10 Yoga Tips for Developing Proprioception and Maintaining Good Balance
Maintaining our ability to balance is essential as we age. About a third of the population over the age of 65 takes a fall each year. At age 80, half of the seniors fall annually. Falling is the leading cause
Healthy Backbending: How to Organize Backbends in a Yoga Sequence
A number of years ago a friend of mine went to a new yoga class. At one point they did Ustrasana (Camel Pose) and my friend couldn’t quite reach her heels. She was content keeping her hands on her back,
Yoga Pose Primer: Staying Balanced and Rooted with Virasana (Hero's Pose):
The Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon) is a 2,000-year-old text on traditional Chinese medicine. Organized as a Q&A between the Yellow Emperor and Taoist master Qi Bo, one exchange between the two involves longevity. The emperor asks: “I am told
Explorations in Spatial Medicine: Tom Myers on How Postural Habits Impact Our Longterm Health and Wellbeing
Can our postural habits damage our wellbeing and even health over the long term? In this article, Anatomy Trains author Tom Myers charts how postural habits slowly become lodged in our fascial system and structure. Once this happens, we get
How Yoga and Exercise Can Help Slow Aging-Related Changes to the Brain
As we age, our physical bodies, including our brains and nervous systems, go through changes. These changes are normal and don’t have to affect our everyday abilities to function. The good news is that in many cases, through exercise—both physical and
Colorful Kale Salad
This signature kale salad recipe is going to be one of your new faves. Filled with phytonutrients, protein, fiber, and healthy fats, the colorful dish is like a giant nutrition party in your bowl! *Serves 4 INGREDIENTS 1 bunch Lacinato (a.k.a. dinosaur) or
Mindful Relationships: Seven Skills for Success - A Book Review
Chronic stress. We know it’s not good for us. Long-term high levels of stress have been shown to increase the risks of heart disease, systemic inflammation, autoimmune dysfunction, digestive disorders, as well as anxiety and depression. And we all know
Refine Your Upward Salute: 5 Common Misalignments in Urdva Hastasana
When you first start practicing yoga, simply knowing the general shapes of the poses is enough. As time goes on, and you become more comfortable on the mat, you slowly begin to refine your understanding of each pose’s alignment (which
Axial Extension: How to Lengthen Your Spine without Strain
There are two distinct ways of lengthening the spine while doing axial extension postures: one that focuses on bringing the spine into maximum vertical alignment, and another one that focuses on integrating all the spinal curves without strain. Now before
From Russia with Love: The Kindness of Strangers
It was Moscow, October, 1971, at the height of the Cold War. The Russian language class in my high school in Denmark, where I grew up, was taking a school trip to Moscow and Leningrad. They had a few empty spots
Working with Therapeutic Yoga for Scoliosis and Back Pain - An Interview with Deborah Wolk
Deborah Wolk is the founder of Samamkaya Yoga Back Care & Scoliosis Collective in New York City. Inspired by her own back issues, and her extensive yoga education with teachers like Geeta Iyengar, Genny Kapuler, Donald Moyer, Bobbie Fultz, and Elise
Prostate Cancer: Light Therapy Offers Effective Treatment for Early Stages, New Study Shows
Nearly 1 out of every 7 men in the U.S. will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. A new study offers hope that for men with early prostate cancer a new non-invasive treatment might be an effective, nonsurgical course of
Yoga TLC for Your Wrists: How to Stretch, Strengthen and Protect Your Wrists
Do your wrists hurt during yoga? Or maybe you notice after a yoga class that your wrists feel strained or sore. Wrist pain is a common issue among yoga practitioners. There’s probably very little that you do in your daily
6 Tips to Eat and Drink Your Way to a Healthy, Hydrated Body
As I write this, it is 97 degrees outside with a heat index of 109. The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings for the past week with no end in sight. Even by Memphis standards, it’s hot outside.
Cancer and Aging: The Role of Yoga and Healthy LIfestyle in Cancer Prevention
Is there a link between cancer and aging? If so, what role can yoga play? Well, there is now irrefutable evidence that age is the single greatest risk factor for cancer. Nearly 70% of people who have cancer are 65 years