Share
Yogaland Podcast
Healing from an eating disorder with Nicole Bell
Most of us struggle with body image on some level. Depending on a lot of factors yoga can be instrumental in helping us learn to love and accept our bodies--or trigger us. Today’s guest, Nicole Bell, has experienced both sides first hand.
Nicole's spiral into Anorexia coincided with her intense love of Bikram yoga. As she tells it, the classes were more like punishment than a refuge for her. Years later she found herself in a yoga studio again, only this time she has a very different mind set. “Even after all the restricting and after bullying myself and my body for so many years, I’m finally starting to listen,” she says. “I don’t need to do the full bind all the time or all of the Chaturangas. I’m not trying to prove myself to anybody. I’m trying to make myself feel good. That’s it.”
Her story is a powerful reminder that we are all struggling in one way or another. As she points out in this episode, finding a practice that raises your awareness of how you speak to yourself and encourages you to be kinder is one way to come through it stronger, wiser, and more capable.
Show notes: http://www.jasonyogacom/podcast/episode179
SHOUT OUT TO OUR SPONSORS
Acuity is a scheduling assistant that works 24/7 behind the scenes to fill your calendar and takes hours of work off your plate — so you can keep your zen, and focus on all the other important aspects of your yoga business or side hustle. For a limited time only, you can get 45 days of Acuity Scheduling absolutely free - no credit card required - by going to acuityscheduling.com/yogaland.
Women shouldn’t have to compromise when it comes to feminine products. And, with Lola, there are no compromises. Lola products are 100 percent natural, made of 100 percent organic cotton with no added chemicals, fragrances, synthetics, or dyes. Plus, they now offer new hypoallergenic cleansing wipes. Their online subscription service is fully customizable, so it’s one less thing to worry about. For 30 percent off all subscriptions, visit Mylola.com and enter code YOGALAND30 when you subscribe.
Hydrant is more than a flavoring mix. It does have great, refreshing flavor, but the mix of key electrolytes is scientifically formulated to jump start the body's natural hydrating process. Hydrant also contains a small amount of all natural cane sugar. This is not a mistake - glucose is essential to the body's hydration process. For 25% off your first order, go to DrinkHydrant.com and enter promo code YOGALAND at checkout.
More episodes
View all episodes
Yoga(ish): Thoughts on Yoga Alliance’s New Credentials and How Italy Stole Our Hearts)
53:33|Yoga Alliance has announced big changes to its credentials. The 200-hour and 500-hour designations are going away, and teachers will now be listed as either RYT or E-RYT. Many yoga teachers have strong feelings about this, and Jason does too. In this new episode of Yoga(ish), we talk through the changes simply and honestly. Then it’s on to the fun stuff: we took a family trip to Italy and we share all about it -- how we fell in love with Rome, celebrated 18 years of marriage, visited the charming region that Andrea's grandparents emigrated from, food that left us speechless, and the pure joy of watching our daughter thrive in ways we never expected.HighlightsThe Yoga Alliance credential changes, explainedWhat's happening to the 200-hour and 500-hour designations Grandfathering and the E-RYT: Jason’s honest takeNo one can take your education awayRemembering that Yoga Alliance is voluntaryOur trip to Italy: Rome, Puglia, and the foodTraveling with a neurodivergent childTeaching Strong Yoga in London
How to Combine Yoga, Cardio, and Resistance Training into One Balanced Week
39:54|How do you fit yoga, resistance training, and cardio into a real week — without burning out or dropping one of them entirely?That’s our topic this week — not in theory, but with specific days, durations, and honest personal experience of what actually works for me and Jason.The short version: yoga alone isn't enough. Cardio alone isn't enough. Resistance training alone isn't enough. But the three together — even in modest amounts — create a movement practice that is balanced, sustainable, and genuinely good for your body long term!To learn more about incorporating resistance training into your yoga practice, check out Jason's newest continuing education course, Strong Yoga here: jasonyoga.com/strength
Is Yoga Enough? What It Trains Brilliantly and Where it Leaves Gaps
41:59|Is yoga enough? It's one of the most debated questions in the wellness world — and honestly, it's the wrong question. Yoga has specific strengths and specific limitations. The most useful thing we can do as practitioners and teachers is understand both — clearly and without defensiveness. That's what this episode does. We look at what yoga genuinely does brilliantly — and where it falls meaningfully short. Not to diminish yoga, but to add complement it with additional strength-training as a modality. Jason's newest online course, Strong Yoga is now open for enrollment! To learn more and register, click here: learn.jasonyoga.com/strongyoga
3 Resistance Band Exercises That Transform Your Backbends & Build Shoulder Strength
26:16|Most yoga backbend preparation focuses on opening the front body. That's valuable — but it's only half the equation. The posterior shoulders, rhomboids, and upper back muscles that should be driving backbends are almost never specifically strengthened in a yoga practice. The result: most practitioners push the floor away rather than pulling the chest forward — and no amount of additional stretching fixes a strength problem.This week’s podcast fixes that.Jason breaks down three targeted resistance band exercises for the posterior shoulders and upper back — and immediately applies each one to Locust, Cobra, Camel, and Bridge so you can feel the difference in real time.What You'll Learn:Why posterior shoulder and upper back weakness is the most overlooked limitation in yoga backbendsThree resistance band exercises — seated and standing row, elbow flare pull, and band pull-apart at three angles — that directly target the muscles yoga consistently under-developsHow to choose the right resistance level and how many sets and reps to use for both pre-practice activation and longer-term strength buildingHow to apply each exercise immediately to Locust, Cobra, Camel, and Bridge — and feel the difference in muscular recruitment in real timeWhy resistance provides proprioceptive feedback that bodyweight yoga cannot and how that feedback immediately improves your backbendsRegistration opens for Jason's newest course, Strong Yoga on Thursday! Get on the waitlist and we'll let you know when you can enroll: jasonyoga.com/strength
The Six-Phase Structure to Build a Strong Yoga Class
42:49|If you've been wondering how to incorporate resistance training into your yoga classes without losing what makes yoga yoga — this episode is for you.In this conversation breaks down his exact six-phase structure bringing resistance training into a yoga context. The central insight: resistance doesn't make yoga harder. Done intelligently, it makes yoga easier, more embodied, and more effective than ever before.We talk through:-Why Jason developed this approach — the personal and professional reasons behind this evolution-Why yoga props have always facilitated length and support-How resistance training and yoga are complementary modalities that address each other's gaps directly-Andrea's personal experience of how targeted strengthening resolved years of chronic SI joint pain -Why pranayama and meditation are non-negotiable in this structure-The interdisciplinary philosophy behind Jason's approach — why looking at embodiment through multiple lenses produces greater truth than any single ideology-Why Jason is not replacing his existing yoga teaching — this is an addition, not a substitution!NOTE! Jason's Strong Yoga: The Fundamentals of Resistance Training for Yoga Teachers will be open for enrollment soon! Click here to join the waitlist and we'll send you the details: jasonyoga.com/strength
Yoga(ish): Life Updates, Big Changes, and What This Summer Taught Us
47:22|The summer went quickly; we thought we'd reconvene and catch you up on our latest in life and yoga. As a reminder! Yoga-ish conversations are where we share life stuff, and although it may cross over into yoga territory, it is decidedly non-technical. This week, we cover a lot of ground and talk about:Books we loved this summerWhat we're watching (spoiler: We're divided over Widow's Bay)Surprising joy in our journey with memory careJason's professional evolution and the vulnerability that comes with itWhat's coming next — a new resistance training course for yogis called Strong Yoga. Join the waitlist to learn all about it: jasonyoga.com/strength
Yoga Philosophy Explained — The 6 Core Teachings That Unite Every Tradition
33:08|What is yoga — really?Most practitioners and teachers can answer that question with a pose, a breath, or a feeling. Far fewer can answer it with the philosophical depth the tradition actually deserves. This week's episode does just that.Drawing on academic scholarship, Sanskrit etymology, and nearly 30 years of teaching and study, Jason identifies the six core teachings that appear consistently across the diverse spectrum of yoga traditions — from Hatha to Jnana, from Karma to Bhakti, from Patanjali to modern practice. Not a single reductive definition, but a genuine philosophical framework that holds up across lineages, eras, and approaches.
Your Twists Are Missing This
21:54|Most yoga twists are done to the spine — not with it. In nearly every conventional yoga twist, the arms and legs do the work: The hand presses against the knee. The elbow hooks outside the thigh. The leverage of the limbs produces the rotation, while the spinal muscles — the obliques, the multifidus, the deep rotators — remain largely passive. The spine is being twisted. It is not doing the twisting. I turn this on its head in this week’s solocast. In 15 minutes, you’ll transform the quality and depth of three yoga-informed spinal rotation exercises by adding resistance bands. This is not just about better twists. It's about building functional rotational strength that yoga's conventional twisting patterns cannot provide.
Does Yoga Build Strength? The Science Behind What Yoga Actually Does
44:14|This week Jason and I have a conversation the yoga world has been dancing around for years: Does yoga build strength? Jason offers an honest framework for understanding the ways that yoga builds strength — and where it genuinely falls short. What You'll Learn: Why strength matters — particularly for longevity The two primary components of strength development and how yoga addresses each oneHow yoga builds neuromuscular strength, efficiency, and coordination — and why that's more valuable than most practitioners realizeWhy yoga will never produce hypertrophy — and what that means for long-term health, muscle mass, and metabolic functionWhat progressive overload is and why bodyweight training alone cannot provide itWhy yoga primarily recruits Type 1 fibers and almost never accesses Type 2 fibers and why it mattersWhy resistance training and yoga are not competing modalities — they are extraordinary partnersThe Iyengar yoga innovation argument: why adding resistance training tools to yoga is no different from what the greatest yoga innovators have always done