138 Yoga During Pregnancy: Community Conversations with Allie Geer

Today’s episode dives into the vital topic of yoga during pregnancy and beyond. Host Rachel connects with Allie Geer, a Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist and Biodynamic Cranial Sacral Therapist whose specialties include pre- and post-natal yoga. In this episode, we discuss what it looks like to create space for both mother and baby in yoga classes, plus the impact of changes in circulation, centre of gravity, and soft tissue laxity. Listen in to learn what to keep in mind when practicing yoga during and after pregnancy, the vital importance of community, and how teachers can help pregnant and postpartum students feel welcome and supported in class. — Show Notes: Practicing group yoga classes while pregnant [3:50] A key question: is this creating space for me and baby? [5:22] How to recruit extra support from props, walls, or teacher [6:47] Heated & fast-moving flows [8:25] Centre of gravity changes and standing balance [10:45] Relaxin and increased ligamentous flexibility [11:27] Lying on your back; implications for the vena cava [16:01] The importance of community [21:06] Breath work, bandhas, and upper body strength [24:51] Yoga postpartum [29:56] Planning a dedicated postpartum class [34:42] Practicing group classes postpartum [40:04] Working with diastasis recti; favorite deep core practices [42:17] Final takeaways and resources [47:30] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Prenatal Myofascial Release Online Course For relevant Yoga Medicine® Online classes, use the search categories “Prenatal” or “Postnatal” Connect with Allie Geer: Instagram | Allie Geer Flow | Yoga Medicine® Online Guest Teacher You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-138. 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.

An estimated 50 million Americans live with an autoimmune disorder, and women are twice as likely to be affected as men. Yet diagnosis and treatment can be challenging when taking a solely Western medical approach. Today’s guest is The Functional Nutritionist, Erin Holt. She has dedicated her life to helping those with autoimmune disorders find their way back to full health, taking a research-based whole-person approach. In this episode, we discuss the major triggers of autoimmune disorders and the current limitations of Western medicine. Listen to learn the key role a multi-disciplinary team can play, and the power of food as medicine. — Show Notes: Erin’s personal experience with autoimmune disorder [2:29] Theories on why women are more affected by autoimmune disorders [5:01] Different autoimmune conditions and potential for remission [7:28] Six major triggers of immune disregulation [16:06] Holistic approach to health: working with a multi-disciplinary team [22:00] Three phases of autoimmune disorder [25:43] Key signs of undiagnosed autoimmune disorder [27:32] Challenges with the Western medical approach [34:46] After autoimmune diagnosis: a whole-person approach [39:00] Nutritional support for autoimmune disorder: where to start [44:57] The Wahlz Protocol [47:08] Gluten, dairy, eggs, soy [49:05] Food sensitivity testing vs elimination diets [50:05] Final takeaways and resources from Erin [53:21] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Hear Tiffany on The Funk’tional Nutrition Podcast Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episode 112: Yoga & Autoimmune Conditions Connect with Erin Holt, integrative nutritionist: Facebook | Instagram | The Funk’tional Nutritionist You can learn more about this episode and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-137. 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.

Most of us have heard of, and even practiced, Yoga Nidra. But it holds a certain mystique that means we might not know as much about it as we think. Today, host Rachel dives into this topic with returning guest and 1000-hr Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist Caroline Wybar. Caroline unpacks some of the misconceptions around Yoga Nidra and offers her tips for both students and teachers of this guided relaxation practice. Listen in for more on Caroline’s upcoming Online Yoga Nidra Teacher Training, to learn about relaxation-induced anxiety and hear tips for staying awake during Yoga Nidra… if you want to! — Show Notes: Is Yoga Nidra an ancient practice? [2:58] Does “authentic” Yoga Nidra require a set sequence of techniques? [8:13] Can Yoga Nidra replace sleep? [12:09] Must Yoga Nidra be done in Savasana? [14:59] Can Yoga Nidra cultivate Delta brain waves? [17:06] Yoga Nidra frees us from the pressures of time [20:47] How Caroline found her way to Yoga Nidra [28:03] Challenges for Yoga Nidra students [34:34] Who is Yoga Nidra for, and not for? [38:31] Teaching Yoga Nidra: script or no script? [42:06] Teaching Yoga Nidra: leaving space for silence [49:03] Upcoming Yoga Medicine Yoga Nidra training live online [50:32] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Yoga Nidra Teacher Training Yoga Medicine Podcast Episode 68: Approaches to Anxiety Birch, J., & Hargreaves, J. (2015). Yoganidrā: an understanding of the history and context. The Luminescent. https://www.theluminescent.org/2015/01/yoganidra.html Connect with Caroline Wybar: Facebook | Instagram | Caroline Wybar Yoga | Yoga Medicine® Online Guest Teacher You can learn more about this episode and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-136. 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 both yoga teachers and practitioners, it is important to understand how to take general instruction and use it to cater to your personal needs. In this episode, hosts Tiffany and Katja talk about recent research on personalized medicine and training, discuss how wearables and data collection play into individualized training programs, and relate current research findings to personalized yoga approaches. Listen to this episode to learn about the history and trends of individualised medicine and training, how to know which data to collect, why body awareness is important in individualisation, and how to take this perspective into account in a group class. — Show Notes: What is the history of personalized medicine, training, and yoga [2:04] Factors to consider [8:31] Tracking and evaluating data [12:12] Current research and potential downsides [20:37] How to individualize a group class [35:32] Recap [37:49] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube 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-135. 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.

What is it about yoga that makes such a significant difference in well-being for people with ADHD? Today, host Rachel invites guest Emily Mariola to help answer that question. Emily is a Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist and studio owner who recently completed her 1000-hr research project on Yoga for ADHD.  In this episode, Emily shares yoga practices that help those with ADHD learn to self-regulate both on and off the mat—from asana, to breath work, meditation, and use of drishti. She also encourages yoga teachers and practitioners to view disruptive behavior with more compassion. — Show Notes: Describing ADHD, its challenges and opportunities [4:22] How Emily’s thesis project came about [10:56] Yoga practices for ADHD [16:49] Sun salutations: discipline & patterned behavior [21:52] Suggestions when struggling with stillness [25:31] Fixed gaze: focus & impulse control [31:14] Yoga for emotional regulation [33:27] Breath work for regulation, and a cue to internal state [38:34] Recognizing ADHD behaviors with compassion [44:23] Key outcomes of Emily’s research project [49:45] Final takeaways [54:37] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Connect with Emily Mariola: Facebook | Instagram | Flex Yoga Wooster You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-134. 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 dives deep into Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) with returning guest Dr. Nikki Tugnet FRACP. We discuss common symptoms, what distinguishes RA from other inflammatory and auto-immune conditions, the role Western medicine can play, and – most importantly – how yoga can help. Listen in to learn how yoga teachers best serve students with RA, how to sneak more mindfulness and body awareness into your classes, and the vital importance of making space for rest. — Show Notes: The background on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [2:22] Common symptoms [10:50] Uncontrolled RA versus remission [14:32] Western medical interventions [16:00] How yoga can help: stress release [19:28] How yoga can help: breath work & visualization [26:01] How yoga can help: meditation [28:27] Managing flareups [29:47] How yoga can help: easing morning stiffness [36:28] How yoga can help: standing, seated & floor options for asana [41:01] Guiding students to be more willing to rest [43:26] A general class flow for RA [48:38] Challenges of working with RA [50:51] Final takeaways [52:50] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Previous Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes: 112: Yoga & Autoimmune Conditions A comprehensive scientific evidence-based impact of yoga in patients with rheumatoid arthritis Pawanmuktasana Joint Rotation Series Connect with Dr. Nikki Tugnet: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Nikki Tugnet You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-133. 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 and returning guest and Yoga Medicine Teacher Valerie Knopik PhD explore a recent research paper on the topic of interoception (Voss et al: Mind-body practices, interoception and pain: a scoping review of behavioral and neural correlates).  In this episode, we discuss the many ways yoga teachers can guide students to becoming more informed inhabitants of their body, and how honing that skill of interoception seems to help manage all kinds of pain. Listen in to learn more. — Show Notes: Overview of the scoping review paper [5:02] Limitations of the study [9:36] Defining interception [13:11] Challenges of studying yoga interventions [16:45] Interesting takeaways: interoception as a trainable skill [20:02] Yoga tools help pain management (whether used deliberately or not) [29:06] Guiding students in the experience of being their bodies [38:19] Other takeaways [40:59] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Mind-body practices, interoception and pain: a scoping review of behavioral and neural correlates, Voss et al: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37939212/ Mental Health & Wellness Online Training Yoga Medicine® Online: Interoception & Pain Research Monthly Dose Yoga Medicine® Podcast: Previous episodes on Pain Science: 15: Shifting Persistent Pain with Marnie Hartman, DPT, CSCS 64: Impactful Pain Strategies Previous episodes with Valerie Knopik PhD: 49: Epigenetics, Mental Health & Yoga 79: The Neuroscience of Resilience 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-132. 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.

Female health is something we are passionate about at Yoga Medicine — exactly why we have dedicated several episodes to the topic. Today we are distilling the best tidbits of information and advice from multiple episodes into this one. — Show Notes: The female hormonal cycle, starting with menstruation [1:28] The follicular phase and ovulation [6:33] The luteal phase [14:20] Major effects of estrogen on muscle mass, strength, and recovery [18:00] The female hormone cycle: impact on athletic performance and other goals [26:06] Does our movement practice need to change during menstruation [36:07] Yoga during perimenopause and menopause [51:39] The current state of research on female health [1:03:09] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes: 48: Research Roundup: Female Hormones 62: Yoga During Menstruation: Yes or No? 97: New Perspective on Athletic Performance in the Menstrual Cycle: Research Roundup 116: Yoga for Menopause & Beyond: Community Conversations with Niamh Daly 122: Estrogen Effects on Muscle: Research Roundup Online Female Health Yoga Teacher Training Online Traditional Chinese Medicine Yoga Teacher Training Yoga Medicine® Online Videos: Female Health Lecture Move & Nourish Series PMS Flow Menses Practice Post-Menstrual Practice Support Ovulation You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-131. 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.

Conversations on how to secure opportunities to teach yoga are much more common than those on when we should NOT teach, so today hosts Tiffany and Rachel explore a handful of scenarios where you may need to step back from the role of teacher—whether that is just for today or over the longer term.  In this episode, we discuss whether it’s ever ok for a teacher to simply “go through the motions” and what it means to truly show up for students. We also talk about schedule sustainability and the value of teaching what is meaningful to you. Listen in to learn when yoga teachers should not teach. — Show Notes: Recognizing privilege in the choice to not work [1:54] When you’re contagious [3:01] When you can’t reliably stay in the room [5:28] When you can’t truly show up for your students [8:58] Is there a time to permanently stop teaching a person or class [18:44] Energy management and sustainable teaching schedules [21:27] Moving on when you’ve taught all you can [31:22] When ethical limits are breached [34:55] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Yoga Journal articles: When Should You NOT Teach? How You Know When It’s Time to Break Up With a Class You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-130. 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.

Usually, this podcast features seasoned yoga instructors, so today we are doing something different: exploring the perspectives of those early in the experience of holding the role of a teacher.  In this episode, we connect with three guests who completed 200-hour teacher training at the end of 2023. We discuss their expectations of the training, which areas of study best prepared them for the work they hoped to do afterward, how they secured their first teaching opportunities, and what advice they would share with those considering yoga teacher training now. If you are a newer teacher yourself, or contemplating yoga teacher training, listen in to learn about the reality of yoga teacher training, as well as the joys and challenges new teachers tend to experience. — Show Notes: Is teacher training only for people who want to teach [3:05] Hopes and expectations prior to teacher training [6:23] Most and least enjoyed areas of study [10:24] What did you feel most and least prepared for after teacher training [14:26] Challenges that arise for new teachers [18:42] How to find the first opportunities to teach [21:36] Next steps, including how to know you’re ready for ongoing study [26:36] Advice for future yoga teachers [30:34] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Previous Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes: 127: Your 200HR YTT Questions Answered 103: Teacher Training Myths 200HR Online Teacher Training Connect with today’s guests: Becky Bruce – Instagram Suzanne Powell – Email | Union Yoga Co. You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-129. 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.