Air Element: Balance Your Prana
My last post on the five great elements explored fire. In this post, we’ll explore the air element and how it can help us enlighten up. What is air? It’s mostly gas. It’s Earth’s atmosphere, and it’s all around us. Air
Mudra: The Power in Your Hands
In September of 2014, my wife and I toured the Asian Hall at the British Museum in London. The presence of nearly every statue exhibiting one or more mudras confirmed my suspicion: We in the West have overlooked a powerful
Judith Hanson Lasater: The Greatest Gift of Yoga Asana
All I remember of my first asana (posture) class is the ceiling. Between movements, we would be instructed to lie down on our mat and rest. I do not remember very much about what we did, but I do remember
Yoga Anatomy: Release Your Tight Psoas Muscles with Clinical Somatics
The psoas muscle, formally called the psoas major, is a very important core muscle. The psoas attaches the lumbar vertebrae to the lesser trochanter, near the head of the femur. These muscles are often grouped together with the iliacus muscles,
Dr. Ray Long: Stabilizing the Shoulders in Downward Dog and Upward Hands Poses
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,
Healthy Heart: How Yoga Can Help Prevent Heart Disease
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States. It is an all-encompassing term for heart and blood vessel disease, including heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure. But the good news
Book Review-Empowered Aging: Everyday Yoga Practices for Bone Health, Strength, and Balance
Ellen Saltonstall’s latest offering, Empowered Aging: Everyday Yoga Practices for Bone Health, Strength, and Balance, is an invaluable resource for those seeking to cultivate strength, maintain balance, and enjoy overall well-being as they navigate the aging process. This comprehensive guide
Fascia and the Vagus Nerve: Healing from the Inside Out
Have you ever had a morning in which you woke up with a painful knot in your neck? What happened? Did you sleep in a funny position or was it the wild dream that had you tossing and turning? Maybe
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
Feeling Lost? Try These 6 Positive, Daily Self-Care Rituals
“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.” ~ Jean Shinoda Bolen We all get lost sometimes. We are so lost that we
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
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