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Yoga Practitioners Show Double Pain Tolerance and Increased Brain Volume in Insula

Huberman Lab · Essentials: Improve Flexibility with Research-Supported Stretching Protocols · June 18, 2026
Yoga Practitioners Show Double Pain Tolerance and Increased Brain Volume in Insula
Huberman Lab
Huberman Lab
Essentials: Improve Flexibility with Research-Supported Stretching Protocols
"The pain tolerance of yoga practitioners was double or more to that of non-yoga practitioners. They also found significant increases in insular, again, the insula, this brain region, gray matter volume."
Citing research from Cerebral Cortex, Huberman presented data showing yoga practitioners have more than double the pain tolerance of non-practitioners and measurably increased gray matter volume in the insular cortex, the brain region responsible for interoceptive awareness and pain interpretation. This suggests yoga structurally reshapes the brain's pain processing systems.
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Huberman Lab
Huberman Lab

Essentials: Improve Flexibility with Research-Supported Stretching Protocols

August 3, 2026 · 3 Egleze moments
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