Yogaland Podcast

Yogis often talk about the nervous system in terms of how it responds to stress. But if you've ever wanted to learn more about the science of how the nervous system works, this episode is for you! (Spoiler alert: It controls almost everything related to movement!)This week, I talked with yoga therapist and PhD candidate Robyn Capobianco, who studies at the Neurophysiology of Movement Laboratory at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She explains how her research applies to yogis and offers practical ways to apply her findings to avoid yoga injuries and more. It's fascinating stuff.We explore:* How the nervous system works and informs movement* How the body responds to sensory input, and how it relates to yoga* How the SI joint differs from other joints in the body and what yogis can do to avoid SI joint pain* One simple thing you can do to engage the core more in Plank Pose* The science behind common beliefs like: Is it really unsafe to jump back from Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) to Plank Pose?* And gets to the bottom of why teachers instruct you to lift your toes in Utkatasana (Chair Pose)Shownotes: yogalandpodcast.com/episode88/SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!1.   Did you know that you can save money on your life insurance just because you do yoga? Health IQ is an insurance company that helps yogis get lower rates on their life insurance. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/yogaland or mention the promo code YOGALAND when you talk to a Health IQ agent.2.   RxBar are protein bars made from 100% whole foods. That means RxBars do not contain artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or fillers. They also do not contain added sugar. They’re also delicious!  For 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/yogaland and enter the promo code YOGALAND at checkout. 3.  Freshly is the easiest and most convenient way to eat healthy no matter what life throws your way. Freshly’s chef create delicious gluten-free meals delivered fresh to your door. Every single meal comes with a detailed overview of each ingredient in the meal. Get $25 off your first order of 6 fresh-cooked dinners by going to freshly.com/yogaland4.   To my women listeners out there – have you tried Lola yet? LOLA is a female-founded company offering organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners. For 60% off your first order, visit mylola.com and enter the code YOGALAND when you subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We pick up where we left off last week with Jason answering more of your recent questions! This week, he answers:* How often should I change my sequences?* How do I sequence given the large influx of new students in January without alienating my established students?* If I let my pelvis rotate during twists, will it cause a hip impingement?Shownotes: yogalandpodcast.com/episode87/SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!1.   Did you know that you can save money on your life insurance just because you do yoga? Health IQ is an insurance company that helps yogis get lower rates on their life insurance. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/yogaland or mention the promo code YOGALAND when you talk to a Health IQ agent.2.   RxBar are protein bars made from 100% whole foods. That means RxBars do not contain artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or fillers. They also do not contain added sugar. They’re also delicious!  For 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/yogaland and enter the promo code YOGALAND at checkout. 3.  Freshly is the easiest and most convenient way to eat healthy no matter what life throws your way. Freshly’s chef create delicious gluten-free meals delivered fresh to your door. Every single meal comes with a detailed overview of each ingredient in the meal. Get $25 off your first order of 6 fresh-cooked dinners by going to freshly.com/yogaland4.   To my women listeners out there – have you tried Lola yet? LOLA is a female-founded company offering organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners. For 60% off your first order, visit mylola.com and enter the code YOGALAND when you subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jason Crandell joins me this week to answer your questions. We cover a lot of ground in this short episode including:* Strategies for Down Dog -- How to make it easier to step forward, what to do when a student can't straighten their arms* Lower Rib Flare -- Why it's important to think of core length, not just core strength* The Cue to 'Tuck Your Tailbone Under -- Is it dangerous? Appropriate? What's the deal. Please.Shownotes: yogalandpodcast.com/episode86SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!1.   Did you know that you can save money on your life insurance just because you do yoga? Health IQ is an insurance company that helps yogis get lower rates on their life insurance. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/yogaland or mention the promo code YOGALAND when you talk to a Health IQ agent.2.   RxBar are protein bars made from 100% whole foods. That means RxBars do not contain artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or fillers. They also do not contain added sugar. They’re also delicious!  For 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/yogaland and enter the promo code YOGALAND at checkout. 3.  Freshly is the easiest and most convenient way to eat healthy no matter what life throws your way. Freshly’s chef create delicious gluten-free meals delivered fresh to your door. Every single meal comes with a detailed overview of each ingredient in the meal. Get $25 off your first order of 6 fresh-cooked dinners by going to freshly.com/yogaland4.   To my women listeners out there – have you tried Lola yet? LOLA is a female-founded company offering organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners. For 60% off your first order, visit mylola.com and enter the code YOGALAND when you subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s podcast with author and yoga teacher Michelle Marchildon focuses on her formula for theming your yoga classes. The formula comes from her book, Themeweaver: Connect the Power of Inspiration to Teaching Yoga and is a clear, thorough approach to creating themes that are meaningful, not cheesy, and will help your students really deeply connect their physical practice to Michelle talks us through:•The three types of students who come to class•The four elements that make a good theme•Theming don’ts•Five rules for incorporating your themes into your classes•How to organize your themes so that you can edit them and reuse them in the futureShownotes: yogalandpodcast.com/episode85/SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS:1.   Did you know that you can save money on your life insurance just because you do yoga? Health IQ is an insurance company that helps yogis get lower rates on their life insurance. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/yogaland or mention the promo code YOGALAND when you talk to a Health IQ agent.2.   RxBar are protein bars made from 100% whole foods. That means RxBars do not contain artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or fillers. They also do not contain added sugar. They’re also delicious!  For 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/yogaland and enter the promo code YOGALAND at checkout. 3.  Freshly is the easiest and most convenient way to eat healthy no matter what life throws your way. Freshly’s chef create delicious gluten-free meals delivered fresh to your door. Every single meal comes with a detailed overview of each ingredient in the meal. Get $25 off your first order of 6 fresh-cooked dinners by going to freshly.com/yogaland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I love the idea of starting of the New Year with healthy, nourishing routines. Over the past few years, I’ve done that with my skincare routine and I find it to be a great form of self care. When you think of self care, you don’t think of smearing petroleum, endocrine disruptors or other toxic chemicals on your face, right?In the process of researching the products I use, I’ve learned that there is basically no federal regulation on our personal care products (or on most industrial chemicals in the U.S.)That was my inspiration behind this episode and I’m so excited to share it with you. This week on the podcast I speak to Abby Jean and Rachel Pachivas from AnnMarie Skincare and they answer all of my questions (and more) including:·     Do products made with botanicals really work as well as our familiar “tried and true” formulations?·     How to start purging your skincare products·     Red flag ingredients too look for·     Nutrient-rich ingredients to look for·     How you know you’re getting a truly organic product (since there are FDA loopholes)·     Web sites and certifications to help you navigate which products are safe, healthy, and don’t test on animals·     Where are we with trying to improve FDA regulations?Shownotes: yogalandpodcast.com/episode84/1.Did you know that you can save money on your life insurance just because you do yoga? Health IQ is an insurance company that helps yogis get lower rates on their life insurance. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/yogaland or mention the promo code YOGALAND when you talk to a Health IQ agent. 2.To my women listeners out there – have you tried Lola yet? LOLA is a female-founded company offering organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners. For 60% off your first order, visit mylola.com and enter the code YOGALAND when you subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you guess which podcast was the most popular of the year? I give you a glimpse into my analytics on this episode (spoiler alert: the #1 episode is not one of Jason's), plus we talk 2017 highlights (hello, creativity!) and lowlights (puffy eyes), what we're looking forward to in 2018, and how I aspire to channel both Maria Bamford and Oprah. (PS: Iyengar Yoga "belt" vs. "strap" question still not solved!!) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Judith Hanson Lasater and her daughter, Lizzie Lasater, have been on the podcast separately before. On episodes 64 & 65 I focused on their backgrounds and on the mother-daughter connection. This time, I wanted back up and simply ask the question, "Why restorative yoga?" Why now? And why isn't "regular" hatha yoga restorative enough? One response, in particular, surprised me -- seeing restorative yoga as a radical act of self care in a society that's so filled with aggression and violence.Shownotes: yogalandpodcast.com/episode821.   Did you know that you can save money on your life insurance just because you do yoga? Health IQ is an insurance company that helps yogis get lower rates on their life insurance. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/yogaland or mention the promo code YOGALAND when you talk to a Health IQ agent. 2.   We all go through busy times where it can feel like a challenge to eat well. One thing that’s helped me is Sunbasket meal delivery service. Go to sunbasket.com/yogaland to get $35 off your first order.3.   Care/Of is a new, online vitamin company that is devoted to personalization and authenticity in its sourcing. Set your health goals, take their quiz, and they'll give you vitamin, mineral, and adaptogen recommendations. They also include sourcing information and studies to give you background on your choices. I've had fun trying them out!  Visit takecareof.com and use offer code YOGALAND at checkout for 50% off your first month of vitamins. 4.   To my women listeners out there – have you tried Lola yet? LOLA is a female-founded company offering organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners. For 60% off your first order, visit mylola.com and enter the code YOGALAND when you subscribe.5.   Storyworth makes it easy and fun for loved ones to tell their stories. Simply purchase a subscription for someone you love and each week Storyworth will send them a question about their life. After a year, stories are bound in a beautiful book. For $20 off, visit storyworth.com/yogaland when you subscribe.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Niika Quistgard, Ayurvedic practitioner extraordinaire -- is back! (She joined me on episode 17 for a great vata-calming episode. If you haven't heard it, go back and listen to it. It's a great foundation and complement to this one!) On this episode Niika explains the Ayurvedic approach to nourishing ojas -- thought to be our vital essence -- during the winter and the holiday season. When ojas is strong, we feel content, stable, and grounded. When it gets depleted, our immunity goes down the tubes (my parlance, not hers :) We got super-fancy and cross-cultural on this episode, because it turns out that the way to cultivate ojas is very similar to the Danish concept of hygge (think cozy socks, candlelight, and delicious spiced drinks). Niika also shares her approach to asana and pranayama for keep ojas tip top.Go to the shownotes page for an ojas-nourishing chai recipe from Niika and a link to her ojas assessment: yogalandpodcast.com/podcast/episode81/1.   Did you know that you can save money on your life insurance just because you do yoga? Health IQ is an insurance company that helps yogis get lower rates on their life insurance. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/yogaland or mention the promo code YOGALAND when you talk to a Health IQ agent. 2.   We all go through busy times where it can feel like a challenge to eat well. One thing that’s helped me is Sunbasket meal delivery service. Go to sunbasket.com/yogaland to get $35 off your first order.3.   Care/Of is a new, online vitamin company that is devoted to personalization and authenticity in its sourcing. Set your health goals, take their quiz, and they'll give you vitamin, mineral, and adaptogen recommendations. They also include sourcing information and studies to give you background on your choices. I've had fun trying them out!  Visit takecareof.com and use offer code YOGALAND at checkout for 50% off your first month of vitamins. 4.   To my women listeners out there – have you tried Lola yet? LOLA is a female-founded company offering organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners. For 60% off your first order, visit mylola.com and enter the code YOGALAND when you subscribe.5.   Treehut is a team of inspired designers and creators building unique wooden watches with personalized engravings. For 15% off your first order, visit treehutwatches.com/yogaland and enter the promo code YOGALAND at checkout. Offer expires December 31st.   6.   Storyworth makes it easy and fun for loved ones to tell their stories. Simply purchase a subscription for someone you love and each week Storyworth will send them a question about their life. After a year, stories are bound in a beautiful book. For $20 off, visit storyworth.com/yogaland when you subscribe.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You've probably heard people say that a short yoga practice is better than no yoga practice. Jason and I heartily agree -- but it can still be hard to carve out the time. I think the root problem is that it's hard to step on your mat solo and know what to do. This episode will help you get over the avoidance. We talk strategy and Jason offers three concrete, easy approaches to creating a home practice sequence that suits your mood, your energy level, and your time crunch.If you still need help, I put lots of sequences here, on the shownotes page: yogalandpodcast.com/episode80/1. We all go through busy times where it can feel like a challenge to eat well. One thing that’s helped me is Sunbasket meal delivery service. Go to sunbasket.com/yogaland to get $35 off your first order.2. Care/Of is a new, online vitamin company that is devoted to personalization and authenticity in its sourcing. Set your health goals, take their quiz, and they'll give you vitamin, mineral, and adaptogen recommendations. Visit takecareof.com and use offer code YOGALAND at checkout for 50% off your first month of vitamins. 3. To my women listeners out there – have you tried Lola yet? LOLA is a female-founded company offering organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners. For 60% off your first order, visit mylola.com and enter the code YOGALAND when you subscribe. 4. Treehut is a team of inspired designers and creators building unique wooden watches with personalized engravings. For 15% off your first order, visit treehutwatches.com/yogaland and enter the promo code YOGALAND at checkout. Offer expires December 31st.   5. Storyworth makes it easy and fun for loved ones to tell their stories. Simply purchase a subscription for someone you love and each week Storyworth will send them a question about their life. After a year, stories are bound in a beautiful book. For $20 off, visit storyworth.com/yogaland when you subscribe.   6. Zola is a new online wedding company that’s reinventing wedding planning and the registry process. Plus, there’s an app for your Ipad, iphone and AppleWatch – check and update your registry in real-time. For a $50 credit toward your registry zola.com/yogaland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you're grieving, the holidays--with its equal share of memories and new situations--can intensify all of your feelings. The holidays can even surprise you with feelings that you might have considered long resolved. On this episode, Washington, DC, yoga teacher and studio owner Faith Hunter generously shares the story of losing her older brother, Michael, to complications from HIV. Faith and I talk about how time, therapy, patience, and yoga helped her move through the grieving process. If you're feeling all the feelings this season, my hope is that this episode will help you feel a little bit less alone in the world. Shownotes: yogalandpodcast.com/episode79/Shout-Out to Sponsors:1. We all go through busy times where it can feel like a challenge to eat well. One thing that’s helped me is Sunbasket meal delivery service. Go to sunbasket.com/yogaland to get $35 off your first order.2. Care/Of is a new, online vitamin company that is devoted to personalization and authenticity in its sourcing. Set your health goals, take their quiz, and they'll give you vitamin, mineral, and adaptogen recommendations.  Visit takecareof.com and use offer code YOGALAND at checkout for 50% off your first month of vitamins. 3. To my women listeners out there – have you tried Lola yet? LOLA is a female-founded company offering organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners. For 60% off your first order, visit mylola.com and enter the code YOGALAND when you subscribe. 4. Treehut is a team of inspired designers and creators building unique wooden watches with personalized engravings. For 15% off your first order, visit treehutwatches.com/yogaland and enter the promo code YOGALAND at checkout. Offer expires December 31st.   5. Storyworth makes it easy and fun for loved ones to tell their stories. Simply purchase a subscription for someone you love and each week Storyworth will send them a question about their life. After a year, stories are bound in a beautiful book. For $20 off, visit storyworth.com/yogaland when you subscribe.   6. Zola is a new online wedding company that’s reinventing wedding planning and the registry process. Plus, there’s an app for your Ipad, iphone and AppleWatch – check and update your registry in real-time. For a $50 credit toward your registry zola.com/yogaland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.