Yoga Therapy Hour with Amy Wheeler

Episode Overview In this conversation, Amy sits down with Lee to explore the role of daily practice— sādhana —as a living, evolving process rather than a fixed routine. Together, they reflect on what it means to cultivate steadiness in the mind, nervous system, and heart, and how consistent practice becomes a pathway toward deeper self-understanding, inner guidance, and connection to something gre...

Episode Overview In this conversation, Amy Wheeler sits down with yoga therapist and educator Ashley McKeachie to explore the lived experience of ahimsa —non-harming—as it unfolds in real time with aging bodies and evolving nervous systems. Ashley shares how her work with older adults (ages 55–95+) has reshaped her understanding of yoga therapy, shifting from performance and outcomes toward presen...

What does it mean to trust that life will work out —not as a belief, but as a lived, embodied experience? In this solo episode, Dr. Amy Wheeler explores the intersection of the Yamas —the ethical foundation of yoga—and the neuroscience of safety, regulation, and predictive processing . Rather than approaching ethics as a set of rules to follow, this conversation reframes them as natural expression...

In this episode, Amy sits down with Mala Cunningham, a pioneer in integrating yoga therapy with mental health care. The conversation offers a steady and thoughtful exploration of how yoga therapy supports individuals living with anxiety, depression, and chronic stress, not by bypassing these experiences, but by helping people build the capacity to be with them differently. Mala brings decades of c...

In this episode, Amy sits down with Deborah Santana—author, philanthropist, and lifelong spiritual practitioner—for a conversation that explores what it means to live from inner sovereignty. While many may recognize her through her 34-year marriage to Carlos Santana, this conversation clarifies something more essential: Deborah Santana has lived a deeply self-directed life shaped by spiritual inqu...

In this solo episode, Amy Wheeler explores one of the most important psychological teachings in the yoga tradition: the five kleśas , described in Chapter 2 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. These teachings help explain why human beings experience suffering even when they are sincerely trying to live well. Drawing from both Sāṅkhya philosophy and the Yoga Sūtra, Amy walks listeners through the deep...

In this solo episode, Amy Wheeler brings clarity and steadiness to the recent scientific critique of Polyvagal Theory by Paul Grossman and colleagues. Rather than reacting defensively or dismissing prematurely, this conversation explores what mature fields do when a theory is questioned: they clarify, refine, and return to foundational principles. Amy examines: • What the critique of Polyvagal The...

In this conversation, Amy sits down with mindfulness teacher and writer Oneika Mays to talk about her new book, Sit with Me: A No-BS Journey to Mindfulness and Meditation —part memoir, part meditation guide, and an unflinching look at what it means to practice loving-kindness in real-world conditions, including inside Rikers Island. Oneika shares what it felt like to work inside a system built on...

In this solo episode, Amy returns to one of the heart-teachings of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra : learning to observe the fluctuations of mind and how they shape behavior, communication, and the way we show up in relationship and daily life. Rather than analyzing or diagnosing, she frames this as svādhyāya —steady self-reflection rooted in classical yoga philosophy. Amy walks listeners through Vyāsa’s f...

What happens when we stop treating suffering as a fixed identity and start relating to it as a changeable state? In this conversation, Amy Wheeler is joined by Colleen Millen, a licensed marriage and family therapist and yoga therapist who works at the intersection of somatic psychotherapy, nervous system regulation, and post-traumatic growth. Colleen shares how “healing happens in present time,”...

In this solo reflection, Amy explores why daily practice matters beyond flexibility, strength, or stress relief. Using a simple morning ritual—cleaning her glasses—she offers a clear metaphor for what practice does: it helps us notice what has accumulated in the mind-body system and gives us a way to “wipe the lens” so we can see, sense, and choose more clearly. This episode weaves yogic psycholog...

In this warm, clinical-and-traditional conversation, Amy and Lisa explore how chanting and mantra practice can shape the autonomic nervous system and the mind through repetition, meaning, vibration, and relationship. Lisa shares her journey from clinical psychology leadership in pediatric behavioral health to yoga therapy and chanting in Europe, and she offers grounded guidance for meeting student...

In this solo episode, Amy Wheeler explores three foundational teachings from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra that describe how real transformation unfolds over time: abhyāsa (steady practice), vairāgya (letting go of attachment), and śraddhā (deep trust in the process). While these terms are often translated simply as “practice and detachment,” Patañjali presents them as a sophisticated framework for under...

Episode overview In this episode, Amy sits down with Steve Haberlin to explore what’s changing in contemplative practice as artificial intelligence becomes woven into daily life. Steve shares why he created a customized GPT mindfulness guide (“MetaZen”), how he’s studying its use with doctoral students, and why he advocates a “human-first” approach: learn from a skilled teacher when possible, then...

In this episode of  The Yoga Therapy Hour , Amy Wheeler is joined by  Joann Lutz , psychotherapist and yoga therapist and educator whose work focuses on nervous system regulation, resilience, and the therapeutic application of yoga across a wide range of life contexts.   Their conversation explores a central theme of this season: that nervous system regulation is not achieved through force, positi...

Episode Summary In this solo episode, Amy Wheeler lays the philosophical foundation for the upcoming season by returning to one of the most essential—and often misunderstood—concepts in yoga philosophy: citta , the mind-field. Rather than approaching yoga as a collection of tools and techniques, Amy invites listeners to remember the deeper purpose of yoga as articulated in Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra —...

In this solo episode, Amy explores the patterned nature of the mind through the framework of the Yoga Sūtra of Pātañjali and its relevance to the autonomic nervous system. Rather than approaching change as something we force or “hack,” this episode returns to a classical yogic understanding: the mind is conditioned, the body follows, and awareness is the pathway to regulation. Drawing from Yoga Sū...

In this solo conversation, Amy Wheeler makes a clear case for yoga therapy as a distinct clinical discipline—not a “licensed healthcare modality + a few yoga tools.” She explores why yoga therapy has struggled to define its contribution, and she proposes a steady answer: yoga therapy’s central work is helping people reorganize their inner landscape through a coherent philosophical and practical fr...

In this thoughtful and grounded conversation, Amy Wheeler is joined by Dr. Lauren Tober to explore two foundational pillars of ethical and effective yoga teaching and yoga therapy: scope of practice and the creation of a safe container . The episode begins with a clear and nuanced discussion of scope of practice—what it truly means, why it cannot be standardized across all practitioners, and how c...

In this inaugural episode of Season 10, Amy Wheeler introduces the guiding framework for the year ahead: exploring the  Eight Limbs of Yoga  as a practical, integrated  regulatory framework for the autonomic nervous system . Rather than offering “tools and tricks” for stress, this season centers a wider view—how yoga shapes the conditions for  safety, stability, adaptability, and coherence  across...

In this episode of  The Yoga Therapy Hour , Amy Wheeler is joined by Sara Klute Behn, a yoga therapist and health coach based in Iowa, for a thoughtful conversation about nervous system regulation, sustainable health behavior change, and the deep overlap between yoga therapy and health coaching. Together, they explore why willpower alone rarely leads to lasting change—and why regulation, safety, a...

In this episode of  The Yoga Therapy Hour , Amy welcomes back Kristine Weber for her third conversation on the podcast. Kristine is known for weaving together yoga philosophy, neuroscience, social justice, and policy in a way that is both grounded and deeply practical. This conversation ranges from marketing and entrepreneurship to self-regulation, somatics, and the future of yoga therapy as a pro...

In this episode of The Yoga Therapy Hour , Amy speaks with Valerie Hesslink and Jeanne Kolker, both from Insight Counseling & Wellness, about how yoga therapy has tapped into billing through Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) program. Jeanne and Valerie discuss the realities of providing trauma-informed, community-based care, the role of skill building in recovery, and the orga...

Episode summary Computer-science-turned-cognitive-science researcher and yoga therapist Chen Or Bach joins Amy to share a candid journey from academia to cancer survivorship, from mat-based practice to living yoga moment-to-moment. We trace how the pañca-kośa model reframed her healing, why standards and accreditation helped yoga integrate into Israeli healthcare, and what it means to let go of fa...

Episode snapshot Debbie Lamond (near London, UK) is a yoga teacher and yoga therapist specializing in support for people living with lymphoedema. After decades of personal practice and training with the British Wheel of Yoga, she blends breathwork, Yoga Nidra, gentle movement, self-care for the lymphatic system, and realistic habit tracking. This conversation feels like tea with a wise friend—prac...