Every yoga practice must have purpose, order and meaning
Humans have used body movements and hand gestures to tell stories and facilitate particular psychological states since the beginning of time. For example, Hawaiian hula dance was meant to promote[…]
Nyasa is a symbolic gesture of placing the mantra onto one’s body so that the body becomes the seat or temple of the Deity. One of the most potent and[…]
Mudras are specific hand gestures that are meant to have symbolic, energetic and healing qualities. Most mudras are static gestures, but you can also make them dynamic when the actual[…]
In our home yoga practice and in our work with our students, we always seek to make the yoga practice personal and relevant to the practitioner. This can only happen[…]
Last week we discussed how you can organize an entire practice around a mudra, if you give your mudra a leading role in your yoga practice. A mudra can also[…]
Since most mudras are simple hand gestures, they are pretty easy to integrate into one’s yoga practice. What we try to avoid is making a mudra an afterthought, something that[…]
The word “mudra” is most often used to describe a particular hand gesture, but there are also face mudras and whole-body mudras. According to the yoga tradition, mudras have multiple[…]
I noticed that when I start my day with news, social media or to-do lists, the whole day is marked with a tinge of urgency and mild agitation. But if[…]
When you plan to use your yoga practice to aid digestion, images of deep twists might begin to crowd your mind. We’ve been conditioned to believe that twists are great[…]
There is a series of eight sequential movements in qigong called “eight pieces of brocade” or “eight silken movements” that has been around for hundreds of years. Individual movements of[…]
Your immune system is complex and multilayered. It includes seemingly unrelated parts of your body, like skin, mucus and tears; a range of organs and tissues, like bone marrow, thymus,[…]
When I was little, I liked to play doctor. I would examine my dolls and write down their symptoms on the mailing labels that I had snatched from the post[…]
When we work with yoga students one-on-one, it is essential to keep detailed notes of our work. Those notes help us determine students’ challenges and strengths; develop an appropriate plan[…]
Our bodies reflect our personal stories and our journeys, both physical and psychological. They hold traces of our daily movement patterns, history of injuries (physical and emotional), and hints of[…]
Every time a new student comes to yoga, the teacher needs to develop some understanding about who this person is and what they need. It is particularly important if the[…]
When students arrive in our yoga classes and private yoga sessions, they usually have a particular obvious reason for seeking our services. It often involves pain or limited mobility in[…]
Several months ago I was asked to write an article for Yoga Therapy Today exploring self-care options for yoga therapists. I was thrilled to do it. I used this opportunity[…]
The beginning of a new year always gives us an opportunity to organize our thoughts about what we plan to focus on in the upcoming year. What is most important[…]
2020 has been a year like no other. It pulled us out of our routines and made us reevaluate our priorities. Hopefully, along the way, we learned a lot about ourselves[…]
A great big thank you to all of you who completed our Reader Survey! I take your feedback to heart and will use it to guide my publishing choices next[…]
