No More Excuses—The Gift of Yoga
Reasons people give saying they can’t do yoga: –I’m too stiff. –I have arthritis. –I’m overweight. –I have a bad back. –I’m too old. –I’m a guy. Let me describe the people in one of my recent classes: -Their ages
New Yoga Study: Inversions Improve Major Marker of Heart Health
Coronary heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. So any indication that the practice of yoga can improve heart health is worth taking note of. A recent small-scale
Here’s to Your Health: 8 Great Reasons to Drink Tea
While you’re likely to find a coffee shop around nearly every street corner in America, our beloved cuppa Joe is beginning to face more competition from its mellower counterpart, tea. And there are some good reasons why. Tea has numerous
Savasana Under Lockdown: Teaching Yoga in Jail
I taught yoga in jail for the first time yesterday. Or, more accurately, I got my first intro to teaching there by assisting the beautiful Jenny Boeder, who teaches at Yogaview, one of the best studios in Chicago. I met
Letting Go: The Practice of Vairagya
Last week in yoga class, just as we settled ourselves on our mats, the teacher announced, “Today we’ll focus on strengthening our arms.” Inwardly, I groaned. The internal monologue began: Arms! Why do we have to do arms? All day
Yoga in Schools – The Trojan Horse in the Encinitas Lawsuit
“All the days I go to yoga I feel so good and the days that we don’t have yoga I feel worse. If the school district took away yoga I would be sad because we wouldn’t be able to use
How Yoga Can Help Build Functional Core Strength
Julie Gudmestad is a long-term Iyengar Yoga teacher and founder of Gudmestad Yoga in Portland, Oregon. She is a licensed physical therapist and widely known for her Anatomy of a Yogi column that she wrote for Yoga Journal for nearly
Building Functional Core Strength with Yoga Asanas
Julie Gudmestad is a long-term Iyengar Yoga teacher and founder of Gudmestad Yoga in Portland, Oregon. She is a licensed physical therapist and widely known for her Anatomy of a Yogi column that she wrote for Yoga Journal for nearly
A Soda a Day May Bring Diabetes Your Way
It’s no secret these days that drinking soda isn’t exactly good for you. When even the mayor of New York City attempts to make large containers of these popular drinks illegal, one needs to think twice. Now a large European
Exercise Shown to Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
Breast cancer is a frighteningly common disease. Most of us can count several friends and relatives who have fought it and hopefully survived. With statistics showing that one out of every eight women will develop breast cancer at some point
Street-Smart Karma Yoga: Terri Cooper and Miami’s Yoga Gangsters
Yoga Gangsters is a Miami-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering at-risk youth struggling with poverty, trauma, and the difficult life issues they generate via the science and practice of yoga. Informally launched in 2003 by teacher, writer, and activist Terri Cooper,
The Dirty Dozen: Top 12 Fruits and Veggies to Buy Organic
If you prefer organic foods, but are concerned about the added costs, check out the new organic shopping guide from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit environmental research organization in Washington, D.C. In its annual Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides
Healing the Heart - Yoga for At-Risk Teenage Girls
"I usually see things black and white. But after I do yoga I feel like a new person and I look at things in new ways. I see there is more than just yes or no, more than one choice,