category "Yoga Pose of the Month"
Poses are a mainstay of yoga. We look to provide you with insight into the various poses, their origins and their value to your yoga practice.
posted by Charlotte on December 5, 2011 |
Restorative Bridge: Relax and Replenish December 21st was my dad’s favorite day of the year. While he was definitely of the yang, high-energy, non-stop activity camp—not a fan of the short winter days—he loved the fact that after Winter Solstice, the days would begin to lengthen. For my dad, it was all uphill after December 21st. As a culture we’ve chosen to fill the year’s darkest days with a relentless
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posted by Charlotte on November 7, 2011 |
The Huangdi Neijing, (The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon) is a 2,000-year-old text on traditional Chinese medicine. Organized as a Q&A between the Yellow Emperor and Taoist master Qi Bo, one exchange between the two involves longevity. The emperor asks: “I am told the people in ancient times could all survive to more than 100 years old, and they appeared to be quite healthy and strong, but the people at present
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posted by Charlotte on October 10, 2011 |
Fall is the beginning of the yin cycle, a time when the sun’s yang energy begins to wane as its angle shifts and the days shorten. Yin is quiet, rooted earth to yang’s bright, expansive heaven. In autumn, we harvest hearty root vegetables and colorful hard squash for winter storage. We naturally move inward in autumn. Ancient practitioners of Chinese medicine advised people to “retire early at night and rise
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posted by Charlotte on September 9, 2011 |
Late summer, including most of September, is the time when Earth energy rises. Earth energy creates stability, steadiness, nurturing and grounding. Earth season is the time we preserve and store our harvest, and the time when we reflect on and integrate our experiences and memories. Last month I wrote about Earth season and the predominance of stomach and spleen energy during this time. Until Autumn Equinox, the stomach and spleen
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posted by Charlotte on August 8, 2011 |
If you plant a garden, you know that August is your garden’s most bounteous month. Squash, eggplant, potatoes, onions, sweet corn, peppers, and of course, succulent tomatoes—an altogether different fruit from the mealy, pinkish orbs in the grocery store—are plentiful and at their juicy best. Late summer is the time we harvest and assimilate Earth’s bounty, the fruits of our labors. It’s likely no coincidence then that Chinese medicine designates
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posted by Charlotte on July 7, 2011 |
The Dog Days of summer are upon us. From July 3rd until August 11th, when the Dog Star, Canis Major, is at its brightest, the Northern Hemisphere is also at its hottest. Ancient Romans believed the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky, heated the earth during the Dog Days. The searing swelter was thought to bake brains, causing people to act a little crazy. In reality, July’s
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posted by Charlotte on June 7, 2011 |
June beckons us outdoors—to the rocks and rivers, and to our own back yards. Because June’s long, solar-powered days give us more time and energy for work and play, we can easily overdo. In order to maintain balance, we must make time to restore and reenergize ourselves. The poet Ovid named the month of June after iuniores, the younger ones. In honor of the youngest among us, this month’s pose
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posted by Charlotte on May 5, 2011 |
Named by the Greeks for Maia, the goddess of fertility, May expresses the full flowering of life energy. Not only do flora and fauna flourish, but springtime’s renewed vitality can blossom creativity in our re-energized minds. May is the ideal time to refresh our perspective, to turn ourselves upside down and loosen old ideas and beliefs to make way for adventurous new ones. Inverted yoga poses are perfect for cultivating
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posted by Charlotte on April 4, 2011 |
Color is back! Contrasted with winter’s palette of greys, spring’s panoply of brights invites us to open up, to expand, to step out after a long hibernation. Spring is the time for a deep inhale, a time to take in the vibrant abundance of color and new life around us. Even the word “April,” from the Latin aperire, means “to open,” in celebration of the opening of flowers and tree
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posted by Charlotte on March 7, 2011 |
March is the month of yin and yang. It enters with a roar and leaves with a song. In March the hardiest of bulbs begin the arduous task of breaking through frozen ground, and by month’s end, their delicate blooms dance in the breeze. Named after Mars, the red planet with the astrological reputation as a warrior, March is a time of bluster and calm, of purification and renewal. Patanjali’s
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