Angela Wilson

Angela Wilson, LMHC, RYT 500, is a Kripalu faculty member who teaches the science of yoga. Formerly on the faculty of Kripalu’s Institute for Extraordinary Living, Angela conducted research on the scientific benefits of yoga and coauthored a well-cited scientific theory paper entitled, “Potential Self-Regulatory Mechanisms of Yoga for Psychological Health.” She also teaches mind-body stress reduction programs to health-care workers and has contributed to Yoga International and Yoga Therapy Today, writing about the intersection between yoga, Western psychology, and science.


Resources

  • The Benefits of Conscious Breathing for Body and Mind

    Breathing practices can potentially counteract the detrimental effects of stress and trauma on emotion regulation, physical health, and the ability to experience love and compassion, according to Kripalu presenters Richard P. Brown and Patricia L. Gerbarg.

  • The Evidence-Based Benefits of Loving-Kindness Meditation

    LKM offers unique benefits that are subtly different from other kinds of meditation. What are those differences? Some just might surprise you.

  • Playing with Fire: The Power of Tapas to Help Us Fulfill Our Intentions

    We apply tapas in any moment when we consciously go against the grain of our conditioned way of being and engage in a new behavior or way of thinking.

  • Yoga and Meditation for Depression

    A growing amount of research investigates whether yoga and meditation can help with depression, whether warding off a relapse or helping to reverse mild depression.

  • Why Yoga Is a Powerful Tool in Recovery

    Yoga and meditation, with their stress-reducing effects, are potentially useful practices to navigate the waters of addiction.

  • Yoga as a Tool for Self-Regulation

    Research suggests that self-regulation of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors is the primary benefit of the comprehensive practice of yoga.

  • Yoga and Positive Emotions

    The impact of positive emotions is coming under the scrutiny of scientists, as they continue to gain new understanding of how positive emotions can improve mental and even physical health.

  • Five Tips for a Better Night’s Sleep

    A truly restful night’s sleep can strengthen our immune system, as well as help us mentally process our day and feel emotionally balanced.

  • Yoga and Trauma: Reclaiming the Body

    Yoga can offer tools to come back into the body, empowering students to begin reclaiming their inner experience.

  • Meditation for Better Relationships

    Research is revealing that, among its many other benefits, meditation might also help us be better friends and partners.

  • Turning Stress into Strength

    Recent research suggests that, actually, not all stress is bad. In fact, the right amount of stress may be just what you need.

  • How Yoga, Mindfulness, and Meditation Can Help Relieve Chronic Pain

    As the number of people dealing with chronic pain steadily increases, in tandem with the ongoing opioid crisis, both doctors and patients are becoming ever more interested in how to manage chronic pain conditions with non-pharmacological treatments

  • Hardwired for Empathy: How Mirror Neurons Connect Us

    As humans, we have an innate capacity to understand what another person is feeling simply by being present with them.

  • Your Brain on Mindfulness Meditation

    Neuroscientific research reveals that mindfulness meditation can significantly change the brain, fortifying our ability to manage difficult emotions and changing the way we experience our sense of self.

  • How Yoga Supports Brain Health

    Researchers are looking at how yoga postures and breathing techniques may change the brain in beneficial ways.

  • Why Yoga Increases Feelings of Connection

    While many people turn to yoga to reduce stress, an equal number go to yoga class in order to experience a greater sense of connection.

  • Self-Discipline Isn't Unlimited

    Ever wonder why it’s easy to call forth self-discipline one moment, but difficult in another? Researchers have begun to understand self-discipline, or what they call self-control, as a limited resource.

  • The Benefits of Yoga for Weight Management

    Several studies show that a weight-related yoga program can help people improve their food choices and their body image.

  • How Yoga Changes the Brain

    For many of us, the practice of yoga helps us feel calmer and more soothed. Research helps explain why.

  • Four Evidence-Based Strategies for Managing Holiday Stress

    During the busy holiday season, we tend to get swept away by both the cheer and the stress. Luckily, contemporary science offers approaches for keeping your balance this time of year—and any time.

  • How Yoga Can Help Soothe Anxiety

    Can yoga be beneficial in those moments when anxiety hits a suboptimal threshold? Research sheds some light on how yoga might help release those anxious woes.

  • Relationships as Spiritual Practice

    Our biggest wounds most likely happen in relationship. Can they be healed on the yoga mat?

  • The Gift of Breath

    Pranayama, or the regulation of breath, is an essential part of yoga practice.

  • Soothing the Anxious Brain with Meditation

    From an evolutionary perspective, the amygdala cued our ancestors to danger. But these days, its activity is fixated less on life-threatening situations and more on perceived threats to the self, says Kripalu presenter Angela Wilson.

  • 4 Ways to Strengthen Your Stress Resilience

    What makes some of us bounce back in the face of life’s challenges and others crumble? Why is it that, some days, we feel able to take on the world, while on other days, one little thing can set us off?

  • Can Yoga Defeat the “Silent Killer”?

    Research is underway that may help increase the understanding of how yoga helps reduce blood pressure for different populations.

  • Your Brain on Meditation

    New scientific research shows what Buddhist monks and meditators have known for centuries: a mindfulness practice reduces stress and improves focus.

  • Building Stress Resilience with Meditation

    Trapped in a cave, the Thai boys managed to stay calm throughout their harrowing 18-day ordeal thanks in part to meditation. It’s a reminder that, no matter the circumstance, our inner strength is always within reach.

  • Meditation for Better Relationships

    Research is revealing that, among its many other benefits, meditation might also help us be better friends and partners.

  • The Science of Love

    Love—it’s the supreme human emotion. Babies need it to survive, it can improve brain function and health, and it’s even essential for animals.

  • The Path of Personal Growth

    As interpreted through the lens of yoga, personal growth is a gradual and permanent shift in how we relate to ourselves and to the world.

  • 'Tis the Season to Meditate

    Forget about enjoying the holidays: More and more, the majority of us just want to make it through. Which is why a meditation practice—proven to counter...

  • Five Ways to Make Your Black Friday More Mindful

    Before you hit the mall or open your laptop, consider these five ideas for transforming shopping into an opportunity to practice mindfulness and bring more positive emotions into your life.

  • Meditating for a Better Brain

    Meditation has long been believed to be a win-win proposition, carrying certain psychological benefits with zero risk or cost.

  • Meditation for Beginners: A Q&A with Angela Wilson

    In this edition of Ask the Expert, Angela Wilson, a senior Kripalu faculty member and Project Leader for the Institute for Extraordinary Living’s Frontline...

  • How to Thrive During the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

    They say the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, a time when miracles happen, but do you sometimes feel like you need a miracle to keep up with your growing to-do list?

  • Cultivating Inner Strength

    Do you suffer from anxiety, poor digestion, or lack of focus? When life's demands overwhelm us, Angela Wilson, Manager of Evidence-Based Yoga Curriculum for...

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