Yoga Meets Movement Science

There is some great information in this podcast and I’ve learned a lot from it that I apply in my classes. It is also the only podcast I listen to at 1.5X because there is too much banter and no apparent editing. I appreciate when a podcast respects my time. 😋 As a yoga teacher I appreciate that Jenni and Travis are challenging some of the assumptions we have, and rightly so. On the other hand, some of the cues we use are to compliment the meditative quality of a practice, by transmitting the ability to be present to our students. Maybe there is not a safety concern, but holding a pose a certain way has a use for being present with our bodies. Yoga is both movement science, and also a practice of meditation and breathwork supported by a philosophical system. This podcast is great for thinking about the purely physical side, and you can get the philosophy and meditation from another show.

I was generally put off by the condescension and passive aggressive commentary and jokes even if the information is relevant and interesting to me. I’ll stick to reading and research that provides equally useful information and myth-busting without the tone of superiority and making fun of commentary.

Just commenting on the Polyvagal episode. I wish they had an actual expert on Polyvagal theory on the show. They said so many inaccurate things that made me cringe. Like whoa - the irony that they were making fun of reductionist claims and misinformation when it seems like that is what their opinions were based off of… I’m a psychologist and mental health professional that has had Polyvagal trainings backed by the APA. I’m no Polyvagal guru or even use it that much in my practice. I also know that it is controversial because it doesn’t pass certain scientific scrutiny. Nevertheless, it seemed like they didn’t really know much about it because so many things they said were just plain wrong. I’m guessing this episode was inspired by misinformation in the yoga world about Polyvagal. Can’t be sure but yikes

I think from the beginning there’s been a tendency to make this a “debunk” yoga podcast. I feel like they had a great idea but their bias away from yoga makes me wonder why they are doing the podcast. Isn’t it the concept that they’d like to change the atmosphere and misconceptions with science backed sourcing? If I were a new teacher, I’d either quit teaching or quit listening. Either way the information is lost on the people who should be listening.