Every yoga practice must have purpose, order and meaning
I will never forget the description of the experience my yoga teacher Gary Kraftsow shared with us about his recovery from brain surgery many years ago. As I remember it,[…]
Our digestive systems are in charge of breaking down food into its basic components, which are then absorbed into the blood and transported throughout the entire body. Food is the[…]
How do you start your morning? In a given week, do you create space to begin your day with intention, peace of mind and a connection to something bigger? Or[…]
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[…]
