Jenni and Travis are joined by the esteemed Paul Ingraham (of PainScience.com) to discuss the connection between yoga and low back pain:

• How do movement and exercise help with low back pain?

• What does research reveal about whether yoga can help with low back pain?

• Are “Yoga for Low Back Pain” classes evidence-based?

Jenni and Travis discuss helpful tips for how to discern whether or not to trust a source of information in the yoga, fitness, and rehab worlds:

• Concrete tips for how to think more scientifically

• Jenni and Travis’ personal experiences with being taught misinformation in trainings they’ve taken

• What is “bro science”?

• What is pseudoscience?

Jenni and Travis are joined by the knowledgeable Dr. Sam Spinelli to discuss all things lumbar flexion:

• The anatomy and biomechanics of the low back region

• Is the low back at risk from repeated lumbar flexion in yoga poses?

• Is there a best technique for picking something up off the floor?

Jenni and Travis discuss all things shoulders:

• The anatomy and biomechanics of the shoulder joint complex

• Common micromanaging shoulder cues we hear in the yoga, movement, & fitness worlds

• Is transitioning from side plank to wild thing inherently risky for the shoulder?

Jenni and Travis discuss all things hamstrings:

• The anatomy of the hamstrings muscles

• The biomechanics of how to strengthen the hamstrings

• What is “yoga” butt (a.k.a. proximal hamstring tendinopathy)?

• Why do the hamstrings commonly cramp, and what are cramps?

Jenni and Travis are joined by Todd Hargrove to discuss the hot topic of posture and alignment. Points of discussion include:

• What do the terms “posture” and “alignment” mean?

• Does research support the widespread claims that bad posture has causal links with pain and health?

• How is viewing the human body like a machine unhelpful?

Jenni and Travis discuss the fascinating topic of interoception and its connection to yoga, mindfulness, emotions, and pain. Points of discussion include:

• Interoception research is rapidly evolving, and it’s important for yoga teachers to stay on top of these developing insights

• There’s a plethora of outdated information about the brain in the yoga world (i.e. “neuromyths”)

• We often hear that yoga improves interoception, but this assumption is questioned by science

Jenni and Travis discuss whether yoga can be considered “exercise” – and why this is a much more complex and nuanced question than it might appear to be on the surface! Points of discussion include:

• Is a yoga practice challenging enough to be considered “exercise” by exercise science definitions?

• What is the definition of “exercise”, and how is it different from “physical activity”?

• Can a yoga practice by itself give our body everything it needs to be healthy from a movement/exercise perspective?

Jenni and Travis are joined by Greg Nuckols to discuss the connection between strength training and range of motion. Points of discussion include:

• How does strength training impact flexibility?

• What factors influence one’s range of motion at any joint?

• What are the mechanisms by which we become more flexible?

Jenni and Travis discuss the topic of asymmetry in yoga, rehab, and fitness contexts. Points of discussion include:

• The nature of the major asymmetry that exists in Travis’ own body

• Do we always need to do the same thing on both sides in our yoga sequences?

• Do side-to-side asymmetries increase one’s risk on injury in athletic activities?

Jenni and Travis discuss chair pose (utkatasana), squats (malasana), and the numerous alignment questions and confusions that surround these common yoga poses. Topics covered include:

• The anatomy and biomechanics of chair pose

• Is it risky for the knees to move past the toes in chair pose, squats, and lunge?

• Should we tuck or untuck our tailbone in chair pose?

• In twisting chair, should our knees be “flush”?

Jenni and Travis are joined by Matthew Huy, MSc to discuss his recent dissertation on language, fear, and science in the yoga studio. Topics covered include:

• The impact that the infamous New York Times article How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body by William Broad had on societal perceptions of yoga

• What is a nocebo and how is it different from a placebo?

• Does research support the claim that hamstring stretching causes “yoga butt”?

• How can the yoga world improve its scientific literacy?

Jenni and Travis discuss the ins and outs of pigeon pose, including:

• Is pigeon pose risky for the front knee?

• Is pigeon pose a good treatment for sciatica?

• Should the front shin be parallel to the front edge of the mat in pigeon?

• Are active variations of pigeon superior to traditional passive pigeon?

Jenni and Travis discuss micromanaging in yoga & movement classes:

• What are common examples of micromanaging that we see in yoga classes?

• Why is a micromanaging approach to teaching common in the yoga world?

• What aspects of micromanaging can be unhelpful?

• When can teaching in a detailed manner actually be helpful?

Jenni and Travis discuss visual, verbal, and kinesthetic cueing in yoga and movement teaching. Using the tool of movement science, they examine common claims in the yoga world such as:

• Is it true that there are 3 types of learners: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic?

• Is teaching yoga or movement without demonstrating (or minimizing demonstrating) a superior method?

• What are mirror neurons?

• How does research on observational motor learning apply to yoga and movement teaching?

Is polyvagal theory evidence-based? Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss this question with Dr. Laura Baehr, PT, DPT, yoga teacher, Pilates teacher, and PhD candidate in Rehabilitation Sciences.

Points of discussion include:

• The widespread prevalence of polyvagal theory and its concepts today in yoga, yoga therapy, mental health fields, somatics-based practices, and more

• Does increased vagal tone correlate with increased emotional resilience and vice versa, as put forth by polyvagal theory?

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss a controversial study that found that stretching was more de-stressing than restorative yoga. Could this assertion possibly be true?

Points of discussion include:

• The temptation to make definitive conclusions based on the results of a single study

• What is the “stress response” (a biological process in the human body)?

• What’s the relationship between restorative yoga and the stress response?

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss how hot yoga and cold yoga affect the body and the eye-opening and geeky science of body temperature!

Points of discussion include:

• Is hot yoga a safe type of yoga, or does it pose significant risks we should be aware of?

• Does the sweating that we do in hot yoga detoxify our body?

• Do hot yoga and cold yoga require more energy expenditure than room temperature yoga? (In other words, do we burn more calories in hot and cold yoga?)