All the Yoga Myths We Busted in 2023
This blog post was first sent to Jenni’s email list as an email newsletter. Sign up for the JRY email newsletter here!
When I look back on this past year, I almost can't believe how much high-quality content was released through my website, social media channels, and the Yoga Meets Movement Science podcast (which I co-host with the amazing Travis Pollen, PhD)!
Much of this content came in the form of yoga myth-busting, and some of the most interesting content came from amazing special guests who shared their insights with our yoga community.
Here's a selection of my favorite pieces from this year. Enjoy catching up on any you might have missed or revisiting any favorites that you thought were extra rad. :)
And please feel free to share this roundup with any of your yogi friends who you think might be interested – it's always good to spread the educational word about these myths!
My Favorite Myth-Busting Content of 2023:
Claims that nasal breathing is important for our health *abound* in the yoga world. These claims mostly stem from a couple of popular books on the market, but these books are scientifically dubious. Find out what science actually suggests about nasal breathing in episode 35 of the Yoga Meets Movement Science podcast!
You’ve probably been instructed to “externally rotate” (ER) your shoulders in down dog – it’s a very common alignment cue. But when we examine this cue through the lens of biomechanics and pain science, we find that it’s not necessary. Read more and update your perspective on this yoga cue in this blog post!
This is a refrain we hear all the time in yoga classes, but does it make scientific sense, given what we know about interoception? Find out the mind-blowing scoop on whether or not “Listen to your body” is good advice in episode 38 of the Yoga Meets Movement Science podcast.
Everyone thinks the yoga hip-opener frog pose is a position of external rotation, but is this true? The surprising anatomical reality of frog pose would suggest otherwise! Check out my anatomy breakdown of this confusing pose (and why it's not actually an externally-rotated hip opener) in this video!
Yin yoga is a wonderful practice, but is it because it targets fascia? Although this is a commonly-stated claim, scientific research on connective tissue adaptation would suggest otherwise. Learn the full scoop in episode 42 of our podcast on fascia!
It’s trendy these days in the yoga/movement world to hear that “mobility” means “active range of motion” and “flexibility” means “passive range of motion”. But what does stretching science actually suggest about the definitions for these terms? Let’s clarify the language we use about the body and movement in this blog post!
This may come as a major surprise, but research in recent years has revealed that passive stretching can cause muscle growth! So can the stretching we do in yoga actually make us strong? Find out the scientific scoop with expert special guest Greg Nuckols in episode 40 of the Yoga Meets Movement Science podcast.
We often see yoga teachers taking on non-yoga teaching roles such as addressing students’ pain and injuries, consulting them on anxiety, stress, and depression, correcting students’ posture, offering nutritional advice, and more. Are all of these roles within a yoga teacher’s scope of practice? Listen to fan favorite podcast episode 44 our magnificent special guest Catherine Wilkinson!
Cobra and up dog are two similar yoga asanas (both prone backbends), but they have some key differences from one another. Is it important that we clearly understand these differences? I share my movement science-based perspective in this video!
These claims are widespread in yoga land (and in the world in general). But it turns out that the term “organic” may be more about marketing than it is about anything else! Learn what science suggests about the “organic” label from two health scientist special guests in our podcast episode Wellness Myths in the Yoga World!
Cardiovascular fitness is important for our long term health, but does yoga fulfill this requirement for us? Learn the full scientific scoop on the cardiovascular system, heart rate, metabolic demand, and conditioning with special guest Alec Blenis in our podcast episode What Yogis Should Know About Cardio.
I hope you enjoyed this yoga myth-busting year-in-review! :)
And don't forget that aside from cultivating all of this in-depth free content for our yoga community, you can also find me:
teaching yoga classes in my online class library (220+ classes and growing every month!)
teaching movement science-based workshops for yoga geeks in the many con education courses on my website! 🤓
designing your strength practice alongside exercise science professor Travis Pollen, PhD for our Strength for Yoga: Remote Group Training program. If you’re a yogi who’s interested in strength like Travis and I are, I think you’ll love it!
(BTW, all of the above offerings start with free 7-day trials so you can make sure they're a good fit!)
Thank you so much for being a part of this wonderful science-based, strength-based, myth-busting yoga community. I'm looking forward to much more of all of this in 2024!
Happy New Year!
-Jenni