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 […]
How often do you put off or totally avoid having difficult conversations? You know the ones you’ve been intending to have: asking management for more classes taking time off studio policies addressing student complaints, or replacing props Does the mere thought of speaking up or asking the studio for what you want create a knot in your […]
Sirsasana, king of the asana! Sirsasana and Sarvangasana (shoulderstand) have gotten a bad rap in the past few years. Teachers have become worried about placing pressure on the head and neck – and with good reason! The neck is not meant to bear the weight of the entire body, and certainly not when it’s crooked […]
Stopping a class to demonstrate a complex pose is an excellent tool to teach key alignment points, inspire your students, and convey important information. While providing a visual guide to your students can be very useful, there is an art to creating an effective demo. Check out these five tips to rock your demonstrations and […]
It’s not what happens during your practice that matters. It’s how it impacts your life that counts. ~ Gloria Latham We sometimes have this idea that yoga should feel good. I remember a few years ago, I was chatting with someone who found out I was a yoga teacher. She sighed wistfully, “Oh that’s so […]
I’ve worked in the yoga “business” for about fifteen years. In addition to being a teacher, I’ve managed teachers, administrated studios, and run teacher trainings. So I’ve seen a lot of personalities. And some yogis are assholes. Sweet as pie at the front of the classroom, dark as an eastern storm behind the scenes. And […]
I stick my butt out. I don’t mean to, but somewhere along the way in high school, I learned to stand up straight by lifting my ribcage up and forward rather than actually find axial extension. (You rib poppers know you who you are, my brethren).) My lumbar curve became more pronounced, my sitting bones […]
At the yoga center where I sometimes teach in New York City, a woman called wanting to register for a four-week introduction to yoga course. She asked to speak to the manager. She wanted to know if it would be okay for her to come to the course because she was blind, and she had […]
Managing a love-hate relationship with wheel pose Wheel was always one of the poses that came easily to me in yoga. Despite my internally rotated hips limiting me in hip openers, I could do wheel and I could go as high as I wanted. However, as my yoga practice progressed through the years, I began […]
You’ve probably attended a yoga class. Practiced prenatal yoga while pregnant. Maybe you even took your baby to a “mommy & me” yoga session or two after your little one arrived. But then they got older and your yoga practice once again became a solo activity – if you even managed to squeeze it back into your […]
I’m sorry my yoga offends you……. There is a divide in the yoga community right now and I feel like I have one foot on either side of a great valley. The teachers, gurus, and practitioners who are seasoned and rooted in the traditional and classical styles of yoga stand on one side. The newbies […]
Forearm Stand (Pincha Mayurasana) is a HUGE pose. It’s a backbend, inversion, hamstring opener, and shoulder opener all in one. To adequately prepare for this pose, you need to be aware of the following component parts. Component Part: body parts that need to be warmed up or educated in order to do the peak pose […]
In order to practice yoga, you don’t need much in terms of equipment or space. Enough room to lay down a mat is more than sufficient. But the environment that you practice in does matter. Ideally, it should be airy, filled with light, energizing and calming in ambiance at the same time. Or in other […]
You feel heavy, dull, tired. Maybe it’s gray outside (or, if you live in the pacific northwest, maybe it’s been gray and dark for weeks). Perhaps a life event (sickness, heartbreak, lethargy, indecision) has you feeling the terrible weight of emotional gravity. I get it. Having struggled with bouts of depression since my early twenties, I […]
I honestly don’t know where I’d be if the practice of yoga hadn’t entered into my life when it did. I was unknowingly walking around in a perpetual state of fight-or-flight for years. Unaware of what was at play within me, I believed it was perfectly normal, and necessary…to be afraid of everything, and everyone, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Crow pose (bakasana) is the entrance to more challenging arm balances. (Check out this video on my favorite way to get into the pose.) When practicing crow pose, you need a few key elements: aware and educated hands cat back core and inner legs squeezing hip flexion The combination of these four component parts will […]
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: […]
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