Yoga Medicine

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.
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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] 
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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

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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.
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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]
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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.
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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.
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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]
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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
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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.
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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]
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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-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.
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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]
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Links Mentioned:
Watch this episode on YouTube
Connect with Jen Beal: Instagram | Still and Flow Yoga
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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.