The little neuroscience research that exists highlights the changes the brain goes through during practice – could that have a more lasting effect?
Tag: yoga science
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
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
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?
My “Yoga for immune balance” programme is live!
In case I haven’t shouted enough about it – I filmed a yoga programme! I’m so excited that it is … 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
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?
Forever young with yoga?
If inflammation determines our biological age, and if yoga helps to control unnecessary inflammation, could yoga also help to keep us young?
Geeky wellbeing favourites: June
The June issue of the mind–body adventure was shipped last week, and yes, it features two cats. Subscribe now and … More
Why is most yoga research a bit shit?
This question (or a more polite variant of it) recently came up in the pranayama teacher training I’ve been doing. I think we can all agree, it’s a valid question. It’s not that there isn’t research on yoga – this is starting to change – but a lot of what is out there is just not great. Here are three reasons why.
GEEKY YOGA 