Some of the most commonly practiced and beloved yoga poses put a lot of weight on, and take a lot of flexibility from, the ankles joints. It is important to maintain healthy ankles since they allow us to maintain and build strength and prevent future injuries caused by lack of strength or range of motion throughout the entire lower body. This article will offer some ways to maintain and gain range of motion that are low-impact and, thus less stressful for sensitive, tight or injured joints.
Some of the most commonly practiced and beloved yoga poses put a lot of weight on the wrists, which can be a great way to maintain and build upper body strength and even prevent future injuries caused by lack of strength or range of motion. For many people hand balances, or even less strenuous poses like Downward-Facing Dog or Upward-Facing Dog pose, can be a problem if they are experiencing an injury or arthritis that is causing pain or a limited range of motion.
This Earth Day is a time to reflect on how we as individuals and as a society have been taking care of our planet. Much of the yoga practice is about being able to sense and observe ourselves, called svadyaya, clearly. With this clear seeing (vidya) we can then create more wholesome behaviors that foster a state of being where enlightenment to grow.
I have a special guest for this months blog. Since meeting Susie Lipps I have had the opportunity to get to know her well and have been impressed by her life's work. Her leadership, open heart and quiet activism has touched me in many ways. In particular, this poem we are sharing with you today, paints a beautiful picture of the way nature and spirituality are deeply intertwined.
What we are all looking for is deeper connection; connection to ourselves, others or Source/Goddess/The Divine. And, we all struggle to stay connected, because of discomfort, fear, pain and numerous other reasons. Yoga welcomes you to focus on staying connected to your body, your heart and your mind and stay curious about what you find.
With it being the middle of winter and post holiday season it is no surprise I have had more students coming to me looking for weight loss. It is true that yoga can aid in overall physical health. With that said, I am not a fitness instructor or personal trainer. I am not a nutritionist or dietician and do not provide advise on how to eat. What I can offer is a spiritual approach focusing on ideas such as exploring one's relationship to food, self-esteem, self-care and body image.
All animals (humans included), not just Mother Earth, go through seasonal cycles. This is the week of the winter solstice. It is the darkest time of the year and energetically the lowest time of the year. We, as inhabitants of this planet, are meant to slow down and rest more. It is what gives us the reset for the light that is coming.
Many of my readers already know a thing or two about yoga, as do many people in this country. Thai Yoga massage, usually just called Thai massage, is a lesser known healing practice that I will be writing about today. They are members of the same family and complement each other in many ways. These systems can work harmoniously together to produce better results than when used separately. After giving you some historic perspective on Thai massage I will let you know how and when you can use Thai massage to benefit you. I'll end with a little about my personal history as a Thai Massage therapist.
One of the oldest and most foundational text on yoga is called the Yoga Sutras. Among the things it describes is the eight-limbed path of yoga. Two of the eight limbs are the moral principles of yoga, called the yamas and niyamas. They are guidelines to strive for in relating to ourselves and others. They offer a course of study to discover who you are and gain the ability to observe our thoughts, emotions and reactions more and more clearly. They can help you learn more about your values and what feels right to you. These observations lead to the freedom to make conscious decisions about how you think and act. They are ways of thinking and behaving that can help us progress on the path to awakening.
Jnana yoga, one of several branches of yoga, is focused on developing inner wisdom. Key concepts within it are that we are one; We are infinite; We are connected; We are perfect, whole and complete.
If you don't know me personally you probably don't know that about two years ago I decided to stop eating animals and animal products. A lot of people ask me why I've made the shift to veganism and I think what I have to say is relevant to everyone, especially those interested in creating a healthy, yogic lifestyle.
As our yoga practice deepens our hearts open and our awareness expands to more fully feel and understand the burdens of others and awaken to the reality that we are all connected. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said "no one is free until we are all free." This idea, profound in its simplicity, finds company among famous aphorisms in the great religious and spiritual teachings throughout time. The biblical command says to "love your neighbor as yourself.” Sutra 2.25 from The Yoga Sutras says that liberation of the seer is the result of the dis-association of the seer and the seen, with the disappearance of ignorance.
Yoga Therapy is any yoga technique used to systematically address physical injury or pain, or mental and emotional stress or trauma. Yoga Therapy has evolved as one of the most reliable, authentic, and efficient health care systems available in society today.
Research and therapeutic strategies for COVID-19 have focused on treatments to attack the virus or immunize against it. This leaves aside the condition of the host - one of the most important factors in disease advancement.
I offer you a 10 minute guided meditation. Within it I recite a poem called The Guest House by 13th century Persian poet Rumi. It is a powerful piece frequently recited in mindfulness circles. It is a reminder not to resist the thoughts and emotions passing through us but to meet them with courage, warmth, and respect.
While we are on lockdown it is even more important than ever for our mental health to open up our hearts and minds. As the corona virus is effecting all of our lives, I offer you a meditation to create a greater sense of harmony and contentment with yourself and the world we are living in.
Learn about what your immune system is and how to help it thrive. This is a quiz that was developed over many years by Dr. Linda Page, Ph. D. If you answer yes to more than three of these questions, your immune system is probably slow-moving or under-active. Yogic tools provided for how to boost it!
Being deliberate about the end of your life frees you up to enjoy the rest of your life. It’s helpful to think about your last few months in five different domains: physical, emotional (relational), spiritual, life purpose, and after death. In each area, you can consider what would make the end of life feel complete, and possibly even pleasurable.
For this blog I interviewed Ruth Perelstein, a long time student of Ayurveda, to enlighten us on “Yoga’s Sister Science”. Philosophically, both yoga and Ayurveda spring from the common ground of Sankhya philosophy.
The biopsychosocial model views a physical disorder as the result of an intricate and dynamic interaction among biological, psychological, and social factors that can often antagonize the pain condition. This model recognizes that when information reaches the brain, a complex communication process takes place among many brain areas.
While yoga has been gaining mainstream popularity, there are many who are hesitant to try it out because of misconceptions around the practice. Some think it isn’t for them because of their preconceptions about yoga. Hesitation to try out yoga may arise due to many reasons, and it’s good to sort through them and decipher which of them are fact and which are fiction. Today, we’ll be debunking the most popular yoga myths that keep you from practicing.
