Spring is here and with it, more opportunities for getting out in nature. Even though it is still a bit cold, be daring, take your shoes off wriggle your toes in the grass and dirt. Truly take the opportunity to hug a tree, connect with mother Earth. If none of that is available to you, just take a moment of awareness. Notice the ground beneath you and your connections to the things around you. Take a deep breath... and slowly exhale.
Read MoreWhen a full moon or new moon coincide with a day we practice, we take the opportunity to observe. We take an hour to rest our bodies and expand on the principals and practices of yoga that are not learned in chaturanga. We bridge the gap between the physical practice and the mental/spiritual practice. We explore breath work and meditative practices. We observe the cycles that we move through in our bodies our life and our practice.
Read MoreMany different things bring people to the practice of yoga.
I have often said, I don't care what brings you to the mat, just that you find your way.
Oftentimes, a doctor's suggestion or a need for stress relief, exercise or stretching will be the impetus that brings people to the mat.
I find it funny that Americans by and large think that yoga is for women.
Women have embraced yoga here in the West, but Yoga was originally developed in India for men. Specifically for the elite and their teen male children. They wanted to keep the 13-year-old boys from thinking about girls, so they wore them out with complicated and very physical yoga sequences.
For many years, women weren't even allowed to practice yoga.
But somehow when the practice came to the U.S., women glommed onto it and now they dominate every studio.
As we age, (and I don't care how old you are, we are all aging) strength becomes paramount. I'm not talking about body-builder-level strength. I'm talking about the ability to get up and down from the floor, stand in line, walk to the mailbox, lift your grandchild -- functional life-skill strength.
Read MoreAnyone who has been in one of my classes or trainings knows that I am always preaching about how the dangers of sitting for too long too often is killing Americans. The more we sit, the shorter and tighter our psoas and hamstring muscles become. In my years of teaching yoga, I have seen so many people needing help with lower back issues that have transpired from years of sitting at desks and on couches and in cars that I feel qualified to say that yoga (specifically core strengthening and psoas stretching poses) will help.
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