Low Back Pain or Sacroiliac Joint Pain? How to Tell the Difference and Why It Matters
How do you tell the difference between low back pain and SI joint pain? Low back pain can have many origins, and knowing what’s causing the issue can be an important first step in relieving it. Indeed, sometimes low back
Yoga Modifications for Pregnancy: 4 Ways to Safely Modify Savasana
Yoga modifications for pregnancy are important to keep in mind, even for seemingly passive poses like Savasana (Relaxation Pose). This posture is an excellent and beneficial way to end any yoga practice. However, it can be even more beneficial and
Yoga Pose Photos: The Yoga World Has a PR Problem
Yoga pose photos are inescapable in the yoga community. Scroll through a hashtag or two, click on a Pinterest board, or open up a yoga magazine, and you’re sure to be bombarded with images of seemingly impossible shapes. And more
5-Step Yoga Sequencing for Shoulderstand
Leslie Kaminoff makes an excellent point when he speaks about yoga sequencing for Shoulderstand Pose (Sarvangasana): it is not the same as choreography. In choreography, the goal is artistic expression; choices are dictated by elegance and aesthetic appeal. Of course,
A Gentle Twisting Yoga Sequence to Just Feel Good
Yoga twists feel so good. They help us to move into constricted positions to then feel the sweet release as we let go. They move our spines in ways that we don’t necessarily utilize in our everyday lives. And they
Yoga Practice at the Wall: 5 Poses to Soothe Your Body and Mind
Practicing supported yoga at the wall is a welcome change when you are living a fast-paced lifestyle. Supported Asana embraces slowing down and can be quite accessible. This relaxing sequence uses a wall, often an underutilized prop. You are welcome
5 Chaturanga Prep Poses That Look Nothing Like Chaturanga
Are you challenged by the Four-Limbed Staff Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)? It makes a prominent appearance in many yoga classes, so honing your Chaturanga skills will serve your practice well. Here are five exercises you can practice to prepare for or
Hip Mobility Exercises: Internal and External Rotation in Yoga
What are the best hip mobility exercises in yoga? To effectively mobilize all the parts of the hips, it's important to understand the basics of internal and external rotation. In this post, we’ll take a look at how we can
Flat Feet Exercises: How Yoga Can Help
What are the best flat feet exercises to rebuild the arches and reduce pain? To understand this, let me introduce you to my friend, Maria. A year ago, Maria sent me an email asking if I could suggest a suitable
3 Steps to Practicing Active Happiness
What is active happiness? The first meaning of active happiness is about the positive impact that being physically active has on our overall well-being. I’ve long been interested in the relationship between physical health and emotional well-being. I went to
Yoga for Post-Holiday Stress and Anxiety Relief
It may be the season to be jolly, but the holidays can create a whole lot of stress and anxiety. Fortunately, yoga can be a wonderful way to relieve any leftover holiday stress and ease the nervous system. According to
Words Matter: How to Use Empowering Language as a Yoga Teacher
We’ve all taken yoga classes from teachers who use empowering language, and that makes us feel great. These are the kind of teachers that draw students out of the woodwork and continue to keep them coming back for more and
Where Should You Gaze When Practicing Balance Poses in Yoga?
I recently received this question about yoga’s balancing poses from a yoga teacher who has done our Yoga for Healthy Aging course in the past: “When teaching my seniors, I notice that they tend to look down a lot when
Suffering from Restless Leg Syndrome? Yoga Can Help
If you suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), here's some helpful news: Simple yoga stretches may help ease your condition. In a study published in the Journal of Alternative Medicine, participants found that yoga provided much-needed relief from the burdensome sleep
Atrial Fibrillation: How Can Yoga Help?
Over eight years ago, I wrote a blog post about yoga and atrial fibrillation, inspired by both a personal experience with a student who had an acute bout of rapid heart rate due to “A fib” during a yoga workshop