Mind-Body Yoga Study

A Research Study Exploring Functional Mobility and Quality of Life

Individuals living with lipedema and lymphedema often experience challenges that extend beyond swelling alone, including pain, mobility limitations, sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression, and reduced quality of life. Despite the growing recognition of these conditions, there remains a significant need for research evaluating accessible, non-pharmacological interventions that support whole-person health and well-being.

Can a gentle, remote mind-body chair yoga program help people with lipedema improve functional mobility and quality of life?

People living with lipedema may experience changes in mobility, discomfort, swelling, fatigue, sleep, and emotional well-being. Finding accessible approaches that support movement and quality of life is an important area of research.

This research study is exploring whether a remote mind-body chair yoga intervention may help improve functional mobility in individuals with lipedema.

The study combines gentle chair-based yoga with breathing, relaxation, mindfulness, and supportive group connection—all designed to be accessible to people with a range of mobility levels and physical abilities.

From Citizen Science to Clinical Research

In 2025–2026, a community-based citizen science project explored the impact of a six-week Mind-Body Chair Yoga program for individuals living with lipedema and lymphedema.

Participants reported meaningful improvements in several quality-of-life domains, including:

• Reduced pain
• Improved mobility
• Enhanced mental well-being

These encouraging findings inspired the development of a formal research study designed to evaluate the intervention using rigorous scientific methods and ethical oversight.

About the Study

The Feasibility and Effectiveness of a Remote Mind-Body Chair Yoga Intervention on Functional Mobility in Individuals with Lipedema

This is a mixed-methods, two-group research study examining the feasibility and potential effects of a seven-week remote mind-body chair yoga program.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups:

Group 1: Mind-Body Chair Yoga + Support Group

Participants will take part in:

• Gentle, chair-based yoga
• Breathing practices
• Mindfulness and meditation
• Relaxation practices
• Support-group sessions
• Opportunities to learn practical strategies for movement and self-care

Group 2: Support Group

Participants will take part in the support-group component during the research study.

After the study is complete, participants in the support-only group will be offered the opportunity to participate in the mind-body chair yoga program.

This approach allows researchers to compare the outcomes of the two groups while providing participants in both groups with access to the yoga program after the study.

Why This Study?

Lipedema is a chronic condition that can affect movement and quality of life. While many people with lipedema explore exercise and movement strategies, traditional exercise programs may not always feel accessible or comfortable.

Chair-based movement provides another option.

This study is designed to explore whether a gentle mind-body approach can support functional mobility while also addressing other aspects of quality of life, including symptoms, sleep, and mental well-being.

The goal is not to ask participants to push through pain or physical limitations. Instead, the yoga practices will offer options and adaptations based on what your body allows you to do.

What Is Mind-Body Chair Yoga?

Mind-body chair yoga combines gentle movement with practices that may support relaxation and nervous-system regulation.

Sessions may include:

MOVE

Gentle movement, mobility, flexibility, balance, and body awareness.

BREATHE

Breathing practices designed to encourage relaxation and mindful awareness.

RESTORE

Meditation, relaxation, and restorative practices.

LIVE

Practical strategies for adapting movement and supporting quality of life.

The practices are performed primarily while seated in a chair, with options for standing or other modifications when appropriate.

You do not need to be an experienced yoga student.

You do not need to be flexible.

You simply need to be willing to explore gentle movement within your own comfortable range.

Who Can Participate?

The study is designed for adults living with lipedema who meet the study's eligibility requirements.

Before enrollment, participants will complete the required screening and enrollment materials, including:

• Participation Profile
• Informed Consent Form
• Healthcare Provider Medical Clearance Form
• Lipedema Screening Questionnaire
• Five-Point Questionnaire
• Additional study questionnaires as required

Healthcare Provider Medical Clearance

Because this study involves movement and exercise, participants will be required to obtain medical clearance from their healthcare provider before participating in the study intervention.

This is an important part of the enrollment process and is intended to help ensure that participation is appropriate for you.

What Will Participation Involve?

If you are eligible and enroll in the study, participation will take place remotely.

The study includes:

Orientation

You will attend an online orientation where the study procedures will be explained and you will have an opportunity to ask questions.

Six-Week Study Period

The intervention period lasts approximately six weeks.

Participants assigned to the yoga group will participate in scheduled remote chair yoga sessions and support-group sessions.

Participants assigned to the support-only group will participate in the support-group sessions.

Assessments

You will complete questionnaires and functional assessments at designated points during the study.

These assessments help the research team understand whether participants experience changes over the course of the study.

Three-Month Follow-Up

Participants will also be asked to complete online follow-up assessments approximately three months after the study intervention.

What Are We Studying?

The primary focus of the study is functional mobility.

We are also interested in several other aspects of living with lipedema, including:

Functional Mobility

How participants move and function in everyday life.

Lipedema Symptom Severity

Participants' experiences with symptoms associated with lipedema.

Sleep

Participants' experiences with sleep and rest.

Mental Well-Being

Participants' experiences related to emotional and psychological well-being.

The study also includes opportunities for participants to share their experiences in their own words.

What Happens During the Chair Yoga Sessions?

The chair yoga sessions are designed to be gentle, adaptable, and accessible.

You will be given options throughout the practice.

You will never be expected to make your body go somewhere it cannot comfortably go.

Instead, you will be encouraged to explore movement within the range that feels appropriate for your body.

Practices may include:

• Gentle joint movements
• Seated yoga postures
• Mobility exercises
• Gentle strengthening
• Balance activities
• Breathing exercises
• Meditation
• Relaxation
• Body awareness
• Movement strategies that can be adapted for everyday life

The emphasis is on participation, awareness, and adaptation—not performance.

What Happens During the Chair Yoga Sessions?

The chair yoga sessions are designed to be gentle, adaptable, and accessible.

You will be given options throughout the practice.

You will never be expected to make your body go somewhere it cannot comfortably go.

Instead, you will be encouraged to explore movement within the range that feels appropriate for your body.

Practices may include:

• Gentle joint movements
• Seated yoga postures
• Mobility exercises
• Gentle strengthening
• Balance activities
• Breathing exercises
• Meditation
• Relaxation
• Body awareness
• Movement strategies that can be adapted for everyday life

The emphasis is on participation, awareness, and adaptation—not performance.

Do I Need Yoga Experience?

No.

You do not need previous yoga experience to participate.

This study is not about how well you can perform yoga poses.

It is about exploring whether an accessible mind-body movement program can support functional mobility and quality of life for people living with lipedema.

Whether you have practiced yoga for years or have never tried it before, the program is designed to provide options appropriate to different abilities and levels of experience.

What If I Have Limited Mobility?

That's okay.

The program is specifically designed to accommodate a range of physical abilities.

Chair-based movement can provide an alternative for people who may find traditional floor-based or high-impact exercise difficult.

During the sessions, you will be given modifications and choices so that you can work within your own abilities.

Your body is not expected to conform to the practice. The practice is adapted to your body.

What If I Am Assigned to the Support-Only Group?

The study includes two groups so that researchers can compare outcomes.

If you are assigned to the support-only group, you will participate in the support-group sessions during the study period.

You will not be left out of the yoga program permanently.

After the study has been completed, participants in the support-only group will be offered the opportunity to have access to all the recorded sessions in the mind-body chair yoga program.

What If I Am Assigned to the Support-Only Group?

The study includes two groups so that researchers can compare outcomes.

If you are assigned to the support-only group, you will participate in the support-group sessions during the study period.

You will not be left out of the yoga program permanently.

After the study has been completed, participants in the support-only group will be offered the opportunity to participate in the mind-body chair yoga program.

Why Is This Research Important?

People with lipedema often have to navigate movement and exercise recommendations that were not specifically designed with their bodies and experiences in mind.

Research can help us better understand what approaches are feasible, accessible, and meaningful for people living with lipedema.

This study is part of a larger effort to explore mind-body approaches to quality of life in lipedema.

The research builds on an earlier citizen science project that explored a six-week mind-body chair yoga program and participant-reported outcomes related to pain, mobility, sleep, and mental well-being.

This new study moves that work into a formal clinical research setting.

What Can I Expect as a Participant?

You can expect:

• A welcoming, respectful environment
• Remote participation
• Gentle, adaptable movement practices
• Opportunities for connection and support
• Clear instructions and modifications
• Questionnaires and study assessments
• An opportunity to contribute to research about lipedema

You are not being asked to become a yoga expert.

You are being invited to help researchers learn more about whether an accessible mind-body approach may support people living with lipedema.

Ethical Oversight

The study will undergo independent ethical review through PEARL IRB and will utilize HIPAA-compliant systems to protect participant privacy and data security.

Meet the Research Team

Our multidisciplinary team brings together expertise in patient advocacy, clinical care, research, and lived experience.

Principal Investigator

Cindy Beers, MS, E-RYT500

Yoga educator, researcher, author, and individual living with lipedema.

Research Advisory Team

The study is supported by a team that includes:

• Leslyn Keith, OTD CLT – Co-Investigator
• Catherine Seo, PhD – Participant Advocate
• Siobhan Huggins, Researcher, Data Collection
• Robyn Baron Durst, MA LPC - Support Group Leader

Robyn Baron Durst, MA, LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 30 years of experience helping individuals reclaim a sense of control and empowerment. Her career spans hospital settings with chronically mentally ill populations, crisis intervention for domestic violence survivors, and leading anger management groups. For the past 15 years, she has successfully grown her private practice.

Robyn utilizes an eclectic therapeutic approach rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). As a certified yoga teacher who has taught chair yoga at a nursing home day program for 5 years, she uniquely blends mental health clinical practices with a yogic framework. This holistic approach bridges the gap between mind, body, exercise, and food/mood connections.

By meeting clients exactly where they are, Robyn helps them build an “arsenal of coping skills.” This practical toolkit empowers clients to feel grounded and in control, even when the world around them feels chaotic.

Outside the office, Robyn balances her own life through yoga, travel, puzzles, reading, art classes, and spending time with her family and lifelong friends.

Jeffrey Migdow, MD - Support Group Leader

Jeff Migdow, M.D., is a holistic physician, RYT-500 yoga instructor, and Reiki master who has practiced Holistic medicine and taught and practiced yoga for over 40 years. While living at Kripalu Yoga Ashram for 15 years, he directed Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training from 1990–1997. He is also the co-creator of Prana Yoga Teacher Training, a 200-hour Yoga Alliance–approved program focusing on the connection of body, mind and energy, which he directed from 1997–2020 at the Open Center in NYC and the Princeton Center for Yoga and Health. He has led numerous workshops on yoga, intuition, lifestyle, wellness, and healing around the world, including in Japan, Canada, Brazil, the Bahamas, and India. He is a co-author of the books Breathe In, Breathe Out and Goddess to the Core

Other Team Members Joining us:

• Dr Alexandre Amato
• Dr Isabel Forner-Cordero
• Dr Joanna Dudek

Together, we are committed to advancing evidence-informed approaches that improve quality of life for individuals living with lipedema and lymphedema.

Support the Research

Research in lipedema and lymphedema remains significantly underfunded. Your support helps make this work possible.

Contributions help fund:

• Ethical review and regulatory oversight
• HIPAA-compliant technology
• Secure data collection and management
• Participant recruitment
• Statistical analysis
• Dissemination of findings

Every contribution helps move this project from community observations to scientific evidence.