Rachel Land Yoga

Rachel Land Yoga Yoga Medicine instructor & podcaster. Yoga Journal writer. Practice with me or learn more at: www.rachelland.yoga/link-in-bio

E-RYT500 Yoga teacher and Yoga Medicine Teacher Trainer, Queenstown New Zealand.

I LOVE teaching about anatomy and alignment, and offering a therapeutic approach, but I simply can’t cover all the detai...
04/09/2026

I LOVE teaching about anatomy and alignment, and offering a therapeutic approach, but I simply can’t cover all the details in group classes.

At least, not while still leaving space for students to be in their bodies, connect to their breath, move in a nourishing way, and deliberately decelerate and decompress.

That’s why I’m beyond excited to be offering the Yoga Medicine Essentials workshops in-person!

The workshops distill the essentials of a therapeutic practice into four digestible, easily applicable sessions that blend theory and practice. We’ll cover topics that are hard to fit into group classes, but can transform the way you inhabit your practice.

So whether you’re a new or avid student, or a yoga teacher, join me at Soul Yoga Wanaka! Dive into the Shoulders and Hips Saturday 31st October, the Spine and Myofascial Release Saturday November 14th.

Places are very limited so hit the link to get all the details and book your place.

https://www.soulyoga.co.nz/yoga-medicine-workshops

The longer I teach, the more questions bubble up in my mind. A recurring one is: does alignment even matter? And if so, ...
27/08/2026

The longer I teach, the more questions bubble up in my mind. A recurring one is: does alignment even matter? And if so, when and/ or why?

It’s not lost on me that these questions are top of mind for me right not, as I’m refilming many of the lectures for the Yoga Medicine by Tiffany Cruikshank 200hr yoga teacher training. And like most of the questions I address during YTT, my answer is “it depends”.

Does alignment matter in asana when your intention for practice is to lose yourself in carefree movement, to connect with your breath, to sweat or surrender? Probably not.

But in my opinion it DOES matter sometimes. Like when you’re new to the practice and still figuring out the ground rules, if you have a really specific action or anatomical objective in mind, if you’re asking your body to do something novel or at the edge of its capacity, etc.

These are the questions I considered in my latest Yoga Journal article and I’m keen for your take on it!

Do you think alignment matters in asana? And if so, when and why?

https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/yoga-alignment/

I’ve worked heaps of different jobs - from office work to ski bum to cleaning, food service, barista and retail - but te...
18/08/2026

I’ve worked heaps of different jobs - from office work to ski bum to cleaning, food service, barista and retail - but teaching yoga has brought up more ethical quandaries than all the others put together.

There’s just something in the Venn diagram between us working alone (usually without colleagues or supervisors on site), with people who are encouraged to be open and vulnerable, in a role that brings with it expectations of a higher moral or ethical standard.

In my latest Yoga Journal article I share a few situations where the “right” thing to do felt debatable at best, sharing not just my own experiences but also those of Angus Knott | Yoga Teacher, Elena Cheung | Yoga Educator & Anatomy Nerd, Lizette P***a l Strength Coach - Yoga Teacher, renee marie schettler & Yely Rivas • Burnout Recovery & Yoga.

Check them out and PLEASE share your own in the comments!

https://www.yogajournal.com/teach/yoga-teacher-challenges/

18/08/2026

I stumbled across a social post recently where friends compared their post-shower towelling techniques, and it made me realise that most yoga teachers don’t know what other teachers do during savasana.

After all, if you’re attending someone else’s class you’re usually practicing savasana yourself.

So as someone who’s seen all these options (and, I hate to admit, done most of them myself at least once), I want to hear from you!

What do you do once you’ve guided students into Savasana??

Every community have their myths - one I used to hear from athletes all the time was “pain is weakness leaving the body”...
28/07/2026

Every community have their myths - one I used to hear from athletes all the time was “pain is weakness leaving the body”.

I have nothing against statements like this if you find them helpful, inspiring, or motivating, but some of the ones I’ve heard in yoga spaces can have the opposite effect.

If you believe, for example, that yoga injuries are solely due to poor alignment (and not tiredness, dehydration, pre-existing irritation or any one of a number of other potential contributors) you could start to believe that your body is fragile, only “safe” in certain very specific angles and positions, more focused on your teacher’s instructions or demonstratrions than your own experiences.

If you are told you have to practice every day or not bother, not bothering might the more realistic option for you, meaning you miss out on all the potential benefits of practicing when you can.

Maybe you’ll finally get that pose you’ve been working on or maybe it’s just not an option for your proportions and joint orientations. Maybe Childs pose is a safe haven for you, or maybe it hurts your knees. Savasana could be a challenge for your racing mind, or the entire reason you come to class. And so on.

To me yoga is a practice of discernment, about revealing things as they are - not how they should be, how we’d like them to be, or how we’re told they are.

I explored these and other simplistic statements in my Yoga Journal | Yogic Lifestyle article “8 Things You Might Hear in Yoga Class That Simply Aren’t True”:
https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/yoga-advice/

What have you heard in class that isn’t true?

21/07/2026

Don’t get me wrong, I like feeling strong, it’s just that I can think of 30 other things I’d rather do than spend time in the gym. I even find ways to avoid working out in my garage even though it’s well equipped and just steps away.

And that’s the problem: left to my own devices I will be too busy to go the gym for the rest of my life.

What has worked for me over the past few years is the mantra “little and often”: 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. It doesn’t sound like much (that’s the literal point), but done consistently, day after day, month after month, year upon year, it has added up to me being significantly stronger than I was when I was younger.

By all means go to the gym, get a great program from an educated trainer, and you will no doubt see and feel the benefits. But if you (like me) keep finding excuses not to do that, don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “done”.

My own approach to strength training is exactly why most of my yoga conditioning classes on Yoga Medicine by Tiffany Cruikshank Online are 10-15 minutes long. And why I look so happy when they are over ;)

The most important shoulder muscle you’ve never heard of? Even the least anatomically-minded yoga students have heard ...
08/07/2026

The most important shoulder muscle you’ve never heard of?

Even the least anatomically-minded yoga students have heard of a few muscles: abdominals, glutes, hip flexors, quads etc. Shoulder muscles don’t seem to come anywhere near as top of mind.

And there’s one I wish every yoga student was more familiar with. A humble muscle, literally out of sight behind you.

That muscle is infraspinatus - a triangular muscle that covers most of the back of your shoulder blade, crossing the shoulder joint to insert at the top and back of your upper arm bone or humerus. Its actions are shoulder external rotation and, as a key player in the rotator cuff, helping to position and stabilise the heard of the upper arm in its socket.

Infraspinatus is an unsung hero for yoga students in both of those roles. Many of the common actions of life—from typing and using devices, to driving & cooking—involve our hands working together in front of us, our arms rotating toward the chest. Taking that deeply ingrained pattern onto the yoga mat can result in the more familiar muscles on the fronts of our shoulders taking over, rolling the humeral head forward as a side-effect. Infraspinatus works against that pattern by drawing the humeral head backward, back into the centre of its socket.

The central shoulder position Infraspinatus creates is crucial for well-rounded support for our shoulders when weight-bearing, countering the forward pull of gravity in chaturanga, or recruiting extra stability from the back of the shoulder in side plank, not to mention arm balances and inversions. Beyond those obvious examples, though, shoulder external rotation is a subtle, but powerful, contributor to the heart-opening effect of backbends, and can help us create more space for pranayama.

Infraspinatus can be a hidden source of strength and stability, but because it IS hidden, it takes mindful work to connect to its capacity. Want to learn more? Check out my latest article for Yoga Journal | Yogic Lifestyle and let me know what your experience is like.

https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/infraspinatus-muscle/

Despite how ubiquitous “all-levels” yoga classes are, they’re not easy to teach. For teachers, it can feel like walking ...
01/07/2026

Despite how ubiquitous “all-levels” yoga classes are, they’re not easy to teach. For teachers, it can feel like walking a tightrope between providing enough challenge to interest those who are more experienced and delivering sufficient options to support everyone else.

But there are also challenges for students in “all-levels” classes. Who hasn’t looked around the room and felt that you were falling short? It’s easy to be aware of your own struggles as you watch others make their way into poses with seeming ease.

Although it’s impossible to craft a sequence that gives everyone exactly what they need, I think it is possible for teachers to cultivate a less comparative and competitive class environment, and that’s the focus of my latest Yoga Journal | Yogic Lifestyle article.

Some of my suggestions are pretty obvious - like explicitly telling students to listen to their own bodies instead of just the teacher’s cues. But others might catch you by surprise - like the impact of the words “just” and “today”, and the power of demonstrating pose and prop options that you don’t personally “need”.

Check it out and see what you think. And of course I’d love your input too. Do you think it’s important to create a less comparative and competitive environment in yoga classes? If so, how do you think it can be done?

https://www.yogajournal.com/teach/teach-yoga-classes

08/06/2026

What Yoga Medicine training should we offer in Christchurch next??

Fresh from a fantastic weekend sharing the MFR immersion I’m inspired to keep the ball rolling!

An enthusiastic and intelligent community of teachers from around the country, a warm and inviting space, a vibrant city… what’s not to love?

The only question is… what should we focus on next year???

Mention “yoga for older adults,” and what often comes to mind is chair yoga - safe slow stretches and mindful breathing....
07/06/2026

Mention “yoga for older adults,” and what often comes to mind is chair yoga - safe slow stretches and mindful breathing.

While there are profound benefits from that kind of practice, there’s a big gap between chair yoga and a typical vinyasa yoga class—and plenty of older students whose needs get lost in that gap.

Students who are interested in, and capable of, a more challenging vinyasa experience; students who might also be managing physical or physiological changes from the body they practiced in when they were younger.

As our bodies, minds, and needs change over the years, it’s normal that our yoga practice also needs to change. But as a teacher, how do you create a class that’s challenging yet supportive to older adults without underestimating their needs?

It’s actually not as overwhelming as you might think. My latest article details the few key changes I make when sequencing classes for older adults.

And here’s the good news: active older students aren’t all that different from anyone else. Your sequences can still be as challenging and creative as you like, provided you remain aware of common challenges that might arise.

And, by learning how to make your classes more supportive for this population, you become a more skillful teacher for all your students. Check it out and let me know what you think:

https://www.yogajournal.com/teach/yoga-for-older-adults-tips/

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