Yoga Medicine

In this episode, Yoga Medicine founder Tiffany Cruikshank and Katja Bartsch take a deep dive into the latest stretching research and what it means for yoga teachers, athletes, and movement professionals. Together, they unpack the latest recommendations around stretching for flexibility, stiffness, strength, hypertrophy, vascular health, recovery, and injury prevention while exploring the limitations of stretching as a standalone tool.

Tiffany and Katja discuss why prolonged static stretching before explosive activity may impair athletic performance, how longer-held yin-style stretches may influence tissue stiffness, and why emerging vascular research around stretching is generating so much interest. They also explore why yoga recovery likely involves far more than just stretching mechanics, including nervous system regulation, breathwork, and relaxation.

"We do not overestimate or underestimate what stretching can do." — Katja Bartsch.

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What You'll Learn:

• What the new 2025 stretching consensus paper reveals about flexibility research [2:57]
• Definitions of static, dynamic, and PNF stretching in both research and yoga practice [6:00]
• Acute vs. chronic stretching effects on range of motion and mobility [13:54]
• Recommendations for improving long-term flexibility and maintaining mobility with age [20:09]
• The "Goldilocks" principle of tissue stiffness and athletic performance [27:24]
• Why longer yin-style holds may influence connective tissue adaptation [32:12]
• How stretching impacts strength, explosive performance, and warm-ups [34:32]
• Research on stretching for strength gains and muscle hypertrophy [37:36]
• Emerging evidence around stretching and vascular health [42:01]
• Breathwork, nervous system regulation, and yoga's broader therapeutic effects [51:24]
• Why stretching alone may not improve recovery or prevent soreness [54:07]
• The limitations of flexibility-only approaches for injury prevention [1:00:13]
• Why individualized mobility, stability, and strength work matter in yoga practice [1:01:40]
• Final takeaways on stretching frequency, recovery, and long-term mobility [1:04:32]

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Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube

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Learn More:

Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-167.

Learn 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 or wherever you listen to podcasts.

You have probably heard of the vagus nerve, and (whether you realize it or not) have been exposed to some of the concepts of Polyvagal Theory in yoga classes. In fact, we have discussed the theory in a previous episode of the podcast.

In today's episode, host Rachel Land and Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist Valerie Knopik, PhD, revisit Polyvagal Theory and explore the latest scientific debate it has generated. They break down the original framework, the newer criticisms, and the ways scientific ideas evolve over time.

The conversation stays grounded in real-world teaching, especially around stress response, breath, and the role of relationships in helping people feel safe enough to practice. It is a thoughtful reminder that research can shift while the practical value of awareness, connection, and regulation remains central to yoga.

"Science is never stagnant, and that's part of the beauty of science for me." — Valerie Knopik.

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What You'll Learn:

• Vagus nerve roles in stress and relaxation response [3:24]
• Recent papers updating and challenging Polyvagal Theory (PVT) [4:41]
• The nature of the scientific method [7:12]
• Defining PVT [10:37]
• Summarizing the current controversy: over-simplification of dorsal vs ventral vagus [25:29]
• Other points of contention: dorsal vagal and trauma response, heart rate variability as a measure of vagal tone, clinical over-use [31:41]
• Relevance to yoga teaching and practice [37:11]
• The "science of safety" in yoga: Yoga Medicine Mental Health & Wellness Teacher Training [44:00]

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Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Mental Health & Wellness Yoga Teacher Training
• Yoga Medicine Podcast Research Roundup: Updates on Polyvagal Theory
• Porges SW. Polyvagal Theory: Current Status, Clinical Applications, and Future Directions. Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2025 Jun;22(3):169-184. doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20250301. PMID: 40735382; PMCID: PMC12302812
• Grossman P et al. Why The Polyvagal Theory Is Untenable: An international expert evaluation of the polyvagal theory and commentary upon Porges, S.W. (2025). Clin. Neuropsychiatry, 22(3), 169-184. Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2026 Feb;23(1):100-112. doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20260110. PMID: 41768017; PMCID: PMC12937499
• Yoga Medicine Podcast Episodes:
  • Epigenetics, Mental Health & Yoga
  • The Neuroscience of Resilience
  • Interoception Research & Yoga
• Connect with Valerie Knopik, PhD: Facebook | Instagram | X | YMO Teacher

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Learn More:

Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-166.

Learn 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 or wherever you listen to podcasts.

We all know how impactful regular habits can be, whether to benefit our health and wellbeing or detract from them. Social media would have us believe that we are one simple hack or protocol away from the habits we want, but today's guest is here to tell us that habit formation and change are a little more complicated than that.

Host Rachel welcomes back yoga teacher and trainer Caroline Wybar to discuss Caroline's upcoming course, Transforming Habits: An Evidence-Based Approach to Lasting Change. Caroline offers a grounded and compassionate perspective on change, reminding listeners that habits are not just about discipline, but about alignment, identity, and sustainability.

Listen in to learn why change only happens when we look beyond surface behavior to the deeper drivers beneath, and the key role yoga can play in countering shame, fostering self-awareness, and offering practical tools for nervous system regulation.

"Habits are difficult to change. If it were easy to do, we wouldn't have courses on it." — Caroline Wybar.

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What You'll Learn:

• The inspiration for Caroline's upcoming 8hr online course [3:43]
• The unique role yoga can play in healthy habits [05:35]
• Caroline's "failed" ice cream experiment [7:12]
• Preya & Shreya: pleasure versus long-term benefit [12:59]
• Self Perception Theory & our habits [16:52]
• The neurobiology of how shame derails habit change [23:47]
• How yoga helps: compassion, self-regulation, self-awareness [27:07]
• Social support is key [33:48]
• Intrinsic motivation: choosing habits we actually enjoy [36:21]
• Insights on Caroline's course: how acupressure tapping, breath/movement rhythm, dual attention techniques, visualization, and Yoga Nidra support top-down and bottom-up change [40:14]

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Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Yoga Medicine Episodes:
  • Transforming Habits: An Evidence-Based Approach to Lasting Change
  • Creating Change with Alison Heilig
  • Approaches for Anxiety: Community Conversations with Caroline Wybar
  • Yoga Nidra: Community Conversations with Caroline Wybar
  • Full-Time Yoga Teacher Panel: Community Conversations with Elena Cheung, Kylie Rook & Caroline Wybar
• Connect with Caroline Wybar: Facebook | Instagram | Caroline Wybar Yoga | YMO Guest Teacher

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Learn More:

Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-165.

Learn 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 or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Yoga can play a particularly powerful role in pain care, with the capacity to address both physical and psychological aspects of pain within a supportive social framework.

You'll hear these themes woven through today's conversation—between host Rachel and pain researcher and yoga teacher Jennifer Gewandter, PhD, MPH—as Jennifer shares the details of her upcoming pilot study on yoga for pain management.

Jennifer outlines the biopyschosocial nature of pain, and the unpredictability of neuropathic pain in particular. She explains how nervous‑system‑informed yoga practices—paired with pain science education—can help reduce fear and build more easeful patterns of movement, and the role yoga can play in long‑term pain management.

"Yoga targets your physical body, your psychological well‑being, and your social world all at once—and for pain, that combination can be powerful." — Jennifer Gewandter, PhD, MPH.

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What You'll Learn:

• The origin of Jen's yoga for pain management pilot study [3:01]
• Barriers to accessing yoga for pain care [6:06]
• How yoga helps: through a biopyschosocial lens [12:15]
• Components of the pilot yoga program [16:19]
• Predictable sequences, trained teachers, planning for flare-ups, breath practices [27:18]
• The special challenge of neuropathic pain [38:27]
• Sharing pain science education is key [42:53]
• Sum up: movement & meditation, short & social [47:01]

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Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Yoga Medicine Nervous System & Restorative Yoga Teacher Training
• Yoga Medicine Podcast Episode 15: Shifting Persistent Pain with Dr. Marnie Hartman
• Connect with Jennifer Gewandter, PhD, MPH: URMC

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Learn More:

Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-164.

Learn 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 or wherever you listen to podcasts.

In this episode, we revisit a compelling conversation between hosts Tiffany Cruikshank and Katja Bartsch on the powerful role mindset plays in shaping health outcomes. Through research on the placebo effect, they explore how beliefs about food, exercise, and wellness choices can influence not only behavior but also physiological responses.

In fact, the way we think and feel about what we do may be just as important as the actions themselves. This episode offers a fresh perspective on sustainable health, emphasizing awareness, enjoyment, and a more compassionate approach to wellness.

"Food really is a medicine. So, how can I feed myself to feel good rather than deprive myself to lose weight?" — Tiffany Cruikshank.

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What You'll Learn:

• Challenging health "rules" with embodied awareness [2:11]
• The role yoga can play [4:23]
• Flow-on effects of positivity regarding exercise choices [5:25]
• Why enjoyment is critical for sustainable health habits [7:39]

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Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Yoga Medicine Episode 3: The Placebo Effect Part 2

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Learn More:

Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-163

Learn 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 or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Yoga is often perceived as a recovery tool for athletes, but that barely scratches the surface of what yoga can offer active people.

In this episode, hosts Tiffany and Rachel explore the many roles yoga can play in athletic cross-training. They discuss how yoga can be used to not only maintain range of motion and provide tools for nervous system recovery, but also to balance repetitive movement patterns and support overall performance.

Listen in to learn how cross-training with yoga supports longevity—not just in sports, but in life. Whether you're a runner, cyclist, desk worker, recreational athlete, or parent, incorporating yoga can help you move better, recover more effectively, and continue doing the activities you love for years to come.

"As humans, we want to be able to live the full expression of our lives… it really is about optimizing how we feel and function in our lives." — Tiffany Cruikshank.

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What You'll Learn:

• Cross training: the big picture [1:38]
• How yoga can help [7:23]
• Cross training and injury reduction [10.51]
• Sequencing a cross training yoga practice: Breath work, body awareness, isometrics, MFR [12:25]
• Finding the right level & type of challenge [15:11]
• Mobility work [16:39]
• Nervous system regulation [17:45]
• Active recovery [18:11]
• Myriad yoga techniques to draw from [19:32]
• The goals of yoga for cross training: Maintaining mobility and ROM [21:10]
• Support performance and muscular balance, provide variety [21:58]
• Nervous system support, rest, and recovery [24:18]
• Be flexible when teaching yoga cross training classes [26:16]
• The central goal of cross training: longevity of sport and long-term functionality in life [28:30
• Key factors to keep in mind [37:28]
• The Yoga Medicine Yoga for Athletes Training [41:50]

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Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Yoga Medicine Yoga for Athletes Teacher Training

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Learn More:

Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-162.

Learn 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 or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Mantra — the sacred sound of yoga — is, for many students and teachers, shrouded in mystery. In this episode, yoga teachers Dr. Rashmi Bismark and Steph Wall join host Rachel Land to unpack the myths, misconceptions, and cultural questions surrounding mantra in modern yoga practice.

Together, they explore whether the practice of mantra is religious, the importance of correct pronunciation, and how teachers can introduce sacred sound into Western yoga classes without alienating students. Listen in to learn why chanting in community might be one of the most powerful nervous system anchors available.

"It's not performative. It's an expression of something bigger." — Steph Wall.

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What You'll Learn:

• Is mantra religious? [5:04]
• Does perfect pronunciation matter? [9:10]
• The roles of mantra in western classes [13:40]
• Do you need an empty mind for mantra to "work"? [16:35]
• Fear of "singing in public" [20:00]
• Mantra vs. affirmations [25:59]
• Is westernizing mantra cultural appropriation? [27:59]
• How to introduce mantra respectfully [32:13]
• Yoga Medicine 20-Hour Mantra Immersion [35:31]

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Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• 20-hour Mantra Immersion with Yoga Medicine at the Kali Collective (Glasgow, May 29–31)
• Yoga Medicine Yin & Meditation Yoga Teacher Training
• Podcast Episode 06: The Power of Mindfulness
• Podcast Episode 21: South Asian Teacher Panel
• Podcast Episode 72: Counter Compassion Fatigue
• Podcast Episode 59: Explore the Dark Side
• Podcast Episode 94: Magic of Mythology
• Connect with Dr. Rashmi Bismark: Facebook | Instagram | Rashmi Bismark MD | X | YMO Guest Teacher
• Connect with Steph Wall: Facebook | Instagram | Kali Collective Instagram | YMO Guest Teacher

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Learn More:

Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-161.

Learn 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 or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Some aspects of yoga practice feel more mysterious and opaque than others, which can make them intimidating to teach and practice. For many, Yoga Nidra is one such technique.

In this short excerpt from the previous episode, Yoga Nidra: Community Conversations with Caroline Wybar, Caroline shares two perceived Yoga Nidra "rules" that are well worth breaking to open up its benefits to a wider range of students.

You can also join Caroline and Dr. Katja Bartsch from March 30 to dive deep into the what, why, and how of Yoga Nidra in their upcoming 20-hour Yoga Nidra Online Teacher Training.

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• Does Yoga Nidra have to follow a prescribed sequence? [2:19]
• The one essential component of Yoga Nidra [5:32]
• Does Yoga Nidra have to be practiced in Savasana? [6:50]

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• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Yoga Nidra Teacher Training
• Listen to the full Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episode 136: Yoga Nidra: Community Conversations with Caroline Wybar
• Connect with Caroline Wybar: Facebook | Instagram | Caroline Wybar Yoga | YMO Guest Teacher

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Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-160.

Learn 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 or wherever you listen to podcasts.

For years now, host Katja has been studying contraindications for foam rolling research, and today she sits down with Tiffany to discuss if new foam rolling research is reaching users in a practical way. In this episode, we discuss Katja's latest research project as well as recent findings and their implications for the yoga world.

Listen in to learn which findings were most surprising and how yoga teachers can apply new foam rolling research in their classes and practice.

"We are always using, not only the research...but then also pulling in our gut and our experience and what is realistically attainable." - Tiffany Cruikshank.

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• Background on Katja's new research [1:27]
• In which context foam rolling is applied in practice [13:00]
• Foam rolling durations [15:14]
• How often is foam rolling recommended [23:40]
• Tools for foam rolling [31:13]
• Recent research on vibration foam rollers [38:04]
• Surprising findings [42:35]
• Practicality of collecting data [54:26]
• Info from non-users [1:08:14]
• Final takeaways [1:10:58]

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• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Online Myofascial Release Training
• Connect with Katja Bartsch: Facebook | Instagram | Kalamana Yoga | YMO Guest Teacher

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Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-159.

Learn 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 or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Yoga Teacher Training is such an involved and immersive process that many teachers forget to consider what they'll do when it ends. This final episode in our bonus 200-hour yoga teacher training series includes two short excerpts from Episode 103: Teacher Training Myths with Yoga Medicine 200-hour lead teacher Dana Diament. In this episode, Dana and host Rachel share what you will -- and won't know -- after teacher training. They discuss how teaching opportunities are more widespread than ever, and how to capitalize on your unique skills and experiences to find your feet as a teacher.

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• The work doesn't end when 200hr teacher training does [2:01]
• What you will and won't know after yoga teacher training [4:04]
• Translating your personal experience for students [6:18]
• Teach immediately after 200hr teacher training [7:18]
• New teaching locations and populations [8:48]
• Full-time, part-time, or something else [11:25]
• Final thoughts [12:15]

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• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Yoga Medicine® 200HR Yoga Teacher Training
• Listen to the full Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episode 103: Teacher Training Myths

You can learn more about this episode and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-158.

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.