Support for your yoga practice.
How do you choose a yoga teacher training? In a world of so many 200 hour yoga teacher trainings, it can be challenging to know where to start. How do you choose the one that’s right for you? To answer this, it’s first important to consider what you want from your yoga teacher training (YTT): […]
“The beginning of freedom is the realization that you are not the thinker.” – Eckhart Tolle Many of us go through life believing that our thoughts are who we are. Thinking is so familiar to us, so much part of our moment-to-moment reality, that we can’t imagine who or what we would be without it. […]
Hi all! I liked this sweet little infographic from Health Perch; it’s a nice quick reference for meditation styles and tips: “If someone says “meditation” to you, what do you think of? You might think of Buddhist monks, chanting together. Or you might recall a bunch of yoga devotees sitting together in silence and thinking […]
COVID-19 has struck. Yoga Alliance has given the thumb’s up for online yoga teacher trainings through the end of 2020. And now there is an onslaught of online yoga TT’s cropping up worldwide. Online yoga teacher trainings seem great: convenient, often well priced, and timely. But are they good? Here’s what you need to know. […]
In The Yoga Sutra (sutra = “thread”), the yamas and niyamas are often translated as “external” and “internal observances,” or guidelines for conducting ourselves with others and ourselves. My first teacher suggested that the yamas and niyamas were, “yoga’s version of the Ten Commandments.” The yamas (external observances) are: non-violence truthfulness non-stealing celibacy non-grasping The […]
When I practice Yin Yoga, I become myself completely and experience a deep feeling of peace within myself— I am fully myself and do not have to please anyone else—either proverbially or in reality. While some types of yoga specify precisely how certain positions should look, and many practitioners do their best to emulate this […]
We all experience difficult periods in life that leave us feeling sad, lonely, or scared. However, some of us deal with these emotions almost daily. Depression is a psychiatric condition that usually manifests in listlessness, sadness, anxiety, and guilt. It often has internal or endogenous causes, but can also be related to conflicts, stressful circumstances, or trauma. We carry […]
Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the United States. There are many kinds of anxieties, ranging from social anxiety to obsessive compulsive disorder to specific phobias. Most of these are associated with a loss of confidence, and particularly with a lack of basic trust, which is marked in childhood. However, anxiety is also […]
Traditional Chinese Medicine teaches us that Yin and Yang are inextricably linked; there is no Yang without Yin, and vice versa. Yang represents energy and activity, while Yin is calm and steady strength. We are only physically and mentally healthy when the dynamism of Yang and the nourishment of Yin work in harmony. If the […]
With over 10 years experience as a yoga practitioner, I have learned that being a male yogi can be a completely different experience from being a female yogi. Knowing what to expect can make all the difference in taking the bold step to attend your first class, but more importantly, in committing to a regular […]
Headstand is a wonderful pose, but has suffered a rash of bad press ever since the post on “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body”. However, when done intelligently, it provides the practitioner with an opportunity to remain in an inversion for an extended period of time. Unlike handstand and forearm stand, a skilled practitioner could […]
You know the IT band: the swath of connective tissue that runs from your outer hip down to your lower leg. That IT Band. Anatomically speaking, the IT band isn’t really a “band” at all. Although most anatomical pictures (like this one) depict it as a segment, it’s actually part of a greater fascial stocking […]
When To Use We often incorporate this transition casually into our sequences, but it is not easy! It’s harder to step forward from downward facing dog than it is to step back into a lunge from the front of your mat. The stepping forward action is really only appropriate for: vinyasa classes flow classes power […]
I know you. I see you, my yogi friend. You want to be a better person, you want to do good. And maybe – like many of us – you think that doing better means that you have to work harder. But here’s the irony: at some point, you have to work less to move […]
Got tight hamstrings and 15 minutes? Your hamstrings are a group of muscles that run along the back of your upper leg. They’re used for walking, running, flexing the knee, and adduction (bringing the leg towards the midline of the body) of the leg. If you are doing activities that are taxing your quads, you’ll […]
At some point, most of us will experience knee pain. The knee joint is essential in propulsion and weight bearing and experiences a lot of wear and tear over a lifetime. My knees first started getting angry at me from over twisting the joint in ashtanga yoga, then got angry when I started wearing a […]
Practicing yoga has never been more accessible! But even so, getting a yoga at home practice started isn’t always easy. Here are five tips to get you started. 1. Create a practice space Your home practice space doesn’t have to be fancy. While it’s luxurious to have a designated space that’s only for yoga, your […]
“So what brings you to yoga?” “My back!” So many of my students have started coming to yoga to help with their back issues – and for many, it’s helped! While there is no specific set of yoga postures guaranteed to fix an unhappy back, yoga can often help alleviating some of the triggers that […]
This week I caught up with Anastasia Shevchenko, founder of the Berlin Yoga Conference which is coming to Germany this May 24-26, 2019. Anyone have a hankering for Europe in the spring? Anastasia Shevchenko is the founder and the managing director behind the Berlin Yoga Conference and is a freelance yoga teacher. She is a […]
I have struggled with decisions. Especially the big ones. Questions such as: should I be a single mom should I stay in this relationship should I leave my job should I end this friendship Even if we’re not up against a “major” life decision, we face a myriad of choices every day. We all want […]
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