complex conversational journey is returning guest Firdose Moonda, who holds an MA in the Traditions of Yoga and Meditation from the School of Oriental and African Studies and is undertaking doctoral work into the politics of yoga.

Listen in to unpack yoga’s historical and present-day entanglements with South Asian religions, and explore the responsibilities of modern yoga teachers in the West.

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• Defining religion [3:44]
• Can you be spiritual but not religious [7:02]
• Evolution of yoga: the Vedic period [10:58]
• Emergence of Buddhism and Jainism [15:51]
• Hatha yoga, and separation of yoga from religion [19:30]
• Is yoga even more entangled with religion today [23:55]
• Contributions from Tantra & South Asian Islam [24:55]
• Implications of the International Day of Yoga [29:44]
• Can yoga teachers avoid politics, history, religion, and philosophy entirely [34:40]
• Finding your place as a teacher in the modern yoga world [43:50]
• We are also creating yoga history [48:18]
• More resources, and a final word of caution [54:49]

—

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Previous Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes:
  • 100: Yoga, Politics & History
• Yoga Medicine® Book Club
• The Race & Yoga Journal, UC Berkley
• Yoga Mimamsa, The Scientific Journal of Yoga, Kaivalyadhama
• Connect with Firdose Moonda MA:

Instagram | YMO Guest Teacher

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-114.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

Today hosts Tiffany and Katja discuss a topic near and dear to Katja: tissue stiffness. Claims about terms like stiffness and tension in the body can be confusing, so our goal with this episode is to clear up some of that confusion as well as leave some space for what we do not know yet. In this episode, we talk about terminology and physiology around tissue stiffness. We also talk about factors that influence stiffness and if stiffness is a friend or foe when it comes to athletic performance, injury risk, and disease of the musculoskeletal system.

Listen in to learn more about common tissue stiffness misconceptions, potential applications, and future learning.

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• Common misconceptions [2:27]
• Stiffness terminology [4:22]
• Factors that influence stiffness [12:40]
• The role of the nervous system in tissue stiffness [16:21]
• Athletic performance and stiffness [19:09]
• Is more stiffness always better? [25:07]
• Assessing stiffness [30:50]
• Range of motion versus tissue stiffness [44:51]
• Takeaways [48:26]

—

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Yoga for Athletes Training
• Connect with Katja Bartsch:

Facebook | Instagram | Kalamana Yoga | Yoga Medicine® Online Guest Teacher

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-113.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.