.: learn with sasha :.
Podcast: Yoga for Abortion Care
What does yoga have to do with abortion care and how can yoga teachers support people going through abortion care before, during, and after the process? Sasha Sigel is a pelvic floor yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner, and abortion doula. When Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022, she trained to be an abortion doula where she supports folks going through abortion care with accurate information and practical, emotional, and physical support. In this episode, Sasha shares how yoga intersects with reproductive justice and how we can lean on the foundational values of yoga to guide us in supporting people through their reproductive choices. Tune in to learn more about the barriers many people face when accessing care, how community doulas and yoga teachers can safely show up, and why normalizing abortion as a part of human healthcare is a crucial part of our work as compassionate spaceholders.
Podcast: Healing Arts & Social Justice
In this moving conversation, yoga teacher and activist Sasha Sigel shares her remarkable journey from theater student to dedicated advocate for reproductive rights and queer community building.
Her approach to reproductive healthcare is particularly touching, as she works tirelessly to destigmatize abortion care while providing compassionate support to those in need. As she powerfully states, "We have the potential to make this not a traumatic experience... the stigma is all being placed from the outside."
Perhaps most inspiring is Sasha's candid discussion about navigating the emotional challenges of activism in today's political climate. "Anger can be incredibly helpful and useful, that it points to something is not right, something is being threatened that we care about."
Blog: Body Literacy
Learn how yoga and Reiki can aid your growth and healing. Explore yoga for pelvic health, queer community building, and beyond.
Topics include:
.: peer reviewed studies about yoga :.
Association between yoga and multimorbidity: a nationwide study of 279,885 middle-aged and older adults (2025) was a cross-sectional study pooled nationally representative surveys from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
“[Our] results suggested that practicing yoga for at least one hour or one time per week may provide sufficient health benefit, further underscoring the potential of yoga as a time-efficient and effective strategy for improving overall health and managing chronic conditions… yoga was found to be significantly associated with lower odds of multimorbidity [two or more long-term illnesses] and individual chronic conditions…”
Reducing Stress with Yoga: A Systematic Review Based on Multimodal Biosignals (2024) studied 105 reviews incorporating biosignals to detect stress levels during the practice of Yoga.
“The incorporation of deliberate, measured movements, conscious breathing, and mindfulness strategies in yoga exercises facilitates the stimulation of the PNS [parasympathetic] nervous system, resulting in a state of relaxation. With consistent engagement, yoga has the potential to reshape habitual stress responses, cultivating resilience and emotional balance over time.”
.: peer reviewed studies about Reiki :.
Effects of Reiki therapy on quality of life: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (2025) studied reviews involving 661 participants aged 14 years and above.
“Systematic evaluations have consistently demonstrated that Reiki therapy significantly enhances quality of life (QOL). Subgroup analyses further indicate that the therapy is most effective in improving QOL when administered with a high frequency of sessions (≥ 8) and extended duration (≥ 60 min), or in acute settings with sessions lasting up to (≤ 20 min).”
Reiki Is Better Than Placebo and Has Broad Potential as a Complementary Health Therapy (2017) examined 13 peer reviewed studies about the effects of Reiki.
“For patients with chronic health conditions, Reiki has been found to be more effective than placebo for reducing pain, anxiety, and depression, and for improving self-esteem and quality of life.”
I’m committed to creating an inclusive, affirming space—both online and in person—that honors diverse bodies, identities, and access needs. I strive to make my offerings as accessible as possible while supporting myself well. I welcome feedback to help improve access.
I am on unceded Lenape land, colonized as Brooklyn, NY.