Your brain on yoga nidra

The little neuroscience research that exists highlights the changes the brain goes through during practice – could that have a more lasting effect?

Let’s talk about pain

Friends, I know, I have not written forever. I could come up with a ton of excuses, like life stuff, … More

Can handstands make me happy(ier)?

I’m honestly not looking for silver lining when I say that lots of good things happened in 2020. Parking the … More

Mindfulness is not just for stress

Two new studies reinforce that mindfulness meditation can help not just to fight stress but also maintain a healthy and balanced immune system. Time to work on my meditation practice!

Does yoga help with (peri)menopause?

Perimenopause is a big time of transition for women – can yoga help to overcome the challenges that go with it?

Is hot yoga better (or worse) than room temperature yoga?

My first experience of hot yoga was fairly traumatic. The smell in the then Bikram Kentish Town studio. The aggressive … More

Yoga vs CBT for anxiety in older adults (plain language summary)

Large randomised clinical trial compared yoga and CBT for alleviating worry in older adults. The results are promising.

Is it time for some megastudy thinking in yoga research?

One of the biggest problems of understanding the effects of yoga on our health and minds and bodies more broadly is that a lot of yoga research is, frankly, a bit shit.So it was great to see the publication of this guidance last week on how yoga studies should be designed and reported. But it doesn’t really go far enough. Could megastudy thinking be what we are missing?

‘Sleep hygiene’ may help in Alzheimer’s – could yoga support too?

News today that sleep hygiene could help to delay or lessen the severity of Alzheimer’s – if yoga can help with better sleep, could it help with Alzheimer’s too?

Growing old well, with yoga

Ageing well is surely something that we are all after – mobile, as healthy as we can, with strong brains and great mental health. Maybe yoga can help.

Can I be into yoga without the supernatural crap?

The yoga world is obsessed with the supernatural, beyond things that are part of its actual heritage. But how much does this contribute to the rejection of science and medicine?

Meditation for a healthy immune system – plain language summary

Here’s a cool study to wrap the year up: evidence of changes in gene expression following an intense meditation retreat. … More

Why I thought “Breath” was disappointing (and even a little worrying)

There is a lot of food for thought in this yoga bible, but frankly I’m disappointed by the science-washing and the missed opportunity to put forward something great. Maybe science communication should be left to those with some scientific training after all.

Can yoga help live better with rheumatoid arthritis?

What we know from the research is that practicing yoga is linked with reducing the levels of molecules that drive inflammation, aka an ‘excessive’ immune reaction. But does that translate to an actual improvement in disease activity?

Is yoga nidra your missing sleep remedy?

I have come to the realisation that my whole family has sleeping problems and takes sleeping pills on a regular … More

How stress messes up your immune system (and where yoga fits in)

Stress really fucks up the immune system in various different ways. Yoga’s positive effects on our immunity are likely due to its effects on our stress levels.

Does yoga really support a healthy immune system?

Ever since I wrote the blog post on yoga perpetuating the appeal to nature fallacy, I’ve been a little paranoid … More

Is yoga guilty of perpetuating the ‘natural is best’ fallacy? Am I?

In the yoga world, we have a tendency to prefer and promote a preference for all things natural. Herbal remedies. … More

What’s so special about yoga?

Ever since I read Yoga Body*, I’ve had one big question in my mind: if modern postural yoga is basically … More

Burned out? Try yoga

Working from home over the past 18 months has brought some challenges, especially in maintaining work–life balance. Could yoga help tackle stress and burnout and keep us productive and full of brilliant ideas?