170: Yoga in Healthcare: Community Conversations with Jen Beal

Yoga is increasingly moving beyond the studio to find a place in therapeutic and healthcare settings. That move generates new opportunities, as well as new challenges, for yoga teachers.

In today’s episode, host Rachel speaks with Yoga Medicine® Therapeutic Specialist Jen Beal, who is a full-time yoga and meditation teacher with the Whole Health division of the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Jen shares the realities of teaching yoga in a large-scale healthcare environment: working as part of a collaborative care team, documentation requirements, and the need for trauma sensitivity, confidentiality, and accessibility. This conversation offers valuable insight into how yoga can become more inclusive, adaptable, and therapeutic — both inside and outside traditional healthcare systems.

“You don’t have to have every single body in your classroom doing the same exact thing.” — Jen Beal

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“In healthcare settings, adaptability is everything.” — Jen Beal

Show Notes:

• Gaining employment in the VA healthcare system [2:32]
• What the role involves [5:40]
• Rewarding and fulfilling work [7:59]
• Unique challenges in this environment [11:58]
• Record-keeping requirements [14:41]
• Privacy and confidentiality matter in healthcare [18:23]
• Clear Scope of Practice [20:30]
• How VA students and sequences differ from yoga studios [26:23]
• A “yoga kit” to encourage home practice [35:37]
• Advice for accessible teaching in healthcare settings [38:29]
• Final take-aways [44:02]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Connect with Jen Beal:

Instagram | Still and Flow Yoga

“Everybody’s body is going to look different.” — Jen Beal