Yoga Medicine

Today host Katja speaks with returning guest Diane Malaspina Ph.D. about the concept of Drishti and the potency of our focus. Diane is a yoga teacher with a B.S. in Psychology, a Master's degree in Education, and a Ph.D. in educational and developmental psychology. In this episode, we take a broader perspective on gaze and consider our visual system as a gateway to our nervous system and our environment. Diane also explains why we should regularly spend time staring at a wall.

Listen in to learn how the visual system relates to our autonomic nervous system, how to work actively with our vision to influence our emotional state, and how to incorporate these ideas into your yoga practice.

Show Notes:

• Defining Drishti [1:45]
• Why is the visual system important to humans [2:45]
• Sight versus vision [3:54]
• Understanding our pattern recognition system [9:29]
• The relationship between the autonomic and visual systems [18:08]
• How and why to reset our visual system [26:51]
• Ways that eye movement relates to emotional state [36:38]
• Incorporating Drishti into your yoga practice [41:28]
• Cues for teachers incorporating Drishti into their classes [47:31]
• Diane's takeaways [51:55]
• Understanding interocular pressure [54:48]
• Vision's relationship to inner vision [58:48]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Drishti Resources Doc
• Mental Health & Wellness Yoga Teacher Training Online
• Connect with Diane Malaspina: Facebook | Instagram | Diane Malaspina

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-57.

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's episode is a lively conversation between host Rachel, Dana Diament, and Valerie Knopik Ph.D. – teacher trainers on the brand-new online version of the Yoga Medicine 200hr Teacher Training.

We unpack the meaning and intention behind several controversial verbal cues, debate their accuracy, offer scenarios where they might be more or less relevant to students, and provide some alternatives.

Listen in to hear why we were all drawn to training with Yoga Medicine and hear us discuss a central challenge of teaching: balancing the need to cue quickly and efficiently with the desire to communicate more nuance and complexity.

Show Notes:

• "Navel to Spine" and other anterior core cues [2:53]
• Establishing key cues at the beginning of class [6:46]
• Other possible core cues [7:47]
• "Flat back" [8:52]
• Alternative cues for a neutral spine [11:26]
• Potential problems with the "flat back" cue [12:23]
• "Swan dive forward" [16:20]
• The challenge of cueing fast, complex or habitual transitions [18:34]
• "Tuck your tail" [23:06]
• When "tuck your tail" may or may not apply, and alternatives [26:09]
• Vivid cues could be more helpful for beginners than more experienced students [30:13]
• "Lift your sit bones" [32:16]
• "Square your hips" and alternatives [38:51]
• The ultimate test of cueing: watch your students [42:45]
• "Knees stack over toes" [45:33]
• "Knees track with toes" [51:14]
• Cues as options for exploration, not makers of right or wrong alignment [55:20]
• "Micro-bend your knees" or elbows [56:12]
• Has overuse of "micro-bend" encouraged self-diagnosis of hypermobility? [59:30]
• What initially drew these teachers to Yoga Medicine [1:01:38]
• The new online Yoga Medicine 200-hour teacher training [1:07:45]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• 200-Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training
• Connect with Dana Diament: Instagram | Facebook | Lennox Yoga | Yoga Medicine Online Teacher
• Connect with Valerie Knopik: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Yoga Medicine Online Teacher

Happy New Year! Today hosts Tiffany and Rachel start 2023 on the right foot by discussing the far-reaching impact our daily habits have on every aspect of our health.

We talk about the pros and cons of New Year's resolutions, and how realistic goals, framed positively, could be the most helpful.

Listen in for inspiration as you set your expectations for 2023.

Show Notes:

• Pros and cons of New Year's resolutions [2:28]
• Tiffany's January cleanse as an opportunity to assess and reset [5:13]
• How yoga helps us identify and investigate habitual behaviors [7:54]
• The impact of realistic healthy habits [10:01]
• Grounding health goals with contentment in our natural cycles and seasons [14:12]
• Focusing on desired behaviors can "crowd out" undesired ones [16:17]
• Reframing goals related to weight loss to address deeper desires [21:12]
• Key takeaways [24:43]
• Kickstart 2023 with Tiffany's Move & Nourish livestream series, or other YMO classes [31:14]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Optimal Health for A Vibrant Life Online Course
• Yoga Medicine Online: Intention Setting Practice
• Yoga Medicine Online: Get Clear for the New Year
• January 2023 – Move & Nourish livestream series with Tiffany:
  • January 3rd: Join Us Live!
  • January 10th: Join Us Live!
  • January 17th: Join Us Live!
  • January 24th: Join Us Live!

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-55.

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 Rachel delve into a sometimes controversial topic in the medical and yoga worlds: the hip labrum.

In this episode, you will learn what the hip labrum is and how it acts as a crucial source of stability and durability for the hip joint. We discuss common injuries that we see in that part of the body, and how they are diagnosed and treated by healthcare professionals.

Listen to this episode as we explore why labrum injuries seem so common in yoga practitioners, share a wide range of yoga practices to help support the hip labrum whether injured or not, and discuss why it might pay to be a little less "greedy" when exploring our hip range of motion.

Show Notes:

• The hip labrum as a relatively recent topic for medical study, diagnosis and treatment [3:29]
• What is the acetabular or hip labrum and what does it do? [8:48]
• What kind of events, acute or chronic, are associated with hip labrum injury? [12:33]
• Potential symptoms [20:41]
• Averages and outliers; the challenge of diagnosis [24:54]
• When to refer students out for medical assessment [27:04]
• Medical diagnosis and treatment of hip labrum injury [32:25]
• Can the labrum heal? Recent changes in understanding of hip labrum vascularization [34:07]
• Helpful practices before and after treatment for hip labrum injury [34:56]
  • Awareness of lower body posture patterns [35:38]
  • Glute and abdominal strength [38:32]
  • Balance hip mobility deficits [40:12]
  • Using myofascial release to tune into the quality of hip tissues [41:12]
  • Active loading in hip rotation [42:04]
  • Lower load hip rotation practices [43:56]
  • Eccentric psoas work [45:09]
  • The need for control during loaded hip internal rotation [47:04]
  • Tiffany's All About the Hips class playlist on Yoga Medicine Online [49:32]
• Why does hip labrum injury seem so common in the yoga world? [51:25]
• "More isn't better": tips for more mobile students [56:59]
• The long-term importance of good standing stability [1:02:36]
• Big takeaways [1:03:53]
• Gaining the best outcomes from hip labrum treatment or surgery [1:07:00]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Hip Intensive Yoga Teacher Training
• Tiffany's "All About the Hips" Playlist
• Other helpful YMO Practices to try:
  • MFR: 360 Degrees of the Hips
  • Ease Over Depth: Mellow Mobility Practice
• Yoga Medicine Podcast Episode 50: Stronger After Surgery: Community Conversations with Alice Blunden

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-54.

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.

As the year comes to a close, hosts Tiffany, Rachel, and Katja take a look back at some of their top takeaways from the first year of the Yoga Medicine Podcast.

After 52 episodes—sharing information at the intersection of science and research, individual experience, and traditional practices that have stood the test of time—the three hosts share their favorite topics, guests, and episodes, as well as their thoughts on repeated themes that have emerged.

Show Notes:

• Opportunities to connect with our community and receive feedback [3:18]
• The joy of researching to prepare for each topic [4:55]
• Debunking myths and misconceptions [6:39]
• Favorite episodes of the podcast so far [9:38]
• Curating a balance of evidence-based and personal or experiential approaches [17:31]
• Curiosity as the most central repeated theme of the podcast so far [21:21]
• Frequency over duration: the power of consistency [25:27]
• Key areas where small changes lead to big outcomes eg sleep, stress management [29:31]
• Simple is potent [31:41]
• The power of perception, intention and the language we use [32:23]
• Individual variation and the magic of listening [34:57]
• "From one rabbit hole to another": final thoughts and future episodes [39:24]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Find previous episodes here

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-53.

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.

Nitric Oxide (NO) has been on people's minds for a few years now in the yoga and wellness worlds. It is such a potent gas in the body and it has so many different effects, so today hosts Tiffany and Katja are here to help you to understand more of the recent research. In this episode, Tiffany and Katja talk about the effect that increased nitric oxide production has on blood flow and blood pressure as well as the nervous and immune systems. They also break down the physiology of nitric oxide in the body and discuss how certain yoga practices may foster nitric oxide production.

Listen to this episode to learn the benefits that nitric oxide can have on our body, if more nitric oxide is always better and how different lifestyle factors can boost nitric oxide production.

Show Notes:

• The history of nitric oxide research [3:48]
• NO as regulator of blood pressure and blood flow [8:06]
• NO and racial differences, heart disease and erectile dysfunction [10:44]
• Effects of nitric oxide on the nervous system [14:55]
• NO and the immune system [18:37]
• COVID-19, nasal breathing and nitric oxide research [19:43]
• Relationship between nitric oxide levels and humming [25:15]
• Congestion relief tools [31:18]
• Shear stress on blood vessels and its effect on nitric oxide production [36:47]
• Myofascial release and increased nitric oxide production [38:16]
• Is more nitric oxide in the body always better? [43:38]
• Early findings on mediation and NO levels [45:26]
• How nutrition can affect nitric oxide levels [46:20]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Nitric Oxide Resources
• Yoga Medicine® Online
• Myofascial Release Training
• Yin & Meditation Yoga Teacher 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-52.

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 host Rachel talks to Breast Cancer Surgeon Doreen Wiggins MD about yoga and breast cancer. In this episode, Dr. Wiggins helps us to better understand our breast cancer risk and shares some simple actions that we can take to reduce that risk. She also explains what steps we can take to improve the potential outcome of cancer treatment if we are diagnosed with cancer and shares how we can modify our yoga practice to better suit our needs both before and during cancer treatment.

Listen to this episode to learn how yoga can reduce your risk of cancer, tips for identifying lymphedema warning signs in yoga students, and how the lymphatic system is like the Cinderella system of the body.

Show Notes:

• Current statistics on breast cancer [3:33]
• Risk levels for breast cancer [4:47]
• Preventing breast cancer [8:33]
• Defining hormone-positive breast cancers [12:50]
• Exercises to ward off breast cancer [15:40]
• How can yoga reduce the risk of cancer [17:47]
• Yoga during cancer treatment [20:24]
• Asana during cancer treatment [25:50]
• Tips for yoga practice before and after radiation therapy [32:26]
• Managing the fear of cancer recurrence with yoga [34:33]
• Understanding lymphodema [38:59]
• Tips for yoga teachers identifying lymphedema warning signs [41:13]
• Doreen's takeaways [44:04]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Moving Beyond the Fear of Cancer Recurrence by Dr. Doreen Wiggins
• Insights and Reflections on COVID-19 from a Surgeon by Dr. Doreen Wiggins
• The Benefits of Skeletal Muscle for Cancer Prevention & Survival by Dr. Doreen Wiggins

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-51.

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's guest Alice Blunden is a prime example of the cautionary phrase: you can't always judge a book by its cover. Alice is a therapeutic specialist and primary school teacher who was born with an undiagnosed case of hip dysplasia. She says she sees her lifestyle as a consequence of simply needing to do the things she required to live a fulfilling life. That includes modifying her yoga practice to suit her body's needs since her diagnosis and subsequent surgeries. In this episode, host Rachel speaks with Alice about the power of curiosity and specific challenges that arise for people with hidden illnesses. They also discuss how leaning into the theme of acceptance helps with the recovery process.

Listen to this episode to learn about Alice's personalized practice, which she has dubbed "physiyoga", along with helpful tips for keeping focus and consciously cultivating self-compassion during recovery from an injury.

Show Notes:

• Alice's experience with injury [3:34]
• Defining hip dysplasia [9:00]
• Living with hip dysplasia [9:40]
• Emotions while healing from surgery [20:03]
• Yoga practice adjustments while healing from injury [26:25]
• Helpful practices for managing pain [33:21]
• Consciously cultivating self-compassion with an injury [37:03]
• Tips for keeping focus during recovery from an injury [47:50]
• Final thoughts from Alice [52:58]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Connect with Alice Blunden:

Instagram | Alice Louise Yoga | Yoga Medicine Online Guest Teacher

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-50.

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.

Our biology certainly influences our health and behavior, but the environment can also have a significant impact on our health and well-being. Thanks to the fascinating field of epigenetics, we now understand that factors like our nutrition, movement habits, stress levels, and feelings of emotional connection can affect the way our genes are expressed. So today host Rachel dips her toes into the world of science to discuss epigenetics, mental health, and yoga with guest Valerie Knopik.

Valerie has a PhD in Psychology and postdoctoral training in Psychiatric and Genetic Epidemiology. Active in mental health research, Valerie has a deep interest in how our internal biology and our external environment (including yoga, mindfulness, and meditation) can interact to positively change our mental health landscape.

In this episode, Valerie helps us understand how our genes alone don't determine our physical or mental health, what kind of environmental factors affect our epigenome, and how various yoga practices can make us more resilient to the environmental stressors we inevitably face.

Show Notes:

• What got Valerie interested in science and biological psychology [3:28]
• Genetics versus epigenetics, how our "environment gets under the skin" [7:04]
• Defining epigenetics [11:23]
• Interrelating factors that influence our epigenetics [15:39]
• The varied roles yoga practice can play [21:19]
• What research says about the benefits of movement on our epigenome [23:22]
• Overlaps between the concepts of epigenetics and neural plasticity [29:59]
• The importance of supporting mental health; how yoga can help [31:43]
• Yoga practices for burnout [39:34]
• Valerie's key takeaways [43:57]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Mental Health & Wellness Yoga Teacher Training
• Recommended Articles:
  • Epi-What? Change Your Internal Landscape Part 2: Epigenetics and How It Reduces Depression and Increases Longevity
  • Światowy et al., "Physical Activity and DNA Methylation in Humans": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8657566/
  • Lindholm et al., "An integrative analysis reveals coordinated reprogramming of the epigenome and the transcriptome in human skeletal muscle after training"
• Yoga Medicine Online Burnout Series
• Yoga Medicine Online Monthly Dose: Mental Health Lecture
• Connect with Valerie Knopik:

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Yoga Medicine Online Teacher

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-49.

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

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

Today hosts Katja and Tiffany discuss the empowerment that comes with an understanding of female hormones and their fluctuation through the menstrual cycle. Yoga encourages this deeper personal investigation and can also provide support and relief to the body as it moves through the phases of the menstrual cycle and life. In this episode, Katja and Tiffany talk about the various factors that affect the menstrual cycle, how this cycle affects our physical and cognitive function, and what happens during each phase.

Listen in to learn about how female hormones influence our muscles and fascial tissues, how yoga can provide relief for menstrual discomfort, and why education surrounding this topic is sorely lacking and yet, so valuable.

Show Notes:

• The status quo of the discussion around female hormones [2:15]
• The period as start of the cycle [7:00]
• Yoga relief and exercises for menstrual cramps [10:30]
• What happens during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle [13:11]
• How follicles produce estrogen [15:54]
• Implications of the higher estrogen phase for muscle tissue [17:54]
• Female reproductive hormones and fascial tissues [20:15]
• The menstrual cycle and cognitive function [27:15]
• Life phases when cycle tracking can be tricky [28:15]
• What happens around ovulation [33:33]
• Overview of the second part of the cycle [37:10]
• TCM, sports science and the menstrual cycle [40:27]
• Why progesterone is a brilliant hormone [44:46]
• Education surrounding the menstrual cycle [48:09]
• Exercises for hormonal shifts [54:50]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Female Health Yoga Teacher Training
• Connect with Katja Bartsch:

Facebook | Instagram | Kalamana Yoga | YM Online Guest Teacher

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-48.

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

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