yoga poses

and yoga anatomy

Episode 214: How to Troubleshoot Knee Pain in Yoga

This episode scratches the surface of how to approach knee pain in yoga poses. Jason talks us through how he approaches knee pain in Pigeon Pose, Bridge Pose, and Virasana (or Vajrasana, which is sitting on your shins). RECOMMENDED AND RELATED LINKS Better Way to...

Episode 213: Yoga for Scoliosis with Abby Kraai

On today's episode, Jason talks with Portland yoga teacher Abby Kraai about her experience of teaching and practicing yoga with scoliosis. This episode is packed with practical info about how to help students with scoliosis approach different yoga poses, which...

Episode 208: Q&A – Jason Answers Your Questions about Hip Joint Rotation, Jumping Through, + More

It’s been a while since we devoted an episode to answering listener questions, so that’s exactly what we’re doing this week. In this episode, Jason tackles a few of the questions from listeners such as: * Internal or external hip joint rotation in forward fold poses?...

Episode 178: How to manage hypermobility in the yoga room with Jules Mitchell

You may have noticed a pendulum swing when it comes to yoga poses that require extreme amounts of flexiblity. Just as we glorified the idea of throwing both legs behind our head in Yoganidrasana, many of us are now worried that we've been doing too far, exploiting our...

Episode 167: Feel the Heat — The Pros and Cons of Yoga in a Heated Room

One of the more polarizing topics in modern yoga is the merits (and potential dangers) of doing yoga in a heated room. (To be clear, we're not talking about Bikram or Bikram-derived sequences in this ep; but vinyasa in a heated room.) So, this week Jason and I share...

Episode 144: Ouch! How to Handle Your Sore Sacrum

For almost three years, Jason has resisted addressing your questions about the sacroiliac joint (SI) -- mostly because it's such a complex topic for a podcast. But today! I wore him down. He addresses a listener question about the mysterious sacrum and the soreness...

Episode 119: Q&A -Jason’s Thoughts on “Creative” Sequencing & Finding Your Breath in Backbends

Jason is on the podcast this week to answer a few questions that came up about our Summer Series. (This is the long-lost bonus episode that we recorded this summer live during one of Jason's teacher training modules but the file got corrupted.) We address: * His...

Summer Series 2018: Q&A – How to Avoid Common Yoga Injuries

In this week's episode, Jason and I are live from Detroit Yoga Lab answering student questions about some of the most common yoga injuries, how to prevent and avoid them. Bonus banter: Find out why Jason has a black eye - unsurprisingly, it's not from yoga or a bar...

Summer Series 2018: Poses We (Now) Love

Do you remember the first time you did your favorite yoga pose? Was it true love the first time you took the shape? Or did it take a few tries (or maybe even years!?) to appreciate it? A few weeks ago, I shared on Instagram that when I first started practicing Side...

Summer Series 2018: Andrea and Jason Share Their “Easy” & “Hard” Poses

For this year's summer series, Jason and I are focusing on "Building a Sustainable Yoga Practice." Over the past year we've talked about injuries, fear of injuries, predatory teachers and we thought -- LET'S FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE FOR PETE'S SAKE. Let's empower...

Episode 99: Q&A – Jason’s Tips for Nailing Forearm Balance

Jason's back on the podcast answering some of our listeners most common questions. This week we tackle questions related to Pincha Mayurasana (Forearm Balance). He shares his best Pincha Mayurasana tips. Plus, we dive into: * Headless Headstand - An alternative pose...

Episode 97: Q&A — Jason Addresses Feeling Like the Odd Man Out

It probably won't come as a surprise to anyone reading this that sometimes male yogis can feel like the odd man out in yoga classes that are mostly filled with women. (Even Jason, who's been teaching yoga for 20 years, admits to feeling more comfortable in a gym...

Episode 96: Jason’s Ideas for Overcoming Fear & Other Handstand Obstacles

This episode is in response to the overwhelming number of questions we've gotten about Handstand. It's full of yoga Handstand tips. We explore the logistical side -- what are the best prep poses for Handstand? And the emotional side, i.e., how do I cope with my fear...

Episode 94: Live With Jason — All About Yoga Adjustments

This is our first-ever live podcast recording! From Jason's training in San Francisco at Love Story Yoga, we dig deep into how yoga teachers can serve their students better through offering hands-on, or manual, yoga adjustments. We offer yoga adjustment tips and talk...

Episode 91: Q&A – Jason’s Thoughts on Warrior I, Navasana, and “Advanced” Yoga

Jason's back on the podcast this week answering some of the best questions we've gotten in about yoga postures and advanced yoga. (Yogaland listeners are a smart, inquisitive bunch!) We dive into: * Why Jason rarely teaches Virabhadrasna I (Warrior I Pose) and how he...

Episode 90: All About Your Fascia with Jill Miller (Part II)

This week on the podcast, we continue our conversation with Jill Miller to learn even more about the mysterious (and amazing!) connective tissue that literally holds our bodies together, fascia. We learn more about: * What the three different layers of fascia are, how...

Episode 89: All About Your Fascia With Jill Miller (Part I)

Jill Miller, founder of Yoga Tune Up, is back on the blog this week to talk about what fascia is and how to incorporate the understanding of fascia into your yoga practice.

Episode 88: Looking at Yoga Poses Through the Lens of Yoga Neuromechanics With Robyn Capobianco

Yogis often talk about the nervous system in terms of how it responds to stress. But if you've ever wanted to learn more about the science of how the nervous system works, this episode is for you! (Spoiler alert: It controls almost everything related to movement!)...

Episode 87: Q&A — Jason’s Sequencing Philosophy, Thoughts on Retaining Students & Hip Impingement

We pick up where we left off last week with Jason answering more of your recent questions all about yoga class sequences! This week, he answers: * How often should I change my yoga class sequences? * How do I sequence my classes given the large influx of new students...

Episode 86: Q&A W/ Jason: Down Dog Strategies, Lower Rib Flare, & The Problem with the “Tuck Under” Cue

Jason Crandell joins me on the podcast this week to answer your questions. We cover a lot of ground in this short episode including: * Strategies for Down Dog -- How to make it easier to step forward, what to do when a student can't straighten their arms * Lower Rib...

Episode 76: Jason Crandell on Yoga Injuries — “Yoga is Good For You. Most Extreme Things are Not.”

Jason and Andrea sit down to review some of the themes discussed in episode 74 with Jill Miller and to delve more deeply into the topic of yoga injuries. How do we stop overpraising flexibility and "going further" in a pose without becoming afraid to fully use and...

Episode 74: Jill Miller Talks Honestly About Hip Replacement Surgery & How Yoga is in Need of a Tune Up

Jill Miller is the creator of Yoga Tune Up® and The Roll Model Method® -- a self care method that utilizes specific poses, sequences, and self massage tools to help you tune into your body's "blind spots." Jill's method can help ease aches and pains, it can soothe...

Episode 62: The Bonus Ep in Which We Answer Your Summer Series Questions

Hi everyone! On this special bonus episode, Jason and I answer your questions that came up during the summer series. Thanks, as always, for sending in your questions. It helps us plan episodes! We talk about why the cue to keep the feet parallel in Wheel Pose came...

Summer Series! Ep 6: A Strategic Approach to Arm Balances and Inversions

A bonus episode for you this week! Jason and I talk about his new online course on yogaglo.com, The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Arm Balances & Inversions. There's a lot packed into this episode: Jason shares his system for teaching these poses, how he sees both arm...

Summer Series! Ep 5: Aspects of the Core We Tend to Ignore

The core is an often-obsessed about part of the body, and yogis are no exception. In this episode, Jason breaks down the component parts that make up the core. He also offers three ideas for tapping into those parts we ignore -- from paying attention to rotation, to...

Summer Series! Ep 4: Twisting, Strengthening, & Folding Your Spine

On the last two episodes, Jason offered some tips for working with your hips and shoulders. On this installment, we're moving to the central axis -- the spine. Jason shows off his superior maths skills by sharing that we for every 10 Sun Salutations we do 50 forward...

Summer Series! Ep 3: Understanding Your Super-Awesome (& Complex) Shoulders

Did you know that your shoulder complex has four joints on each side? This dynamic engineering allows us to do all of the things we do with our arms and hands. But it can leave the shoulder joints vulnerable if we don't balance them with strength. In vinyasa yoga we...

Summer Series! Ep 2: What’s Missing from Your Hip-Focused Practices

We love, love, love to stretch our hips in yoga. Pigeon Pose -- oh yeah. Lizard -- yep. Thread the Needle -- mmmhmmm. But sometimes we focus on how good opening the outer hips feels to the exclusion of creating strength and stability in the support muscles. Similarly,...

Episode 43: Q&A W/ Jason – Sacroiliac Pain, Tailbone Cues, & Wonky Knees

Hi everyone! This week, Jason comes back to Yogaland to answer your questions, specifically: - Is the cue 'flatten your tailbone' correct or outdated? - Why do yoga teachers tell us to flex the foot in Pigeon Pose? How does it protect the knee? - Why is sacroiliac...

Episode 27: Q&A with Jason Crandell – Happy Hips, Hammies, and Lower Back

Hi everyone! Before jetting off on his most recent trip to Hong Kong, I sat with Jason to answer more listener-submitted questions. This time we just happened to get questions that all centered around the lower body. So, we talk about: * How to best work with tight...

Episode 23: Q & A with Jason – Fun with Shoulder Anatomy!

Hi everyone! On this episode Jason answers three of our listener questions and it just so happens that they all focus on some aspect of shoulder anatomy. We also talk about cats a lot. Here are the questions: * Why do we flex the ankle in poses like Reclined Pigeon? *...