Loren Fishman, MD

01/13/2026

https://conta.cc/4qTOPsx

Email from Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation LLC LIVE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 1/17/26 -LIVE KRIPALU INSTITUTE March 27-29th NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS You can click on the hypertext here

01/10/2026

Some Eastern civilizations distinguish many more states between consciousness and unconsciousness than Western civilizations do. Yoga Nidra is more in the Eastern camp, where some connections in "normal" consciousness are severed and at the same time, the individual isn't sleeping. We might want to know how to continue this more spiritual alertness associated with Yoga Nidra after practicing it. "States to Traits," a book by Richard Davidson and others addresses this important question solid empirical terms.

01/06/2026

https://conta.cc/4qDrxa2

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01/05/2026

𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗬: 𝗬𝗼𝗴𝗮 𝗡𝗶𝗱𝗿𝗮 & 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻

Scientists have been studying Yoga Nidra to understand how this deeply restorative practice affects the brain, why it improves sleep and emotional regulation, and what actually happens neurologically during the practice. Recent research using EEG and fMRI shows that Yoga Nidra creates a unique state of deep relaxation while the brain stays awake, improving sleep quality, memory, and emotional processing.

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🧠 Researchers wanted to answer three big questions:
1. What happens in the brain during Yoga Nidra?
Prior claims suggested it induces deep rest, improves sleep, and reduces stress, but the neural mechanisms were unclear.
2. Is Yoga Nidra similar to sleep, or something different?
Scientists wanted to see whether it mimics slow‑wave sleep or creates its own distinct state.
3. Can Yoga Nidra improve cognitive function and emotional well‑being?
Early evidence hinted at benefits for memory, anxiety, and stress, so researchers aimed to validate this with brain imaging.

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🎯 Across the studies, the goals were to:
• Map brainwave changes during Yoga Nidra (EEG studies).
• Identify neural networks activated during the practice (fMRI studies).
• Measure sleep quality, memory, and cognitive performance after a Yoga Nidra program.
• Determine whether experienced practitioners show different brain patterns than beginners.

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🔬 How the Research Was Performed
1. EEG Systematic Review (12 studies, 326 participants)
• Included RCTs, pre‑post, and crossover designs
• Measured brainwave activity (theta, alpha, delta, beta, gamma)
• Compared experienced vs. novice practitioners

2. fMRI Brain‑Imaging Study
• Conducted at IIT Delhi, AIIMS Delhi, and Mahajan Imaging
• Scanned experienced meditators during guided Yoga Nidra
• Examined the Default Mode Network (DMN), emotional centers, and thalamus

3. Sleep & Memory Study (2‑week intervention)
• 41 healthy young men
• Daily daytime Yoga Nidra sessions
• Measured deep sleep, reaction time, learning, and memory

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📈 Key Results & Takeaways
1. Yoga Nidra Creates a Unique “Rest‑While‑Awake” Brain State
Experienced practitioners showed increased theta power. A marker of deep relaxation and internal awareness.
Unlike sleep, practitioners remained awake, even in deep relaxation.

2. It Improves Sleep Quality, Especially Deep Sleep
A two‑week program increased slow‑wave (deep) sleep, which boosts memory, learning and attention. Likely due to reduced sympathetic (“fight or flight”) activity and increased parasympathetic activation.

3. It Enhances Cognitive Performance
Participants showed faster reaction times and improved processing speed with no loss of accuracy. Suggests improved communication between the cortex and hippocampus (memory center).

4. Emotional Processing & Subconscious Integration
fMRI scans showed activation in emotion‑processing regions and the thalamus, which regulates sleep and consciousness. Researchers believe this may explain Yoga Nidra’s ability to surface and release subconscious patterns (“samskaras”).

5. The Default Mode Network (DMN) Behaves Differently
Experienced practitioners showed reduced DMN connectivity, associated with less rumination and greater mental calm.

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🌟 Yoga Nidra isn’t just relaxation. It’s a measurable, neurologically distinct state that supports deep rest, emotional regulation, improved sleep, and enhanced cognitive function. The research suggests it may be especially helpful for people experiencing stress, sleep deprivation, or early cognitive decline.

SOURCE: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12571781/

12/31/2025

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12/30/2025

𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛: 𝗬𝗼𝗴𝗮'𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗰 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 & 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

Recent studies into yoga's potential to improve women's public health and hormonal balance highlight how postures (asanas), breathwork (pranayama), and mindfulness reduce stress, regulate cortisol, enhance pelvic floor strength, and support reproductive health. The study show consistent yoga practice benefits conditions like PCOS, menopause symptoms, and incontinence through mechanisms like improved blood flow and nervous system regulation.

Key Findings:
* Hormonal Balance: A review in the International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research (IJFMR) in January 2025 found strong evidence that yoga, through poses, breath, and meditation, influences the endocrine system, lowering cortisol and potentially balancing reproductive hormones, insulin, and metabolic health.

* Pelvic Floor Health: Research published in the Journal of Neonatal Surgery (JNS) in 2025 emphasizes yoga's role in strengthening pelvic floor muscles, improving alignment, and using deep breathing (pranayama) to relax tight muscles, alleviating pain and incontinence.

* Holistic Approach: A September 2025 review in Wolters Kluwer Health noted yoga's holistic approach helps regulate the nervous system, reduce stress, and increase body awareness, making it a valuable complementary therapy for pelvic floor issues like overactive bladder.

* Specific Conditions: Studies and discussions in 2025 point to yoga's promise in managing PCOS symptoms and supporting women through perimenopause by reducing stress and improving overall well-being.

How Yoga Helps:
* Reduces Stress: Calms the nervous system, lowering the stress hormone cortisol.
* Strengthens & Relaxes: Builds core and pelvic floor strength while also teaching relaxation for tight muscles.
* Improves Circulation: Enhances blood flow to reproductive organs.
* Mind-Body Connection: Mindfulness fosters awareness of pelvic floor function and stress responses.

REFERENCES:
* IJFMR (Jan 2025): "The Role of Yoga in Balancing Hormones" (https://www.ijfmr.com/papers/2025/1/36061.pdf)
* JNS (2025): "Therapeutic Role of Yoga and Pathophysiological Insights of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction PCOS" (https://jneonatalsurg.com/index.php/jns/article/download/7579/6591/24535)
* ScienceDirect (2025): "Study on Yoga for PCOS Weight Management" (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187638202500112X)
* Wolters Kluwer (Sep 2025): "Review on Yoga & Pelvic Floor Literature" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40960271)

12/30/2025

https://conta.cc/4pmyYld

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12/29/2025

𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛: 𝗬𝗼𝗴𝗮'𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗰 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 & 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

Recent studies into yoga's potential to improve women's public health and hormonal balance highlight how postures (asanas), breathwork (pranayama), and mindfulness reduce stress, regulate cortisol, enhance pelvic floor strength, and support reproductive health. The study show consistent yoga practice benefits conditions like PCOS, menopause symptoms, and incontinence through mechanisms like improved blood flow and nervous system regulation.

Key Findings:
🪷 Hormonal Balance: A review in the International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research (IJFMR) in January 2025 found strong evidence that yoga, through poses, breath, and meditation, influences the endocrine system, lowering cortisol and potentially balancing reproductive hormones, insulin, and metabolic health.

🪷 Pelvic Floor Health: Research published in the Journal of Neonatal Surgery (JNS) in 2025 emphasizes yoga's role in strengthening pelvic floor muscles, improving alignment, and using deep breathing (pranayama) to relax tight muscles, alleviating pain and incontinence.

🪷 Holistic Approach: A September 2025 review in Wolters Kluwer Health noted yoga's holistic approach helps regulate the nervous system, reduce stress, and increase body awareness, making it a valuable complementary therapy for pelvic floor issues like overactive bladder.

🪷 Specific Conditions: Studies and discussions in 2025 point to yoga's promise in managing PCOS symptoms and supporting women through perimenopause by reducing stress and improving overall well-being.

How Yoga Helps:
🧘🏻‍♀️ Reduces Stress: Calms the nervous system, lowering the stress hormone cortisol.
🧘🏼‍♀️ Strengthens & Relaxes: Builds core and pelvic floor strength while also teaching relaxation for tight muscles.
🧘🏽‍♀️ Improves Circulation: Enhances blood flow to reproductive organs.
🧘🏾‍♀️ Mind-Body Connection: Mindfulness fosters awareness of pelvic floor function and stress responses.

______________________________
REFERENCES:
* IJFMR (Jan 2025): "The Role of Yoga in Balancing Hormones" (https://www.ijfmr.com/papers/2025/1/36061.pdf)
* JNS (2025): "Therapeutic Role of Yoga and Pathophysiological Insights of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction PCOS" (https://jneonatalsurg.com/index.php/jns/article/download/7579/6591/24535)
* ScienceDirect (2025): "Study on Yoga for PCOS Weight Management" (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187638202500112X)
* Wolters Kluwer (Sep 2025): "Review on Yoga & Pelvic Floor Literature" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40960271)

12/23/2025

https://conta.cc/3Y9J1ig

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12/16/2025

https://conta.cc/4pwpiFu

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12/09/2025

https://conta.cc/4aymvXE

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12/03/2025

𝗜𝗻-𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴:
𝙔𝙤𝙜𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙊𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙨
𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 27-29, 2026
𝙆𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙪 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙚, 𝙇𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙭, 𝙈𝘼

𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧:
New Research and Findings!
Please join me, and Liz Larson to gain a deeper understanding of bone health and how yoga works to prevent and reverse bone loss. My pioneering work on yoga and health, including a 10-year research study on yoga for osteoporosis, has been recognized internationally.

Through lecture, movement, and hands-on experience, you will:
* Learn a daily practice that improves bone mineral density and bone quality.
* Understand the definitive way to do the 12 yoga poses proven to reverse osteoporosis.
* Explore ways to teach beginner, intermediate, and classical versions of the poses.
* Examine the difference between yoga’s “side effects” (improved posture, balance, strength, etc.) and those associated with medications.
* Learn about osteosarcopenia, a newly discovered and common condition that relates muscle function to bone loss.
* Learn about new research in the field, including the possible applications of CCN3, secreted by the arcuate nucleus in the brain in lactating mothers, as a potential means of promoting bone mass.
* Discuss bone-muscle, crosstalk chemical dialogue and how this informs your yoga practice.

Within the last five years, there have been significant additional research and developments within the field. This program will also discuss and apply new research to the poses in my study that have been successful at building bone density.

Note This program is suitable for everyone: yoga therapists, yoga teachers, established yoga practitioners and novices. Beginner versions of the poses will be taught along with more intermediate and classical versions so those with no yoga experience can easily follow along.

Learn more and reserve: https://kripalu.org/experiences/bone-health-shedding-new-light-yoga-osteoporosis