Fish Pose (Matsyasana): The Supported Version That Finally Opens Your Chest
Most people know that sitting at a desk all day rounds the shoulders forward. What's less obvious is how hard it is to reverse that pattern once it's set in. Fish Pose (Matsyasana) is traditionally offered as the antidote —
Boat Pose (Navasana): A Smarter Path to Core Strength
Boat Pose (Navasana) has a reputation for being a test. Something you either pass or fail depending on how strong your core already is. If you've ever lifted your legs, felt your lower back round, and quietly decided the pose
Chair Pose: Build Leg Strength Without Straining Your Knees
Chair Pose (Utkatasana) has a reputation for being demanding. Most people feel the burn in their thighs almost immediately, and the natural instinct is to push through — leaning forward, gripping with the shins, letting the knees drift wherever they
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
Hidden Racism: Social Injustice in the Food Industry
Why have a disproportionate burden, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 fallen on African-American and Hispanic populations? Perhaps it is that these communities often live in food deserts and food swamps. They often survive on Supplement Nutrition Assistance Plan (SNAP or
Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani): Gentle Inversion for Nervous System Calm
Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani): Gentle Inversion for Nervous System Calm Most people think Legs Up the Wall is just lying on the floor with your legs propped against the wall. Technically, that's true. But there's a version of
Yoga TLC for Your Feet: 10 Tips of a Strong Foundation
I can’t claim to have made healthy choices in all areas of my life throughout my history on the planet, but I can claim relative intelligence about one aspect of being in a body: I’ve always worn sensible shoes. I’ve
Head-to-Knee Pose: Lengthen Your Spine Without Straining Your Back
The name Head-to-Knee Pose sets almost everyone up for the wrong goal. Head-to-Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana) sounds like an arrival point — get your head down, task complete. So you fold forward, round your back, and feel your hamstrings protest
Chaturanga Dandasana: The Alignment Shift That Protects Your Shoulders
If you move through vinyasa regularly, you've done Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose) hundreds of times. The question isn't whether you practice it. It's whether the version you've been practicing is one your shoulders can sustain. For many practitioners, the
Vinyasa Flow: Build Core Heat with Dynamic Movement
Vinyasa yoga has a reputation for being fast — a rapid-fire sequence where poses blur together and breath gets left somewhere around the third Sun Salutation. If you've ever finished a flow class feeling wired rather than centered, you already
Muscle TLC: How to Add Oomph to 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
Stand Tall: 11 Yoga Poses to Improve Posture
This sequence is designed to help you improve your posture, especially if you tend to slump forward. Because this is a rather long practice, feel free to shorten it by only doing the dynamic versions of yoga poses that offer
Piriformis Pain: A Yin Yoga Sequence to Alleviate Piriformis Syndrome Symptoms
The piriformis is a little muscle that can be a big pain. In our modern world, we are highly susceptible to a number of incongruencies in the body because of weakness and inflexibility within certain muscles. This is particularly true
Yoga for Detoxification: How to Power Up Your Body's Natural Detox Processes
Yoga helps detox our bodies. Let's build heat in our practice today. Twist longer. Breathe deeper. Sweat harder. You’ve probably heard those phrases in a yoga class before. But are they true? Can yoga really help detox your body by
Is Magnesium Deficiency Contributing to Your Muscle Tension, Pain, or Fatigue?
Sometimes, despite all your efforts to release tension and relieve pain with pandiculation, you may get to a point where you feel like something else is going on. There may be some other factor besides learned muscular patterns that’s causing