5 Yoga Poses for Tight Shoulders and Upper Back
Tight shoulders? You’re not alone. Nearly everything we do—sitting at a desk, working on a computer, cooking a meal, picking up children, riding a bike, driving a car, etc.—closes off the front of our chests and creates varying degrees of
Balancing Poses in Yoga: Benefits for Total Hip Replacement and Beyond
When you practice balancing poses in yoga, whether on two feet or on your head, you strengthen muscles essential for the stability of total hip replacement. Balancing challenges your ability to focus, react to fluctuations in your body, and maintain
The Many Health Benefits of Nitric Oxide and How Yoga May Help Increase It
It is often referred to as "the miracle molecule" you have never heard of - a wonder substance that can improve the functioning of a vast number of vital processes in the body. We are talking about nitric oxide, a
Yoga Anatomy: Using Muscle Awareness to Lower Your Heels in Downward-Facing Dog Pose
Say you’ve been working hard on your Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose) and still can’t get your heels to the floor. This cue can give you and your students that extra bit of length in the calf muscles and
Slump No More: 5 Poses for a Healthy Thoracic Spine
The thoracic spine lies between the bones of the lower back and the neck bones. It is a unique area of the spine. All your ribs attach to the transverse processes of the vertebrae in the thoracic spine and wrap
Nyasas: Turn Your Body into a Temple
Mudras are specific hand gestures that are meant to have symbolic, energetic, and healing qualities. Most mudras are static gestures, but you can also make them dynamic when the actual act of moving into a mudra is infused with symbolism. How to Practice
Yoga Pose Primer: Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose)
Backbends are one of yoga practice’s great gifts. Because our daily lives don’t require a lot of backbending, doing some backbend every day is a way to balance our forward-folded lives. Plus, they’re energizing and just plain fun. Backbends take
4 Yoga Poses for Strong, Resilient Ankles
What would it be like if you lived your life in ski boots? It would certainly make walking downstairs challenging, not to mention squatting to pick up the newspaper from the driveway or getting out of the car. On the
Yoga Pose Primer: 7 Steps for Practicing Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana)
During grade school, my sisters and I took ballet classes. We studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory with a lovely young dancer named Donna Ficker. A year or two into our lessons, we had to find a new teacher when Donna’s
Yoga Anatomy: How Yoga Can Help Digestion
In my yoga therapy training many years ago my teacher had asked for a volunteer with some sort of digestive distress when we were discussing the topic of digestion. One of the teachers volunteered, admitting that she had suffered from
Dr. Ray Long: For Healthy Knees, Strengthen the Quads
A series of articles from opinion leaders in the academic medical community have demonstrated the benefits of quadriceps strength for persons with arthritis of the knee joint. One of these studies, which used MRI to assess knee cartilage directly, is
Overcoming Anxiety by Aligning with Your True Self: A Holistic Approach to Lasting Freedom
Anxiety is more than just an unwelcome visitor in our minds. It often reflects how we relate to our thoughts, emotions, and the world around us. Despite our best efforts to manage or eliminate it, anxiety persists. But why? The
Yoga for Tight Hips: Take a Breather in Cow Face Pose
Wouldn’t it be great if all of life’s problems could be solved by lying down and taking it easy? The good news is that some of them can. Take tight outer hips, for example. This might be one of your
The Yoga of Patience: A Steady Unfolding
Every year since 2014, I’ve had the good fortune to spend 18 days at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. My partner and I attend two back-to-back nine-day silent mindfulness retreats each year in July. The first nine days focus on cultivating
Yoga Pose Primer: Revolved Triangle Pose (Parvrtta Trikonasana)
If I had to pick the most complicated asana in the canon of common poses, Parvrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose) would be among the top few. Parvrtta Trikonasana is a balance pose, a spinal rotation, a forward bend, and even