The Art of Breathing
“When the Breath wanders, the mind is unsteady, but when the Breath is still, so is the mind still.” – Hatha Yoga Pradipika If you’re breathing and you are aware that you are breathing, you’re doing yoga. You’re practicing Pranayama. It’s that simple. Pranayama is a sanskrit word which literally means “extension of the life […]
Is Yoga Safe?
In January of 2012, New York Times writer William Broad stirred up controversy in the yoga community, and fear in the minds of people who might have been considering yoga as a safe and healthy activity. Since then, I frequently find myself defending the practice and lifestyle of yoga. There were several rebuttal articles and […]
Emotional Reactions in Yoga
You have just finished an amazing flow with your favorite yoga teacher. As class is winding down and you come into bridge pose, from out of nowhere tears fill your eyes and begin rolling down your cheeks. You weren’t even feeling sad today, so what is going on? Emotional reactions in yoga are very common. Anger, […]
Yoga For Cyclists
Today, in a training course for indoor cycle instructors, I realized that I had made my 10th remark about (and sales pitch for) the benefits of yoga for cyclists. If you’re logging a lot of miles in the saddle, and aren’t balancing out your workouts with yoga, read on. Yoga has numerous benefits for weary […]
New Yoga Resolution?
Here we are again, the gyms are full of folks with great intentions and new resolutions. In looking at the research, I learned that almost half of American adults make resolutions each new year. Among the top new years resolutions are promises to lose weight and exercise, and this year, ‘giving yoga a try’ made […]
Reach the Glass
Very often, our best lessons are learned from the warriors in our life who are fighting the most difficult battles. Recently I attended a meeting for people with MS, and heard an inspiring story. Abby, a beautiful woman who has struggled with Multiple Sclerosis for many years talked of the frustration of not being able […]
Yoga and The Little Things
Yoga teaches us so much about the little things, that are really the big things. An amazing thing happened today. I held my son’s pet rat Spike, who was taking his last breaths. I was never a fan of rats, until my boys begged to bring one home. And being a lover of all things […]
Yoga for a Strong Back
After being diagnosed with a herniated disc two years ago, I turned to yoga for strength, flexibility, and pain management. Everything I did in physical therapy was a version of a yoga pose. Here is my article, ‘Yoga for a Strong Back‘ published on My Fitness Tunes. Enjoy, and be strong!
Your First Yoga Class
One of my favorite experiences as a yoga teacher is watching a brand new yogi roll up his or her mat after a first class. New yoga participants look like kids who just rode a bike for the first time with no training wheels. I call it the “I did it” face. And every time […]
Yoga for your Thyroid?
I have just discovered yet another reason to begin a yoga practice if you haven’t already…yoga is helpful for thyroid problems. I was diagnosed with hypothyroid 10 years ago. That means my thyroid doesn’t function optimally. The thyroid gland produces the thyroid hormone which is responsible for metabolism. According to James Norman, MD, “The estimates […]