I realized last week that trying too hard to lift my arms.

I was reaching my arms overhead in urdhva hastasana and – I thought – doing a pretty good job.  I was straightening the arms, lifting through the sides of the waist, and (for once) not sticking my ribs at.  Ah-ha, I thought, I’m DOING it!  My teacher comes by and purses her lips at me.  “Relax here, stop working so hard.  Your collarbones are all tight.”  She wiggles my fingers until my collarbones have space to breathe.

Hmmmm, now I seem to be doing much less.  And it feels…better.

How many [read more...]

Eka Pada Koundinyasana.  It’s one of those poses that you see on the cover of yoga journal, performed by someone smiling peacefully (and seemingly in no state of stress or panic) that makes you go, “Huh?  Riiiiiiiiiight.”  As my boyfriend said with alarm upon seeing this picture to the left, “Jesus!  That is not good!”  (Photo courtesy of Yoga Journal.)  But despite it’s daunting appearance, there are accessible roads into this seemingly impossible position.

Eka Pada Koundinyasana #1 (there are two versions of this pose) is not only an arm balance, it’s also a deep twist.  To warm up the body [read more...]

During the holidays, it’s more important than ever to have some quiet time. With all of the distractions – parties, relatives, drama, presents, planning, joy, baggage – it’s easy to get swept away on a holiday rollercoaster!

This week’s pose is halasana (plow). By turning ourselves upside down and folding over, we are literally looking into ourselves. The pose helps us to pull our energy in and become more contained and centered. As in inversion, halasana encourages us to challenge our point of view and get out of sticky patterns. Its (literally!) navel-gazing properties can [read more...]

Bakasana is one of those asani that looks impossible until you actually do it.

“You want me to put my knees where and balance on my what?” we think with dismay.

But with just a few steps, you two can begin to find the effortless flight that characterizes this arm balance. And the key lies in finding your core. The gateway to the core? Your inner thighs. Very simply, by using your adductors (the muscles that allow you to squeeze your legs together), you begin to activate your core – namely your transverse abdominis. Once this engagement [read more...]

Moving with our fear.

Headstand is an elegant inversion, insisting on patience, presence, and control to be done properly. For many of us, headstand is an opportunity to brush against our fear. Fear of the unknown, of falling, of not being in control. As such, the practice of headstand become an opportunity to practice intimacy with this fear. When we move slowly and with awareness, we can breathe through our fear reflex and assess where we really are. Rather than getting caught up in a fear narrative, we practice slowing down and observing our response. [read more...]

“The truth will set you free. ”

Pincha Mayurasana Variation

We’re all adept at seeing certain truths.  For some of us, it’s easy to accept that we’re pretty, attractive, talented, loved, or successful.  (And sadly, for some of us, it’s easier to accept a truth that we’re unattractive, unsuccessful, unloved, or untalented!)  But these are simply ideas that we’re comfortable with,  stuff that is easy to swallow.  These are the truths that we’ve gotten used to and repeated to ourselves – or had it told to us – many times.

However, the truths that will really set us free are the ones [read more...]

Natarajasana, Pose of the Lord of the Dance, is a complex pose that is deep backbend with the added fun of balance.  As with any backbend, is it essential to fully warm up the thoracic spine and hip flexors as well as integrate core stability for the safety of the lower back.  A myriad of arm variations possible in this pose also allow for shoulder and chest opening.

Risk factors: Falling, low back.

What to warm up:

The hip flexors (front of the thighs).  Low lunge, high lunge, and Virabhadrasana I are great poses for opening the front of the thighs.  Hanumanasana with [read more...]

Frequently when we leave yoga class, we’re feeling pretty good. We’re stretched, we’re stronger, our minds are a bit more settled. After all, feeling good in our own bodies is a crucial first step on our hatha yoga path. And if that’s what gets us to the mat, so much the better. But at some point in our practice, we begin to have the terrible inkling that our yoga practice is actually happening all the time. It’s just a little more obvious when we’re in our lulu’s and on our mats.

Our practice is just that: [read more...]

Rachel, photo by SBK

Urdhva Dhanurasana, aka Upward Bow  – don’t call it Wheel, that’s a different pose .  One of the ultimate yoga stretches for the front of the body, Urdhva Dhanurasana challenges us to maintain our strength though the core as we radiate through our upper chest and heart and stretch our hip flexors and shoulders.  Any restriction in the shoulders or hips will immediately translate into a crunched lower back, so Upward Bow requires a great deal of warming up and opening in order to be happily explored.

Risk factors: The low back.  This is priority number [read more...]