Stacy Dockins is the Director of the YP School of Yoga, a 500-hour Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher, a Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES), and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP) who has a passion for the mind-body connection part of health. We’re talking about yoga and breathing and how our posture can impact our cortisol production, we’re nerding out about the nervous system, and we’re talking on the more woo-woo side of things of how bringing more awareness to the mind-body connection can help manage stress through digital well-being and gratitude, through self-awareness and self-inquiry, and self-compassion. So while we’re focusing on gut health a lot this month, this is something to keep in mind as well – a lot of the time, it’s our thoughts around the food and the practice of eating that can impact our gut health and our digestion in diverse ways, not only the actual food we are eating itself!

On today’s episode we’re chatting about:

How Stacy used the tools of self-compassion and resilience to help overcome growing up with anxiety, stress, and an eating disorder

How you are not your thoughts 

Self-awareness, self-inquiry, and self-compassion

The mind-body connection and using yoga and breathing as tools for cultivating self-compassion and stress-resilience

How to align yoga postures to best suit your bioindividuality

How our breathing and posture is related to the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system and cortisol production vs the parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system.

How to self-observe as a learning experience at every step in your journey

Sitting with your emotions instead of fleeing from them

Managing our well-being in the digital age

How gratitude plays into stress management

“Shallow breathing is highly correlated with the body’s fight or flight response and the increased production of the stress hormone, cortisol,” Dockins explains. “When the body is burdened with excess cortisol, it can cause a cascade of negative effects on other systems of the body, like blood sugar dysregulation, hormone imbalance, and musculoskeletal pain. Longer, slower, deeper breaths are strongly correlated with parasympathetic response, decreasing stress.” (Stacy’s Article on Exercise Posture for Breathing )

About Stacy:

Website: www.stacydockins.com

Instagram: @txyogastacy

Her book: Embodied Posture: Your Unique Body in Yoga

Stacy Dockins has dedicated over 25 years of her life to studying the human body and teaching yoga. Her immense understanding of the science and practice of yoga is supported by her Bachelors of Science and certifications in 500 Hour E-RYT, Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES), and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP). Stacy is also a candidate for her Masters of Science in Kinesiology with dual concentrations: Orthopedic Rehab and Exercise Psychology.

In addition to owning her own Yoga Studio, Yoga Project, Stacy recently released her first book, Embodied Posture. In her book, Stacy guides and empowers readers how to align yoga postures to best suit one’s bio-individuality. This innovative perspective combines body awareness, science, and exploration, lending practical tools and information that can be immediately applied on and off the mat.

Through EdX.org, Stacy co-taught the online course, “The Science and Practice of Yoga,” which had over 19,000 participants from around the globe thus far. 

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