Yoga is a good form of exercise for most people with arthritis (check with your doctor first to make sure this applies to you), but it can be difficult to figure out how to find an appropriate class and get started. Starting Yoga With Arthritis lays it all out for you, including how to find specialized classes and some creative solutions you might not have considered if your class options are limited. Read more...
Are you prone to head rushes? I seem to get them frequently in vinyasa classes, particularly when there is a lot of suyra b-inspired up and down action. Here are some tips for preventing and treating head rushes. Read more...
As I have mentioned here before (see Hello Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana, My Old Friend), I don't always see eye to eye with revolved half moon pose. I get about half way into it and then think, hey, my body doesn't go this way. Last week, I was introduced to the option of doing this pose at the wall, and really learned a lot from it. Mostly, the wall gives you a clear indication of what your back leg is doing and acts a guide for how much to rotate your shoulders. Stand sideways at the wall and raise the leg that is closest to the wall. When you twist, your back will be on the wall. Give it a try!
Ok, so having the perfect hairdo for yoga isn't going to put you on the fast track to enlightenment, but it is the kind of insider info I like to provide to yoga newbies, especially in light of the surgeon general's recently stated opinion on the old "exercise will ruin my hair" excuse. So here are my top picks for yoga hairstyles that work on the mat and can also go to work. Read more...
There is nothing for getting deep into the fronts of your hips and thighs like anjaneyasana. The crescent shape is created when you take the lunge into a backbend, which can be either slight or big, depending on your mood, your spine, and your spine's mood. This pose is a little tricky to explain, so I'm pleased that I can also offer you this excellent anjaneyasana video, in which it all makes sense.
Yogawoman is a new documentary film examining the role of women in yoga's current popularity and what this might mean for the future of health care, philanthropy, and rehabilitation, amongst many other topics. Narrated by Annette Bening, the film includes interviews with many leading female yoga teachers, including Seane Corn, Shiva Rea, Patricia Walden, Angela Farmer and many, many more. The New York premiere is September 15 (that's tomorrow!), and the film will be premiering internationally in the coming months. Read my Yogawoman review...
Yoga Bitch, by Suzanne Morrison, is the latest entry in the recently trendy yoga memoir genre. Morrison's tale, which has been creating buzz around the yoga blogosphere, consists largely of a journal she kept while on a yoga retreat in Bali at age 25 and commentary by her older and wiser self ten years later. The story of the humanization of a worshiped teacher as the author struggles to make hard choices about her life is funny, irreverent (things we don't always see in yoga writing) and has struck a chord with young yoginis in particular.
This week's featured pose is fish pose, an ideal place to work through any perceived blockages in the vishuddha (throat) chakra. These can manifest as a difficulty speaking up or telling the truth, according to About.com Guide to Holistic Healing Phylameana lila Desy. Fish pose can open your throat right up.
Micro means tiny and bend means, well, bend. Put them together and you have microbend, a tiny little bend. This is a term I am hearing more and more in yoga classes, so I wanted to offer an explanation of how to microbend and why its important. Read more...
Yoga is often touted as being a 5000-year-old practice, but asana as we know it, particularly vinyasa-style flow, is actually pretty new. It's an exciting time to be a yogi, because we're in the midst of the active evolution of our methodology. Today's trends could be tomorrow's standard. Experimenting with yoga off the mat seems to be the most prevalent yoga trends of the moment. I examined AcroYoga, AntiGravity Yoga, and Stand-Up Paddle Yoga, but I also want to hear from readers who have taken these trends for a test-drive, particularly if you found a practice you love. Read more...