Yoga for Arthritis

10/20/2026

As yoga education evolves, what should we be prioritizing?

With Yoga Alliance announcing changes to its credentialing system for 2027, conversations about the future of yoga teacher training are beginning to take shape.

There is still a lot we don’t know, and many details remain up in the air.

At Yoga for Arthritis, we’ve always had mixed feelings about a registration system for yoga teachers. We recognize the value of educational standards and professional accountability, but we also know that a credential doesn’t necessarily reflect someone’s ability to meet the needs of the people they teach.

What matters to us is the education that happens both during and long after a teacher’s initial training.

We believe accessibility, an understanding of chronic pain, and the ability to adapt yoga for different bodies and abilities should be foundational knowledge for every yoga teacher.

In fact, we’ve long believed that the principles we teach in our Foundations of Yoga for Arthritis training belong in every yoga teacher training program.

Not because every teacher needs to specialize in arthritis, but because arthritis, chronic pain, and differences in mobility are part of the human experience. Yoga teachers will encounter these realities in their classrooms.

We also believe that continuing education is essential. Our understanding of movement, pain science, accessibility, and the people we serve continues to evolve. Our teaching should evolve alongside it.

As these changes unfold, we’re interested in learning more, asking thoughtful questions, and considering what they could mean for the future of yoga education.

And we’d love to have that conversation with you.

Join Us This Wednesday: Wisdom & Wellness with Dr. Steffany Moonaz

Wednesday, October 21 | 12 PM Eastern

This week’s Wisdom & Wellness conversation will focus on the newly announced Yoga Alliance changes.

This is a member benefit! You can get 7 days for free and join the conversation by joining here:

https://www.arthritis.yoga/membership

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

What do you believe every yoga teacher should understand before stepping into the classroom?

10/16/2026

Does science have to prove that yoga works?

For thousands of years, people have practiced yoga as a pathway toward awareness, well-being, and connection. Today, researchers are studying how yoga may influence chronic pain, mobility, stress, sleep, mental health and more.

So here’s a question worth sitting with: if someone experiences a meaningful benefit from yoga, why does research matter?

This line of thinking is common, and it misunderstands the foundational components of evidence-informed practice:
🔹 Evidence: what research can tell us
🔹 Expertise: what we know from our own experience and collective shared wisdom
🔹 Preference: what matters to our students and clients in the room
Research doesn’t replace lived experience. It can be considered alongside. Research can help to guide our practices toward safety, accessibility, and greater impact by understanding patterns. It can also help us understand why and how something has an observed effect so we can share that more effectively. And actually, some research methodology can even help us understand the similarities and differences in lived experience across different individuals and populations. Additionally, evidence guides policy, and policy matters to practice.

This is the heart of Understanding Yoga Research, the new book by Dr. Steffany Moonaz, coming soon. It’s a guide to reading, evaluating, and applying research in your own practice, teaching, conversations with clients, and collaboration with healthcare providers.
We’ll share more soon. For now, we’d love to hear from you:
-How do you use research in your work now, if at all? -What’s one question would you love yoga research to help answer?
-What would make yoga research more accessible or relevant to you? 👇

https://www.arthritis.yoga/store-yoga-for-arthritis/p/preorder-understanding-yoga-research-a-guide-to-evidence-informed-teaching-and-practice

10/13/2026

🌿 Join us for live Yoga for Arthritis classes this week!

There’s something special about practicing yoga with a teacher who understands arthritis, chronic pain, and the importance of making yoga accessible to everyone.

Our live classes are more than just following along with a video on Zoom. They’re an opportunity to get to know your Yoga for Arthritis teacher, ask questions, explore different ways to practice, and connect with a community of people who are learning right alongside you.

And the best part? Classes are just $10, and every registration includes a 30-day replay! So whether you join us live or practice on your own schedule, you’ll have the opportunity to return to your class.

Link to join here: https://www.arthritis.yoga/find-a-yoga-for-arthritis-teacher

Steffany Moonaz
Laurie Schaeffer

09/22/2026

Congratulations to Our Newest Yoga for Arthritis course 1 Graduates! 🎉

Please join us in celebrating Chris Howe and Gina Zamary on completing Foundations of Yoga for Arthritis: Course 1 Training!

Foundations of Yoga for Arthritis is the first step in the Yoga for Arthritis professional training pathway, giving yoga professionals an evidence-informed foundation for making yoga safer, more accessible, and more adaptable for people living with arthritis and chronic pain.

Chris and Gina have each completed 34 hours of training, deepening their understanding of arthritis, accessible yoga practices, individual adaptation, and the Yoga for Arthritis approach.

We are so excited to welcome them into our growing community of Yoga for Arthritis-trained teachers and to see how they carry this knowledge into their work and communities.

Congratulations, Chris & Gina! 🌿👏

Your commitment to learning and to making yoga more accessible matters.

Interested in becoming a Yoga for Arthritis teacher?
Foundations of Yoga for Arthritis course 1 is self-paced and the first step toward becoming a Yoga for Arthritis Specialist.

EvidenceInformedYoga

09/17/2026

Join us in 15 minutes!

Journal Club with Steffany Moonaz

This months topic: "Turning Toward Mortality: Yoga's Savasana As A Salutogenic Practice for Engaging with Death Anxiety"

with very special guests: Shelly Prosko, Lori Rubenstein Fazzio, and Anne Pitman

link in comments to join the zoom!

09/16/2026

Join us for a free, live Journal Club discussion exploring a new Perspective article: “Turning toward mortality: yoga’s savasana as a salutogenic practice for engaging with death anxiety” by Lori Rubenstein Fazzio, Anne Pitman, and Shelly Prosko.

This session will be led by Dr. Steffany Moonaz, who will guide participants through the paper’s core ideas — including how Antonovsky’s salutogenic model and the concept of Sense of Coherence (comprehensibility, manageability, meaningfulness) can reframe savasana (co**se pose) as an accessible, embodied practice for engaging with mortality across the lifespan.

Who should attend: Yoga therapists, yoga teachers, healthcare providers, palliative care professionals, and anyone interested in the intersection of yoga, public health, and end-of-life care.
Reading the article in advance is encouraged but not required — come with your questions and reflections, and we’ll dig in together.

📄 Read the article: frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1771782/full

Preregister for the free event:
https://yoga-for-arthritis.thinkific.com/products/live_events/savasana-death-anxiety-journal-club

09/16/2026

Join us for a free, live Journal Club discussion exploring a new Perspective article: "Turning toward mortality: yoga's savasana as a salutogenic practice for engaging with death anxiety" by Lori Rubenstein Fazzio, Anne Pitman, and Shelly Prosko.

This session will be led by Dr. Steffany Moonaz, who will guide participants through the paper's core ideas — including how Antonovsky's salutogenic model and the concept of Sense of Coherence (comprehensibility, manageability, meaningfulness) can reframe savasana (co**se pose) as an accessible, embodied practice for engaging with mortality across the lifespan.

Who should attend: Yoga therapists, yoga teachers, healthcare providers, palliative care professionals, and anyone interested in the intersection of yoga, public health, and end-of-life care.
Reading the article in advance is encouraged but not required — come with your questions and reflections, and we'll dig in together.

📄 Read the article: frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1771782/full

Preregister for the free event:
https://yoga-for-arthritis.thinkific.com/products/live_events/savasana-death-anxiety-journal-club

Steffany Moonaz
Shelly Prosko

05/22/2026

34 CEUs · IAYT approved · yogaville.org

04/27/2026

🎧 Now Live: Dr. Rachel Zoffness on The Yoga Rheum

What if understanding pain could change how you experience it?

In this episode, we dive into the science of pain—and why it’s so much more than just a physical sensation.

If you live with chronic pain or support those who do, this is a must listen.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4uattlBqWwRpRrVExOEnc1?si=UYVrf8fqR7u1GJodxuM25w

04/22/2026

Next week, join Leila Stuart as she interviews Sherry Brourman!

Link to sign up in the comments!

Author Spotlight with the one and only Sherry Brourman
Tuesday April 29
11 am MDT

Sherry is a dear friend and colleague that I deeply respect. She combines physical therapy with yoga, and has over 5 decades of professional experience.

She is one of our pioneers in the rehab industry blending ancient wisdom traditions with contemporary biomedical sciences.

She will be discussing her new book “From Bodily Knowledge to Intuitive Movement”
(of which I had the honour and pleasure to write the foreword)

Sherry will be interviewed by Leila Stuart, another fabulous and wise therapist and author.

It’s free and you can register here:
[https://happy-back-yoga.teachable.com/p/the-yoga-therapy-book-club]