Yoga for Pain

Podcasts & Articles
227: Is Pain During Yoga Okay? with Neil Pearson

227: Is Pain During Yoga Okay? with Neil Pearson

We may have told our yoga students not to do a movement if it causes pain, but is all pain necessarily bad? Neil Pearson (he/him) shares insights from pain science about why pain doesn’t always mean damage, and how to approach pain in yoga.

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225: Yoga for Hip Pain with Shannon Crow

225: Yoga for Hip Pain with Shannon Crow

Hip or pelvic pain is a common complaint among yoga students, and you may even have experienced it yourself. Shannon Crow (she/her) shares more about what exactly hip pain is and some yoga exercises and movements that can help alleviate it.

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207: Biopsychosocial Model & Yoga with Carolyn Vandyken

207: Biopsychosocial Model & Yoga with Carolyn Vandyken

The biopsychosocial model of care is a whole-person approach to health and wellness. Expert Carolyn Vandyken (she/her) explains how this framework relates to pain, movement, function. She also breaks down the science of pain in relation to yoga, and more!

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194: Bladder 101 for Yoga Teachers

194: Bladder 101 for Yoga Teachers

What do we as yoga teachers need to understand about the bladder? So many of our students are dealing with urinary incontinence. Studies have shown the benefits that yoga and education can have. Today Shannon outlines why yoga is good for your bladder.

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193: Pelvic Symmetry Sequence with Shannon Crow

193: Pelvic Symmetry Sequence with Shannon Crow

Shannon shares a pelvic symmetry sequence that she has used for years as a yoga teacher and practitioner. It is one that Dr. Sinead Dufour adapted from a sequence that Cecile Rost, PT created. This sequence is often helpful for pelvic girdle pain.

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117: Pain Language with Shelly Prosko (Part 2)

117: Pain Language with Shelly Prosko (Part 2)

This week, Shannon and Shelly discuss the importance of self-compassion and the language we can use around that, as well ashow we can make yoga “safe” – both by creating safe spaces and through the use of our language.

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116:  Pain Language with Shelly Prosko (Part 1)

116: Pain Language with Shelly Prosko (Part 1)

Shannon and Shelly discuss the concepts of pain and some of the science behind pain  (hint: it’s not a ‘thing’, it’s a phenomenon and an experience!). When guiding a yoga class, some words we use innocently may either be empowering or triggering – Shelly shares more about some words to avoid, and her suggestions for alternatives.

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115: The Polyvagal Theory and Yoga with Dr. Ginger Garner

115: The Polyvagal Theory and Yoga with Dr. Ginger Garner

The polyvagal theory, the wandering nerve, the use of sound, music, cues and communication in a yoga class, chronic pain – Shannon and Dr. Garner dive deep into these topics and more. Dr. Garner shares examples from her multi-decade career about the use of polyvagal theory in treating chronic pain, and highlights some tools yoga teachers can put into practice in their own classes.

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114: Compassion Fatigue with Diane Liska

114: Compassion Fatigue with Diane Liska

As yoga teachers, we come across people who come to yoga in search of healing. We help guide their experience and help them in their healing process, but this can take a toll on us that leads to burnout and compassion fatigue over time. Diane Liska has strategies for how best to develop resilience to compassion fatigue and evolve in our own professional practice.

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075: Yoga for Pelvic Girdle Pain with Dr. Sinead Dufour

075: Yoga for Pelvic Girdle Pain with Dr. Sinead Dufour

Pelvic girdle pain develops in pregnancy or postnatally. Shannon and Dr. Sinead Dufour discuss how our understanding of pelvic girdle pain has evolved, the misconceptions that make treating the pain difficult, and what yoga teachers can do to help their students experiencing pelvic pain.

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056: Yoga and Menopause with Leslie Kazadi

056: Yoga and Menopause with Leslie Kazadi

There can be a lot of shyness around discussing the profound physical, emotional and mental changes that menopause can bring. Leslie opens up about her own experience with menopause in a very honest way and how it led her to take it on as a special area of interest in relation to her yoga teachings.

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