Half-Hero Pose: Television Yoga for Tight Quads
One of the most fruitful areas for a new yoga practitioner to explore is television yoga. It’s not a formal practice. You don’t have to wear special clothes, roll out a mat or light a candle. And if you watch
Fasting for Health: What Are the Benefits?
Is fasting for health sustainable? And more importantly, does it work? Let me start by telling you first why I began fasting. On a Wednesday morning in January, I woke up sick. I had a sore throat, I was unusually
Yoga for Strength: Fierce Pose
I spent 10 years of my childhood in a small retirement village in Wisconsin. My next-door neighbors, Walter and Evelyn, were my favorites to visit. They were in their late-70s and early 80s while we lived there. I would go
The Role of Shoulder Extension in Camel Pose
Ustrasana (Camel Pose) is a deep and elegant backbend. It can also be quite challenging to practice, as it often causes—and requires—extreme extension in the lumbar spine. The lumbar vertebrae come together in a way that supports shoulder extension in
Practice Figure 4 Cross-Legged Hip Stretch at the Wall
At first glance, it may not look as though the wall is useful in a Figure 4 Stretch (Supta Kapotasana). Yet it potentially offers good leverage and resistance to venture deeper into the realm of mobility and flow in your
Wall Yoga Exercises: Why Practice Yoga at the Wall?
“I thought yoga at the wall would be wimpy, but it was really challenging!” said Eadaoin, one of my advanced yoga teacher trainees, after taking one of my yoga wall classes. Her comment ignited my enthusiasm to write this book.
How to Overcome the 4 Most Common Yoga Teacher Challenges: The Power of Niche Building
Ah, becoming a yoga teacher. For most of us, it’s a dream come true. Becoming a yoga teacher is the first step toward building your own practice to greatly enhance yoga's transformative aspects. And it’s a first step toward doing
What is Pelvic Floor Therapy?
What is Pelvic Floor Therapy? Many women and some men, seek out pelvic floor therapy for an answer to incontinence, painful sex, prolapse, or pelvic pain. Pelvic floor therapy is often thought of as Kegel exercises or contracting pelvic floor
How Well Are You Aging? An Easy Test of Health and Longevity
How healthy is your body? And, how well are you aging? The more we know about the health of our body and early warning signs of breakdown or distress, the more we are able to take steps to prevent or
Build Confidence and Strength With These 3 Tree Pose Variations
Tree Pose (Vrksasana) variations with props can help you to better understand the subtleties of alignment and balance. Props are such valuable tools in your yoga practice to help you find support, optimize alignment, challenge your balance, and beyond. There
Working with Injuries or Physical Limitations? An Invitation to Deepen Your Yoga Practice
If you stick with yoga long enough, and perhaps not even very long, you’ll certainly be dealing with the question of what’s the right thing to do when you get injured or sick. Do you forge ahead and get to
Stretch and Strengthen: Yoga for Pelvic Floor Health
The best yoga poses for the pelvic floor actually depend upon what your pelvic floor needs. Sure, a strong pelvic floor is essential for many reasons, but did you know you need to be able to relax the pelvic floor
For Lower Back Pain Try Yoga, Doctors Say
Low back pain affects millions of adults yearly, presenting a major global health burden. It is one of the leading causes of physician visits and the number one reason for missed work days. It can be acute, lasting up to
Yoga's Koshas: The 5 Layers of Self-Awareness
For centuries, philosophers have pondered the connection between mental and physical health. Science now recognizes the mind/body connection. Research continues to find evidence that our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and handling stress can positively or negatively affect our physical health.
Time for a Paradigm Shift in Yoga? Shifting the Emphasis from Classes to Yoga Wellness Courses
This article on current issues in the development of yoga as a profession is a excerpted from a recent webinar hosted by YogaUOnline-founder Eva Norlyk Smith and yoga therapist Lynn Crimando. See video excerpts from the talk below as well.