Yoga Meets Movement Science

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen are joined by Dr. Jessica Steier and Dr. Andrea Love (co-founders of the Unbiased Science Podcast) to discuss wellness myths in the yoga world.

Jessica Steier, DrPH, PMP is a public health scientist and data scientist, and Andrea Love, PhD is an immunologist and microbiologist.

Together, they run the Unbiased Science Podcast and all of its associated educational...

Jenni and Travis discuss the top 7 most misused movement terms in yoga. Why did each of these movement terms make the list? How are their common uses in the yoga world unhelpful? How can we update our movement-based yoga language to be more in line with movement science?

Jenni and Travis are also offering a free *written guide* to the top 7 most misused movement terms! Grab your free guide here: https://www.jennirawlings.com/yoga-la...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen are joined by special guest Alec Blenis to discuss what yogis should know about cardio.

Alec Blenis is a hybrid athlete, strength and conditioning coach, and science nerd. He holds a B.S. in physics from Georgia Tech and is a former professional obstacle course racer and ultrarunner (he’s completed over 50 ultras.) Alec is also the current world record holder i...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss yoga myths about the knees.

Points of discussion include:

• Will running wear out your knees?
• What is a systematic review with meta analysis?
• Should we avoid locking our knees in yoga?
• Are knee pops and clicks bad?
• Are open chain knee extension exercises bad?
• What’s the deal with knee alignment in chair pose?
• Is knee valgus in our standing yoga poses bad?
• Sho...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss the anatomy, biomechanics, and cueing of the knees.

Points of discussion include:

• What is the structure of the knee joint?
• What are the ligaments of the knee?
• Are quadriceps-targeted exercises the only way to strengthen the knee?
• Is the knee joint only a hinge joint?
• What’s the screw home mechanism of the knee?
• What are knee valgus and knee varus?
• What is ...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen are joined by the amazing Catherine Wilkinson to discuss a yoga teacher’s scope of practice.

Catherine Wilkinson is the founder of Wellness Connection Yoga School, where she also serves as the course designer and lead trainer for their 200hr and 500hr yoga teacher trainings (offered both in-person and online). Catherine holds a BSc/MSc in Health Sciences, and s...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss the topic of fascia in part 2 of a 2-part series. This second episode of this 2-part series focuses on the questions:

1) Does Yin Yoga target fascia?

2) Does myofascial release work?

(Part 1 of this series focused on the questions: What is fascia? And: Can we train fascia through active movement?)

Points of discussion in this episode include:

• ...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss the topic of fascia in part 1 of a 2-part series. This first episode focuses on the questions:

1) What is fascia?

2) Can we specifically train fascia through active movement?

(Part 2 of this series focuses on the questions: Does Yin Yoga target fascia? And: Does myofascial release work?)

Points of discussion in this ...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss wild thing – a yoga pose that many yoga practitioners have strong opinions about! Jenni and Travis discuss the anatomy and biomechanics of wild thing, as well as a controversial kerfuffle that happened in the yoga community surrounding this yoga pose a few years ago.

Points of discussion include:

• The anatomy & biomechanics of wild thing
• The contro...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen are joined by Greg Nuckols to discuss whether stretching can make you strong. Greg has an M.A. in exercise and sports science and is the co-founder of Stronger by Science and MacroFactor (the best nutrition app on the market). He’s held three all-time world records in powerlifting, is an international speaker, and is the author of multiple books. He’s also the...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss the anatomy, biomechanics, and cueing of hip rotation.

Points of discussion include:

• A brief intro to hip joint anatomy
• Open vs. closed chain hip rotation
• What is the average ROM of hip external & internal rotation?
• What are hip anteversion and retroversion?
• What does research suggest about the connection between lack of hip rotation and hip pain?
• The...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss what research suggests about whether we should truly “always listen to our body”.

Points of discussion include:

• A review of interoception
• Do yoga & mindfulness practices actually improve interoception?
• What’s the connection between interoception and anxiety?
• Does what we feel in our body necessarily reflect what is actually taking place in our body?
• ...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss the phenomenon of “magic muscles”: the tendency in the yoga, fitness, and rehab worlds to treat some muscles as more important or more special than other muscles.

Points of discussion include:

• What is a magic muscle?
• Muscle-based approaches in strength training & bodybuilding
• Teaching yoga with a  “teach movement, not muscles” approach
• What research...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen are joined by special guest Joe Miller, MS to discuss the physiology of breathing.

Joe Miller has been teaching yoga since 2000, and he has a master’s degree in applied physiology from Columbia University. He teaches anatomy and physiology in yoga teacher trainings nationally and worldwide. He’s also a Guild Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner and a Certified S...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss what scientific research suggests about nasal vs. mouth breathing.

In addition to nasal vs. mouth breathing as a general topic, Jenni and Travis also take a closer look at the Buteyko Breathing Method, as well as and 2 popular books on breathing: Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor (2020) and The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown (20...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen are joined by the knowledgeable science educator Jonathan Jarry, MS to discuss complementary and alternative medicine.

Jonathan Jarry is a science communicator for McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. He has a master’s degree in molecular biology, and he brings his experience in cancer research, human genetics, rehabilitation research, and forens...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss a selection of yoga alignment cues that don't make sense! These cues all have one thing in common: they are each used inconsistently across similar (or the same) positions. By examining these carefully-chosen examples, we gain insight into whether or not these cues are actually important. And we improve our ability to think critically about the in...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen are joined by the knowledgeable and inspiring Claire Zai, a strength coach with Barbell Medicine and a competitive powerlifter with her bachelor’s degree in physiology & neuroscience and her master’s degree in physiology with a focus on biomechanics.

They discuss myths and evidence-based information about women & strength training, including these topic...

Yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings and Exercise Science professor Travis Pollen discuss the anatomy, biomechanics, and cueing of the yoga asana downward facing dog (adho mukha svanasana).

Points of discussion include:

• The anatomy and joint positions of down dog
• The biomechanical effects that down dog has on the body
• Should we externally rotate our shoulders in down dog?
• What is “shoulder impingement”, and why is this an outdated model for ...