How the right kind of touch in yoga can settle your nervous system—and why consent is the foundation of it all.

In this episode, Kiara Armstrong, massage therapist, yoga teacher, and author of Hands-On Yoga Assists: A Teacher’s Guide to the Rubber Band Method®, explores how safe, consent-centered touch can support regulation, embodiment, and connection in yoga spaces.

We discuss:

• The Rubber Band Method® and how it teaches instructors to read tissue response with clarity rather than force

• The difference between assists and adjustments—and why language and intention matter

• How consensual, skillful touch lowers cortisol, boosts oxytocin, and supports co-regulation

• Foundations of nervous system physiology, including HRV, sympathetic/parasympathetic balance, and Kiara’s approachable “gas-and-brake” analogy

• How grounding touch can help reduce protective tension patterns and support students in reconnecting with their bodies

• Practical ways teachers can ask for clear consent and maintain healthy boundaries

• Kiara’s insights on trauma, early perimenopause, and hormone support—and how regulating the body creates space for deeper healing

If you teach, practice, or simply live with stress, this conversation will shift how you think about touch, safety, and nervous system support in yoga.

Learn more about Kiara’s work at www.rubberbandmethod.com.

Get the book: https://amzn.to/4lFKu9S