As our body ages (or moves less), joint stiffness or tightness becomes increasingly common. This can get in the way of our ability to move as we want, or do certain activities we’re used to. However, deteriorating joint health is not a given. There are many ways to help keep the joints healthy, and yoga … Continued
Wonder how long you are likely to live? And, more importantly, how to optimize your chances of living longer? There’s one surprising predictor of health and longevity that most people haven’t heard about. Your gait, or rather, how well and how fast you walk. We all know that walking is one of the best things … Continued
As our body ages (or moves less), joint stiffness or tightness becomes increasingly common. This can get in the way of our ability to move as we want, or do certain activities we’re used to. However, deteriorating joint health is not a given. There are many ways to help keep the joints healthy, and yoga … Continued
Hip openers are among the most satisfying and powerful yoga poses. They hold a tremendous potential for transformation; they can help us release deep-seated tension and trauma of the past, which many of us hold locked in the hip area. When practiced correctly, hip openers are a great way to soothe both mind and body; … Continued
The original texts of hatha yoga cite the bandhas as being crucial to having a fruitful yoga practice. The bandhas are simple yet powerful muscular actions in the area of the pelvic floor (mula bandha), lower abdominals (uddiyana bandha), head, neck and shoulders (jalandhara bandha). Their original significance centered around pranayama and the movement of … Continued
The yogic action of Jalandhara Bandha, while it is designed for the practice of breath retention during pranayama, contains vital insights into the subtleties of how we hold our head, and how that in turn affects our breathing, muscle tone, and even the functioning of our nervous system. How we hold our head isn’t just … Continued
Central to the teachings of yoga is the concept of “Prana,” the universal life force that is the origin of and animates all living things, also known as “Maha Prana” or great prana. In the human body, Prana is the underlying intelligence that coordinates all functions of the body. This universal vital force is expressed … Continued
The root of a whole host of physical challenges and chronic pain — from shoulder, hip and low back pain to joint injury and deterioration and forms of scoliosis — can be found in basic imbalances in the alignments of the pelvic girdle. This is about more than just having a ‘picture perfect’ posture (which … Continued
The breath is a powerful tool inducing greater relaxation and wellbeing, and healthy breathing affects our long-term health and how well we age. The breath is also one of the subtlest and most effective gateways to connecting to Spirit or the sacred essence of who we are. Of course today, the specter of COVID-19 in … Continued
Often the instructions customarily given in backbending are based on generalizations and assumptions, as well as attempts at simplification. But this is not always helpful to YOU, particularly when those generalizations don’t apply! In this course, Doug Keller will be sorting through the many issues of backbending and how they are taught in yoga. Doug … Continued
Scoliosis affects an estimated 6 million Americans, but millions more than that have minor scoliotic curvatures of the spine, which largely goes unrecognized, but can be the source of discomfort in the spine, shoulders and sacroiliac joints. Yoga, when practiced with insight and self-awareness, is quite well suited to working with scoliosis and the pain … Continued
Sciatica is one of our oldest known pain problems — the known history of treatments for sciatica goes back as far as the 5th century BC, with a wide (and often unsuccessful) variety of treatments tried. It continues to be a common problem today: studies indicate that up to 43% of people experience sciatic pain … Continued
What are forward head posture and hyperkyphosis and why should you care? In the last few decades, researchers have become increasingly interested in the health effects of a posture on our health. And, what they are discovering is pretty remarkable. You may have heard of the new concept of ‘text neck’– which is essentially forward … Continued
The vagus nerve and contemporary Polyvagal Theory are exciting new topics in modern discourse, which have a wide range of applications for yoga practitioners. Contemporary thought about the vagus nerve and Polyvagal Theory sheds light on numerous traditional yoga concepts and practices. In particular, yoga’s deep inquiry into our mental and emotional life makes all … Continued
You may have already heard lots about the psoas, and why it’s so important to release tightness in the psoas muscles. The psoas muscle has long been recognized as central to balanced posture and movement. Imbalances in the psoas are often implicated in cases of lower and mid back pain, groin pain, hip pain, and … Continued
Every second of the day, your body is functioning seemingly effortlessly, regulating the literally millions of physiological functions that keep your body running. The part of the nervous system in charge of orchestrating all these functions behind the scenes, so to speak, is the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system regulates all the functions … Continued
In the last decade, an increasing amount of research attention has focused on the benefits of interoception, i.e. our ability to perceive what’s going on inside our body. People with strong interoception are able to notice and connect with bodily sensations linked to emotions, signals of hunger and thirst, and even intuitive hunches. Because interoception … Continued
Ever wondered how to quiet that neurotic roommate in your head that keeps perpetuating feelings of worry or stress? We all experience moments of nervousness, worry and stress. But excessive anxiety and obsessive thinking can lead to sleepless nights, emotional meltdowns, high-blood pressure and in general will undermine our health and well-being in many ways. … Continued
Thirty-one million Americans suffer from low back pain, and increasingly, people with mild to moderate back pain seek out yoga classes to find relief for the condition. In this environment, it’s critical for yoga teachers to understand how to assess and address these conditions with intelligence, and above all, how to keep students safe. In … Continued
While millions of Americans suffer from pain in the low back and pelvis, many back and hip issues are actually the result of sacroiliac instability (SI), i.e. an imbalance in the sacroiliac joint, which often goes undiagnosed or is improperly treated. Alarmingly, yoga practitioners appear to experience S.I. problems at a significantly higher rate than … Continued