As yoga teachers, most of us will either have an autoimmune condition, or teach students who do. Yoga is uniquely suited to work alongside conventional medical treatment to help manage these disorders and address the symptoms that impact most on quality of life.

Today host Rachel speaks with Dr. Nikki Tugnet - a UK-trained physician, board-certified in Rheumatology and Internal Medicine, and Yoga Medicine® Therapeutic Specialist - about yoga and autoimmune conditions.

Listen to this episode as we unpack the common denominators of autoimmune conditions, the importance of normalizing prop use, and the power of taking it slow.

—

• What is rheumatology? [2:57]
• Are autoimmune disorders becoming more prevalent? [4:28]
• What drives Nikki’s passion for rheumatology [6:04]
• Common denominators in autoimmune conditions [10:05]
• What drove a rheumatologist to seek answers in yoga [13:55]
• Autoimmune uncertainty; mental health impacts of long-term disease [18:02]
• How yoga can support autoimmune conditions [23:30]
• The underutilized power of propped yoga poses [28:10]
• A surprising yoga tool [33:28]
• Daily Yoga Nidra to improve energy and sleep quality [35:14]
• Are we handling chronic stress as well as we think? [37:22]
• Tips for teaching yoga for autoimmune conditions – group classes [39:51]
• Tips for teaching yoga for autoimmune conditions – one-on-one [43:38]
• Final tips & takeaways [49:11]

—

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Nervous System & Restorative Online Training
• Myofascial Release Online Training
• Previous Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes:
  • 15: Shifting Persistent Pain with Marnie Hartman
• 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-112.

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 dive into the topic of student questions and share their thoughts on how to answer them. Student questions can be intimidating, prompting anxiety around whether we will be able to answer “correctly”, but so many positives can come from opening a dialogue with students actively seeking more information.

We talk about ways to handle student questions relating to pain, injury, and medical conditions, on pose alignment and progression, and around the choices you make as a teacher.

Listen to this episode to learn how to handle yoga student questions and maximize the positive outcomes that can stem from the resulting conversation.

---

• Anxiety around student questions and a suggested response [1:10]
• The myth of teacher x-ray vision [3:55]
• Answering student questions with questions of your own [6:41]
• Reading the situation around the question [9:00]
• Questions on pain and injury; how to say “I don’t know” [16:13]
• When a student flags pain or injury before class [25:55]
• Questions around alignment [30:50]
• Using questions as seeds for content [40:10]
• Questions around yoga teacher choices [41:15]
• How to handle tangential student questions [46:23]
• Final takeaways [51:13]

---

• Watch this episode on YouTube

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-111.

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 Katja are looking at where the fascia and acupuncture worlds collide.

There is a lot of info out there on possible mechanisms behind acupuncture, and while research is great, we really need to look into the details for answers. In this episode, we talk about the relationship between fascia and Traditional Chinese Medicine. We also talk about acupuncture and how it can affect the connective tissue matrix.

Listen to this episode to learn what we know so far about current research that points to fascia as a potential substrate for energy flow and how to absorb new research while leaving room for the mystery of the unknown.

---

• Meridians and fascia and acupuncture [2:41]
• How research brings fascia and acupuncture together [5:47]
• Anatomical correlations between acupuncture and fascia [6:28]
• Concept of needle grasp in acupuncture [23:14]
• How fascia can contribute to acupuncture mechanisms of action [23:28]
• The importance of the fluid component of fascia [30:57]
• Current fascia and acupuncture research trends [33:20]

---

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Fascia Science Resources Overview
• Traditional Chinese Medicine Training
• Myofascial Release 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-110.

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.

If you haven’t had or taught a one-on-one yoga session, it might feel like a secret club that you’re locked out of. Today host Rachel demystifies the whole process with returning guest and Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist Dana Diament.

In this episode, we talk about the therapeutic benefits of being seen and heard and the importance of helping people clarify their felt experience through both objective and subjective assessment tools.

Listen in to learn tips for teaching private yoga sessions, how to get and prepare for the first session with a new client, and how to manage the challenges that could arise.

---

• Dana and Rachel’s first experience teaching yoga one-to-one [2:10]
• Take the stress out of teaching one-on-one: minimum number of sessions [7:41]
• Establish area of focus beforehand [10:12]
• The initial session with a new client: the power of listening [13:12]
• Using initial intake assessment tools [18:23]
• Ending the first session constructively [22:52]
• Developing a working hypothesis between initial and follow-up sessions [25:08]
• Choosing homework for your student [29:08]
• When your strategy needs to pivot [33:23]
• What happens when you hit a wall with a student [41:58]
• When you are no longer the right teacher for this student [45:00]
• How to find students for one-on-one yoga instruction [48:58]
• Final takeaways and resources [53:38]

---

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Dana’s tips for a first session
• Rachel’s take on the “Do this one thing for pain” approach
• Yoga Medicine® Conducting a Comprehensive Evaluation in a Therapeutic Setting Online Course
• Yoga Medicine® Recognizing Red Flags in a Therapeutic Yoga Setting Online Course
• Connect with Dana Diament:

Facebook | Instagram | Yoga Medicine Online | Raia Collective

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-109.

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.

Coming home from another yoga teacher training, full of new information and techniques to utilize, can be exciting…and also overwhelming.

In today’s episode, hosts Tiffany and Rachel talk about how to integrate all the tools you learn in training in a way that is meaningful for your students. In this episode, we stress the importance of a slow and steady approach guided by clarity of purpose for each class.

Listen in to learn how to incorporate new material and when to use which teaching tools in both group classes and when working with students one-on-one.

----

Show Notes:

• The challenge of integrating new information into classes in a meaningful way [1:33]
• Focus on one area of content at a time, in practice and teaching [4:31]
• The importance of setting and meeting student expectations [9:30]
• “Drip-feed” new content or techniques into your teaching [12:10]
• Creating classes for the students who come back [16:41]
• Using a class series to introduce new content gradually [18:36]
• Combining techniques in group classes versus one-to-one [22:05]
• A real-world example [28:58]
• Summing up: simplicity, clarity, repetition, patience, and individuality [31:26]

---

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-108.

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.

Burnout is becoming a more common experience than ever, in the yoga world and beyond, so today hosts Tiffany and Rachel dive into the varied experiences of and solutions to this problem.

We discuss three common precursors to burnout and how challenging it can be to generate the energy required to recognize and resolve it. We also share the role yoga practice can play in helping us build long-term physical and mental resilience as an antidote to burnout.

Listen to this episode to learn what burnout is, what causes contribute, and the intangible game-changers you could be overlooking when trying to overcome burnout.

---

• The three key symptoms of burnout [3:50]
• Perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and a potential up-side of burnout [5:10]
• Difficulty generating the energy to find a way out [7:30]
• Is restorative yoga the solution to burnout? [9:17]
• Burnout as a long-term imbalance between inputs and outputs [13:08]
• Individuality in burnout, emotional labour, and the role yoga can play [17:11]
• Training long-term resilience to burnout [23:59]
• A three-part approach: nervous system, connective tissue & mental resilience [27:00]
• Where to start [32.28]
• The Yoga Medicine Resilience Retreat and other resources [35:38]

---

• • Watch this episode on YouTube
  • Yoga Medicine® Resilience Retreat with Tiffany Cruikshank – Boulder, CO
  • Yoga Medicine® Resilience Retreat with Tiffany Cruikshank – Norfolk, VA
  • Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episode 05: Sustainability & Yoga
  • YMO Resources:
    • Tiffany’s Burnout Resilience Playlist
    • Valerie Knopik’s Burnout Series

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-107.

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 Katja talks with Dr. Stephanie Otto about exercise oncology, exercise, and fascia. We discuss the biological foundations of cancer and the research link between fascia and cancer. We also talk about therapeutic interventions related to cancer exercise and fascia and explain what distinguishes healthy tissue from cancerous tissue.

Listen in to learn how important effective exercise can be for our oncology and how exercise oncology interventions relate to fascial tissues.

• What makes cancer develop [3:47]
• Can we affect cells that become cancerous [6:45]
• Exercises to target biometrics of tissues [8:18]
• Optional treatment paths for exercise for oncology [11:37]
• Breathing and nervous system approaches [19:26]
• What is next for the field of exercise oncology research [25:32]

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Connect with Dr. Stephanie Otto:

LinkedIn | Twitter | ResearchGate

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-106.

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.

It’s common knowledge that the vast majority of us will experience low back pain at some point in our lives. Today we hone in on an aspect of low back pain that is less commonly considered and discussed: pain in or around the sacroiliac joints.

Rachel Land hosts yoga studio owner, YACEP, Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist, and 1000-hour teacher Kelsea Wright, whose capstone research project was a comparison of two interventions for long-term SI joint pain.

In this episode, we share key practices for strength, stability, and body awareness as well as tips for postural and positional awareness off the yoga mat. We also unpack the importance of detailed student intake interviews and their usefulness in pain education and student empowerment.

Listen in to hear key takeaways from Kelsea’s 1000-hour project on SI joint pain.

• Kelsey’s own experience: persistent SI joint pain & fear of flare-ups [3:03]
• Outlining Kelsey’s 1000-hour research project [6:38]
• Pain education as a key component of care [9:46]
• The impact of detailed intake interviews [16:39]
• Strength and stability practices for SI joint pain [20:31]
• Key myofascial release practices and approaches [30:37]
• MFR as a novel tool to improve mind-body connection [40:00]
• Key learnings from the results of Kelsey’s intervention [45:45]
• The under-estimated importance of keeping good notes [56:01]
• Cultivating a “glass half full” attitude [58:12]
• Final takeaways and the benefit of immediate relief [1:00:06]

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Previous Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes:
  • 15: Shifting Persistent Pain
  • 26: Support the Low Back
  • 70: Yoga & MFR: Fundamentals to Get the Most Out of Your Practice
• Connect with Kelsea Wright:

Instagram | Limitless Yoga Studio

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-105.

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.