Yoga for Women's Health: Soothing Yoga Sequence to Ease Menstrual Discomfort
Whether it’s fatigue, moodiness, headaches, bloating, nausea, abdominal cramps, low back pain, or any lovely combination of said symptoms ranging from moderate to severe—almost all women experience some form of discomfort during menstruation. It isn’t a particularly pleasant time of
How Muscle Imbalances Can Lead to Chronic Pain Issues and How to Ease Them with Yoga
Most yoga students come to class with preexisting musculoskeletal imbalances, which impact their practice in numerous ways and may even predispose them to injuries. In this interview, yoga therapist and physical therapist Marlysa Sullivan discusses the role of muscle imbalances in
Scapulohumeral Rhythm in Yoga: What Happens When You Lift Your Arms Overhead?
Lifting your arm is a pretty common movement—shampooing your hair or reaching for a can on a high shelf. It’s also common in yoga practice, from the first movement of a Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar) to Downward Facing Dog Pose
An Ayurvedic Approach to Menstruation
Menstrual flow and its characteristics—color, volume, and smell—don’t make for your usual dinner conversation! But since ancient times, Ayurvedic practitioners have used these and other characteristics to gauge the health of their patients, offer course corrections, and improve symptoms. In
3 Unique Upper Back Mobilizers to Improve Your Backbends
Backbends feature prominently in most yoga classes. They offer a host of benefits: they’re energizing, they open your chest to counter your habitual slump over your favorite devices, and they encourage spinal suppleness. The list goes on. However, many find
Yoga Pose Primer: Upward Facing Dog Pose
An energetic pose that awakens the entire body, Urdva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Facing Dog) is a powerful backbend that strengthens the arms, shoulders, and back muscles, lengthens the spine, and opens the chest. It’s worth taking a closer look at
Yoga for Healthy Knees - 7 Keys to Keeping Your Knees Healthy and Safe
Ever wonder about those creaky sounds emitting from your knees during yoga? Or which principles should be incorporated into your yoga practice to keep your knees strong and healthy? Here are 7 tips for happy and healthy knees in yoga.
Breathe Like a Starfish: New Light on Wide-Legged Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana)
Our limbs include our arms, legs, tailbones, and heads. Way back at a time few of us remember—in utero—all our nutrients came to us through our navels and then radiated out to all our limbs. Through the umbilical cord, we
Enhance Your Yoga Practice with TheraBands
For over a year now, I have been integrating stretchy bands called TheraBands into my yoga practice and teaching. My wife and amazing yoga teacher, Melina Meza, turned me on to these useful props, and she started using them for
Deepen Your Practice: 8 Steps to a Powerful Home Practice
Whether you are a dedicated yoga student or a yoga teacher, home practice is essential to your yogic journey. On a fundamental level, a home practice allows you to explore the avenues of yoga you are interested in. On a
5 Creative Ways to Practice Half Moon Pose
Half-Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana) is a challenging balance shape that stretches the hamstrings and inner thighs, strengthens the core, side body, and outer hips, externally rotates the hips, and twists the torso. There is a lot happening within the body
Dr. Ray Long's Favorite SI Joint Tip: Use this Yoga Pose to Prevent Sacroiliac Joint Issues
The sacroiliac joint (SI joint) is involved in literally every yoga pose we practice. It is the hub for the transference of force between the legs and torso. Although it is designed to be a stable joint with limited mobility,
Over Easy: 4 Gentle Alternatives to Inversions
It’s said that the Headstand (Sirsasana) is the king of yoga postures, while the Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana) is the queen. Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana) and Peacock (Pincha Mayurasana) certainly must also live in the royal court. These “inversions,” so named because they invert (or switch)
Preparing for Handstand: 7 Alignment Tips for “L” Handstand
As a yoga student, it can be wildly intimidating to be in class, and suddenly, you hear, “Take your mat to the wall for Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana) practice.” Your eyes look across the room to watch other students pull
Practice This Simple Yoga Sequence for a Healthy, Happy Back
Back issues are highly prevalent these days. Sedentary lifestyles seem to be the standard norm in modern society, so it’s no surprise that many people complain about back pain. Luckily, yoga can be an invaluable tool to help counter the