YR&B Contributors
Ariana is a movement educator (yoga teacher, strength trainer) in New York City. For more than ten years, she’s been helping people reach their goals with a holistic approach that combines principles from yoga, exercise science and published research. In addition to reading a lot of research, she’s acquired many yoga and fitness certifications, striving for a comprehensive understanding of our bodies and how we move.
In order to bring more science and critical thinking to yoga education, she started the Yoga & Beyond podcast and co-authored the Exposing Yoga Myths book. Yoga Research and Beyond (YR&B) is her latest effort to make research about yoga and movement more mainstream for teachers.
There’s so much information available to us online, making it hard to differentiate good information from bad. So many professions rely on research to bring more credibility to their work, why not yoga and movement teachers? Peer-reviewed research is a gold mine of reliable information and an under-utilized resource for yoga teachers and YR&B aims to make it easy to find, easy to read and easier to apply.
Learn more about Ariana at arianayoga.com
Brittany Fair, MS, RYT200, RCYT is a neuroscientist turned award-winning science writer and podcast host with a passion for yoga and yoga research. She is currently the science writer for the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and president of the San Diego Science Writers Association.
Yoga and meditation alter human physiology, especially the brain. Brittany developed a NeuroFlow workshop to provide yogis with an understanding about how meditation and yoga affect the brain and why mind-body practices are good for your health and overall wellbeing. She has taught neuroscience-related courses all over the country including MIT, Colby-Sawyer College and the Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy School.
Brittany is currently developing an online course for fall 2021 in collaboration with Yoga Research & Beyond, and she is working on her first book about the neuroscience of yoga and meditation.
For more about Brittany go to BrittanyDFair.com
Catherine spent much of her youth participating in all manner of athletics ranging from cross country and track, to crew, boxing and yoga. During all of these athletic endeavors she endured her fair share of injuries which led her to study Sports Medicine and Exercise Physiology at the University of San Francisco.
“At USF I worked with athletes as an athletic trainer to prevent and rehabilitate their injuries. Working daily with these athletes, coupled with the classes I was taking I accumulated a wealth of information, and ultimately was able to transfer all of this knowledge into helping everyday people with their aches and pains as a personal trainer.”
Her thirst for knowledge and fascination with the wonder of the human body led her to post graduate work in Kinesiology at San Francisco State University while still working as a personal trainer and assisting in physical therapy clinics. Her practice has continued to evolve over the last 20 years by studying the latest research while also attending multiple continuing education courses in a breadth of modalities such as FMS I and II, PRI (Myokinematics, Respiration), massage therapy, FRC, FR, and several pain education seminars.
Recognizing that she has a hypermobile body herself she dove into research on hypermobility spectrum disorders including EDS. She has used this research, her own experience, and clinical success with hypermobile clients to figure out the best ways to deal with many of the multi-faceted symptoms that come along with having joint hypermobility syndrome. She has also taken this knowledge and now teaches fitness professionals on all the complexities of this condition.
She strives to empower, educate and assist her clients on their movement journey to create a strong, resilient body that is durable for whatever life may bring their way.
For more about Catherine go to fitwizesf.com
Elizabeth Berger
YR&B Contributor
Elizabeth (Liz) Berger (MS, PMA-CPT) is a published author, statistical methodologist, and certified Pilates instructor based in Sacramento, CA. She specializes in program evaluation methods and statistical reasoning and is passionate about facilitating the implementation of evidence-based practices. Ms. Berger has spent most of her career working as a liaison between academic and practitioner communities at national, state, and local levels. She has led a variety of research projects ranging from randomized controlled trials to dissemination and implementation studies, and currently provides a variety of research services as a professional consultant. As a certified scientific reviewer, Ms. Berger also spent many years reviewing the methodological rigor of published research for inclusion in government clearinghouses. Her formal education includes M.S. and B.S. degrees in the social sciences as well as a variety of Pilates and group fitness certifications. Click here to schedule a consultation with Liz.
Jenn Pilotti is an author, movement educator, and personal trainer. She holds a B.S. in exercise physiology from UC Davis, a M.S. in Human Movement from A.T. Still University, and has studied numerous modalities and techniques, including: bodyweight training techniques, somatics, mobility interventions, dance, strength training and yoga.
She cares deeply about helping people of all ages and abilities feel strong, flexible, and capable, which has led her to study the intersection between the mind and the body. She has a special interest in pain science, motor control, the impact of language on movement, and how different movement techniques influence mental health. She regularly lectures and leads online and in person workshops on these topics for mental health professionals and movement professionals. She is also on the faculty for the US Navy Leadership, where she teaches mindful movement and lectures on the science of mindfulness.
Her first book, “Body, Mind, Movement: An evidence based approach to mindful movement,” was released by Handspring Publishing in June of 2020.
More information about Jenn can be found on her website www.jennpilotti.com.
Jules Mitchell MS, CMT, RYT is a Las Vegas based yoga teacher, educator and massage therapist. She blends the tradition of yoga with her extensive study in biomechanics to help teachers develop their craft and empower them with education.
She regularly contributes to yoga teacher training programs and leads workshops worldwide, balancing the somatic aspects of yoga with the most current exercise science. Bringing the most useful and applicable pieces of that science into the yoga community is her passion, even when it invokes a discerning analysis of popular opinions. Her book, Yoga Biomechanics: Stretching Redefined, is now available through Handspring Publishing.
For more about Jules go to julesmitchell.com
Sara Hoy (MS, ERYT-500, CPT) is a published author and yoga teacher trainer based in Stockholm Sweden. She is currently doing her PhD at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH), and she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from Karolinska Institute and a Master’s degree in Exercise Science from GIH. Earlier, she has worked in research projects involving yoga and exercise at the Center for Psychiatry Research and Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
As part of the team at the Nordic Yoga Institute, Sara educates yoga teachers in both the 200 and 300 hr programs. When she’s not conducting research she holds workshops, lectures and educates various groups on how to take a scientific approach to yoga. Her work turns yoga research, public health, and exercise science into actionable knowledge that can be used on the mat, in the gym, and in everyday life. Her first book ‘Yoga, Science & Facts’ (currently available in Swedish as ‘Yoga, vetenskap och fakta – därför fungerar det’) was released in March, 2019 by Sweden’s largest publisher, Bonnier Fakta.
For more about Sara visit yogaprehab.se