Have you ever stopped to consider what health is or what it truly means to be healthy in the context of your own life? Thanks to the upheaval of the pandemic, plus a recent injury, today’s guest Aisa Locsin has been forced to. Aisa’s lifelong love of moving, especially outdoors, lead to her challenging her body in a wide variety of athletic pursuits. She brought the same attitude to her yoga practice and her teaching. In this episode, she talks with Rachel about the challenges she has faced duri...
Mar 10, 2022•56 min
Today Tiffany and Katja take a look at the cutting-edge new topic of fascia and pain. Pain is complex and recent research is showing just how relevant the fascial tissue is when we’re looking at pain. In this episode, Katja shares the findings of the latest research on changes in fascia that can contribute to pain. The pair discuss the difference between pain in the fascia versus pain in muscle tissues and potential causes of fascial pain. They also touch on how other aspects such as the lymphat...
Mar 03, 2022•57 min
Today we are reframing stress with Eding Mvilongo, an Anesthesiologist and Clinical Professor from Montreal Canada. Eding’s work is defined by the need to maintain focus under extreme pressure. She understands from both theoretical and practical standpoints which tools and techniques we can employ to help us maintain our attention despite distraction, even under duress. In this episode, Eding shares her favorite short- and longer-term tools for managing stress and maintaining focus – some of whi...
Feb 24, 2022•58 min
If you have ever felt unwelcome, unheard, or disempowered, you will relate to the content of today’s conversation between Rachel and Nicole Calhoun, PhD. Nicole has an undergraduate degree in Biology, a PhD in molecular genetics, and years of experience as a post-doctoral researcher, but has pivoted to working as a yoga teacher and studio owner. After being told she “didn’t belong” in a yoga studio, Nicole was inspired to open her own space, becoming the change she wanted to see in her community...
Feb 17, 2022•54 min
Let’s dive into the world of sleep and its effects on our physical and mental health. Today’s guest, Dr. Amy Sedgwick, is a board-certified and practicing emergency physician and a yoga and meditation teacher – putting her in the perfect position to help us unpack the importance of sleep duration and quality from varied perspectives. In this episode, Amy and Rachel talk about how she found her calling and how both her colleagues and her patients benefit from healthy stress relief outlets like yo...
Feb 10, 2022•1 hr 4 min
In today’s episode, we unpack persistent pain with Marnie Hartman. Marnie has a doctorate in physical therapy and is a certified strength and conditioning coach as well as being a yoga teacher, putting her in a unique position to help us understand pain, particularly lasting or persistent pain, from varied perspectives. Marnie talks to Rachel about some of the myths and misconceptions around pain. She explains how the experience of pain is an output of the nervous system rather than an input, ma...
Feb 03, 2022•1 hr 12 min
Today’s episode is all about fascia as a sensory organ. Whether you are a healthcare provider, body worker, or yoga teacher, it is so important to have all the information on this issue that we so often disregard. Listen in as Tiffany and Katja talk all about proprioception, take a look at interception and discuss how they relate to the fascial system and yoga practice. They explain the recent research on sensory nerves and point out how important is it for the body to be able to collect a reall...
Jan 27, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Most of us will run into unexpected setbacks in life. Today's guest Megan Kearney knows plenty about using those situations as opportunities to learn and grow stronger. An admitted type-a personality and “recovering triathlete”, Megan has been in the health and wellness industry for more than 20 years. She is a Yoga Medicine therapeutic specialist with additional trainings in mental health and traumatic brain injury resilience and iRest Yoga Nidra. When COVID-19 hit, Megan’s previously successfu...
Jan 20, 2022•53 min
Hip mobility is a hot topic on social media and in the movement world, seeming to generate strong opinions as to whether extreme range of motion is good or bad for us. So in today’s episode, Tiffany and Rachel unpack what is considered “normal” range of motion for the hip joint and its application in daily activities. They discuss the potential implications of significant limitations in hip mobility, as well as those of extreme mobility. They cover the difference between muscle tension and bony ...
Jan 13, 2022•1 hr 3 min
When was the last time you asked yourself: what do I truly want? Today we are talking about motivation and identity with someone who asks themselves that question multiple times a day. Author, yoga teacher, and fitness coach Kirsten Beverley-Waters holds a B.S. from Kent State University along with multiple qualifications from the American College of Sports Medicine, CrossFit, and Precision Nutrition. No stranger to struggle, Kirsten teaches movement through the lens of mental wellness, setting ...
Jan 06, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Today Rachel Land talks with MacKenzie Kozlowski (Miller) about the challenging, sometimes uncomfortable, business of navigating change and transformation -- which MacKenzie knows plenty about. She was a personal trainer and group exercise instructor before discovering yoga and training to become a teacher. Soon afterward she was living the “yoga Influencer” life, rapidly building a career and teaching all over the world. You may be familiar with MacKenzie from her social media profile, but in t...
Dec 27, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Today we are continuing our discussion on research. In the first half of this interview, Katja and Tiffany discuss why research is so valuable, where to look for the good stuff, and how to filter through this information with a critical eye. In this episode, we talk about some common issues with certain types of research, the current gaps in the yoga research that's being done, and what the future holds for research. Listen in to learn about the features to look for in high-quality research, tip...
Dec 16, 2021•39 min
Today we are diving into the many reasons research is important both for clinicians and yoga teachers -- and we are very happy to have Katja Bartsch back with us to do it. Katja also joined us for our recent episodes on the Placebo Effect and she focuses a lot of her energy on doing her own research and combing through the research that others are doing on the topic of yoga. There is a lot of research currently being done that relates to the yoga world, but how do we sift through and find high-q...
Dec 09, 2021•45 min
We’ve all experienced burnout, whether in our work or our home lives, and it can leave us feeling so overwhelmed that we don’t know how to start finding our way out of it. Today Tiffany and Rachel talk about what burnout is — what it looks and feels like, including some signals that can help us recognize it early. We share our personal experiences of burnout and offer a range strategies to explore (some of which may surprise you). We build a simple three-step plan to navigate out of burnout, and...
Dec 02, 2021•53 min
Today Rachel talks about the power of mindfulness with Dr. Rashmi Bismark MD MPH, a U.S.-trained physician who is board certified in both preventative medicine and public health. Dr. Rashmi is uniquely qualified to speak on the impact of mindfulness practices as, in parallel with her conventional medical studies, she also studied alternative and complementary therapies including Ayurveda, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness. Dr. Rashmi specializes in preventative medicine and blends eastern and we...
Nov 25, 2021•56 min
Today Rachel and Tiffany talk about all of the ways we find the inspiration we need to create positive behaviors and maintain them long-term -- whether that's in our yoga practice, our teaching, or really, in any aspect of our lives. We discuss the paths that each of us took to get to the kind of yoga that we practice and teach today and share how our practice has evolved over the years. We also talk about why curiosity is a superpower, and how to keep your yoga practice, and teaching, from beco...
Nov 18, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Today's guest gives us a masterclass in how yoga can help us navigate life’s uncertainty with a little more grace. Diane Malaspina is an Applied Psychologist and yoga teacher with over 15 years of experience in the health and wellness field. Diane has a B.S. in Psychology, a Master of Education, and a PhD in Educational and Developmental Psychology. Rachel and Diane discuss why she was drawn to psychology as an area of study, how yoga and meditation turned out to be exactly what she needed as a ...
Nov 11, 2021•57 min
Today we are continuing our discussion on the Placebo Effect. In the first half we talked about what the Placebo Effect is, why it is so important, and how it applies to the work we do. In this episode we dive into the many ways that placebo effects relate to lifestyle, movement, and yoga. In this episode, you'll learn how your mindset affects your relationship to exercise, why meditation is the groundwork for what yoga teachers do, why our language matters and why exercise you enjoy is so impor...
Nov 04, 2021•37 min
This episode is the first part of the conversation with Tiffany Cruikshank and Katja Barsch on the Placebo Effect and how it relates to yoga. Katja is a Yoga Medicine instructor and a researcher with a focus on fascia. She runs anatomy and fascia physiology yoga teacher trainings around Europe and contributes research roundups to several Yoga Medicine trainings. She is currently working on her PhD under the skillful guidance of Dr Robert Schleip and is a Board-Certified Structural Integration Pr...
Oct 28, 2021•43 min
Welcome to the very first episode of Yoga Medicine! In this inaugural episode, Tiffany Cruikshank and Rachel Land discuss why they started this journey together, what to expect from the Yoga Medicine podcast, and how to get the most out of your yoga practice and your life. Both women train yoga teachers to really understand the body and, with this podcast, they hope to dive deeper into topics that you can’t cover in a traditional yoga class. This podcast is really about the intersection of scien...
Oct 28, 2021•19 min
