Gentle Yoga Flow: Why Slowing Down Produces Deeper Results Than Pushing Harder
There's a version of yoga that treats difficulty as progress — faster sequences, deeper stretches, longer holds at the edge of comfort. A gentle yoga flow asks a different question: what if slowing down is actually the more demanding practice?
The First Yama: Ahimsa – Nonviolence
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali delineated the eight limbs of yoga. These precepts are intended as guidelines to living a life with meaning and purpose. We can seem them as a kind of map for seekers of greater happiness and
DEXA Fracture Risk: Does Your Scan Tell the Whole Story?
Osteoporosis Myth: Your DEXA Score Tells You Everything You Need to Know About Your Fracture Risk The Reality: Your DEXA score is only one piece of a much larger fracture risk picture. Read that again. The scan tells you about
The Weight Distribution Secret Inside Downward Facing Dog Pose That Protects Your Wrists
Downward Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana) shows up in nearly every yoga class. It's often called a rest pose. Yet if it actually felt restful, teachers wouldn't need to keep offering modifications for wrist pain, tight hamstrings, and shoulders
Dolphin Pose: The Forearm Position That Makes It Therapeutic Instead of Painful
Dolphin Pose (Ardha Pincha Mayurasana) has a reputation for being humbling. Your arms shake, your shoulders burn, and the whole thing can feel more punishing than productive. But that experience usually points to one thing: the forearm position isn't quite
Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana): What Your Back Muscles Need to Do
Cobra Pose looks simple. You lie on your stomach, press up, and arch your spine. Most practitioners have done it hundreds of times. But here's what often goes unexamined: if your arms are doing the lifting, your back muscles are
Moon Salutations: Cultivating Lunar Nectar (Tapping into Your Softer Side)
Moon Salutations: A Dose of Moon-Shine If you have been doing yoga for a fair amount of time, then I’m sure you are familiar with the Surya Namaskar, but do you know about its planetary opposite, the Chandra Namaskar? Like
Finding Your Way to Seated Compass Pose (Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana)
Seated Compass Pose, also referred to as Sundial Pose (Parivrtta = revolved, Surya = sun, Yantra = instrument) is a simultaneously grounding and expansive yoga posture with powerful energetic effects. Rich in symbolism, the pose uses the body as an instrument to guide us
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,
Free Video with Dr. Ray Long: The Wonders of Diaphragmatic Breathing
Does the heart move with your diaphragm when you breathe? You bet you! The pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart, has fascial connections to the diaphragm. Accordingly, the heart does move during breathing notes Dr. Ray Long in this article
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
Osteoporosis Myth: Osteoporosis Is the Primary Cause of Hip Fractures
Osteoporosis Myth: Osteoporosis Is the Primary Cause of Hip Fractures The Reality: In a landmark analysis of 9,704 women over the age of 65, more than half of those who had a hip fracture did NOT have osteoporosis. Read that
The Shoulder and Hip Flexor Connection That Unlocks Your Warrior Poses
Most practitioners think of warrior poses as leg work. You plant your feet, bend your front knee, and hold. Yet if you've ever felt your lower back gripping in Warrior One (Virabhadrasana I) or your arms drifting forward in Warrior
Can Prenatal Yoga Help Labor Pain and Delivery Outcomes?
Childbirth is often described as “a miracle.” Yet it is also one of the most physically stressful events that can take place in a woman’s life. Can practicing yoga during pregnancy support the health of mother during labor? Prenatal yoga
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