Sun Salutations: Illuminate Your True Self

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Sun Salutations: Illuminate Your True Self

If you are new to yoga, you might not know the term Sun Salutation. If you are a regular yogi, you’ve likely not only heard of it – but also have been guided through many in your yoga classes. Often, we come to yoga class and do whatever the teacher says, sometimes not even really knowing the “why”. In yoga, understanding the “why” behind things can be just as illuminating as the “how”. Understanding the logic can help facilitate deeper personal growth and thus, a more robust yoga experience.

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Partner Yoga: A Heart-Felt Practice for Two

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Partner Yoga: A Heart-Felt Practice for Two

Partner yoga, at the very least, is simply fun - and can be so much more. Communication is the most important tool during a couple’s practice. Unlike a traditional yoga class where you quietly focus on your breath and turn inward, in partner yoga you focus on the other.

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Why Private Yoga or Small Classes Might Be Best for You

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Why Private Yoga or Small Classes Might Be Best for You

For some, private yoga is a steppingstone to overcoming their discomfort of being a “newbie” in a group yoga class. For others, it's a convenient home workout that's customized to their needs and energy levels. And sometimes, a private yoga class is a safe place for students to move their bodies, ease their pain, and release the week's stress. 

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Chair Yoga: The Benefits of (Seated) Cobra Pose

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Chair Yoga: The Benefits of (Seated) Cobra Pose

Seated cobra pose is a great way to counteract the effects of sitting at a desk or computer all day and can be as simple as doing a few repetitions every hour or so while at work. 

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Virabhadrasana: The Story of Hero Pose

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The qualities that we cultivate in our physical practice seep in through the cracks, into our energy body, our emotions, and our mental state. When we practice the variations of Virabhadrasana, we embody the strength, ferocity, and the fearlessness of a warrior.

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Easing Into Downward Facing Dog

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Because of its funny name, the Downward Facing Dog pose is one of the most well-known yoga postures. Even people who have never done yoga recognize it. You can find Downward Facing Dog in most yoga styles, which means you’ll see it in most yoga classes.

One of the reasons it’s so common is that Downward Facing Dog is an excellent posture for transitioning from one pose to another. It’s used so frequently that it’s considered a foundational pose in our modern yoga practice. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. If you’ve struggled with Downward Facing Dog or find the posture uncomfortable, read on to learn more.

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The Moon Salutation

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The Moon Salutation, known in Sanskrit as Chandra Namaskar, is a series of flowing asanas coordinated with your breath. In contrast to Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar), which build heat, Moon Salutations foster cooling.

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The Action of Inaction: A Closer Look at Viparita Karani

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Viparita karani: You probably know it as Legs Up the Wall pose and, chances are, you’ve enjoyed this relaxing pose at the end of a gentle or hatha yoga class. This posture may look simple – and even feel simple; however, there is much more to it than meets the eye.

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The Power of Three

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The Power of Three

The ancient art and practice of the 8-limbed path of yoga, of which pranayama is an integral branch, focuses on this three-part connection of body, mind, and breath (or spirit) - three integral components or ingredients that lead to a solid, growing, and focused yoga practice. These three facets of our practice are undeniably connected, interwoven, and entangled even if we are not consciously aware of their triangulation with each other.

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Grounding: What is it and how can it help me?

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In yoga and meditation classes, we’re often asked to have the intention of grounding or are cued to ground ourselves. Most of us, correctly, hear those as an invitation to connect more deeply to the earth. What exactly does that mean?

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Somatics: The Art of Aging with Awareness of Self

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Somatics: The Art of Aging with Awareness of Self

Somatics uses gentle movement patterns to shift the central nervous system and create new muscular habits. These movements are performed with conscious awareness and focus on the internal experience of the movement. Somatics can help reset natural movement patterns.

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Kumbhaka: The Power of the Pause

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Kumbhaka: The Power of the Pause

There are many parts to breathing. However, on a day-to-day, moment- to-moment basis, we connect most simply and understandably with our inhalation and exhalation. It happens naturally. We breathe in and out, all day and all night long. Yet, have you ever wondered what you might find if you were to pause….

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Come to Your Senses

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Come to Your Senses

Much as we take in food, water, and oxygen, we also take in sights, sounds, and other sensory information as well as subtle energies and impressions from our environment. Our senses “feed” our minds and spirits, much like food feeds our bodies. If we are to truly cleanse, we must bring attention to what we feed our minds and spirits.

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The Fantastic Flexible (and Warming) Practice of Yoga

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The Fantastic Flexible (and Warming) Practice of Yoga

One of the many reasons a yoga practice supports physical well-being is because asana and pranayama build internal heat in nearly every kind of class that includes movement….

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Ayurvedic Tip: Oil Pulling

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According to Ayurveda health-care philosophy, oil pulling draws out toxins in your body to improve oral health specifically and to improve your overall health.

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Ayurvedic Self Massage: Abhyanga

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Abhyanga is the Ayurvedic practice of self-massage, which can nourish and cleanse our external body just as we cleanse and nourish internally with clean foods and new eating habits.

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Self-Care Practice: Nature Therapy

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Self-Care Practice: Nature Therapy

Prior to lock-down, I walked regularly, often with Sally, our Jack Russell/Australian Shepherd mix. I enjoyed our walks (and Sally always enjoys her walks!), often leaving my phone at home, the better to enjoy our time together. Although I was never rushed, and I enjoyed the sights and sounds of nature, there was always “something” to get home to do, a “next thing on the list”, My appreciation and enjoyment were of the “walk-thru” variety, and my mind might often wandered….

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Sound Healing

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Sound Healing

Sound Healing is a modality that utilizes frequencies produced by instruments to support participants in altering their state of consciousness for an intended purpose such as reaching deep state of relaxation or working through suppressed emotions or simply the release of stored stress.

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Inhale, Exhale, Repeat

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Inhale, Exhale, Repeat

I assert that pranayama is the single most accessible, practical, and effective tool available to reduce stress, energize, bring about calm, and improve our overall well-being. Period. We can go without food for weeks, without water for one to two weeks. We start to hallucinate three to four days without sleep, yet the lack of breath becomes fatal after only a few short minutes.

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