Search

Our limbs include not only our arms and legs, but also the tailbone and the head. Way back at a time few of us remember, all...

Forward bends are my favorite poses for containing energy. When I sequence a practice or a class, forward bends always precede Savasana (Relaxation Pose). The reason...

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras state that asana (the physical postures of yoga) should be “steady and comfortable,” “firm and soft” or “steady and easy,” depending on the...

Years ago, Judith Hanson Lasater posed this question in a workshop I was attending: “Who should practice backbends?” After students offered a few answers I don’t...

Balasana (Child’s Pose) quiets the mind and restores spent energy. It focuses the breath into the back body, the “rest and digest” (parasympathetic) side, and supports...

Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) is a pose that teaches us how to ground and expand simultaneously. In Trikonasana, we root deep into the earth and align ourselves...

Whether yoga practice can actually “detox” our bodies is controversial. Hot Yoga systems claim that sweating is a powerful way to detox. Physiologists dispute this, saying...

Adho Mukha Svanasana, commonly known as Downward Facing Dog Pose or simply Dog Pose, is arguably the most ubiquitous of poses. Yoga teacher Donna Farhi calls...

In Indian mythology, the shape-shifting god Shiva famously assumes the form of a dancer at times. Being a god, however, Shiva is not just any dancer....

The definition of Yoga, according to Alistair Shearer’s translation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is “the settling of the mind into silence.” Asana (the physical practice)—like...

Hasta Padangusthasana (Extended Big Toe Pose) is one of a category of poses my students have named “flying poses.” Flying poses are poses that express expansion....

Asana, the physical practice of yoga, is the third of the eight limbs of yoga in Patanjali’s yoga sutras. Of the 196 sutras, the first of three...

Today and tomorrow (Thanksgiving Day) are the biggest travel days of the year. It’s fun to reconnect with family and friends to celebrate the holidays. But...

If I had to pick the most complicated asana that’s regularly practiced, Parvrtta Trikonasana would be among the top few. Parvrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle) is a...

When your first leave the comfort of your bed each morning, what’s the first thing you want to do? Like other animals—think about your cat or dog—our instinct is...

The heroes of yoga’s ancient texts appear in many of its asanas. Most of these heroes (and heroines) take the form of gods and goddesses. Revered...

In almost every class I teach, when I ask what people in class would like to focus on, twists are high on the list. Whether we...

Utkatasana is popularly known as “Chair Pose.” But I can’t imagine that ancient yogis—who had never seen, let alone sat in a chair—would have invented a...

Last week I wrote about specific yoga asanas that can support your hiking practice. Hiking requires good balance, and the ability to negotiate uneven terrain. Asana...

If I had to pick yoga’s most complicated yoga asana—among the more commonly practiced poses—Parvrtta Parsvakonasana (Rotated Side-Angle Pose) would get my vote. Parvrtta Parsvakonasana is...

Most of us spend the lion’s share of our days sitting in chairs, with our joints in flexion. Our hips are flexed to 90 degrees, as...

Supta Baddhakonasana Can Ease Stress—and Holiday-Induced Indigestion I don’t know about you, but I’ve barely had time to breathe in the past few weeks. Between holiday...

Text Neck, neck pain that develops as a result of looking down at our tech devices, has established itself as a bona fide 21st-century malady. Less...

Simple, Supported Backbend with a Sukasana Cushion Most of us spend most of our days hunched over a keyboard. When we leave work, we hunch over...