Featured Yoga Articles
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New Study Touts Yoga’s Benefits For Breast Cancer Survivors
Yogis love to proselytize, but nothing emboldens the yoga community more than when a major medical study corroborates what yogis already know: that yoga does the body good. Add to the growing body of evidence a new study out of the Ohio State University in Columbus. Researchers... -
5 Ways Using Props Will Deepen Your Yoga Practice
Why do so many yoga students shun props? Once, a majority of asana classes were Iyengar-influenced, and teachers emphasized using props—blankets, blocks, straps, etc.—to help students shift poor alignment habits, develop strength and awareness, and experience asanas more deeply. Recently, however, vinyasa flow classes have dominated the... -
The Latest Friend Revolution
He’s baa-ack! It has not been that long since the infamous yoga teacher uprising that declared it time to un-Friend Anusara. While the cult of personality drama was a fascinating display to watch if you were devotedly not committed to Anusara teachings, the pain and anger at... -
“Gravity”: Hollywood’s Unwitting Tribute To Yoga
Few movies have evoked the spirit of yoga more than the insanely intense tale about space exploration, Gravity. Throughout the movie’s 90 minutes of white-knuckle suspense, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney (likely unwittingly) transcend the scientific dilemmas at hand to deliver a veritable homage to yoga. “Eat,... -
Adaptability: Moving From Mountain to Water Balloon
I recently became aware of a gradual but significant transformation that has been taking place within me. For many years I have been meditating on equanimity and the familiar image of a strong, tall, deeply grounded mountain surrounded by the ever changing ocean. However, after a deeply... -
Does “Yoga Body” Contribute to Self-Objectification?
Recent blogs have deplored objectifying media depictions of the “yoga body,” a taut, flexible, and slim physique that’s the perceived result of yoga practice. However, Jennifer Daubenmier in 2004 found yoga to be associated with lower levels of self-objectification (viewing oneself as an object) than other forms... -
Riffing In Yoga Class
Note to yoga teachers: When I modify a pose to deepen or come into a different pose during your class, it is not because I get an ego boost, to show off my flexibility, or otherwise seek attention. It is also not because what you are offering... -
How to Find Your Practice Community
One of the most magical things about a consistent and dedicated yoga practice is that, at some point, it leads us to making changes in our social lives. We start to make subtle changes in where we go to eat or shop, who we spend time with... -
You Already Have Everything You Need!
"My hamstrings are too tight." "I have no upper body strength." "I have no balance." "I'm not flexible." "I have no time in my busy day day to do yoga." How many times have you heard yourself or someone else utter one of these in frustration before bailing out of... -
Just Do It: Meditation Tips and Techniques
“A drunken monkey stung by a scorpion” is an often repeated description of the mind. It lurches and spins from thought to thought, dwelling on the past, daydreaming about the future, latching onto one distraction after another. The harder you try to pin it down, the quicker...
The Latest On Yoga Basics
Protein and the Yogi: Are You Getting What Your Body Needs?
Protein is essential for the support of lean muscle mass, immune function, energy levels, weight control and is the basis for all enzyme activity for basic body maintenance and detoxification. As a supplement, protein is often associated with weightlifting and muscle growth, but an increasing number of dedicated yoga practitioners are using protein shakes and supplements as a regular part of their yogic diet....
A Search For Home On the Spiritual Path
“Are you my mother?” queries the chick of various animals and inanimate objects, searching high and low for its absent caregiver after having leaped from its nest. This children’s book by P.D. Eastman is a poignant metaphor for our relationship to the world and the spiritual path, as described in a recent dharma talk, "Crossing the Flood," by meditation teacher Catherine McGee. Unbeknownst to...
Tending the Heart Fire by Shiva Rea
I expected the first book from yoga superstar Shiva Rea to be filled with flowing yoga sequences and physical practices, but to my surprise Tending the Heart Fire is more of a “life guide” than a book on hatha yoga. Central to this book is the exploration of internal fire keeping, and this metaphor is applied specifically to the heart center through the...
Nightline Reports on Bikram’s Rape Accusations
The ABC news program Nightline has aired a disturbing and quite damming report on the sexual assault lawsuit against Bikram Choudhury, one of the most well-known and richest yoga “gurus” in America. Three of the five women in the lawsuit gave interviews for Nightline that are juxtaposed with earlier interviews and footage of Choudhury. Bikram Choudhury, the founder of the popular Bikram style of...
Building A Strong Foundation Starts With Your Feet!
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." Referring to the integral structure of any construction - the foundation, Henry David Thoreau could have easily been writing about yoga. Much like the foundation of a house, the foundation of a pose - the feet - play...
The Yoga Sutras: Climbing the Ladder Of Involution
Making major changes in your life can sometimes feel like waging an inner battle, especially when trying to transform unhelpful but powerful habits. It’s a human condition that Patanjali addressed 2,000 years ago in Yoga Sutras 1.15 and 1.16, when he outlined how to disentangle from desire or cravings. In his commentary on these two sutras, B. K. S. Iyengar calls this internal shift...
Inspiring AcroYoga Sequence Video
Check out this amazing short video of an AcroYoga sequence, filmed in Israel and performed by Noga Schwartz and Roi Silberberg. They artfully filmed the sequence in several locations then edited the footage into a single flow with a great soundtrack. AcroYoga is type of partner yoga that combines yoga poses with acrobatics. The “base” yogi is supported by the earth, usually on his/her...
Mukunda Stiles: A Life Dedicated To Yoga
Mukanda Stiles, founder of Yoga Therapy Center in Boulder, Co., and author of several yoga books, died Feb. 18. In his definitive 2001 book, Structural Yoga Therapy, Stiles encapsulated his life’s teachings and education on the integration of the human body with the spirit. A lifelong student of hatha and raja yoga, Stiles explored the non-violent and systematic movement of every joint in the...
Concerned About Your Sugar Intake? See What Ayurveda Has To Say
I have a love/hate relationship with sugar. I crave it, I avoid it, I even make deals with myself over it. But with so much conflicting nutrition information available, how do we know what level of sugar intake is best for us? Sugar-reduction, sugar-elimination and sugar-free diets trend pretty high amongst dieters. I tend to shy away from any diet that comes across a...
Beyond Dietary Dogma: Journey to Intuitive Eating
Rotating on its spit, the glistening döner kebab beckoned as I awaited the next train from Budapest to Munich. With one down I ordered an extra for the trip, blissfully unaware of the food pathogens it harbored. This marked the first of four violent bouts of food poisoning I experienced while studying abroad, resulting in a compromised ability to digest many foods. In subsequent...
Exploring Yoga Therapy With Renowned Teacher Cora Wen
One of the fastest growing areas in the yoga world is the application of yoga as a therapeutic modality for a myriad of physical and emotional conditions. One of the most highly recognized and renowned leaders worldwide in this area is veteran yoga teacher and therapist Cora Wen. Wen, a senior ERYT-500 Yoga Alliance certified instructor and registered yoga therapist with the International Association...
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