Happy Back Yoga with Rachel

08/21/2026

Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure of interviewing Optimal State by Amy Wheeler and Marlysa Sullivan about their newest book, *Applying Therapeutic Yoga in Integrative Health*.

It was a rich and thought-provoking conversation about the future of yoga therapy in healthcare, and the importance of continuing to preserve the essence of yoga as our profession evolves and enters more deeply into healthcare settings. How do we integrate yoga into modern healthcare while maintaining the integrity of the tradition that makes yoga therapy unique? We had so much to explore!

🎥 **Watch the interview here:**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3XxlM6F_o0

If you’d like to receive notifications about future author interviews, join the "Yoga Therapy Book Club". It’s free and open to everyone! Link in the first comment. See less

Applying Therapeutic Yoga in Integrative Health: A Guide for Re-ima...

08/11/2026

I’m very excited to finally share a new training that has been many years in the making:

"Emotional Yoga Therapy — working with the mind, emotions, and the deeper patterns that shape the body."

After 25 years of studying and practicing yoga therapy and 10 years of studying and practicing Hakomi at the Hakomi Institute of Israel מכון האקומי ישראלi , I’ve been wanting to bring these two worlds together in a more integrated way.

I believe this addresses a missing piece in yoga therapy: **How do we use yoga not only to change the body, but to work with the limiting beliefs and emotional patterns that live underneath our physical and behavioral patterns?**

In this training, we’ll explore how developmental experiences can create *samskaras* — deeply held patterns of belief, tension, behavior, and relationship — and how these patterns can show up in the body.

We’ll combine yoga therapy principles and techniques with Hakomi and somatic psychotherapy, working specifically with the manomaya kosha (mental-emotional body) and vijnanamaya kosha (wisdom body).

And this won’t be just theory. We’ll learn practical ways to recognize these patterns and work with them through the body, breath, awareness, movement, and mindful exploration — supporting meaningful emotional and behavioral change.
I’m especially happy to be co-teaching this with Anat Eshet Padani, a long-time Hakomi practitioner, supervisor, certified instructor, and someone whose work I deeply value.

7 meetings | 40 hours
Begins November 4

Designed for yoga teachers, yoga therapists, and dedicated practitioners who want to go deeper into the relationship between body, mind, emotion, and our innate capacity for healing.
If you’ve ever wondered "How can yoga help someone change a pattern that isn’t just physical?” — this course is for you.

**All the details are here:**
https://www.rachelkrentzman.com/event-details/emotional-yoga-therapy

I’m really excited about this one. It feels like the coming together of so much of what I’ve been studying and practicing for decades. ❤️

This 40 hour course introduces a powerful approach to understanding how limiting beliefs shape the body and influence patterns of tension, pain, and behavior. Drawing from yoga therapy and somatic psychotherapy, participants will explore core developmental wounds and how yoga therapy can help.

07/24/2026

If you've been waiting for the right opportunity to train with me in person, this is it. This 5-day immersive Happy Back Yoga Method training at Omega is the most comprehensive live training I'll be offering in the U.S., and with most of my future trainings moving online, it may be one of the last opportunities for this level of hands-on learning. Together, we'll explore evidence-informed approaches for the lower back, pelvis and hips, upper back, neck and shoulders, scoliosis, osteoporosis, and sacroiliac joint dysfunction. You'll leave with practical assessment skills, therapeutic yoga techniques, and the confidence to help students with back pain safely and effectively. If you love the energy, connection, and personalized feedback that only live training can provide, I would love to have you join us. Register here: https://bit.ly/4bj3Kqf

07/09/2026

Earlybird tickets are on sale now!! I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful Israel Yoga Festival - פסטיבל ישראל ליוגה. Celebrating 10 years!!!

Israel Yoga Festival, the best yoga teachers in Israel come for 3 days and 2 nights to the largest, most comprehensive and central yoga festival and conference in Israel.

06/18/2026

I'm delighted to share that I'll be returning to the East Coast this summer to teach my signature Happy Back Yoga Retreat & Training at the beautiful Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, August 30–September 4, 2026.

This unique program is both a retreat and an in-depth training—a chance to step away from daily life, immerse yourself in personal practice, and deepen your understanding of yoga for spinal health. Together, we'll explore safe, intelligent movement, learn how tension and emotions are held in the body, and discover practical tools for greater ease, resilience, and well-being.

My work continues to evolve, integrating insights from physical therapy, yoga therapy, mindfulness, and Hakomi psychotherapy, and I'm excited to share what I've been learning with you.

Because I live abroad, opportunities to study with me in person in the U.S. are relatively rare. I would love to gather with both new and returning students in Omega's gorgeous lakeside setting for a week of learning, practice, connection, and renewal.

I hope you'll join me.

Learn more and register here:
https://bit.ly/4bj3Kqf

06/12/2026

✨ A Different Savasana for SI Joint Pain ✨

If you have SI joint pain, the traditional Savasana position with the feet falling out to the sides may not always feel restful. For some people, external rotation of the legs can create compression and pain in the pelvis and lower back.

Try these techniques...

Keeping the legs neutral often helps "quiet" the pelvis, allowing the SI joints and low back to fully relax.

Sometimes comfort isn't about stretching more—it's about creating enough stability for the body to let go.

Have you noticed a difference between resting with your feet turned out versus parallel?

06/01/2026

✨ **From Ideas to Action: Igniting the Fire for Meaningful Change** ✨
How many times have you had a great idea, a vision, or a dream—only to find yourself stuck in planning, overthinking, or waiting for the "right time"?
As yoga therapists, teachers, and healers, we are often filled with inspiration. But meaningful change doesn't happen through inspiration alone. It requires grounding, discipline, courage, and the ability to transform vision into action.
At the upcoming Yoga Therapy Conference, I'll be leading an experiential workshop exploring how the wisdom of yoga, movement, breath, and Ayurveda can help us bridge the gap between intention and implementation.
Together we'll explore:
🔥 How to cultivate the inner fire needed to create lasting change
🌱 The role of grounding and stability in bringing ideas to life
🧘 How yoga therapy supports transformation both personally and professionally
💡 Ways to move beyond overthinking into purposeful action
Through standing poses, twists, breathwork, and mindful movement, we'll develop the focus, resilience, and clarity needed to create meaningful change—whether you're building a practice, supporting clients, developing a new program, or working to integrate yoga into healthcare.
If you've ever felt called to do something bigger but weren't sure how to take the next step, this class is for you.
I would love to practice with you and explore what becomes possible when vision meets grounded action.
❤️ See you at the conference! All the details are here: https://isyoga.co.il/events/yoga-therapy-conference-2026/

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05/14/2026

🌀 BACK PAIN RELIEF YOU CAN DO AT HOME 🌀

One of my favorite techniques for decompressing the lumbar spine uses just:
✔️ 2 yoga straps/belts
✔️ 1 yoga block
✔️ A few minutes of your time

The best part?
It’s simple, inexpensive, gentle, and something you can safely do yourself at home.

This type of lumbar traction can be especially helpful for people dealing with:
• Disc herniations
• Sciatica
• Compression-related low back pain
• General stiffness and tension in the lower back

Creating space in the spine can help reduce pressure, calm irritation, and allow the body to breathe and move more freely again. ✨

Sometimes healing doesn’t require complicated equipment — just the right method.

🎥 Watch the video and try it gently and mindfully. As always, listen to your body and consult a healthcare provider if your symptoms are severe or worsening.

05/08/2026

Not all low back pain is actually coming from the low back.

Very often, symptoms are related to what we call sacroiliac joint dysfunction — when the SI joint loses stability or alignment and starts creating pain patterns through the pelvis and lower back.

One of the biggest clues?
Sharp, localized pain around the “buttock dimples” near the base of the spine.

This is especially common in:
• Women after birth
• Hypermobile individuals
• Yoga practitioners
• Anyone doing a lot of stretching without enough stability

In this reel, I’m showing a simple yoga strap technique that can help support, stabilize, and reset the SI joint gently and effectively.

Sometimes the answer isn’t more stretching — it’s better support and alignment.

Save this for later or share it with someone dealing with stubborn low back pain.

05/04/2026

Continuing with the psoas work… this time going a little deeper, layering in breath and movement.

The psoas is not just another muscle to stretch. It’s deeply connected to the nervous system, and it tends to hold a lot — tension, protection patterns, and sometimes emotions that have been sitting there for a long time.

As we start to open this area, it’s very common to feel heat building… and sometimes emotions come with it — anger, grief, frustration, even tears.

If that happens, try not to push it away or analyze it too much.

Just be with it.

Nothing is wrong — it’s simply your system letting go of something it doesn’t need to hold onto anymore.

Go slowly. Stay connected to your breath. Give yourself permission to feel what arises, without forcing or fixing.

And above all — be kind to yourself in the process.

This work goes deeper than the physical.