Yoga Teacher Resource Podcast Degenerative Disc Disease with Dr. Libby Hinsley
Mar 12, 2026
29:51
Students often share scary-sounding diagnoses with their yoga teachers and expect us to know what they are - and how to modify for them. Today’s episode is the first of a miniseries about some of the most common conditions that will show up in a yoga classroom. Dr. Libby Hinsley demystifies the misleading diagnosis of “degenerative disc disease” - and shares the tools you will need as a yoga teacher to confidently help any student who tells you they have it.
Episode Highlights:
- How your back is like a Jelly Doughnut!
- What IS “degenerative disc” and what impact should it have on your practice?
- The relationship between bulging, slipped, and herniated discs (hint - one of these isn’t a real thing).
- The prevalence of spinal abnormalities - and how worried we should be if they show up on imaging.
- The relationship between degenerative disc disease and backbends.
- Nerve compression symptoms and how to modify for them.
Episode Links & Resources:
Follow Libby Hinsley on Instagram @libbyhinsleypt
Follow Libby Hinsley on Facebook
Other Resources:
Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource
Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list
Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group