Evidence-Based Yoga, Mindfulness, and Heart Health

I recently joined Matthew Huey on the Enlightened Anatomy Podcast to talk about a topic close to my heart: how yoga, mindfulness, and heart health come together in a meaningful, practical way.

Matthew and Andrew McGonigle, through their Enlightened Yoga Collective, are doing important work in bringing a more evidence-informed approach to yoga teaching. As someone who has practiced yoga for nearly 30 years, and has benefited from the power of a safe and aligned practice, I value this shift toward integrating science with lived experience.

We spoke about the connection between yoga, mindfulness, and heart health—but less as a set of techniques, and more as a way of practicing attention and caring for the mind and body. This matters, because the benefits of yoga are not only in the poses themselves, but in how we learn to relate to breath, sensation, and stress in real time.

As both a cardiologist (now retired), a medical writer, and a yoga teacher, I’ve come to see science and self-knowledge as two parts of the same whole. When they are brought together thoughtfully, yoga practice becomes more steady, more trustworthy, and ultimately more supportive of long-term well-being. With this in mind, we took a closer look at the role of health information in the yoga space. Misinformation can spread easily, particularly on social media, and it has real consequences—shaping how people think about their bodies, their health, and even their trust in the people who provide their medical care. Developing the habit of questioning sources and seeking out reliable information is an important part of a mature yoga practice.

Our conversation is an invitation to approach yoga with both curiosity and discernment—to stay open, while also staying anchored. I hope you enjoy it! You can listen to the podcast through the Spotify link below, or on your preferred podcast platform.