Yoga Anatomy Language: Part 2
In a previous article, we reviewed the starting point of anatomy with anatomical position. If you missed it, you can read Yoga Anatomy Language: Part I here. From here we can move on to naming some major movements. In this
A Blueprint for Learning Anatomy for Yoga Teaching
When budding yoga teachers try to learn anatomy as part of their training, often what they experience is a feeling of overwhelm. Even for those that have a background in science, applying anatomy for yoga is a unique exercise, one
The Best Kind of Happiness
It was mid-August 2005, and I was lying on a yoga mat in the lush green lawn outside Kripalu Yoga Center. I had gone there to escape the confusion and upheaval of a pending divorce. While it was a necessary
Help from Your Hyoid: Stabilize Your Core in Chaturanga Dandasana
What's an eight-syllable Sanskrit name that, when spoken by a yoga teacher, elicits fear (or at least, a groan) in roughly half the population that practices yoga? The same phrase evokes a feeling of invincible awesomeness in many others. The
Is Fostering Body Awareness a Key to Health and Healing? An Interview with Tom Myers
Tom Myers is the author of Anatomy Trains, which charts the integrated structural connections, the myofascial meridians that connect all parts of the body. In this interview, Tom discusses the consequences of our current neglect to develop interception, i.e., the
5 Benefits of Yoga's Frog Pose (Mandukasana)
Frog Pose (Mandukasana), is a powerful hip-opening yoga posture that offers a wide range of benefits for the body and mind. This pose targets the core and offers a deep stretch to the hip flexors and inner thighs. Here are
Yoga Asana for Balance, Not Just Flexibility: 2 Hip Relaxers to Try
What do typical non-yoga practitioners in Western culture picture when they think of yogis? I daresay it’s people who’ve twisted their bodies into “pretzels,” their feet behind their heads or in some other seemingly impossible position. On the contrary, yoga
Right Speech: 5 Guidelines for Mastering the Subtle Art of Mindful Communication
If you are brave enough to venture into online comment sections, you may feel as if you need a shower afterward. I know I do. Online communications are a minefield. The proliferation of anonymous commenting on blogs and social media
Enlivening the Body's Subtle Energy with Mula Bandha
Some Sanskrit words have successfully made it into our pop culture. One of the terms that seem to be thrown around a lot is mula bandha. You’ll hear a teacher instruct you to “engage your mula bandha” in various poses, while
Warrior I Pose: The Peaceful Warrior
In yoga, the Warrior poses are some of the practice’s foundational poses. The foundation of the Eight Limbs of Yoga is ahimsa (non-violence), or as Alistair Shearer translates it, “dynamic peacefulness.” We might well interpret “warrior” differently from our usual
Does Yoga Help You Adapt Better to Stress? Charting Yoga's Effects on Heart Rate Variability
Heart rate variability is increasingly acknowledged as a health variable that can offer insights into how healthy you are and how well you deal with stress. Learn more about this important biomarker and preliminary studies on how it is affected by yoga
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
Misalignment in Yoga Postures: Understanding the Five Movements of the Spine
Olga Kabel is a certified yoga therapist and prolific writer on all things yoga. She is the founder and managing director of SequenceWiz.org, a web-based yoga sequence builder that assists yoga teachers and yoga therapists in creating and organizing yoga
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
Book Review: How To Teach Yoga To Military Veterans
The United States has engaged in military conflict for most of the 21st century. As a result, an increasing number of male and female armed service members have faced considerable stress. For some, this has resulted in trauma, and mental,