Blog
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Side Plank: Strengthen Your Core, Save Your Wrists
Do you practice Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana)? I’ll admit that it hasn’t always been a part of my regular practice routine. That’s because, well, it’s hard. But it’s also because,...
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Strengthen Your Adductors in Bridge Pose
Do you knees splay out to the sides in Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)? This is something I’ve observed a lot, both in myself in the earlier years of practice,...
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Alignment vs. Continuity in Yoga
My 40-plus-year yoga practice is rooted in the Iyengar system. For decades, I studied with Iyengar teachers, almost exclusively. The non-Iyengar teachers I’ve gravitated to have mostly been people whose...
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Yoga Sandbag: Strengthen Your Bridge Pose
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) is one of yoga’s most versatile poses. When I studied with B.K.S. Iyengar in India, variations of Bridge Pose were a go-to. For those of...
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Why Listening to Your Body Might Not Be Enough
If you practice yoga, you’ve probably heard the entreaty, “Listen to your body.” It’s good, sound advice. When you embark on any physical practice, it’s important to know and respect...
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Hasta Mudra: Open Your Breathing Space
For the first time since last fall, I'm sitting next to an open window as I write. The spring air, with its occasional hints of blooming bulbs and trees, is...
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Bridge Pose: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
I’ve been writing for Hugger Mugger’s blog for 14 years—hard to believe. And it’s equally hard to believe that in all these years, spanning more than 900 posts, I’ve never...
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How Do You Find a Yoga Mentor?
Until the 20th century, yoga—the whole system—was always taught one on one. An aspiring yogi studied with their yoga mentor often for decades. Over the years, the teacher learned the...
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Body Scan: Mindfulness of the Body
A while back, I wrote a post on mindfulness of the body, centering the practice on breath awareness. In the Theravada tradition, breath awareness is the starting point, the foundation...
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Standard Yoga Bolsters 3 Ways
Most of us would probably agree that our lives are filled to the brim. When we’re super busy, what often drops off our schedule are the very things we need...
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Perfect Support: Slanted Yoga Bolsters
Whenever I ask my students to go get a Yoga Bolster, the happiness in the room is palpable. They know that yoga bolsters mean they’re going to get to lie...
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Yoga Cues: Simple and Effective
My original yoga “parentage” was in the Iyengar system. Known for its precision, and for inventing the yoga props we use today, the Iyengar system provides a fine foundation. In...
