Burnout is becoming a more common experience than ever, in the yoga world and beyond, so today hosts Tiffany and Rachel dive into the varied experiences of and solutions to this problem. We discuss three common precursors to burnout and how challenging it can be to generate the energy required to recognize and resolve it. We also share the role yoga practice can play in helping us build long-term physical and mental resilience as an antidote to burnout. Listen to this episode to learn what...

Today host Katja talks with Dr. Stephanie Otto about exercise oncology, exercise, and fascia. We discuss the biological foundations of cancer and the research link between fascia and cancer.  We also talk about therapeutic interventions related to cancer exercise and fascia and explain what distinguishes healthy tissue from cancerous tissue. Listen in to learn how important effective exercise can be for our oncology and how exercise oncology interventions relate to fascial tissues. Show...

It’s common knowledge that the vast majority of us will experience low back pain at some point in our lives. Today we hone in on an aspect of low back pain that is less commonly considered and discussed: pain in or around the sacroiliac joints. Rachel Land hosts yoga studio owner, YACEP, Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist, and 1000-hour teacher Kelsea Wright, whose capstone research project was a comparison of two interventions for long-term SI joint pain. In this episode, we share key...

Today hosts Tiffany and Rachel discuss a question many yoga teachers grapple with: should we aim to make our classes safe or fun? Is it possible to do both? In this episode, we talk about the challenges teachers face when balancing these two aims in all-levels classes. We offer tips on how to keep safety in mind as you plan and teach yoga classes, and dissect what fun could actually mean for your students.  Listen in as we talk about the pressure to teach appropriate and engaging classes to...

The mention of yoga teacher training conjures up a bundle of images and ideas, many of which are inaccurate or at least incomplete. So today host Rachel talks with returning guest Dana Diament, lead teacher of the Yoga Medicine 200hr Teacher Training, about common misconceptions and misunderstandings about yoga training. In this episode, we discuss what personal qualities are (and aren’t) important for aspiring yoga teachers and unpack the realities of the training experience and how you...

Today's hosts Tiffany and Katja return for a deeper discussion of fascia and pain. Recently, fascia is being more generally acknowledged as a pain generator, especially of one specific type of pain: myofascial pain. In this episode, Tiffany and Katja discuss the mobility of fascia, look at fascia as a sensory organ, and explain the influence of fascia on pain mechanisms. Listen to this episode to learn how to interact with and influence the fascia and what this information can teach us about...

In the yoga world, as elsewhere, opinions seem more polarized than ever. Today we’re making space to explore one popular all-or-nothing topic in the wellness sphere: whether our practice is intended to create comfort or offer challenge. Host Rachel explores the delicate balance yoga teachers seek between challenge and comfort and the compassion required to do so with returning guest Aisha Fakhro LAPHP, LNRPC, a licensed psychotherapist and yoga teacher who specializes in working with...

Many yoga students and teachers feel part of a culture and tradition we don't fully understand, leading to the necessity for open, honest, and potentially uncomfortable conversations about the wider context our practice exists within - including its long and complicated history and its intersections with culture, commerce, and politics. Today host Rachel is joined by Firdose Moonda - a journalist, academic, yoga teacher, and researcher - to explore some of these intersecting issues, and...

Today hosts Katja and Tiffany dive into the importance of dynamic mobility training and its broader applications. Stretching is always a loaded topic. There are lots of different opinions and broad research available, with new research being released regularly. In this episode, we talk about the newer research on dynamic stretching and how it relates to athletic performance and injury prevention.  Listen in to learn the purpose of stretching, how to incorporate dynamic stretching before...

There is no shortage of strong opinions on what areas of study are appropriate for yoga teachers and students. The study of anatomy is one that, at times, inspires controversy - so today hosts Tiffany and Rachel dive into the pros and cons of using anatomy in yoga.  We discuss the challenges of using anatomical language and the risk that a simplified model might be confused with reality. We also debate whether emphasizing the physical could detract from more subtle aspects of yoga...

Today hosts Tiffany and Katja talk about a topic that always draws a lot of interest: the female menstrual cycle. The pair discuss new research around athletic performance throughout the cycle, offering new angles that go beyond the fluctuations of female sex hormones. They focus on new findings that consider the importance of psychological aspects in this context. Listen in to learn some new perspectives on athletic performance and the female cycle and ways to use yoga to support your...

Most of us have experienced the all-too-familiar gap between wanting to change something in our lives and actually doing it. In today’s episode, returning guest Alison Heilig breaks down the most common barriers to behaviour change with host Rachel. Alison shares how behaviour change is not about self-control or lack of, and is instead a set of learnable skills. We discuss the importance of setting realistic expectations and explain why habit initiation is more important than habit...

Feel pressured to make your classes new and exciting? More complex? More demanding? Today hosts Tiffany and Rachel offer tips for yoga teachers who are ready to work smarter, not harder, when crafting class sequences. In this episode, we talk about the importance of starting with a clear focal point and a base class template, and the benefits of reusing past sequences. We also discuss the two parts of the creative process and what to do when you are sapped of inspiration. Listen in to learn...

In communication, stories and symbols have the capacity to reach us in ways that facts and figures do not. So today host Rachel dips her toes into Hindu mythology with returning guest Steph Wall. In this episode, we talk about the importance of mythology and its links to many of the poses we know and practice. Steph also offers advice on how to introduce symbolic stories into classes where students have varied beliefs and experiences. Listen in to learn what mythology can teach us and how...

Today hosts Tiffany and Katja talk tips for keeping calm under pressure. This episode is all about choking up or freezing under pressure, which can apply to so many different situations whether you’re a yoga teacher, a presenter, or an athlete. We talk about the mechanisms behind choking under high-pressure situations and offer tools that you can use to prepare yourself for situations where you might encounter hyperarousal, distraction and excessive self-focus, which can get in the way of...

Yoga teachers love a good training. When in doubt, many of us tend to look for more technical skills – more evidence, more information, more protocols and strategies. But what if the true magic of the teacher-student relationship lies elsewhere: not in perfection, but in presence. Today’s episode hones in on right brain or relational teaching skills, which are less about WHAT we teach and more about HOW we teach it. Our guest, Sandy Raper, is a long-time yoga teacher, teacher trainer, author...

Today we are busting balance myths with two people who are passionate about balance and standing stability. Host Rachel talks to Sava Papos, is a long-time yoga teacher and Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist, now immersed in a degree in Exercise and Sport Physiology.  In this episode, we discuss balance as a trainable skill and a key aspect of physical performance, providing advice to teachers and students aiming to make balance practice as applicable to the real world as possible.  ...

Today’s media landscape - which equates leadership with certainty of opinion, popularity, or charisma - can be challenging for yoga teachers to navigate. So today, hosts Tiffany and Rachel explore what leadership can look like in the yoga world.  We discuss the importance of humility and vulnerability, the challenge of balancing evidence-based with more traditional inputs, and whether there are different expectations of yoga teachers than there are of other roles in our communities. Listen...

Most of us have loaded beliefs related to the core and core strength. While most hold a grain of truth, plenty of these preconceptions are inaccurate, incomplete, or just plain unhelpful when it comes to our individual yoga and movement practices.  Today host Rachel and returning guest Jenni Tarma unpack the most common core myths and misconceptions. In this episode, we explore the anatomy and function of the core, talk about what core stability really looks like, and examine the complex...

Most of us have a complicated relationship with social media, but it can be a powerful business tool if we learn how to harness it effectively. Today host Rachel talks social media marketing with returning guest Dana Diament, a yoga teacher and graphic designer with years of experience in branding. Dana creates clarity around social media communication by prompting us all to ask ourselves exactly who are we talking to, and what key themes we aim to convey. Whether your challenge is to...

Today hosts Tiffany and Katja hone in on another topic related to pranayama: the science of breathing less. In this episode, we talk about the natural fear of retention of the breath and what we can do to combat this fear. We also connect the dots between concepts like intermittent hypoxic training, breathing less volume, and voluntary hypoventilation and talk about how all those practices may affect breathing gases. Finally, we talk a lot about the application of breathing less in our own...

Today host Rachel speaks with returning guest Alice Blunden – a Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist, schoolteacher, and creator of The Yoga Project UK – about accessible ways we can translate yoga tools and techniques for children as they navigate the potentially challenging transition back to school. In this episode, Alice shares a handful of her favorite techniques that you can teach to children of any age, the essence of which yoga students and teachers will likely find familiar. Listen...

Today hosts Tiffany and Katja take you on a stroll through the breathwork landscape. In this episode, the pair gives an overview of the origins of different breathing practices - covering Eastern traditions from India to China, techniques founded by "psychedelic" transformational and scientific communities as well as practices stemming from Eastern Europe. If you've ever wanted an overview of where Conscious Connected Breathing, Tummo, Resonant Frequency breathing, and Buteyoko came from -...

Whether we are athletes or not, we all have areas in our lives where we want to perform well. Today host Rachel speaks with returning guest Dr. Daya Grant about how aspects of yoga philosophy can help us do that - by improving our focus and concentration.  Dr. Grant helps athletes and other high performers train their brains with the same care they invest in training their bodies. She draws heavily on the yoga techniques of Pratyahara and Dharana to help athletes focus on what they CAN...