Holiday Series! Roger Cole: Using Science to Supercharge Your Relaxation

How can you get the most from your restorative poses? That's a question that Roger Cole and I explore on this episode. Roger Cole is an internationally recognized, certified Iyengar Yoga teacher who has been teaching since 1975. He is also an accomplished scientist educated at Stanford University and the University of California, with specialties in the science of relaxation, sleep, and circadian rhythms.In this interview, Roger explains how to use the Baro Reflex to maximize relaxation in restorative yoga poses. As he puts it, there is not one single system that is responsible for relaxation -- in yoga classes, we often focus on the nervous system. But, if you "gang up a lot of factors that promote relaxation," you're more likely to go deeper and feel more restored afterward. We also talk about that time he took B.K.S. Iyengar to a lab and tested his breathing (with interesting, if imperfect results), and a possible reason that inversions promote relaxation.Shownotes: yogalandpodcast.com/episode78/Shout-Out to Sponsors:1. We all go through busy times where it can feel like a challenge to eat well. One thing that’s helped me is Sunbasket meal delivery service. Go to sunbasket.com/yogaland to get $35 off your first order.2. Care/Of is a new, online vitamin company that is devoted to personalization and authenticity in its sourcing. Set your health goals, take their quiz, and they'll give you vitamin, mineral, and adaptogen recommendations. They also include sourcing information and studies to give you background on your choices. I've had fun trying them out!  Visit takecareof.com and use offer code YOGALAND at checkout for 50% off your first month of vitamins. 3. To my women listeners out there – have you tried Lola yet? LOLA is a female-founded company offering organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners. For 60% off your first order, visit mylola.com and enter the code YOGALAND when you subscribe. 4. Burrow is a new online company that creates modern, CHEMICAL-FREE sofas that ship to you within a week! For $50 off your purchase, go to burrow.com and use the promo code YOGALAND.5. Zola is a new online wedding company that’s reinventing wedding planning and the registry process. Plus, there’s an app for your Ipad, iphone and AppleWatch – check and update your registry in real-time. For $50 credit toward your registry, visit zola.com/yogalandSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/yogaland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.