Yoga Medicine

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.
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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]
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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
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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.
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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.