Fascia Connection & Movement: Expert Insights with David Lesondak BCSI, ATSI, FST, VMT

Revisit a previous episode where hosts Tiffany Cruikshank and Katja Bartsch dive into a 2025 study analyzing more than 145,000 symptom logs from nearly 4,800 women pre- peri- and post-menopause. They discuss how symptoms can vary widely between individuals and across different stages of the transition, while also highlighting why emerging research should be interpreted with curiosity rather than certainty. "The research is really making an effort to understand how women experience their transition on a daily basis." — Katja Bartsch. What You'll Learn: The study: more than 145,000 symptom logs from almost 5,000 users [02:15] Symptoms differ between pre-menopause, perimenopause, and post-menopause [04:19] Top symptoms in each stage [06:53] Greater granularity is needed when studying individual symptoms [10:17] How research like this informs future studies [12:26] Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Yoga Medicine Live Online Menopause Teacher Training Read the research here: Aras SG, Grant AD, Konhilas JP. Clustering of > 145,000 symptom logs reveals distinct pre, peri, and menopausal phenotypes. Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 3;15(1):640. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-84208-3. PMID: 39753725; PMCID: PMC11699220. — Learn More: Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-175. 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. 

Today's episode explores one of our favorite topics, fascia, from a fresh perspective. Host Rachel is joined by David Lesondak, Senior Structural Integrator and Fascia Specialist at UPMC's Center for Integrative Medicine. David is an author, educator, and fascia specialist whose work focuses on helping people better understand and appreciate the fascial system.  David unpacks what fascia is, why it matters, and what yoga practitioners need to know to support fascial fitness. He explains the importance of feeding our bodies a varied "movement diet", including pandiculation, hydration through twisting, myofascial release, elastic recoil, skipping, and bouncing. The conversation also explores the need for collaboration between yoga, bodywork, and other treatment modalities, and touches on whether fascia could actually provide a framework through which we experience embodiment. "Our bodies are meant to do all kinds of things, and so we should be feeding them all kinds of stimulus." — David Lesondak. — What You'll Learn: Defining fascia: your whole-body connective system [03:04] Getting "unstuck" - the who, what, and why of hands-on fascial intervention [05:40] Pandiculation for fascial fitness [09:17] Hydration, twisting, and the "sponge" analogy [11:39] Myofascial release and why softer is better [17:30] Elastic recoil, skipping and preparatory counter-movement [21:30] Building a more varied "movement diet" [27:49] Collaborative referral networks; a multi-model treatment for fascia [29:24] What yoga practitioners can learn from The Fascia Connection [33:23] Fascia as the mechanism for embodiment [37:47]  — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Fascial Fitness Sun Salutation The Fascia Connection: Discover the Key to Flexibility, Vitality, and Pain-Free Living Connect with David Lesondak: Facebook | Instagram | David Lesondak — Learn More: Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-174. 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.   

Today on the Yoga Medicine Podcast, Tiffany Cruikshank and co-host Katja Bartsch explore the latest research on strength training during pre- and post-menopause. Using a newly published systematic review and meta-analysis of 126 studies involving more than 4,000 women, they unpack what the evidence actually says about building strength and improving body composition in different stages of reproductive aging. Together, Tiffany and Katja separate common myths from current research, discussing progressive overload, lean muscle, body composition, estrogen, and why strength gains remain possible well into midlife and beyond. They also explore why consistency and enjoyment may be just as important as the specific type of resistance training you choose, offering practical takeaways for yoga practitioners, teachers, and anyone looking to age well.  "When we intervene, when we start to create a plan... the capacity to build strength is the same." — Tiffany Cruikshank. — What You'll Learn: Overview of the latest research on strength training across the female lifespan [01:25] Why strength gains remain possible after menopause [08:47] Body composition changes with strength training [16:25] Why enjoyment and consistency are key to long-term success [21:36] Current research gaps and unanswered questions [27:07] Shifting the focus from weight loss to feeling and functioning your best [31:08] How yoga complements strength training for lifelong health [32:34] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Isenmann E, Geisler S, Havers T, Siegert F, Hemke F, Held S. It's never too late: The impact of resistance training on strength and body composition in females across the lifespan - A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sci Med Sport. 2026 Mar 18:S1440-2440(26)00096-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2026.03.002. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41963141. — Learn More: Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-173. 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. 

Previous episodes have explored the physical form and function of fascia and its interactions with the nervous and immune systems. Today's conversation ventures into more new territory, exploring the relationships between fascia, flow state, and embodied experience. Host Katja is joined by Fiona Rose Stout PhD, an interdisciplinary researcher, bodyworker, and movement therapist seeking to connect diverse perspectives from neuroscience, creative arts, bodywork, and yoga. Together, Katja and Fiona explore the fascinating relationship between fascia, movement, and nervous system regulation. They discuss why fascia may provide an important biological lens for understanding embodied awareness, how movement practices can cultivate greater adaptability and resilience, and why integrative thinking is essential when exploring trauma, healing, and the mind-body connection. They also unpack a recent opinion article challenging "The Body Keeps the Score," offering a nuanced discussion about predictive coding, fascia, and contemporary trauma science. "There's an experience that happens when you actually feel that connection and that integration." — Fiona Stout. — What You'll Learn: Introducing Fiona [01:13] Flow state and why it matters for embodied movement practitioners [04:40] Fascial fluidity implications for flow state [11:48] Connections between nervous system regulation, trauma and flow state [15:11] Supporting fascia with curiosity, varied movement, bodywork, myofascial release [21:03] A nuanced discussion of "The Body Keeps the Score" [29:05] Predictive coding and recent article "The body does not keep the score" [37:05] Why integration, not dualism, may better explain human experience [45:11] "Different strokes for different folks": final takeaways [50:28] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Kotler S, Mannino M, Fox G and Friston K (2026) The body does not keep the score: trauma, predictive coding, and the restoration of metastability. Front. Syst. Neurosci. 20:1812957. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2026.1812957 Yoga Medicine 50hr Myofascial Release Training, Denver, Colorado, October 11-16 Connect with Fiona Stout PhD: PhD Dissertation | Miss Fi Yoga | Instagram | LinkedIn — Learn More: Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-172. 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. 

Most of us spend more time unintentionally still than we would like, and yet there is undeniable power in the purposeful stillness of savasana. In this episode, we take a closer look at savasana—an almost universally familiar posture, yet perhaps also one of the most loaded with assumption and expectation. Hosts Tiffany and Rachel discuss how savasana supports recovery, nervous system regulation and resilience, as well as why there is no single "perfect" version of the pose and how thoughtful modifications can make this practice more accessible for every body.  From prop setups and guided relaxation to alternatives for students who find stillness challenging, this conversation offers practical strategies for both yoga teachers and practitioners to make rest a more meaningful part of practice. "The shape is not really the thing. It's just a container for the practice that you're creating in savasana." - Tiffany Cruikshank. — What You'll Learn: Defining savasana and approaches to it [01:51] Savasana as the integration, close, and clearing of practice [03:13] Current research on savasana [05:38] Savasana for nervous system regulation [10:22 Challenges in savasana: discomfort lying still [14:03 Guidance for mental restlessness in savasana [19:13] Prop options for comfort [24:39] Guided vs unguided savasana, duration of quiet [32:34] Can we skip savasana? [36:23] The value of intentional stillness and "non-doing" [42:17] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube — Learn More: Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-171. 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 increasingly moving beyond the studio to find a place in therapeutic and healthcare settings. That move generates new opportunities, as well as new challenges, for yoga teachers. In today's episode, host Rachel speaks with Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist Jen Beal, who is a full-time yoga and meditation teacher with the Whole Health division of the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Jen shares the realities of teaching yoga in a large-scale healthcare environment: working as part of a collaborative care team, documentation requirements, and the need for trauma sensitivity, confidentiality, and accessibility. This conversation offers valuable insight into how yoga can become more inclusive, adaptable, and therapeutic — both inside and outside traditional healthcare systems. "You don't have to have every single body in your classroom doing the same exact thing." — Jen Beal. — What You'll Learn: Gaining employment in the VA healthcare system [2:31] What the role involves [5:40] Rewarding and fulfilling work [7:59] Unique challenges in this environment [11:58] Record-keeping requirements [14:41] Privacy and confidentiality matter in healthcare [18:23] Clear Scope of Practice [20:30] How VA students and sequences differ from yoga studios [26:23] A "yoga kit" to encourage home practice [35:37] Advice for accessible teaching in healthcare settings [38:29] Final takeaways [44:02] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Connect with Jen Beal: Instagram | Still and Flow Yoga — Learn More: Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-170. 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 have the instinct to distract ourselves from present-moment discomfort, whether we consider ourselves an addict or not. That insight is a powerful starting point for today's conversation on the role yoga can play in addiction recovery.  Host Rachel is joined by returning guest Caroline Wybar—yoga teacher and trainer, and 1000hr Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist. Drawing from both lived experience and extensive research, Caroline shares a compassionate and evidence-informed perspective on addiction and recovery. She explores the many factors that contribute to addiction and shares how yoga can support recovery by helping practitioners develop self-awareness, resilience, distress tolerance, and a healthier relationship with the present moment. "We all experience pain and distress and loss and disconnection. We just have different solutions for it." — Caroline Wybar. — What You'll Learn: Defining addiction, clinically versus culturally [2:27] Addiction as a solution to pain [4:34] Disease or personal choice? Reaching consilience [8:11] Secrecy, stigma versus community connection [16:34] Caroline's personal recovery story [20:14] Yoga tools for recovery [37:52] Yoga asana for simplicity and sense of success [41:50] Accessible breath work and mindfulness practices [43:57] Yoga Medicine Live Online Addictions Yoga Teacher Training [51:49] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Yoga Medicine LIVE Online Addictions Yoga Teacher Training Previous Yoga Medicine Podcast Episodes with Caroline Wybar: Approaches to Anxiety Yoga Nidra Full-time Yoga Teacher Panel  Connect with Caroline Wybar: Facebook | Instagram | Caroline Wybar Yoga | YMO Guest Teacher — Learn More: Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-169. 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. 

Most of us instinctively understand that we feel better when we spend time in nature. But our relationship to the natural world is perhaps even more powerful than we appreciate. On today's episode, host Rachel is joined by Emily Long—licensed clinical social worker, certified nature-informed therapist, and yoga teacher. Emily shares research on the therapeutic benefits of building a more mindful relationship with nature, whether that means spending time outdoors, inviting natural elements indoors, even simply viewing nature through a window. Emily also reminds us how nature is deeply embedded in the yoga tradition.  From stress reduction and improved cognitive function to increased resilience and emotional regulation, this conversation highlights the many ways reconnecting with nature can support our well-being, and how our practice could be the perfect time and place to do so. "What we care for cares for us." — Emily Long. — What You'll Learn: • How yoga already reflects our connection to nature [3:08] • Stereotypes can discourage people from developing a relationship with nature [9:19] • Research: nature and our health [12:56] • "Softly fascinating stimuli" and the nervous system [16:12] • Reaping the benefits whether we enjoy nature or not [20:40] • Nature encourages social and community connection [23:44] • Practical ways to invite nature into indoor spaces [26:35] • Taking opportunities to go outside [29:02] • Natural imagery, honoring seasonal rhythms [30:59] • Ahimsa, reciprocity, and caring for the environment [37:33] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Relevant research: Soga, M., & Gaston, K. J. (2025). Health benefits of viewing nature through windows: A meta-analysis. Bioscience, 75(8), 628–636. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf089 Stevenson, M. P., Schilhab, T., & Bentsen, P. (2018). Attention Restoration Theory II: a systematic review to clarify attention processes affected by exposure to natural environments. Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews, 21(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/10937404.2018.1505571 Bettmann, J. E., Speelman, E., Blumenthal, E., Couch, S., & McArthur, T. (2024). How Does Nature Exposure Affect Adults With Symptoms of Mental Illness? A Meta-Analysis. International journal of mental health nursing, 33(6), 1889–1907. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13400 Ulrich R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science (New York, N.Y.), 224(4647), 420–421. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.6143402  Connect with Emily Long: Instagram | Yoga With Emily | Emily Long LCSW — Learn More: Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-168. 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, 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. — 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] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube — 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. — 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] — 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 — 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.