All things human. Reflections and research on everything that contributes to our well-being and human experience beyond the yoga mat.
Gil Hedley has been leading instructional and inspirational human dissections for over twenty years and is a thought leader in integrative human anatomy. A self-described “somanaut” who helps others to “explore the inner space of the body, and discover there the rich terrain of themselves,” Gil has also completed a “What’s the Fuzz,” tour through […]
You may have heard, sugar sucks for you. Sugar has been linked to obesity and bad cholesterol, which has been linked to an increased chance of cancer. And while researchers are usually cautious about drawing a direct link between your sweet tooth and a cancer link, they have gone so far as to indicate that sugar […]
Health-conscious readers, check it out! Skin products – makeup, body care, sunscreen – can be a sneaky source of toxins and chemicals. And here we are, applying them directly on our skin! In a nutshell, the US only bans 30 toxic chemicals from skin products; Beautycounter bans 1500. One of my long time friends Ashley […]
You may not know this about me, but I used to be a witch. When I lived in New York City, I was part of a coven. Every Monday night, a group of eight of us would meet in the upstairs room of a Soho studio space. There, we would chant, sing, and laugh our […]
I hear this question a lot as a physiotherapist. The people who ask me this question range from the skeptical gym rat to the seasoned yoga enthusiasts. Generally speaking, my answer is yes! In a 2016 review, yoga was found to be effective in reducing pain and disability, can be performed safely and may improve […]
Yoga was introduced to the West in late 19th century and has been since eagerly adopted by a very receptive audience. Despite the huge popularity of yoga, its medicinal counterpart Ayurveda, was left behind. Yoga and Ayurveda are complementary practices that share a close relationship, so much that they are often described as two sides […]
Traditional religious practices in Christianity, Buddhism, Islam have all included fasting (Karras et al., 2016). In yoga, fasting is a pillar of the philosophical principle of sauca, or purity. While abstaining from worldly delights (sex, food, alcohol) is certainly a test of mental fortitude, research has shown that caloric reduction through intermittent and periodic fasting can promote […]
I love travelling. But I don’t always like its impact on my body. While travelling can create novel opportunities for exercise (ie: sightseeing a new city, doing a vacation sport like skiing), the fact is that travel will often disrupt our cherished wellness regimes. When we are away from our habitual classes and teachers, it […]
Did you know that an estimated 10% of Americans suffer from chronic insomnia, which can greatly impact the quality life? Benefits of a good night’s rest include having a better mood, better health, eating less compulsively, and (yay!) an improved sex life. While medical practitioners may prefer to prescribe pills to address the problem (after all, […]
It’s US Thanksgiving, time for turkey and thankfulness! But you don’t have to be slurping stuffing (or even be celebrating the holiday, oh my Canadian brethren) to take this as an opportunity for a moment of appreciation. Here are five poses to celebrate the day and connect more deeply to a sense of gratitude and […]
Are you a recovering perfectionist? Here are some clues that you may be in this camp (with me, I might add): you need (NEED) to make all the fonts match in your writing you have to clean your desk before you work projects are never really finished there’s always one last email to send you […]
Yoga is a low-impact form of exercise that still gives you an excellent workout. It helps you to relieve tension, build strength and relax your mind. Wondering whether to take up a yoga class? Here are seven signs you should get on the mat: You’re Feeling Stressed All the Time We all feel stressed from […]
Learning is one of the most important activities in life. We don’t just learn when we cram before the exams, but each day we should aim to gather new knowledge that will deepen our understanding of the world around us. Many students feel that they spend days and days just mindlessly fulfilling their to-do lists, […]
As many of you know, I took a yoga retreat to Bali recently. In fact, this was my first yoga retreat ever as a practitioner! Part of the reason that I took this yoga retreat was because the folks at Book Yoga Retreats gave me a shout and asked me to review their services. Me: […]
The Yoga Barn has a wall that displays posters of its workshops. The teachers are predominantly white. Travelling to Bali brought up mixed feelings. Happy to be there, certainly, but also confounded by the rampant yoga tourism. Who can blame the people here for giving us what we want? Whether it’s cheap massages (which don’t seem be frequented […]
Check out this guest post by Tracy Moore, who has done research on how athletes are using yoga to up their game and performance. Wonderful to see how yoga can help us all toward functional fitness! When it comes to health and fitness nobody knows their body more than athletes. Many of them have been training since […]
Ah, sleep! How I resist you! I don’t think anyone can deny that a good night’s sleep is delicious. However, most of us get up too early, go to bed too late, and always have “one more thing” that we need to do before we hit lights out. Sometime the lack of sleep is out of […]
I stared up the hill and really didn’t know if I could do it. I have the lung capacity of a hamster and I was already sitting at over 12,500 feet. And while I may be a good yogi, my leg strength is wimpy. Chickens are stronger. I cry during squats. But at the top […]
George Michael is the last straw. The list of fallen heroes in 2016 has become too long. David Bowie, Prince, Alan Rickman, Anton Yelchin, Gene Wilder, Gary Shandling, Leonard Cohen. Some, like exceptional author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, died at an age appropriate time. Wiesel was 87. The sting of his death seems lessened […]
“Don’t turn your feet out.” “Never drink water during practice.” “Flex your foot to protect your knee.” “Don’t invert when you’re menstruating.” I love it when a teacher tells me what to do. When a teachers sounds confident (or even better – arrogant!), some deep doggy pack instinct in me goes, “Follow this alpha. They […]
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