What Kind of Yoga Teacher Writes about Murder?
For the past fourteen years, I’ve made my living teaching yoga at my studio, Whole Life Yoga. I’ve certified well over 200 yoga teachers. But anyone who knows me can[…]
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5 other ways to avoid benefits of yoga poses (release valves part 2)
Few weeks ago I wrote a post about the so-called “release valves” in yoga – unfortunate movement or holding patterns that our bodies fall into out of habit or to[…]
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Introducing Friday Features – yoga teachers and “yoga snacks”
In my yoga teacher training many years ago I was encouraged to identify my niche – a group of people or a particular area that I would like to specialize[…]
Most talked about posts of 2014
Yoga for the Body Yoga for Energy Practice tips How to design yoga practices Teaching Tips [jetpack_subscription_form]
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Strong and stable: yoga for core and hips
I believe that most of the readers of this blog are in the “householder” stage of life (roughly between the ages of 25 and 65), which means that we are[…]
5 ways to forgo the benefits of yoga poses (release valves part 1)
During my very first (weekend-long) yoga teacher training we were taught to “swan dive” – bend forward from the hips. I have a lot of mobility in my lower back,[…]
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The cult of a yoga pose: what yoga poses are and are not
My teacher, Gary Kraftsow, likes to ask: “Are you for yoga, or is yoga for you?” The answer seems obvious, yet often from the way we practice it appears as[…]
6 yoga substitutes for the most common gym pre-exercise stretches
Every time I go to the gym I see somebody doing the anga bangha stretching. Anga bangha means trying to do something good for one part of your body while[…]
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Why do we hold yoga poses?
I had a student many years ago who due to some psychological issues wasn’t able to keep her internal dialog to herself. So whenever she took my class, she would[…]
3 steps to making any yoga pose more effective: why do we repeat the pose before we hold it
“Raise your hand if you are busy” – my teacher Gary Kraftsow likes to prompt at his workshops. This always gets the same reaction – a short disbelieving laugh, as[…]
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Why the foot pain is connected to the neck pain: your movement patterns shape your body
In the yoga world, if we get pain somewhere in the body, we take it as a call to action and begin to stretch that particular area. This approach is[…]
Stretching is overrated: it doesn’t help with muscle tension or muscle soreness
Last year an article in the New York Times titled Reasons Not to Stretch made quite a stir. It listed multiple studies that concluded that static stretching before an activity[…]
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Integrating yoga breathing into a practice to feel more balanced and centered
Yesterday I had an appointment at my son’s school to discuss a stressful situation we’ve been dealing with involving one of his teachers. The mere thought of it was making[…]
8 steps to design a breath-centered practice
According to viniyoga tradition, our aging process is represented by the movement of the sun throughout the day. Sunrise represents childhood, midday represents adult life, and sunset represents old age.[…]
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What’s in your toolbox? Yoga breathing techniques
I signed up for a yoga class in the past titled something like Yoga for the changing seasons that promised to address the energetic and physiological changes that occur during[…]
How to organize a practice around yoga breathing
One of my guilty pleasures used to be watching Project Runway. Intense interpersonal drama aside, it was amazing to see all those very different designers manifest their creativity through clothing.[…]
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Yoga version of kegel exercises for men and women
We all know that kegel exercises are useful for strengthening the pelvic floor muscles; but did you know that you could also integrate them into your yoga practice? It works[…]
Yoga for pelvic floor muscles: do you need to strengthen or release?
My toddler has been going through a potty training process, which means learning to control his pelvic floor muscles. Not a fun experience, but I am sure he will get[…]
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Mula bandha: what it is and whether or not you need it
Some Sanskrit words had successfully made it into our pop culture. When a lady in a scented candle commercial talks about clearing her chakras, you know that the cat is[…]
Five currents of prana and how they organize your physiology (5 Vayus )
I heard a theory (and I don’t know whether or not it’s true) that western medicine grew out of studying cadavers, while in the eastern world cutting up the dead[…]
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