Q&A April 15 2025

Welcome everyone. So I'm Jonathan. It's very nice to meet all of you if I haven't met you yet. I am the founder of the conference and I've been doing this for 10 years, 11 years, trying to share how yoga affects the nervous system based on what's published in the scientific literature. And my personal story is that I'm a neurologist in New York City, and I'm also a yoga student of Sri Dharma Mitra here in New York City. And so I was always, you You know, really passionate about science, really passionate about yoga. And then I kind of felt like the science world didn't respect yoga, but also the yoga world didn't respect science. So, you know, you would, people wouldn't really recommend yoga in the medicine world. And then in the yoga world, I would hear things like, don't go to the doctor. And so based on that, I got really interested in reading about scientific studies published on yoga. And I realized there's 8,500 of them. And that's not something that is regularly talked about in the yoga world or in the science world. And so I really wanted to have an event where researchers and yoga students and teachers came together to discuss this evidence. And that is how the Neuroscience and Yoga Conference started. And the conference is very special to me. It's like my passion project. So it's, it's one of my favorite times of the year. I look forward to it all year long. And so I'm really grateful that everyone's here and that you're interested in it because it kind of keeps my passion going. So thank you. The speakers, so, you know, I mentioned that it's researchers and yoga teachers from all over the world. I'm kind of underselling them by saying that. These are like leading researchers from major academic institutions like Harvard and Mount Sinai and Columbia and institutions all over the world, including in India. It, it's a really esteemed group of people. And then the other thing to note is that they are all really interested in yoga. So they, they practice yoga themselves. They are passionate about really understanding yoga. So it's a fantastic group of people that are gonna be leading the sessions. And every year we focus on different topics. So this year we're focusing on yoga and brain injury and concussion. Yoga and endocrine health, and yoga and reproductive health. So brain injury and concussion really includes things like stroke, head injuries, and some of the complications that come from that. So for concussion, it could be things like headaches and dizziness and brain fog. And then for other types of brain injuries like stroke, it could include things like aphasia, which is a deficit in language, inability to understand or produce language. And so that's what all of the presentations are going to focus on this year. They're super, super amazing. We have a researcher. Who just does research about yoga and aphasia. For yoga and endocrine health, this includes many topics. It's a very broad topic, but we're focusing on the stress system, stress physiology, the thyroid system. So, you know, how does yoga affect thyroid health, which is something you hear in so many yoga classes? And really the question is myth or fact. And then also diabetes and metabolism. And bone physiology. So yoga and osteoporosis. And these are all areas where there's published scientific research. So we're only really sharing published scientific research during this. And then the last day, yoga and reproductive health, will focus on fertility in both men and women, PCOS, pregnancy and prenatal yoga, and menopause. So really super interesting topics. I'm super excited for them. And yeah, that's just a quick overview of what the topics are. So how does the conference work? What's the structure? Well, every day consists of presentations from the researchers, yoga classes with yoga teachers who specialize in that topic, question and answer sessions with everyone so that we can ask questions that come up during those events, and discussion groups where we actually practice implementing this knowledge. So, you know, you, you could come to a conference and learn a lot, but what's the point of the knowledge if you don't do anything with it? So the discussion groups are really about what you do with this knowledge? And for us, that means improving how you practice yoga. So maybe making changes to your own personal practice, improving how you teach yoga. So how you share yoga with others, maybe how you adapt it based on their conditions. And then lastly, how you advocate for yoga. And this is something that we really started doing 2 years ago. So I would love it if everyone left this conference with like a proposal. Where they go to a school, a hospital, a prison, and say, I want to teach yoga here based on this evidence, and here's the evidence for you. And I think a lot of people are passionate about this. They want to teach yoga at major institutions, but without the evidence, it's hard to convince them, right? So I think that's one of the main ways this knowledge could be useful is advocacy. And then in addition to the topics, we also have an introductory day so that everyone is on the same page. Everyone has a basic understanding of neuroscience, of research, of yoga. And so we're all able to understand the same terminology. And then a conclusions day that's kind of like extra presentations that people always ask for that don't necessarily fit into another topic. So those include mantra. So how does mantra specifically affect different neurophysiology? And then consciousness, like what is consciousness? which are always topics that people ask for. So that's an overview of the topics and how the days work. And I just want to give an overview of the passes. So it's very important to us that the conference is available to everyone around the world. And it's, we have this kind of like tiered system to make it so that it's available for everyone. And the idea is no matter where you live, no matter what budget you're on, there should be a way to attend and benefit from the conference. So the first pass is the presentation access pass. This gives access to all of the presentations from the researchers for 24 hours. It's actually more than 24 hours, but we say 24 hours and then overdeliver so that you're happy. And then the presentations. So some people, a lot of the questions that were submitted, will there be recordings? So if it's a live presentation, we will give, you know, the recording will still be available for that duration of when. the presentations are available. We also have prerecorded presentations, and so all of them are going to be available so that no matter what time zone you're in, if you can't attend live, no matter what it is, you can always find some time within 24 hours to attend. And then also our Facebook group for discussion where we, during the conference, really have awesome discussions. The next pass is the Lifetime Access Pass Online. This is for people who are all over the world and kind of want to make this a Mini teacher training. You really want to dive into the knowledge and learn a ton, like walk away with that true, like practice teaching advocacy. So in addition to all of the presentations, you're going to get recordings of them forever. So you will have a login and you'll be able to get those presentations whenever you want. No 24-hour access. It's just lifetime access. And then you'll also get the yoga classes that we talked about. The Q&A sessions and the discussion groups, and all of those will be live, but you also get those recordings. And then this is really cool. We kind of make it like school, but fun school, where you have workbooks and quizzes to really enhance your learning. So there will be workbooks that you can go through as you're going through the presentations. And this really turns passive listening into active learning. So you're taking notes on custom designed material based on the presentations. And then we have quizzes so that you can really test, like, did I walk away with what I wanted to from this? And the quizzes are not, you know, they don't, they're not pressure. There's no cost to doing badly on them. Actually, it's good to not do well on them because we have feedback built in and it'll tell you, you know, what, what else you need to learn. And then lastly, we offer Yoga Alliance and IAYT continuing education credit, 30 hours. So that's the Lifetime Access Pass online, and then the in-person pass. Adds, so it has all the stuff in the online pass, but it also includes the in-person experience. And this is for people who really feel like they benefit the most from being in person. We used to exclusively be online, but so many people have asked us to do an in-person component, so we're doing that now. And the in-person pass includes kind of like retreat-like experience at a yoga center in Jersey City, New Jersey, just next to New York, as well as several researchers every day are going to be coming in person to join us. And so we'll be able to have shared meals with them and all the food will be provided, breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. So yeah, that's an overview of the passes and now the schedule. So some people are asking about, you know, how does the schedule work? How do I know how to access things? Basically for this conference, everything will be over email. We'll give you all the information you need over email when you need it. So right now the conference isn't happening yet, so you're not really getting much, you know, this is how you access things. This is a screenshot of what the schedule looks like. And you'll see every day there are prerecorded things, mainly presentations that you'll be able to do on your own time. For people who upgrade, there are yoga classes in the morning as well as in the afternoon. And then there are scattered presentations, Q&A sessions throughout the day. At the end of every day, 5:30 PM every day, Eastern Standard Time, is when we have the discussion group. So that's just an overview. And when the conference actually starts, I'll do an orientation to the conference using this same slide deck to really go over, you know, what to expect, how to access things, and how the schedule works. But suffice it to say that you'll get emails telling you exactly where you need to be when. Uh, you'll notice that on the schedule page, so if you go to the website, you'll see material like this. If you click any of these tiles, you'll get more information about what that presentation is. And yeah, so that's an overview of the conference, uh, and how everything works. And I'm going to jump into the chat now just to see if there are any questions in the chat.

We haven't had any questions about the conference so far.

Okay, excellent. So a lot of the questions that I've been getting, including in the submission form and also in the chat box here, are very specific questions like, does yoga help with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome? Does it help with small fiber neuropathy? And questions like that, which are really good, important questions. And we can talk about them today if there's time, but I'm also going to say, I think we should save those kinds of questions for the conference so that we can all discuss them. Because I think it'll be good learning for everyone in that case. But I'm just going to look for questions about the conference first.

Katie just dropped a question about the printed materials.

Yes. Great question, Katie. So the workbooks are still under construction, and I know that's a little frustrating. You probably want them to prepare, you know, print them and get them set up for yourself. For us, what happens is we get the presentations from researchers, so either slides or their recordings, and then have to turn that into the workbooks and quizzes. We usually get, you know, we ask for everything a few weeks in advance, but everyone has busy schedules. So we're still even receiving some now and we're putting it all together. Hopefully by early next week, we'll have them for you to download. The latest that we've ever had them is the night before something started. The good thing is if you don't print them out, they are PDF accessible in the sense that you can like write. And text box into them. So it should be easy to do on like an iPad or even a computer. Ashley is saying, based on what I have received, the idea is to send this to as wide an audience as possible and offering. Yeah, exactly. We want this scientific knowledge to get out to as many people as possible. And you're hearing from the researchers themselves. So it's, it's really awesome to hear from the people conducting the research. Other questions about the conference? And I'm just going to stop sharing for right now. So another question that comes up commonly that wasn't submitted, but I assume someone has it, is, you know, what can you do if you want to get an upgraded pass, but you can't afford it right now? We have scholarship opportunities available. So you just reach out to me via email or via the support page, and we'll take care of that. And for everyone here, I just want to show you some stuff on the website. So you may be familiar with the website where you signed up. If you scroll around, there's a lot of information on here, which I know can be overwhelming, but there are some FAQs here that answer a lot. So this is the one about scholarship. And then here, I know it's annoying that this is at the bottom of the page. During the conference, it'll be moved up. This is a menu page that has everything you'll need during the conference. And so if you ever need anything, you just go to contact support and we have many updated FAQs for you here based on questions other people have submitted. And then if it's not answered, you can always just write to us. Can you explain the 24 hours? Is it every day? Yeah, great question. So it's, it's rolling, meaning that, and this is really to keep up a rhythm so that everyone's kind of keeping up with the conference. So the first day, the introductory day. The material will be available until the following day at 11:59 PM. The yoga and brain injury and concussion material will be available until the following day at 11:59 PM. So basically we give you more than 24 hours. We say 24 hours just so you like keep up, but the, it's rolling and it ends each following day at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. And then of course, if people want longer access, that's why we have the Lifetime Access Pass.

Okay.

I'm gonna unmute the, I'm gonna open the mics and if anyone has any other questions or anything, feel free to just speak. We have a few options that might be helpful. So in addition to the scholarship, which anyone can email me about and I'll give you like how to get it there. And it's, it's not, it's not something that's like, you know, we just give it away to anyone. Like you have to, Do some things and yeah, it's, it's not hard, but you know, we ask for things in return, basically sharing the conference. And then alternatively, we have day passes to the in-person conference. I can send you a link with day passes and you can buy 1, 2, or 3 days of the conference and come join us in person. And that includes, you know, the full day, the food, hanging out with the researchers and all that. That's awesome.

Yeah.

And then the other options, we are probably gonna offer something similar to what you're talking about during the conference. So basically like, what about for people who don't wanna get the full lifetime access pass online, but still want a bit more time with the material, still want some of the benefits, but maybe don't need everything? We have something in the works that will probably go out during the conference so that—

All right. And the other question I had was, why you?

What made you want to do this? Yeah, so I was saying before the kind of like, you know, being in the medicine field, being in the yoga world and feeling like they were at odds. But some of the biggest moments for me were also hearing about people recovering from disease, like similar to the story that you mentioned for yourself, your personal story. Hearing other people's stories like that really made me curious about like, okay, what's the evidence on this? And as I looked more into it, I realized that yoga is a very helpful tool besides like spiritually, which is what it's intended for, really health-wise. And so I'm not sure if everyone's aware of this, but right now yoga is in the guidelines for 4 diseases, national guidelines that, you know, every medical doctor reads. So those are back pain, neck pain, Cancer, where it helps with depression, like mood symptoms, sleep, pain, and quality of life. And then also migraine and eating disorders. So 5 actually. So this is like a movement essentially, you know, the accumulating scientific evidence on yoga is changing practice in the medicine world. And I think for me, that's incredibly interesting and inspiring. So that's, that's why me.

Thank you. Cool.

What other questions?

So, hi, thank you so much for this conference and your movement, what you're doing. My only concern was that I'll, I'll be the majority of those days at work. I work 10-hour shifts. And, but you did answer that they'll be available for 24 hours, maybe a little bit longer. So that's helpful. I guess if I miss any I wanted to ask if all the conferences and everything that's going to be shared is going to be sent through the email or is it just limited?

Great question. So every day you'll get an email that will say, here's all the material for the day. And then below we'll say, here's where you can access the recordings after it happens. So as long as you're, you know, just keeping that one email a day, you can click that link and get to the recordings whenever works for you. We also are putting it on the website. So if you go to the website, you'll be able to find stuff too. And yeah, those are the 2 main ways you'll be able to access things within that 24-hour period. I don't know if that answered your question.

Yes, it did. Thank you. Thank you so much. So I just want to say that I did last year's conference and they had, I don't know if any of you guys have attended one of these conferences before with Jonathan. But that is how I was introduced to the organization called Eat Breathe Thrive for eating disorders. And I cannot say enough about this conference. It is amazing.

It is worth it.

If you can do it, do it. It's fantastic.

Thank you so much. That's so nice of you to say.

Sure.

Well, it's— Eat Breathe Thrive, they did a lot of presentations and yoga classes on eating disorders last year, which was one of our topics. And it was really informative. It was like Really cool.

Do we still have time to sign up for the early, early bird?

Yeah. If you haven't signed up for the conference yet, it'll be automatic. If you have any trouble with it, just email me. And yeah.

Okay. Thank you.

Hi, Jonathan. Can you hear me?

Yep.

I apologize. I am driving. I'm looking for a spot to pull up, pull over, but I don't think I'll, I don't think I'll get a chance before you're finished. I just want to thank you because I am a, I'm a CRNA. I've been a registered nurse for years, and then I advanced my training to a master's to be a CRNA. And I've been delivering anesthesia for 15 years, but I've been a yogi of myself practice for 12 and have intuitively used a lot of my own breathwork, et cetera, in my day-to-day work providing anesthesia. And now that I'm a registered yoga teacher trainer, 200 hours, and I'm doing pop-ups and I'm finding that I love, love, love to teach. I've naturally brought in a lot of my knowledge into my classes of what I already know, right? And, and, and I've been getting odd feedback from all the clinicians that I work with. And, and the response is, well, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna quit anesthesia now and go be a yoga teacher? You know, is this a midlife crisis? Are you not taking anesthesia seriously anymore? Like, people are confused that I have gone out to become a certified yoga teacher. Because of my professional status. And I've just, and I started to doubt myself and I've just found you recently in the last week. And I just want to thank you because I feel like this just, this emboldens my, my intentionality and my intuition and how I feel like I can really be of service in blending the two.

Great.

Right? So I just want to thank you because I have been feeling a little bit kind of out on my own amongst all of my day-to-day professional colleagues. Which is a big part of your life when you work 40, 45 hours a week.

Yeah.

It's like an extended family, right?

I think that like you, you're gonna meet so many people during the conference who are in very similar positions, like kind of feel siloed, like they're kind of like being interested in yoga. For me, I'll tell you, like I had a, you know, I think some things are said, you know, like, and some things we feel like we think that people are judgmental of yoga. But I had this amazing moment where my mind completely changed. I used to shut up and never talk about yoga in the hospital, you know?

Ah.

And then I, one of my mentors who's an amazing ICU doctor, she was asking me like what projects I'm working on. And I was like, oh, did I tell her about the Neuroscience and Yoga Conference? Like, I don't know what she's going to think of it. But I told her and she was incredibly happy about it. And she was like, you need to like tell other neurologists about this. Like you need to present this at national meetings. Like This is really important. And I was like, oh, I never thought you would react that way.

Wow.

And I do think there is, there is definite support, you know, like it's not, we're not as isolated as we think. And I also think that especially younger people in medicine are really interested in yoga and they, they want to know the evidence and apply it. And there are people recommending yoga to patients left and right, you know?

Exactly. Exactly. And you know, I recently did a yoga nidra workshop a couple of weeks ago. And so I did a lot of self-teaching and I dived into the information and I really deep dived a lot of research on that and then found all of the benefits of it. And then of course it made so much sense to me, right? With engaging the parasympathetic nervous system and how it can help on so many anxiety, depression, insomnia, et cetera. So that is what's really kind of hooking me to To feeling it, to intuitively knowing it, to have the science background to be able to bridge the two. And now for you to be fortifying it with an actual conference, it's just, thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

Yeah. Thank you.

All right. So thank you all for coming. Thank you for the amazing questions and enthusiasm. I'll tell you guys, I get really low around this time of year. Ashley can attest because just the coordination and all the stuff that goes wrong for the conference, tech failures, all this stuff. It's just, yeah, you guys reinvigorated me. So thank you for your passion and making me remember that this conference is important and that we're doing cool stuff. And we're always available for questions. Ashley and I are in the emails all the time. So please reach out. And we're so happy to be doing this and so happy to meet all of you. And yeah, can't wait for next week.

Thank you everyone. Namaste.

Namaste. Good night.