Why Yoga Actually Works: Beyond the Woo, Into the Why
As the first month of the year came to a close, I’ve been reflecting on what I’m most excited to share in the year ahead. At the top of that list is our 2026 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Bali. Teacher training has become one of the most meaningful parts of my work. Not because I’m interested in producing more teachers for the sake of it, but because I genuinely care about helping people understand why we practice.
I love teaching the purpose behind yoga. I love helping new and evolving teachers make sense of their own experience on the mat, connect the dots between sensation, structure, and intention, and walk away with clarity instead of confusion.
I’ll be honest: I’m not the most “woo” teacher out there. I don’t rely on incense, candles, astrology, or elaborate spiritual language to make a practice feel meaningful. Not because those things are wrong, but because I believe the practice itself is already potent. The postures, the breath, the discipline of showing up as a dedicated practitioner. That’s enough.
To me, the purpose behind how we move is just as important as the philosophy yoga is rooted in.
Most teachers, whether new or experienced, are trained within a specific methodology. Power yoga emphasizes long holds and intensity. Iyengar focuses on precise alignment. Vinyasa prioritizes flow and tempo. Yin leans into stillness and passive shapes. These styles look different on the surface, but underneath, they all share something essential.
Every posture directly affects the nervous system through our muscles, connective tissues, and sensory receptors. In other words, yoga is always working with anatomy and physiology, whether we name it or not. Yet this is rarely discussed in class.
When we peel back the surface of yoga postures, we see a level of intelligence that often goes unnoticed. Even practiced in small doses, these shapes can act as powerful medicine for the body.
From a sports medicine and physical therapy perspective, yoga offers a rare opportunity to explore both active and passive ranges of motion. This supports joint health, strengthens and lengthens vulnerable tissues, and helps maintain resilient movement patterns over time. The postures also encourage the circulation of synovial fluid within joint capsules, which is essential for lubrication, hydration, and long-term joint health.
This is why yoga can be so effective at improving range of motion, balance, coordination, and overall structural integrity.
Another often overlooked benefit is the impact yoga has on the brain. Repeated postures and varied movement patterns help create new neural pathways while strengthening the vestibular system, which is responsible for balance, spatial awareness, and our ability to orient ourselves in space. Every time we move, balance, invert, or transition, we are training the brain to process information more efficiently.
That might sound subtle, but it becomes increasingly important as we age. As eyesight changes and mobility naturally declines, a responsive nervous system and a sharp mind become key components of longevity.
Yoga is also incredibly effective at counteracting modern lifestyle habits. Prolonged sitting, poor posture, altered gait patterns, and forward head position all take a toll on the body. Yoga’s multidirectional spinal movement, something we explore in nearly every class, helps restore balance and adaptability to the spine. In many ways, this is where yoga can be even more beneficial than Pilates.
And finally, we can’t ignore the impact yoga has on immunity. Heart openers and inversions act as powerful tonics for the lymphatic, circulatory, and digestive systems. They help move stagnant fluid, improve circulation, support detoxification, and reduce inflammation and edema. When these systems are functioning well, the body is better equipped to heal, recover, and defend itself.
This is the lens through which I teach yoga. Practical, intelligent, grounded in anatomy and nervous system function, and deeply respectful of the tradition without unnecessary embellishment. Yoga doesn’t need to be dressed up to be transformative. It already knows exactly what it’s doing.