When It’s Just Too Cold Outside: Family Yoga for Wintertime
It’s winter, and in many areas of the U.S. (and the Northern Hemisphere generally) it’s too frigid to stay outside for long. That doesn’t change the need, developmentally speaking, for children and teens to move and stretch, to enhance motor
Relax Your Neck and Upper Back: A Standing Sequence for Upper-Body Ease
You can do your yoga practice anywhere, but not all floor surfaces are yoga-friendly. Sometimes it is neither possible, nor desirable to lie down on the ground to do your yoga poses, but it doesn’t mean that you should forgo
Reverse the Curve: A 5-Minute Yoga Practice for Hyperkyphosis
We all have a kyphosis, or at least we ought to. Kyphosis is the natural outward curve of the upper back, which balances the inward curves of the neck and the low back. Hyperkyphosis is different. When the convex curve of
Beginner Yoga Series: How to Sequence for Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana 2)
Warrior 2 is practiced regularly in most yoga classes - often transitioned into dynamically from a lunge, or Warrior 1. Like most yoga poses, Warrior 2 has a host of subtle alignment and muscular actions that aren't regularly explored. We
My Conscious Uncoupling: Yoga Poses I'm Letting Go
Been there, done that. After two decades of daily practice and a lifelong love affair with yoga, I am announcing a conscious uncoupling from certain poses. There are no hard feelings. We will maintain a wholeness in our separation that
Beginner Yoga Sequence: Dancer Pose (Natarajasana) - FREE Online Yoga Sequence + Practice Tips
When practicing or teaching Dancer Pose, there is a lot to consider. Dancer Pose is tricky because it is both a standing balance as well as a backbend. The standing leg needs to be strong, and capable of holding you
Fight the Winter Blues - Free Online Yoga Sequence to Lift Your Mood
This winter has been long, cold, and icy for us - and, frankly, we're getting a little tired of it! So, instead of sitting around beating our heads against the wall, waiting for elusive spring to arrive, we decided to
5 Ways to Power Up Your Practice with Yoga Props
Yoga props breathe life into your practice. On occasion as a yoga teacher, I have seen firsthand the resistance to using props in one’s practice. As a student there certainly have been times where I’ve said to myself, “I don’t
New Study Points to Yoga as a Promising Complement to Substance Use Disorder Treatment
According to recent data, approximately 21.5 million American adults aged 12 and older have battled some form of Substance Abuse Disorder within the past two years. Increasingly, Yoga is being recognized as a powerful adjunct to more traditional medically oriented
Foot on Knee in Tree: Yay or Nay?
We’ve all heard from yoga teachers to never put your lifted foot on the knee of your standing leg. But can you safely put your foot on your knee in Vrksasana (Tree Pose) without catastrophe? The short answer is ...
Dr. Ray Long: Stabilizing the Shoulders in Downward Dog and Upward Hands Pose
Today’s post will look at the scapular motion on the ribcage and the role of the lower third of the trapezius in drawing the shoulders away from the neck. This motion is called scapular depression, and it is frequently used in yoga,
Let Love In: 6 Yoga Poses to Open Your Heart
It’s the season of love. Love is in the air and all around us. From heart-shaped chocolate boxes in the supermarkets to couple’s yoga classes, it’s undeniable that it’s the time of year when we’re asked to let love in.
Healthy Hearts for Women: How Yoga Can Help Prevent Heart Disease
February is American Heart Month, a time to raise awareness about heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States. Heart disease is an all-encompassing term for diseases of the heart
Our Favorite Quotes on Your Favorite Topics: Yoga & Love
“Every day, think as you wake up, say, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand
Finding Connection: What Yoga Can Offer People with Alzheimer’s Disease
I teach Chair Yoga to seniors. Students of different shapes, sizes, and mobility levels come to class with their canes, walkers, and wheelchairs. Some are blind and others are hard of hearing, but many have a less visible disability—Alzheimer’s disease.