Learn more about all things Yoga Therapy
Explore a collection of trusted tools and guides on topics like sleep, chronic pain, yoga nidra, and yoga philosophy. The resources below are designed to support your healing journey and complement your yoga therapy sessions, helping you find greater balance and well-being.
Yoga Therapy Resources: Table of Contents
- About Yoga Therapy and Chronic Pain
- About Yoga Nidra, Meditation, and Rest
- About Sleep
- About Breathing
- About Your Feet
- About Ayurveda
- More Cool Science and Philosophy
About Yoga Therapy and Chronic Pain
- Why Things Hurt – Lorimer Moseley, YouTube video from TED-X Adelaide
- Chronic pain is surprisingly treatable – when patients focus on the brain: A Washington Post article about pain, neuroplasticity, and what all this means for pain recovery.
- How Yoga Therapy Can Help: A resource from the International Association of Yoga Therapists explaining how yoga therapy can help with a variety of health and wellness needs.
- Yoga Therapy for Chronic and Persistent Pain: A simple summary of the chronic pain cycle and how yoga therapy can disrupt it and help you to feel better.
- Back Off! Yoga Therapy and Posture: Part 1: I hear from people who want to change their posture a lot. Here’s some food for thought from a yoga therapist about posture that’s compatible with my own thinking.
About Yoga Nidra, Meditation, and Rest
- Radiant Rest by Tracee Stanley
- Pause Rest Be: Stillness Practices for Courage in Times of Change by Olivia Raheem
- Relax and Renew by Judith Hanson Lasater
- Restore and Rebalance by Judith Hanson Lasater
- Let’s Talk About Yoga Nidra: an interview about Yoga Nidra which includes links to more interesting research on YogaTherapy.Health
- The Impact of Yoga Nidra and Seated Meditation on the Mental Health of College Professors: A 2018 study on college professors found that both Yoga Nidra and seated mindfulness meditation helped with stress, but Yoga Nidra was especially effective for reducing anxiety. As a former college instructor, this resonates with me!
- Yoga Nidra: Help With Sleep and Anxiety: U.S. News & World Report article about how Yoga Nidra can help with sleep and anxiety.
- iRest Yoga Nidra Research: A collection of blog posts highlighting various studies conducted by the iRest organization on Yoga Nidra.
- Insight Timer: An app for finding guided meditation practices.
About Sleep
- How to Take a Refreshing Nap: An NPR article breaks down the science of napping, covering ideal length, timing, and tips to boost energy and avoid grogginess.
- Can a Nap Boost Brain Health? This John’s Hopkins article explores how napping can support brain health, improve memory, and boost cognitive function, with tips for maximizing benefits.
- Why is Sleep Important? This NHLBI article explains why sleep is essential for overall health, highlighting its role in brain function, heart health, immune support, and disease prevention.
- Yoga Nidra: An innovative approach for management of chronic insomnia: This study examined the use of Yoga Nidra as a tool in relieving chronic insomnia.
- National Library of Medicine Study: This study suggests Yoga Nidra may help with relaxation, sleep, anxiety, and pain relief, providing a foundation for future insomnia research.
- A Closer Look at Yoga Nidra: This article explores Yoga Nidra was as a feasible intervention for adults with self-reported insomnia.
- The Impact of Yoga Nidra: This study examines the impact of Yoga Nidra and seated meditation on reducing stress and improving mental well-being.
About Breathing
- 3D Breath: A video that I share with clients to show how to work on your breath mechanics.
- 3D View of the Diaphragm: This isn’t a very good quality video, but I still think it’s helpful to see how the diaphragm and ribs (ideally) move as you breathe.
About Your Feet
- Gait Happens: I recommend their Fit Feet Program if you don’t want to / can’t afford to work one-on-one with someone and are looking for a focused foot program to follow.
- Petra Fisher Movement: Movement coach with tools for people who want a movement-rich life
- Rali Malcheva: Online coach and fitness trainer focusing on the importance of the foot and function.
- Nutritious Movement Store: Foot-related books by Katy Bowman
About Ayurveda
- Ayurveda’s Three Pillars of Health by Mona L. Warner
More Cool Science and Philosophy
- Befriending Your Inner Voice: Hidden Brain Podcast
- Changing our Mental Map: Hidden Brain Podcast
- Befriending Your Nervous System Through Polyvagal Theory A YouTube Video by Deb Dana, LCSW
- Sthira and Sukha: Steadiness and Ease: This article explains how the principles of steadiness (Sthira) and ease (Sukha) create balance in yoga practice and life.
- Sthira and Sukha – Finding balance on and off the mat: This article discusses how the balance of steadiness (Sthira) and ease (Sukha) can be applied both in yoga practice and daily life.
- Q&A: Reclaiming ease in everyday life: Ideas for bringing sukha into daily life