Jules Mitchell Yoga

Have you even studied stretching if you haven't attended this webinar at least twice?

Tuesday July 30th

https://www.julesmitchell.com/science-stretching-webinar/

Next week on the webinar we'll dive right into the "why we stretch" research before we spend a solid half hour or so describing and discussing these six types and how they fit into you teaching yoga. All that is followed by more research summaries and lots of learning.

There's still time to sign up. Tuesday July 30th 11am-2pm Pacific. Replay available for 30 days.

https://www.julesmitchell.com/science-stretching-webinar/

You should see the stack of papers I'm going through for next week's iteration of the Science of Stretching webinar. It feels like an unusual volume of stretching research has been published lately.

In order to keep this webinar within the 3-hour time frame, I instill a general "one in, one out" policy. I'm like a nightclub bouncer but for papers, not people 🤣

As a result, the narrative always adjusts slightly to reflect what's currently being studied and how the information is currently applied.

Join me! It's in just one week! Next Tuesday July 30th, 11am-2pm Pacific. You know where the link is (in the comments). ✌️

As someone who receives a steady stream of messages from yoga teachers ranging from "Is stretching dangerous?" to "Will stretching heal me?" I understand how confusing and overwhelming the topic can be. I also understand that to navigate the complexity, it helps if you:

1️⃣ are well-versed in the entire body of stretching literature.

2️⃣ have a comprehensive background education in major areas of exercise science .

3️⃣ embrace nonlinear and non-binary thinking.

Lucky for you, these are exactly what I cover in my Science of Stretching webinar.

The webinar includes approximately 100 slides and I provide links to dozens of original studies so you can further your own studies on the topics that interest you most. There is no reason you should doubt your knowledge of stretching again!

Early registration ends Monday so sign up today.

Webinar is Tuesday 30th 11am - 2pm. Replay available for 30 days.

If you're struggling with the language around stretching and flexibility or even just annoyed with all the conflicting messages on the internet, this webinar is for you.

It's a massive brain dump of all my years of reading the literature on stretching. I include 100 slides with dozens of hyperlinks to major studies. Prepare to become informed!

July 30th 11am-2pm
Replay available for 30 days

https://www.julesmitchell.com/science-stretching-webinar/

Have you even studied stretching if you haven't studied it with me?

Stretching is one of the most controversial, yet well studied topics. The amount of published research on stream is active staggering. After more than a decade of any research developments and study replications, I have settled on a well-balanced balanced narrative that considers many angles. You will learn to think about stretching in ways you never considered.

Join me July 30th from 11am-2pm Pacific time. Replay available for 30 days.

https://www.julesmitchell.com/science-stretching-webinar/

It's that time of year, time to talk about stretching! Science of Stretching webinar is July 30th. https://www.julesmitchell.com/science-stretching-webinar/

A little background into how I came to study connective tissue. So many questions I get from yoga teachers today are the same questions that led me down this path of study.

I see you all frustrated with the mixed messaging. My personal favorite is when practices like yin are promoted as connective tissue strengthening and then at the same time contraindicated for "lax" tissues. How exactly does that work?

I'll be sending an email out this week where I expand on these thoughts (and will link to a new podcast appearance that is my favorite so far).

If all this information is new, welcome! Consider joining my Science of Stretching webinar in July. 🤓

If you've been around for the last decade +, thanks for sticking around and helping to spread the knowledge to your spheres of influence. ✌️

Light as a feather, stiff as a board.

Kidding!

It's supta tadasana and it's a great take on a classic pose.

I use this version in a lot of different ways, but for my next class, it will inform a spinal integration skill of flexion/extension.

How will you use this pose?

It's always so interesting to me what questions yoga teachers come up with when learning to critically assess a research paper.

Last year someone asked if the warm-up could have affected the results. Clever!

As long as both the intervention and the control group did the warm-up, it wouldn't be possible to assess what that effect was. In fact, it likely helped reduce some natural variability.

It's discussions like these that help you understand what astudy can tell us...and what it can't.

This is why we read original research in my 300hr! Research literacy is a muscle that needs to be flexed in order to grow stronger!!

And it's so much fun. 🤓

Registration for my next cohort is now open! Ask me about it and I'll tell you what you want to know.

300hr registrations for the next cohort are rolling in and you definitely want to join us this time around.

The schedule for this training is as follows:

Module 1
March 15-17
April 5-7
April 26-28
May 17-19

Module 2
Sept 13-15
Oct 4-6
Oct 25-27
Nov 15-17


We meet online just 4 ½ hours per day in 3 x 90-minute sessions with 90-minute breaks in between, so your whole weekend isn’t ruined. These breaks make it easier to give your undivided attention during the sessions since you know you’ll get a break soon to manage your inbox, household, self-care, or whatever else is important to you.

Content is heavy on biomechanics, principles of exercise science, applications of pain science, neuroanatomy, stretching, somatics, motor control theory, pose analysis and purpose, creative use of props, pose modifications for specific adaptations, pathology, restorative yoga, intentional sequencing, and plenty of research literacy.

While the training starts in March 2025, if you are considering a payment plan option, don’t wait to take advantage of the offer.

The 10-installment payment plan must start by September 1, 2024.

The 5-installment payment plan must start by December 1, 2024.

I have a free Q&A coming up in July so you can get all your questions answered. Of course you can always DM me or comment below.

See you there!

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Clip from my 300hr YTT where we do a deep dive into a paper that is often cited on social media as the holy grail of yoga for osteoporosis.

It's always troubling when you see weak data get published but it's even more troubling when you see that same data set get published again in a shiny new paper. (Wait for the end to see a paper that addresses the issue.)

Just to be clear, we look at good research too! 😂 I just think that if you're brand new to reading research, there's nothing like a poor-quality paper to get you thinking about what you would like to see in a high-quality paper.

These exercises in research literacy help you think critically, instill a healthy dose and skepticism, and give you the confidence to work with a variety of students.

My 2025 dates for my online 300hr are posted and payment plans are well underway. Join us!!

Links in comments, including a free Q&A on Zoom this summer.

Have you signed up yet?

Join me and Catherine Cowey next Thursday May 16th at 11am Pacific time for a free webinar on strategies for yoga teachers when working with hypermobile students.

We'll give you an overview of the complete course including topics like:

🌟 The hypermobile spectrum
🌟 How to get the most out of isometrics in yoga
🌟 The importance of rest and creative setups to help encourage it
🌟 Why breathing mechanics matter and how to incorporate practices into asana
🌟 Creative use of props to support the needs of this population

It's just 45 minutes and it's free! If you can attend live you'll be entered to win the complete course. Recording will be sent out to everyone who pre-registered.

We're already at 350+ sign-ups and we hope to get more. This is an important topic we care deeply about. Please share with anyone you think would be interested.

You can also use foam blocks if you don't have squishy balls lying around.

Step one is to relax your arms/shoulders/neck and observe the movement quality of your rib cage.

If you can do that, then step two is to direct the inhalation laterally for a widening sensation of the ribcage.

Give it a go!

Online study hall for my Yoga Biomechanics book starts tomorrow! There's still time to sign up, even if you miss the first session.

We meet one hour per week for 6 weeks, webinar style so you don't have to be on camera (lurkers rejoice!).

You get the recordings for 30 days after the last session.

A question I get a lot comes from an old warning that pnf is dangerous. There's so much to unpack there because it's not really an "is" or "isn't" situation (although if forced to choose, I'd lean into "isn't").

So instead we talk about how ROM isn't a hard line in the sand, we discuss tolerance and passive resistance torque, we explore how studies are designed and what we can/can't test for, we listen to anecdotes with sensitivity for an n=1 human experience while being careful not turn them into data.

You end up leaving with a solid education, a bit less fear, and a hell of a lot of confidence to go out and stretch to your heart's desire. I love these weekends!!!

PS. I've been asked to do this particular workshop online but I'm holding back because this one is about active participation and practocing stretch techniques. It's better I come to you...for now.

Definitions are tough. Especially when different studies use different words to refer to the same thing. 😟

It's worth unpacking these terms! It helps even more to look at how they are measuring them.

It just sets you up to be better at interpreting research and identifying unsupported internet claims.

My online Book Club starts in one week. It's like a study hall for tissue mechanics terms...stiffness, compliance, laxity, tension, compression, elasticity, creep, and so much more.

I can't tell you how many texts, DMs, and emails I get asking for assistance in clarifying confusing concepts. Join the Book Club and get direct access to me for 6 whole weeks. Let's make some progress cleaning up those messy questions. 😄

Also I have a free hypermobility webinar in May.

Links in comments.

I'll never forget reading this passage at a yoga studio in Toronto and when I was done, someone in the back of the room asked, "Is there any good news?"

I paused to let the question sink in...

Then answered, "This IS the good news."

Let's talk about it in an in-depth and meaningful way that impacts the words you choose and influences how you communicate with your yoga students.

Online Book Club starts April 24th. It's like a weekly study hall where we read and discuss one chapter per week.

If you want some accountability to finish (or start) reading my book, join us! You can submit questions in advance each week or ask them in the chat in real time. I'll also have a moderator to help manage the Q&A.

If you don't want to actually read it, and just want to hear me talk about each chapter, feel free to join and just be a lurker. It's webinar format so you can just kick back and take it all in.

Recordings are available for 30 days.

Link in comments.

Tissue mechanics is the division of biomechanics I find most relevant to yoga teachers. Which is why I'm always talking about it!

Of course, as a field of study, it has its challenges since biological tissue isn't like the 2-dimensional linear models we often use. That only makes me want to study more and investigate further! 🤓

If you're needing some brush up on tendon and ligament behavior or have questions about all the fascia talk join my Book Club!! We'll unpack ALL of that and more. Early registration expires today. First meeting is April 24th.

If you already know all that stuff and want to learn a little about how hypermobile students are affected by their connective tissue variants, check out the free webinar on May 16th.

https://www.julesmitchell.com/link-in-bio/

I joined a commercial gym last week and it has left me overwhelmingly proud of our yoga community and how far we've come from the pathokinesiological model that most of us were trained in.

Maybe it's just my echo chamber, but I feel we are, as a generalization of course, a curious group who understands that each student has a story worth considering. We see our students and act accordingly.

I spoke with a friend/colleague yesterday who dropped into an out-of-town corporate yoga studio and had a LOVELY experience. It made my heart melt.

Meanwhile, during my onboarding training session at the corporate gym I was lectured about all the possible problems related to BMI, posture, muscle imbalances, tightness, improper technique, tissue damage, and more. Despite my having no injuries, limitations, or health concerns. I certainly did not feel seen or heard.

3 days later, I trained with a new tennis coach and in our first session he told me how athletic I was and how well I was doing. He complimented my ability to grasp the drills quickly and implement them into play. I left motivated and confident.

I think we're doing a great job as yoga teachers. Keep it up and keep studying.

Do you need some accountability to get through my book? Or just some support with all the graphs? Have questions about the research I cite?

I got you!

Textbooks aren't always fun to read. I make reading my book fun in my Book Club. 🤓

Join me for Book Club #11

The attendance requirement has been lifted, but you'll get the most out of it if you participate fully.

Replay is available for 30 days after the last session. Recordings go out each week.

Book not included. 📖

Starts April 24th. Early registration ends April 10th.

Link in comments.

Here's me giving you a little freedom around the way you were taught to sequence your yoga classes.

This is part of a 10-minute response to a question from a course participant where I highlighted some examples where yoga sequencing can contradict certain programming principles. 🤣