Blog

9 06, 2025

Keep Your Shoulders Safe

2025-06-10T05:55:10+07:00June 9th, 2025|

Keeping your shoulders safe can be more challenging than protecting your hips. The shoulder joint does for the arm what the hip joint does for the leg. It connects the limb to the trunk. Both are ball and socket joints, which allow for the greatest range of motion of any joints. However, there are two key differences that explain [...]

1 06, 2025

Spread Your Wings

2025-06-03T01:20:20+07:00June 1st, 2025|

Getting your upper back involved in backbends (last week's theme) is a challenging adjustment for many. However, like any directional adjustment, it IS possible to take even this important adjustment too far. When we do that, we collapse the back ribs and reduce spaciousness in the back body even as we create more space in the front. This week we [...]

19 05, 2025

Backbend Your Upper Back for Safer, Deeper Backbends

2025-05-20T06:12:27+07:00May 19th, 2025|

One major problem with backbends that most of us have experienced at some point is a sore lower back. Backbend-induced lumbar pain is the result of following the path of least resistance. Concentrating your backbends in the lumbar spine is simply the easiest thing to do. However, it's neither the healthiest, nor the most effective path. If you want [...]

12 05, 2025

Align Your Hips in Backbends

2025-05-13T05:41:02+07:00May 12th, 2025|

When you look at photos of people in super-deep backbends, it often looks like they have a sharp 90 degree kink in their lower back. It looks that way because they do. They have a hyper-mobile lower back. That certainly seems advantageous for deep backbends, but it is not something you want to emulate if your back doesn't do that [...]

5 05, 2025

Yoga as a Gift

2025-05-06T05:28:07+07:00May 5th, 2025|

What does it mean to think of yoga as a gift? Plenty of people practice yoga because they sense that it has the power to transform their life. They sense that it can create a shift away from the ego-centric, achievement-oriented mode that the modern world incessantly reinforces. But it is all too common to see yogis unconsciously applying the [...]

28 04, 2025

Align with Spanda

2025-04-29T05:18:58+07:00April 28th, 2025|

In the yogic tradition, spanda is the subtle creative pulsation that manifests in all living and non-living entities. Recognizing and aligning with spanda helps us become more present in the moment, with a greater sense of connection and joy. The ancient yogic assertion that everything pulsates is true in a very literal way: Scientific investigations confirm that everything vibrates, from [...]

21 04, 2025

Set an Intention

2025-04-21T19:48:37+07:00April 21st, 2025|

To me the main benefit of practicing yoga is to become more present in more moments of our lives. There are many ways to help you along that path, including breath awareness and body awareness. Focusing on alignment to improve body awareness is one of my most frequently used techniques. However, this week I want to emphasize another method: setting [...]

7 04, 2025

Stepping into Courage with Inversions Part 2: Headstand

2025-04-07T19:29:19+07:00April 7th, 2025|Tags: |

This week we will continue with inversions, focusing on headstand. The great advantage of headstand over other inversions is that it requires less muscular effort and less precise balance. Thus it can be practiced for significantly longer time periods. This in turn increases the benefits you derive from going upside down. Headstand is also generally easier to do without a [...]

24 03, 2025

Tune Up Your Digestion

2025-03-25T00:58:25+07:00March 24th, 2025|Tags: , , , , |

Last week we focused on tuning up our core. This week, I want to apply some of what we have learned there to focus specifically on our digestion. A well-functioning core has tremendous benefits for your digestion. A properly functioning digestive system, in turn, is extremely important for your overall wellbeing. There are a large variety of asanas that promote [...]

17 03, 2025

Tune Up Your Core

2025-03-18T01:55:11+07:00March 17th, 2025|Tags: , , , , , |

Increasing core strength can transform your yoga practice, improving your balance and agility and bringing more ease to difficult poses. However, tuning up your core means more than just building strength. A well-tuned core also involves increasing core flexibility and improving the brain's ability to direct the core with ease. A radiant core can improve posture, reduce back pain, [...]

Go to Top