How often do your students ask for help with tight hamstrings? In this episode Jenn Pilotti and I discuss a study that compared 4 stretching techniques for greater hamstring flexibility. This study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning

Y&B #62 - Buteyko Breathing and Asthma

Nov 28th, 2017 31m 37s

How can Buteyko breathing help with asthma? Research shows 6-30% of asthma sufferers use breathing methods to alleviate their asthma symptoms in the UK. Catherine and I discuss a paper from the Complementary Therapies in Medicine journal about

Y&B #61 - Ground Reaction Forces in 28 Yoga Poses

Oct 19th, 2017 37m 45s

What are Ground Reaction Forces (GRFs) and why are they important? In biomechanics GRF is the force exerted from the ground onto the body when they make contact. It's basically Newton's 3rd law: for every action there is a reaction. Measuring t

Y&B #60 - Can VR Technology Alter Pain Perception?

Aug 31st, 2017 40m 20s

Can virtual reality technology affect pain perception? Well, yeah. Catherine Cowey and I discuss a fun study about this co-authored by Lorimer Moseley in 2015 in the Psychological Science Journal. The researchers used VR technology to give subj

Hamstring Injuries and Yoga

Jul 28th, 2017 55m 31s

Proximal hamstring tendinopathy (PHT) is a pathology of the tendon with a combination of tissue damage, inflammation, and possibly pain at the proximal tendon where the hamstring attaches to the ischial tuberosity. PHT is very common among yoga

Y&B #58 - The Value of Blowing Up a Balloon

Jun 28th, 2017 47m 2s

Breathing is a hot topic for yoga teachers and fitness professionals. Jenn Pilotti and I talk about a study on the 90/90 breath technique with ball and balloon. Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) practitioners use this exercise to help people

Y&B #57 - How does Kinesiotape® affect balance and athletic performance?

May 25th, 2017 42m 19s

How does Kinesiotape® affect balance and athletic performance? Cat and I discuss a study from the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy done in 2016. The authors hypothesized that there would be improvements in athletic performance b

Y&B #56 - Does yoga reverse bone loss?

Apr 20th, 2017 37m 11s

Can 12 minutes of yoga a day reverse osteoporotic bone loss? The title of this study "Twelve-Minute Daily Yoga Regimen Reverses Osteoporotic Bone Loss" might lead you to believe so, but the results and data are incomplete and inconclusive. Jul

Y&B #55 - Chronic Pain and Hypermobility

Mar 23rd, 2017 55m 24s

Catherine Cowey and I discuss an article on chronic pain and hypermobility syndrome (HMS) from the Journal of Pain Research. This article gives a thorough overview of the many kinds of hypermobility conditions and symptoms and makes it very cle

Y&B #54 - Are headstands safe?

Mar 2nd, 2017 59m 33s

Are headstands safe? Jules Mitchell and I discuss a study about headstands from 2014. This is the first study of its kind that assessed loads on the neck and head in headstand. We had different reactions to this study. When I read it, it reinf

Y&B #53 - Distal Mobility for Proximal Stability

Feb 9th, 2017 35m 51s

How does ankle instability affect the knee? In the previous episode Jenn Pilotti and I discussed proximal stability for distal mobility - how core stability affects the knees and ankles. But what about the other way around? How do distal joints

Y&B #52 - Proximal Stability for Distal Mobility

Jan 19th, 2017 30m 35s

Proximal stability for distal mobility is a principle that’s often used in corrective exercise, manual treatment and personal training. Generally, it means that working on core stability can affect distal joints, providing more mobility. This i

Y&B #51 Does Yoga improve athletic performance?

Dec 29th, 2016 46m 57s

Does Yoga improve athletic performance? It might, but we don't know exactly how. Jules Mitchell was researching how yoga affects athletics performance for her upcoming book and discovered a gap in the literature. There's plenty of research abo

Y&B #50 How does Bikram Yoga affect core temperature and heart rate?

Dec 8th, 2016 58m 34s

Yoga and Movement Research Series How does Bikram yoga affect heart rate and core temperature? To be completely honest neither Cat nor I are fans of Bikram yoga or hot yoga in general. Nonetheless, we did our best to discuss Bikram yoga and t

Y&B #49 Are core stabiilty exercises the best for low back pain?

Nov 17th, 2016 38m 48s

Jenn Pilotti and I discuss a thorough review of 29 studies that answers this question: Are core stability exercises the best for back pain? The meta review was conducted in 2014 and is entitled, "An update of stabilization exercises for low bac

Y&B #48 Yoga Re:Alignment Workshops for Teachers

Oct 13th, 2016 32m 54s

In this bonus episode Jules Mitchell (biomechanist and yoga educator) asks me questions about my new workshops for teachers called the Yoga Re:Alignment Workshop Series. We also talk about the role of movement science in yoga asana and whether

Y&B #47 Should we use mirrors in yoga classes?

Oct 13th, 2016 45m 46s

Whether or not to use mirrors in yoga classes is a popular topic of discussion among teachers. This is the first episode in my new yoga and movement research series. I talk to Jules Mitchell about the efficacy of using mirrors when learning yo

Y&B #46 Dan John - Body, Mind and Soul

Sep 1st, 2016 57m 58s

Dan John has been lifting weights since 1965 and coaching for more than 30 years. He holds the American record in the Weight Pentathlon event, won the American Masters Discus Championships several times, and has competed in Olympic weightlifti

Y&B #45 Charlie Reid on Mobility and Strength Training

Jul 22nd, 2016 1h 12m

Charlie Reid, CSCS, CMT, considers himself an "anti-guru", an educator, and an enthusiast for all things strength and conditioning related. His pragmatic approach centers around helping others find solutions that are practical, while sifting th

Y&B #44 Greg Lehman - Reconciling Biomechanics with Pain Science

Jun 30th, 2016 47m 16s

Greg Lehman, Physiotherapist and Chiropractor talks about why pain science and biomechanics need to be reconciled. People think that pain science challenges everything in biomechanics, but it doesn’t. It challenges it a little. We can and shoul

Y&B #43 Shelly Prosko - Bridging the Gap Between Yoga and Healthcare

Jun 16th, 2016 1h 11m

Shelly Prosko, PT, PYT, CPI, specializes in pain science, yoga therapy and pelvic floor health. She's dedicated to bridging the gap between yoga and modern healthcare philosophies and believes this integration is highly effective in creating a

Y&B #42 Exposing Yoga Myths part 4

Mar 4th, 2016 33m 58s

Last year Mel, Kim and I decided to write a book in order to dispel some of the popular claims we hear in mainstream yoga classes. Exposing Yoga Myths V1 is the result of those efforts. In this episode we talk about some responses (good and bad

Y&B #41 PhysiYoga with Helen O'Neill and Diana Zotos

Feb 26th, 2016 53m 7s

Diana and Helen are both experienced yoga teachers and physical therapists. They've created a course that reflects the thirst for applicable and teachable knowledge regarding functional anatomy both for the yoga teacher and the physical therapi

Y&B #40 Lauren Ohayon, Holy Shift Yoga

Feb 19th, 2016 54m 12s

Lauren Ohayon is a body mechanics geek who relishes in constant learning, laughing and community. Through her biomechanics and movement studies, Lauren has developed a style of teaching that helps students gain awareness of their structure as w

Y&B #39 Jules Mitchell part 2

Feb 12th, 2016 48m 35s

Redefining stretching with Biomechanist and Yoga Educator Jules Mitchell, MS. We talk about her upcoming book, different types of stretching like PNF, the shoulder joint in downward dog and why she doesn’t say the word "tight" anymore when refe