Why practice difficult asanas, if the practice of yoga is to be something other than an ego-driven endeavor? Because in the act of doing something challenging, we are compelled to become more present in the moment. In doing something new, we gain an opportunity to break out of our habitual and unconscious patterns. We create an opportunity to learn how [...]
When is a body shape merely a body shape, and what transforms it into an asana? From my point of view, it is the suffusion of a shape with the qualities of a free-flowing breath that transforms a shape into an asana. It is the prioritization of a spacious breath that transforms a body movement into the practice of yoga. [...]
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 [...]
In our lives off the mat, we rarely if ever go upside down. Thus it is quite natural that for many of us the idea of inversions causes some trepidation. However, inverted yoga poses have many positive effects on the body (and the mind). Different inversions have specific benefits, but in general, they stimulate the endocrine, immune, and digestive systems. [...]
Last week we worked on spreading awareness to all the parts of our bodies. This week we will focus on generating the sensitivity to guide your awareness to where you need it most. There are many poses in which almost everyone benefits from the same alignment instructions (i.e., energize and lift the back thigh in high lunge). However, all our bodies are [...]
Yoga and meditation teachers often use the words 'attention' and 'awareness' interchangeably. To me they are fundamentally different, as they create two fundamentally different experiences of reality. Attention means being focused on one thing. Awareness means taking in multiple things at once. Focusing on one thing gives us a distorted view of reality, especially when we (as we often do) [...]
As your awareness of your body grows more subtle, you may notice that your head is not really where you thought it was, namely balancing on top of your spine. This postural misalignment is called hyperkyphosis/head forward position. To address this problem, you need to focus on opening the front of the chest and strengthening the upper back. Equally [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
