Make Peace with Your Least Favorite Yoga Poses
So you’ve already looked around, noticed that other people enjoy poses you hate, and accepted the possibility that you might come to like those poses too. You’ve gazed deep into the eyes of your least favorite yoga poses and recognized
Yoga for the Winter Blues: Ease Seasonal Affective Disorder
Aaah, the winter blues, that malaise when the cold, quiet winter months feel like they’re dragging on forever. Ten to 20 percent of the general population experiences Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). It can hit anyone, yet it is more common
Nurture Your SI Joint in Yoga Practice
In a recent article, we explored how hormonal fluctuations, pregnancy, and postpartum challenges, recurring asymmetrical activity, and sports injuries can lead to sacroiliac joint (SI joint) dysfunction and manifest as lower back pain. Once your SI joints are destabilized, it
Mountain Brook Pose: Restore Your Flow
Mountain Brook Pose is a gentle restorative yoga pose that opens the heart, chest, shoulders, neck, and throat. I practice this pose when I feel tightness in my chest, neck, shoulders, and upper back. When I am tired or overwhelmed,
3 Ways to Counteract Text Neck with Yoga
You may already know how cell phones affect your posture, causing pain—a phenomenon called “text neck.” But did you know that cell phone usage can also change our anatomy? USA Today reported on an Australian study in which researchers examined hundreds of
5 Types of Rest That Can Renew Your Energies
In Viniyoga, we often say that the remedy we choose should match the type of problem the student experiences. When someone is dealing with a structural issue, yoga asana would be the obvious place to begin our work. When the
Hate Chaturanga? Don't Like Backbends? How to Approach Yoga Poses You Don’t Like
Most of us come to yoga from one of two directions. We are flexible but weak, or we’re strong but stiff. After our first few classes, we already know the poses we love. They may not be effortless, but we
Yoga’s Effect on Inflammatory Biomarkers and Related Diseases
A mini-review of the scientific literature explores whether yogic practices are directly linked to reductions in inflammatory biomarkers implicated in a number of physical and mental conditions. Chronic stress is linked to systemic inflammation, which increases the risk of cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and
5 Yoga Poses for Shoulder Joint Health
The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the human body. Technically called the glenohumeral joint, the shoulder is where the humerus (upper arm bone) meets the glenoid fossa (a small indent in the scapula or shoulder blade). The glenohumeral
7 Common Misconceptions About Yin Yoga
As a Yin Yoga practitioner and teacher trainer, I often hear some of the unfavorable things that people say about Yin Yoga. And honestly, I don’t blame them. I raised many of the same critiques when I first encountered the
4 Benefits of Restorative Yoga (And Reasons to Practice It More Often!)
As a Restorative Yoga teacher, I often hear questions like, “What’s the point of Restorative Yoga?” or “Why should I bother practicing Restorative Yoga?” While it may not look like much from the outside, the benefits of Restorative Yoga are
Are Women More Vulnerable to SI Joint Pain? How Yoga Can Help
My grandmother suffered from lower back pain for many years. She described it as sharp, debilitating pain on one side of her lower spine. The only remedy she could find was a heating pad that she regularly applied to the
How Do Yoga and Internal Family Systems Therapy Relate?
Yogic philosophy and Internal Family Systems Therapy both state that you are already whole and deeply connected to the world around you. Engaging in these practices does not make you more complete. Rather, they invite you to see past illusions
What Are the Best Ways to Prevent Yoga-Related Knee Injuries?
If you indulge me for a couple of paragraphs, I’d like to share a brief history of yoga, my knees, and yoga-related injuries. As a flexible body type, I could always achieve deep hip-opening poses in yoga. Then, after about