Asana – the Sanskrit term for a pose in yoga, literally translates to “position of sitting”. Hence, yoga essentially means how you place yourself . This is precisely the reason why most yoga classes begin with sitting poses. However, there are other reasons to this as well, such as low risk of falling, more control over body, better joint and spine opening through…
Battling depression can feel like a fight for your life. Yoga can help you stop struggling. It happened 11 years ago, but I remember the night I had my first full-fledged panic attack as if it were yesterday. I was sitting in the cramped balcony of the Marines Memorial Theatre in San Francisco with my then-boyfriend, watching a devastatingly sad and incredibly…
Up until that point, I had never done a low bar squat; I had always performed the high bar variety. Getting the bar in proper position on the former requires a considerable amount of flexibility in the chest and shoulders. Your wrists need to be neutral, or straight, throughout the entire lift to avoid any of the weight being carried by your wrists or arms. If…
When Anna Pesce was visiting her children in Wagener, SC, in November 2014, the then-85-year-old Orangeburg, NY, native almost collapsed trying to climb a set of stairs. “I had this horrible pain shooting up my back, ” Pesce tells The Post. “I had to be carried up the stairs and put into a wheelchair for the rest of my stay.” For the past few decades, Pesce suffered…
Here’s a grimly edifying set-piece for twenty-first-century feminists to ponder: when my grandmother was a teenager at Greenwich Academy, a girls’ prep school in Connecticut, she and her fellow students were required to pose nude for photographs taken by the P.E. teacher. Once a year, in a mirrored studio on campus, they would shed their itchy, matronly uniforms—green…
For those with diabetes or pre-diabetes, adopting a regular yoga routine in addition to other healthy lifestyle habits can provide relief from diabetic symptoms and even help overcome the condition. The best beginning yoga for diabetes will include postures and breathing exercises that are designed specifically to target and stimulate the pancreas. By improving…
Being afraid I’ll end up looking like the humpback of Notre Dame when I’m older is a reasonable fear. Overall health and wellness has become much more of a priority now that I’m in my thirties. Good posture was something I may have only heard about from my mom when she told me to straighten up (or when I was acting out, more likely). As a yoga teacher I find…
Can’t quite remember the last time going #2 felt like, well, second nature? While it may be tempting to reach for some OTC relief, consider hitting the yoga mat instead. Can yoga poses really help? “Movement in general is important for stimulating the bowels to help move the food bolus, gas, and, ultimately, waste, through your system, ” says Rebekah Gross, M.D…
How we wish we were one of those people with hot bodies and great stamina. But for that, you have to pull yourself out of bed, and then get into your yoga pants, and then drive to a super expensive yoga class, and then struggle to fight with your insecurities of not being in sync with others. Or worse, being the sloppiest of all. So if you want to save yourself…
On the other hand, if even the thought of standing in Tadasana for five minutes makes you uncomfortable, then probably you have some work to do on your posture — and probably you should not even try the exercise. (A word of advice: do not ask your students to stand this long in Tadasana in class unless they have good posture and are very advanced. Otherwise at…
Sciatica is a very common problem. You’ve most likely experienced it yourself or you know someone who has. Sciatic pain originates anywhere in the sciatic nerve, which runs from your hip to your toes. When the condition flares up, it manifests with different symptoms related to movement and sensation, and leaves the sufferer in a considerate amount of pain and…
By Anne Bridges It’s no secret yoga has massive mind-body-soul benefits and the foundation of these benefits are its asanas. In yoga, the different postures, poses, and positions are referred to by this Sanskrit term meaning your “seat” or “manner of sitting.” Going even deeper into its meaning, the postures vary in ways they enhance your body’s functions. So…
In case you don’t already know, there’s a lot of value in having good posture. Not only does good posture boost your body image and make you look better in a suit, but it also helps decrease your likelihood of injury. It minimizes the load on your skeletal muscles, and enables your body to move more freely and efficiently. Poor posture can lead to anything from…
When I was in yoga teacher training, I was looking for a way to create reference notes that I could use to follow along as I taught my practicum classes. I tried written notes and found it was just too difficult to keep track of where I was. My instructor suggested yoga stick figures and for the next class I taught, I created a series of drawings that illustrated…
Sadhguru: When you experience everything as oneness in your consciousness, then you are in yoga. To attain that unity within you, there are many ways. You work with the body, then you move to the breath, then to the mind, then to the inner self. Like this, many steps have been created, but they are only different facets of yoga. It is important that all of them…
We ve been practicing, teaching and recommending the 5 Tibetan Energy Rejuvenation Exercises since 1998. You can do the whole routine in 15 minutes and only need enough floor space for your body while laying down and enough air space for your arms to be outstretched. The 5 Tibetans represent a great way to keep your body in shape when you have limited time for…
Sitting at a computer all day, driving long distances and even sleeping in awkward positions can not only cause a stiff neck, but may promote forward neck posture. Forward neck posture is commonly seen in the elderly as shoulders stoop forward, taking the head along with it. Unfortunately, incorrect neck posture leads to tension, strain and pain in the shoulders…
Ah, yogi lederhosen! This genius strap get-up comes from the Iyengar lineage, and I am so grateful for their wisdom. This is one of the best ways to keep your spine supported while opening up the pecs and shoulders. Are you a chronic shoulder slumper? Need to sit for long periods and feel your spine collapse on you? Try this out and you’ll notice a huge difference…
CHECK THIS OUT TOO Yoga is not about folding yourself into a pretzel, but let’s be honest, we all love to see the advanced yoga practitioners and teachers tying themselves into unbelievable knots! Careful though, most of the poses are not for the faint hearted (let alone yoga beginners). Needless to say, these are advanced yoga postures and should only be practiced…
Vakrasna (Twisted pose) -Sit erect with feet stretched in front (parallel). -Inhale and raise your arms at shoulder level, palms facing down. -Exhaling, twist your body from waist towards your right moving head and hands simultaneously to the same side. Swing arms back as much as possible. Do not bend your knees. -Inhale and come back to original position maintaining…
Maybe you slouch over your computer keyboard, or lug your toddler around on your hip, yet maintaining healthy posture probably doesn’t rank as a top priority. But it should! “Good posture creates optimal alignment in your body, helping it function as efficiently and effectively as possible, ” says Erika Bloom, founder and owner of Erika Bloom Pilates. “When you…
