Change Your Perspective of Pelvic Tilting: How the Transversus Abdominis Can Help
"Tuck your tailbone under" or "lengthen your tailbone" have long been among the most common alignment instructions in yoga. But lately, this instruction has taken a lot of flak, because the instruction can result in people flattening their lumbar curve,
Warrior I Pose: 5 Strengthening Variations
Warrior I Pose (Virabhadrasana I) is an excellent pose for strengthening your whole back body, from the base of your skull all the way to the heel of your back leg. Plus, your front leg gets a different kind of
4 Ways to Practice Locust Pose
Locust Pose (Salabhasana) is a simple backbend that strengthens the entire back of your body, from the nape of your neck to the backs of your heels. Salabhasana has benefits for a wide range of problems, including lower back pain,
Deepening Your Home Yoga Practice: An Interview with Judith Hanson Lasater
In this interview with YogaUOnline, renowned yoga teacher Judith Hanson Lasater speaks about a subject very dear to her heart: creating and deepening a home yoga practice. Judith has taught yoga since 1971 and has published 10 books, including her most recent
Are You Making This Common Stretching Mistake in Yoga?
Early in my days of teaching yoga teacher training, a student who had been teaching in a fitness studio asked a very important question. She explained that one of her female students became unusually flexible prior to ovulation, probably because
Do Yoga and Meditation Reduce Health-Care Utilization? What Studies Say
Countless studies have documented the many health benefits of both regular practices of yoga asanas as well as meditation. The intriguing question is - does that translate into lower health care utilization? Indeed, over the past decade, several studies have
Yoga and Body Image: How Yoga Can Help You Make Friends with Your Body
We’ve all heard about the amazing benefits that yoga offers the human body, from strength and balance to relaxation and better sleep. The effects of yoga are a trending research topic; so far, studies have shown that a regular yoga
The Yoga Sutras: Practicing Non-Attachment without Becoming Detached
The concepts of attachment and non-attachment are mentioned several times in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Asana, on the other hand, is only mentioned as a preparation for meditation. So though most people think asana is the be-all and end-all
4 Easy Ways to Use a Sandbag in Yoga Practice
B.K.S. Iyengar is credited with introducing props into modern yoga as a means of support within the asanas or yoga poses. Some yoga students may see using a prop as cheating. But a prop is nothing more than a tool
5 Keys to Healthy Neck Alignment in Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)
When practiced appropriately, Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) and all of its fantastic yoga pose variations can be an important yogic exercise for creating and maintaining back and neck health. If you practice it incorrectly, however, you can create the very neck
Yoga for Osteoporosis: How Your Breathing Affects Your Bones
When we think about keeping our bones strong, most of us focus on getting enough calcium, taking vitamin D, or doing weight-bearing exercises. But there's another crucial factor that's often overlooked: how well you breathe. Your body's ability to get
Uttanasana: Expand Your Breath
We practice yoga asanas (poses) to free the body so that it can more easily take in, let go of, and absorb the energy of the breath. In Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga, the practice of asana (i.e. the third
Yoga and Cancer: A Sequence to Help Alleviate Lymphedema
One of the most distressing side effects of cancer treatment is lymphedema. Lymphedema is a swelling of the extremities caused by damage to the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is part of the immune system and consists of nodes, vessels,
Exercise and Longevity: Diversify Your Yoga Practice for Maximum Benefits
In asana (posture) practice, we aim for that “sweet spot”—notable physical sensation, but that which causes no harm. This lets us know that we’re opening up muscles and fascia in the body but not straining joints or tearing muscles. Many
Glute Amnesia: Yoga for Your Forgotten Rear
Are you forgetting about your backside? If you spend most of your day sitting, there’s a good chance that you are suffering from glute amnesia. The more you sit, the more you “forget” how to use your glutes! The glutes