Here is a two person partner assist for Full Wheel (Urdhva Dhanurasana). This assist is perfect for those needing more space and stability through their lower back. Tips: place the straps at the bra line and sacrum line guard your own body position (hinge at your hips, not your low back) pull the straps diagonally […]
Wheel: for wrist issues and tight shoulders – great partner assist
Anyone with wrist issues or tight shoulders knows that Wheel (Urdhva Dharusasna) can be hard to do. Here’s a simple and easy partner assist that you can do (keep it simple by not using straps and just using the ankle hold) to help your tighter students find their way into this complex pose. For a […]
How To: Forearm Stand
A marvelous doozy of a pose, Forearm Stand (pincha mayurasana) invites into a full inversion and a backbend a the same time. Here are clear and easy steps for safely instructing your students into the pose. Tips: finding the backbend in the upper back will help you to effectively balance in this pose using props […]
How to: Headstand with a prop assist
Teach your students to find the necessary stability for their upper backs with this simple block assist in Headstand. By placing the block at the level of the shoulder blades, you will help them to find the necessary scapular stability to get move their hips over their shoulders, which will eventually lead them to a […]
How To: Handstand
Step by step guide into handstand. Here are some tips: Straight arms: Keeping the arms straight will keep you and your students out of “nose to floor” danger Midline: Hug the inner thighs together to maintain a neutral alignment in the hips Straight legs: Keeping the legs straight makes your students safer, more supported, and […]
How to: Shoulderstand – Part 1 & 2
How to do and teach a safe and effective shoulderstand. Learn about why shoulderstand can be risky, why we prop, and how to make this pose safe for your students. How To Prop How To Teach
How to: Chaturanga!
Learn to do and teach an excellently positioned Chaturanga. Use props to find your best alignment and protect the delicate shoulder joint for repetitive stress injury. Check out as we do this is in the YYoga 200-hour Teacher Training.
How to: Chaturanga to Updog
This is a challenging transition for the best of us! Check out these options that you can use to help both do this transition – as well as teach it to your students. Avoid “cheating” and be kind to your rotator cuff 🙂
How To: Handstand Prep
Join and and the YYoga 200-hour teacher trainees as we look at how to do and teach Handstand Prep. The secret is in the bent knees and the shoulder blades…. 🙂
How To: Supta Hasta Padangustasana
An awesome way to teach Supta Hasta Padangustasana – the floor gives you great feedback for your spine and the wall allows you to feel the turn out that tends to happen as our leg takes the path of least resistance.
Hip Exploration: what’s your external rotation really like?
I learned this great exercise from Susi Hately Aldous. Explore what your external rotation is like when you do pure movement at the hip joint – rather than compensate by shifting the pelvis or flattening the lower back.
Using your hip stabilizers effectively in asana
In yoga asana, we often experience imbalance in our body, where certain muscles love to be powerful and to dominate – like our hip flexors – while others (our adductors and abductors) begin to soften, weaken, and become quiet. By bringing our bodies into balance and allowing each muscle to truly step back fully into its […]
How To: Doing Wheel with wrist issues
Join me and the YYoga 200-hour teacher trainees as we explore how to do Full Wheel when there are wrist issues. Great modifications so that you can help make this pose accessible to all your students!
How to: Headstand – Step by Step
Clear and simple steps for how to do and teach headstand. Look at common misalignments in order to help your students find their best path to stability and lightness. This video was filmed during YYoga‘s 200-hour Teacher Training Program.
Teaching Flow versus Power: what’s the difference?
These two styles look the same, so what’s the difference? At YYoga, we make a distinction between Flow and Power. Now, these styles are very similar and use the same kinds of poses (sun salutations, standing poses, arm balances, inversions, complex backbends). They both derive from the Ashtanga tradition, which incorporates standing poses held for […]
Victoria Yoga Conference: 2013!
Rachel will be teaching at the Victoria Yoga Conference February 2-3rd, 2013. Don’t miss this great opportunity to take advantage of her best insights from her years as a Teacher Trainer! Empower Your Boundaries – Saturday, February 2, 2013 – 8:00 to 9:15 am – Studio #1 Clear and strong boundaries give shape and discipline […]
Linking in flow classes: how to teach smart transitions
Have you been in a class where any of the following have occurred: The teacher (maybe it’s us) links 12 million poses on the same side. Thighs are trembling. Anger is mounting. The teacher forgets to do one side, or forgets and entire series of poses You have to change your foundation to get to […]
Open those hips! Eka Pada Koundinyasana A
My IT Band is tight. Tiiiiiiight. Or more correctly, I should say that my gluteus maximus, which feeds into and inserts on the IT band, is tight, so that the resulting pull tautens the IT band. (“IT” stand for “ilio-tibial”, and this band is a swath of connective tissue that runs from the pelvis to […]
Back to Basics: Plank Pose
You know it. You love it, you hate it. You love to hate it. It’s plank pose. What’s plank pose? Also known as “Phalakasana,” plank pose is a modification of Chaturanga Dandasana (“four-limbed staff pose”), which is doozy of a core stabilizer found in the traditional Sun Salutations. Plank looks like a high push […]
Lessons in patience. Or, what yoga has to do with flowers.
Okay, okay. So you’ve met a guy or gal. You’re excited about them. A connection has been made. Your eyes have gotten slightly glassy and you get a little breathless and a-flutter when they send you a text. You long to unwrap them (immediately) like a Christmas present and discover all their yummy secrets. However, […]