The Somatic Strength Collective
The Somatic Strength Collective is a podcast for midlife women dealing with persistent pain, joint stiffness, and chronic over-functioning. Host Mandy Ryle, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, pain care coach, and somatic educator, explores evidence-informed ways to build bone and muscle without triggering pain flare-ups. Episodes cover calming a hypervigilant nervous system, navigating midlife hormonal shifts, and replacing fear of age-related decline with neural and physical resilience. The show addresses factors that keep women stuck in pain and offers practical strategies they may not hear in a doctor's office.
Episodes
Why Everything Hurts in Perimenopause (and Why You’re Not Falling Apart). Part 1 of 4
If you’re in your 40s or 50s and suddenly feel like everything hurts, you’re not imagining it—and you’re not falling apart.Maybe you wake up with stiff, achy feet. Your back feels sore for no obvious reason. Your knees suddenly feel creaky. One week it’s your shoulder, the next it’s your hip, your fingers, or your Achilles.It can feel like your body changed overnight.In this episode, I’m kicking o
Practice: Release Neck & Jaw Pain Through the Pelvic Floor
Do you struggle with persistent tension, stiffness, or pain in your neck, jaw, throat, or upper shoulders (what Mandy calls the "schneck")? While biomechanics often looks at these areas in isolation, pain through a biopsychosocial lens reveals a profound connection between the base of your pelvis and the upper body.In this episode, Mandy guides you through an experiential, floor-based somatic prac
When the Scan Comes Back Clean: The Three Types of Pain and Why You're NOT Crazy
Have you ever spent 45 minutes inside an MRI machine praying for validation, only to be told everything looks completely "normal"? Or that they simply "can't find" anything to validate the pain you've been suffering with? Hearing that scans are clean can feel crushing and leave you questioning your sanity. In this episode, Mandy unpacks the three medical classifications of pain—nociceptive, neurop
The Vagus Nerve Explained: What Women with Persistent Pain Actually Need to Know
If you've spent five minutes on social media, you’ve seen 15-second reels promising to "reset" your vagus nerve with eye exercises,humming, or a $300 neck buzzer to instantly cure chronic pain, fatigue, and burnout.When these quick fixes inevitably fail, it's easy to feel defeated. But your nervous system isn't broken—it's sensitized. Understanding the Vagus Nerve is a first step to less pain and
The Real Reason Your Back Is Stiff: And How To Finally Break Free! (Part 2)
If you’ve spent years trying to move with a "flat back" or bracing your core like you're about to be punched, you’ve likely noticed that it doesn't really reduce your pain. If anything you are just getting tighter and more uncomfortable. Conventional fitness advice tells us to stabilize and stiffen to protect our spines, but modern pain science reveals a different reality.Your nervous system has l
Why "Good Form" Won't Save Your Back: What Science Actually Says About Bending Under Load
If there is one movement that strikes terror into women with a history of back pain, it’s bending forward under load—specifically, the deadlift. For decades, we’ve been told: "Bend with your knees, never your back," and "If you round your spine, you’ll slip a disc."In Part 1 of this two-part series, Mandy Ryle, CSCS, dismantles the myth of "perfect form." Drawing on landmark biomechanical research
Stiff Lower Back & Spasms? How to Calm Muscle Guarding (Bed Practice)
If you wake up feeling like the "Tin Man"—stiff, locked up, or terrified that the slightest bend or twist is going to flare your lower back—this episode is for you.When lower back tightness persists despite stretching, chiropractic adjustments, or medical procedures, the issue often isn't just in the physical tissues. Over time, your nervous system puts up "yellow caution tape" around your spine,
Your Body Is Not a Machine: Why The Mechanistic Model of The Body Keeps You Stuck.
📘 FREE EBOOK: The Move Beyond Pain in Perimenopause Roadmap👉 Download Your Free Copy Here(Get the full step-by-step framework, workbook prompts, and linked video practices to put this episode into action right away!)Episode SummaryHave you been told your knees are "bone-on-bone," your spine is wearing out like brake pads, or that joints simply degrade after too many miles? You have been sold The M
The #1 Predictor of Chronic Pain (It’s Not What Your MRI Shows)
Has your journey to find pain relief hit a dead end? You've faithfully done all the scans, the exercises, the pills and procedures. But pain is still taking up your precious time and energy, and money...In this episode of The Somatic Strength Collective, Mandy Ryle uncovers a game-changing truth: fear-avoidance is the single strongest predictor of whether pain becomes chronic and disabling—far out
When Your Body Won't Let You Work Out: Two Keys To Move Beyond Pain
You know you need to strength train in midlife to protect your bones, muscle mass, and metabolic health. But every time you try to lift weights or join a class, your back seizes, your knees throb, or your neck locks up. You are trapped in the Midlife Exercise Catch-22: terrified of losing mobility if you don't lift, but terrified of crippling pain if you do.In this episode, Mandy Ryle breaks you o
Sciatic Pain in Midlife: Why Deep Stretching Backfires (And What to Do Instead)
If you’ve been dealing with shooting, burning, or aching discomfort through your lower back, hip, glute, or down the back of your leg, you’ve probably been told it’s "sciatica"—and your immediate instinct was likely to yank on your hamstrings or aggressively stretch your piriformis.But what if deep stretching is actually making your sciatic pain worse?In this special experiential episode of The So
Doing All the "Right" Exercises but Still in Pain? Here's Why
Have you ever decided to get back to fitness—picking up a light set of dumbbells, going for a short walk, or following a simple 10-minute video—only to end up in a severe pain flare-up two days later?When your back seizes, your neck locks, or your knees throb after doing everything "right," it’s easy to feel betrayed by your own body. But the problem isn't your joints, your muscles, or your willpo
The Over-Functioning Trap: Why Midlife Pain Isn't Age-Related Decline
If you have tried everything to get out of chronic pain—stretching, resting, pushing through, buying every gadget, and seeing specialist after specialist—and you still feel frustrated, bewildered, and broken... I have a life-changing truth for you:Your body is not broken. It is highly, beautifully protective.In this premiere episode of The Somatic Strength Collective, we are dismantling the pervas
The Yin Yoga Podcast is Evolving: Welcome to The Somatic Strength Collective
Welcome to the next chapter! After a period of quiet evolution behind the scenes, The Yin Yoga Podcast is officially becoming The Somatic Strength Collective.In this short rebrand trailer, I’m sharing why this shift is happening and how we are bridging the gap between clinical pain neuroscience, somatic movement, and bone-building strength training.If you are a midlife woman who feels like you can
Wall Yin: Releasing Grudges
All of us tend to hold little grudges against our bodies. Maybe you can't do something as well as you used to, or pain casues you to opt out of things you really want to do. This is a wall practice which will focus on healthy and happy range of motion for the hips and knees. But we will also explore a simple meditation on the benevolent and loyal body. Perhaps we can release a few grudges we've be
YinRestore: In The Loop
This is a super restorative-y Yin practice. We will be taking the common Supta Padangusthasana series (supine hand to big toe) in a VERY creative and supported way. As you melt into these poses I'll get you into the loop as well about your hamstrings. Yogis get a lot of misinformation about stretching and no area is as misunderstood as the hamstrings. As you practice, I offer some information abou
Yin + Mindfulness: The Panacea
We are living through an incredibly stressful time. As we struggle with Covid-19 we are also experiencing extreme political unrest. It's hard not to let it get to you. Here is a practice to take a break, heal, gain perspective, self regulate. Mindfulness is just the most important tool that most of us aren't making full use of. This is a guide to employing mindfulness in your Yin practice but you
Nest: Safety and Surrender in Practice
Ohhhh Yogis I LOVE this practice. This is one I often teach when I travel. It's novel and fresh. It also feels so amazing. You'll be using a blanket throughout practice as a nest and prop. Some of the positions are a little different so just follow along step by step and you will love how supported you feel. We explore polyvagal theory in an experiential way in this practice. I want for you to fee
Should Yin Yoga Be Deep or Mild?
A debate that rages on. Some students swear by the benefit of of deep and intense duration stretch. Some by a milder attitude for the length of the hold. Though I think it’s clear that I personally favor the latter, I also think that it depends on your goal for practice. So let’s first consider the goals and then some of the evidence. This is a very informative episode that just may transform your
Developing Intuition and Independence in Practice
Develop skills for your home practice as you learn how to attend to your own needs and intuition. This session is a a minimally guided intuitive Yin practice. Learn how to listen to a pose and to allow the body to guide your choices. Your practice will include the use of a pranayama, three part breath to cultivate a cohesive experience. Props needed: Anything you may need to help you feel more sup
Yin + Somatics: The Whole Self
For me the intersection of science and Yoga is really exciting. One area of great convergence is in the study of interoception. The internal sense of oneself is correlated with more compassion, better health and even better perception of time. This practice focuses on the experience of feeling both in a sensory way and emotionally. I'll coach you through Somatic education blended with long holds i
Yin + Pranayama: Wag with Your Whole Body
I have a voracious appetite for information about neuroscience right now. I'm reading books, research, articles etc... My interest is in applying this knowledge to my teaching. This practice is a little taste of that. Wag with your whole body is a simple practice that combines some light neuroscience education with gentle movement and breathing. Props: bolster (or two pillows), blocks, blanketI am
Getting to Know Your Back: Part 4
For our final practice in this four part series, we will be working with the upper back, or thoracic region of the spine. For your exploration, I've borrowed a bit from a Feldenkrais Method® Lesson, the thoracic clock. If you are a movement geek like me, you will be blown away by the simple complexity of this somatic experience. Prepare to feel stuff you may not have felt in your back before. We
Relieve Joint Stiffness and Pain in the Morning
It's a familiar story but it breaks my heart every time. For people with chronic pain, just getting out of bed in the morning can be a real challenge. Though some joint stiffness in the morning is totally normal, debilitating pain that makes you dread getting up is not normal. There are so many reasons that pain may be worse in the morning, and we can't cover them all here, but we will address on
Yin & Meditation: Movement Reset
This practice cycles very gentle dynamic stretches with more passive poses. As you breathe in movement and stillness you will meditate on pure sensory data and experientially learn to mute thinking in favor of feeling. This simple meditation has profound effects on your nervous systems and on your quality of movement. As you marinate in sensory data, I'll explain a bit about how beliefs influence
Yin & Pranayama: Collective Amoebic Consciousness
For this sublime practice we will blend somatic movements and static Yin poses with a breathing technique known as cellular breathing. This technique hails from the Body Mind Centering somatic tradition and it enhances this practice experience greatly. This is a practice to feel alive in every cell. Transformational Self CareA Late Winter Wellness Retreat in the Dominican RepublicMarch 3-10, 2023J
Yin & Meditation: For when you are too hard on yourself
This 30 minute practice is for you if you tend to get down on yourself, if you are a bit perfectionistic. I've borrowed from a meditation I got from the self compassion researcher, Kristen Neff. We will blend Yin Yoga poses with a breathing practice and simple meditation to establish warmth and affection. Our anatomical focus is the shoulders and chest. Props Needed: A Yoga Block and a BlanketYin
Yin & Meditation: Outcome Independence
A very traditional supported Yin with plenty of stillness in our favorite feel good poses. In this practice we will practice outcome independence. Often when we practice we have a goal or intention in mind. While this can be useful, meditation is most productive when we approach with a sense of openness and curiosity. Learn how cultivating outcome independence can enhance your Yin practice, medita
Yin + Somatics - Bend
This is a somewhat unusual practice but extremely effective. We'll blend traditional yin poses with a somatic lesson on side bending. this practice is so valuable for addressing hip tension low back tension, in a somewhat unorthodox way. If you prefer to view this practice rather than simply listen to it you can find it here: https://online.soundmethodyoga.com/2020/07/05/yin-somatics-side-flexion/
Yin + Somatics - The Pelvic Clock
A wiggly, expressive practice to unlock the hips and low back. This is a very meditative, gentle class.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mandy-l-ryle/messageLet's connect! Follow me on: FacebookInstagramTicTocYouTubeFree Resources:Master the Yin Yoga Pose Repertoire: 7 Day Email CourseIntroduction to Pain Care YogaPractice Gallery Workbook - 6 go to sequences with pictorial instructio
Yin & Meditation: Expand Your Field of Awareness
This is one of those practices that you just crave. You’ll spend the whole hour on your back enjoying delicious somatic movements and simple Yin poses. Throughout your practice I will be encouraging you to tap into subtle experiences of self. Your efforts will culminate in a meta awareness that feels so good and right. This practice is so valuable if you are someone who suffers with chronic pain.
Yin for Strength?
So… unfortunately, none of the movements in Yin actually achieve the conditions that are required to build strength. BUT! Yin can be an amazing complement to strength training. Active restoration and rest are as essential to building muscle, endurance and stamina as weight training and cardio. Those activities break us down a bit, in a good way! And rest supports the natural regeneration of tissue
Yin & Somatics: Hip Soother
If I had a dollar for every time a student asked for a yoga pose for tight, or painful hips.... It's one of the main reasons that people come to Yin. The notion that stretching tight hips will relieve stiffness is well embedded into our Yoga/fitness culture. But, based on the evidence that I have seen, stretching does not adaptively lengthen muscles. So, can Yin help? YES! Just not for the reasons
Yin & Meditation: Heart Closing
To me, Yin is the answer, the cure, for our stressful times. A practice which invites us to slow down, attend to the self and surrender is not just helpful, it's vital. So for this practice we will retreat from the heart opening, expanding and activating for an opportunity to soften, to close and defend to heal. As a people pleaser and perfectionist, this meditation and simple movement is not natu
Yin & Somatics: Hip to Shoulder
This practice is not a very traditional Yin. If you love to be exposed to something different in your practice you will love this. If you enjoy learning things about yourself in movement and stillness, you will love this. We will make use of little bits and pieces of an Awareness Through Movement lesson called Hip to Shoulder as well as poses that illuminate this relationship particularly well. Th
Yin + Meditation: This Time With Feeling!
My primary work is with individuals who suffer from chronic pain. Yoga has a wealth of benefits for these people. One of the things that I notice is that when you've had pain for a long time, you tend to think about pain rather than feeling it. Research has found this too so don't take my word for it. An area of the brain called the Default Mode Network, or the "me-network" just spins all the time
Stress Less
This is a practice to address stress “head on”. We will work especially the neck and shoulders since those areas are most commonly associated with stress. We will look at the tension in a more scientific way to see if we can unravel it in a kinder, more effective way. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mandy-l-ryle/messageLet's connect! Follow me on: FacebookInstagramTicTocYouTubeFree
How to Breathe in Yin Yoga
For something so simple, there sure is a lot of disagreement about how to breathe in Yin Yoga. In this episode I unpack some of the evidence around Yogic breathing and help you to understand how you might employ the evidence and various techniques into your own practice and/or teaching. Understanding the evidence can transform your Yin practice and as you will see your own health and well being. T
Yin & Somatics: Your Nervous System and Your Neck
This is a go to, short practice to relieve neck and shoulder tension naturally. The whole practice can be done from a simple chair. You will engage in some somatic work as well as gentle stretching to increase range of motion and reduce feelings of stiffness. You will also learn about the relationship between these cranky tissues and the nervous systems. Chronic muscle tension in neck and shoulder
Yin + Somatics: Sliding and Gliding
This is a great practice to do if you need a little TLC. Do it when your hips feel a little tight or if you are suffering with some SIJ or piriformis discomfort. We will explore the unsung hero of good and functional movement, the fascia. Take the time to really feel and integrate these ideas as you move and breathe. It feels great! And you never even have to sit up! If you would like to learn mor
Yin & Somatics: Stress Support
Chronic stress is linked to many of the most pernicious chronic diseases that plague modern humans. Managing stress is of critical importance for health, memory, learning and quality of life. We can't change the stressful times that we live in. But there are simple, evidence informed strategies that you can use to reduce your stress in the moment, and with practice, manage your responses to stress
Guided Somatic Meditation for Heartfelt Good Wishes
A quick guided somatic meditation to help you to learn how to comfort yourself. I have loosely based this meditation on the teachings of Kristen Neff. She tells us that we and we alone are the most capable of comforting ourselves. In this practice you will offer yourself warmth and comfort. This is a valuable skill that can help us to manage stress. Follow Me:FacebookInstagramTicTocEnroll in one o
Yin & Somatic Practice: Calming Pelvic Pain and Tension
Ready to revolutionize your relationship with your pelvic floor? This enlightening episode is like a road map to pelvic health, guiding you through gentle practices and their benefits, understanding the intricacies of your pelvic anatomy, and effective ways you can manage pelvic pain. I'll give you a primer on the the science behind pelvic floor dysfunction and I'll teach you a breathing technique
Yinversion
Some of these poses are unfamiliar! If you need a visual, Click for a pose gallery of this practice. We don’t usually think about inversions in Yin. So to introduce them into a mild practice takes a bit of creativity and, in this case a bolster and a strap. The poses will emphasize the hips but our true purpose is to encounter something new, something novel. Throughout the practice you’ll be conte
Yin & Somatics: Lasting Relief for Hip and Groin Tension
Ever wondered why tension seems to build up in certain areas of your body, like the front of your pelvis and groins? This episode of the Yin Yoga Pod-practice aims to provide answers to this question while helping you find a solution through mindful movement. education and of course, stretching. We unravel the profound connection between your daily habits, lifestyle, and the discomfort you feel in
Yin & Somatics: Thoracic Nerve Flossing
Yoga is a bit preoccupied with muscles, Yin perhaps a bit too preoccupied with joints and connective tissues. But there is another element to healthy movement that is being influenced in our practice, in all of our movement really... that's the nerves. This practice puts the other tissues in a supporting role in favor of mobilizing, and gaining awareness of our nerves. Especially the ones that exi
Yin & Somatics: Hip Flexor Relief
The hip flexors are a group of muscles on the front of the hip which include the psoas, the illiacus and the rectus femoris. These muscles flex the hip, or draw the knee up toward the torso. However, a pain care approach will never reduce an issue to just one aspect of self such as certain muscles or tissues. So this practice makes use of several pain care strategies. We will explore hip flexor pa
Yin & Somatics: Rehabilitating the Body Image
When people ask me for an elevator pitch about what I do, the quickest, most accurate answer that I can give, is that I rehabilitate body image. Most people believe that Pain Care Yoga is all about stretching. And yes, Yoga for pain care may include stretching, but it's just one ingredient in a very complicated recipe. Each element is part of a process for building capacity and improving body imag
Yin & Somatics: A Hug for Hardworking Hips
This practice is what you need if you've been struggling with tight, uncomfortable hips. In addition to some familiar Yin poses we will also be practicing bits and pieces from a Feldenkrais Method® lesson that I've borrowed. We really tend to vilify tension in our culture. We've got dozens of ways to blast, release, roll and massage this supposed problem. But what if the tension you were experienc
Yin for Perfectionists
This is an important practice for all of my fellow sisters and brothers in perfectionism. If you are someone who never feels like they can take a break, who only looks at accomplishments and sees what they didn't do right, who has critical self talk, I hope that you sill spend an hour with me here. Perfectionism is a hard habit to break. Sometimes we even criticize ourselves for being self critic
Yin: Chronic Stress Manifesto
Chronic Stress affects nearly everyone. And though we all cope as best as we can, it leaves virtually no cell in your body untouched. So many of the ills that plague our society have their genesis in chronic stress so clearly, we could all use better skills to mitigate it's effects. This class is my manifesto about Chronic Stress. I may be biased, but I think Yoga has the market cornered on useful
Yin + Somatics: Simple Bedtime Practice
This is a nice simple practice that will feel amazing at the end of a long day, maybe right before bed. In fact, you might just hit play while you are IN your bed! We will use simple Yin poses and a somatic lesson from the Feldenkrais Method® called the Pelvic Clock. All you need is a blanket, pillow, or big towel to rest your head on, no other props are needed. If you'd like to learn more about P
Yin + Somatics -Turn
Oh this one feels so good. My hope for this practice is that you want to return to it over and over. When you get that ache been your shoulder blades, that crick in your neck, or feel a little limited looking over your shoulder. If you prefer to view this practice rather than just listen your can find it at https://online.soundmethodyoga.com/2020/07/05/yin-somatics-turn/--- Send in a voice message
Befriending the Hip: A Holistic Approach to Hip Tension
Ever felt frustrated with persistent hip tension that just won't go away? Ever wondered if there's a simpler, more holistic way to relieve that discomfort? Today, we're using the healing power of awareness in movement: Yin Yoga, to bring radical acceptance and relief to our bodies. I'll equip you with practical strategies to maximize your relaxation and release built-up tension not just for today
Yin & Somatics: Neck Pain Relief
The human neck is a tricky place. It's a complex experience of musculoskeletal, nervous and vascular tissue. But also bound to thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Any of these components of the neck can contribute to issues here. For this pod practice I have created a somatic lesson to address this complexity. We will lean mostly in to somatics here with just a couple of Yin poses for gentle tension
Yin & Pranayama: Expand Your Breathing Options
This practice is a blend of Yin Yoga and pranayama with a bit of somatic work sprinkled in. We will explore a breathing practice that I learned from my mentor Neil Pearson that I call, Expand Your Breathing Options. As you engage in movement and awareness you will also contemplate the gift of breath. This is a practice that is ripe with opportunities to learn and grow.Props needed: Bolster, blocks
Yin & Yoga Philosophy: Acceptance
While you marinate in juicy poses targeting the hips, we will explore a the duality of resistance and acceptance. You will have an opportunity to discover how these qualities manifest themselves in your tissues, in your poses and indeed in your entire experience of self. We will not dogmatically attempt to annihilate resistance, rather, I will teach you how to view this struggle with compassion an
Yin & Somatics: Sternal Rhythm
This practice is a special offering just for my listeners with neck pain. I do a lot of episodes about neck pain. Why? Because it's one of the most common types of chronic pain. And because it's hell. Many of my pain care clients come to me for neck pain and so I have a pretty big library of tools and strategies. This practice focuses on restoring the rhythm between the sternum, neck, jaw and hip.
Yin & Somatics: Soothe Upper Back and Neck Tension
To be an adult is to sometimes struggle with upper back and neck tension and even pain. This is my professional opinion. Though this pain/tightness can really disrupt your life, it’s important not to get too tied up about it. This practice is to give you some go to tools for managing this suffering. Knowing that you have a way to feel better, is a medicine in its own right. Though you really feel
Understanding Yin Yoga and Fascia
While it's true that you could practice Yin Yoga for a lifetime without knowing a thing about science, I do believe that a little scientific knowledge can go a long way. It's amazing how just a bit of understanding can influence the choices you make in your practice or in your teaching. How subjective experiences become even richer and more meaningful. It's amazing how separating fact from fiction
Nothing from Something: Yin + Somatics for Letting Go
We train our tissues for strength, endurance, range of motion, stamina etc... But we never seem to train for letting go. So many of us have areas of our body that hold chronic or parasitic tension. These areas need special care and techniques to release. This practice blends Yin and Somatics to facilitate letting go. For practice you will need a bolster, a blanket and two blocks or items that can
Getting to Know Your Back: Part 2
Many who have back pain believe that their spine is unstable. There is a distinct feeling of instability and vulnerability in the back that is reinforced by confusing or misleading messages coming from popular culture and even medical professionals. Current research shows however not that people with back pain are not unstable, but too stiff! In this short practice we will gently explore that stif
Yin Yoga: Hamstrings Education
We have a big problem with misinformation in the Yoga world. This problem seems most rampant around the hamstrings but is by no means exclusive to the hamstrings. The myth that stretching the hamstrings will “lengthen” the hamstrings and reduce the subjective experience of tightness has been going around for some time. For this 30 minute practice, we will practice a very traditional Yin practice f
A Celebration of the Body: Yin Yoga, Cellular Respiration, and Gratitude
Experience the profound connection between the universe within you and the world around you as we journey through an exquisite exploration of yin yoga, mindfulness, and the incredible power of gratitude. This is a 90-minute yin yoga practice that fosters a profound sense of appreciation for your body. Designed to bring tranquility, connection, and a space exclusively for you, we anchor our attenti
Side Bodies and the Self
This is a very gentle practice focused on the side bodies. I wanted to work with a part of the body that most of us don’t experience too many problems with so that we could really just work with observing sensation. As you move through the poses, I will add another layer to practice. Our true goal is to practice self awareness or interoception. This is an important skill for developing self compas
5 Reasons Yin Yoga is So Beneficial for Chronic Pain
Yin Yoga is so much more than stretching. For those with chronic pain, it has so much to offer, way beyond increasing flexibility. As a pain care coach, I provide practices, and techniques to my clients so that they may be the leader of their own healing process. Though I have many many strategies to choose from, when providing a customized plan, almost every client has Yin in their program. This
Yin Restore: Stressed Inside Out
Chronic Stress effects nearly every human and it definitely takes a toll on our bodies. Stress affects every cell of you, sometimes in unexpected ways. Your endocrine system, your immune system, and your motor system all mobilize to protect you from real or potential threats. In this class we will explore the areas of the body that are often guarding, ready to fight or flee; the psoas and the pelv
Yin & Somatics: Sublime Sidebends
This is the kind of wiggly, stretchy, feel-y practice that I love. We will focus our movement on more comfortable side bending, but I think that you will find that the side bend contributes to many other movements like shoulder comfort and hip mobility. Short sections of somatic education will be bookended with favorite Yin poses. As you move we will explore the unfathomably amazing body that you
Yin + Somatics: Shoulder Therapy
For this practice you will need a blanket or thick towel. If you have experienced shoulder pain or discomfort either now, or in the past run, don't walk to your mat! This gentle practice has what you need to move with confidence again. It feels really great and includes all of the elements of practice that I love. Lots of wriggly movement exploration, crave-able stillness and contemplation, a them
Yin & Pranayama: Time to Breathe
Breathing is the simplest thing in the world. But it's also incredibly powerful. Science is just recently tuning in to the capacity of the breath to heal mental illness, chronic pain, chronic stress and so much more. While there is no wrong way to breathe, there are certainly more strategic ways to breathe. This practice is a purposeful exploration of the breath in simple, restorative postures. Yo
Yin + Somatics: Address Neck Pain from the Pelvis to the Eyes
Got neck pain? 3 out of 5 people will say yes. In our new zoom culture it's even more prevalent and I have certainly been seeing this with my clients. My work is mostly with individuals suffering from chronic pain and this practice is one that I employ often. Effortless movement in the neck generated by the pelvis is soothing for the nervous system and informative for the body and interoceptive ma
Yin + Pranayama: A Universe Conspires
Hey. Here's the deal. My comfort zone seems to be swimming upstream. I like to make things so much harder than they need to be and struggle and strive with every step. So every now and then I have to remind myself of something. The Universe really wants for me to thrive. Not just me but all of us. I'm not a super spiritual person but I do love science, and I feel like science backs me up here. So
Yin + Somatics: Foot to Face, A Practice for Neck and Jaw
For me, Somatic Education is an extremely valuable tool for helping my students and clients who suffer from chronic pain. Of particular interest to me are the areas of the neck, shoulder and jaw. This somewhat experimental practice feels incredible but it also illuminates these areas in the body mind in a powerful way using a somatic technique called thumb gliding and traditional Yin poses. Treat
Yin + Somatics: Save your neck!
If you suffer from neck tension, neck discomfort, or pain this is the practice for you. More than just a little bit of stretching, this practice will address the real reason for your pain and tension. All you need for your practice is a yoga blanket.To learn more about Pain Care Yoga, Please check out my FREE video course, Introduction to Pain Care Yoga: https://yoga.mandyryle.com/free-digital-cou
Yin & Somatics: Free Your Sternum for a Happier Neck
This practice is a special hug for my fellow Yogis who suffer from neck pain, stiffness and tension headaches. We will incorporate a few Yin poses into a somatic lesson that I created to help you to free your sternum. Learning how to free the center of your chest and differentiate your ribs can be life changing. Allowing your hip to communicate with your sternum and your nose and even your eyes wi
The Future of Yoga: A Conversation with Nikki Hadjithoma
In this episode you will meet Nikki Hajitoma, a renowned Yin Yoga teacher and trainer. We delve into Nikki's unique approach to yoga, where Western anatomy meets Eastern philosophy, and how this fusion supports psycho-spiritual development. In our conversation, we discuss some misconceptions about Yin Yoga, a practice often misunderstood as 'easy' or 'just for beginners'. On the contrary, Yin Yog
Bolster Giveaway: The podcast returns for real on July 26th!
The podcast is still on break for a couple more weeks. But that doesn't mean that we aren't hard at work on future episodes. As I plan the rest of the 4th season, I can't help but wonder what YYP listeners would like more of. In fact, this information is so valuable to me, that it's worth a $104 Hugger Mugger bolster. No. Two of them! I'd love your input. Please just take a few minutes to chime in
Yin & Meditation for Acceptance
When most of us hear the word acceptance, we think of giving up or giving in. Our culture makes a virtue of resisting, fighting, wriggling out of difficult circumstances. But there is enormous value in the practice of accepting first. Acknowledging is the first step in self compassion. This pod-practice is about moving forward with compassion, rather than squashing our feelings or disappointment o
Nerve Flossing Practice for Sciatic Trouble
All of the nerves in our body require a state of sliding and gliding within our tissues. When nerves get stuck, or compressed, they tell us. While the causes of sciatic nerve pain or sciatica are numerous and not terribly well understood. We do know that restoring a suppleness and fluidity to the tissues of the low back, glutes, pelvic floor and thighs can be helpful . To restore or maintain this
Yin & Somatics: The Toes Have It
This practice is all about the lower body. But we will work with the feet, ankles, knees, thighs and hips with an unorthodox somatic lens, the toes. You will be delighted to discover how influential these appendages are in your poses and movements and your knees and ankles will thank you for the attention.This practice is geared especially to my listeners with foot, ankle and knee pain, but anyone
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