Overwhelm: The Survival Guide
Feeling overwhelmed with work and personal tasks is one of the biggest problems that the people I work with are facing. It turns out, our lives can be pretty overwhelming. There’s so much to do, never enough time to do
Take Rest in Supported Pigeon Pose
Supported Pigeon Pose (Kapotasana) is a wonderful way to gently release the hips, sacrum, and lower back. Further, it helps to release constriction in the piriformis and psoas muscles. Gentle pressure on the belly relieves tension in the abdomen and
Yoga and the Psoas Muscle: Balanced Release
A muscle deep inside of you impacts how you move through and experience each day: the psoas. If you’re a dedicated yogi, you might have heard an instructor discuss yoga and psoas muscle, why it’s important in your Warrior II
How to Be Enough
In 1980, I was thirty-seven years old, divorced, a single parent with a full-time job in broadcasting and twenty-one credits toward a master's degree in communications. Picture that with the caption: “Middle class, African-American woman/feminist, tries to do it all
Fascia and the Vagus Nerve: Healing from the Inside Out
Have you ever had a morning in which you woke up with a painful knot in your neck? What happened? Did you sleep in a funny position or was it the wild dream that had you tossing and turning? Maybe
Change Your Postural Habits and Change Your Spine
If there’s one thing that everyone from bestselling authors to renowned philosophers agree on, it’s the power of habits. From Aristotle (“We are what we repeatedly do”) to Henry James, (“Sow an action, and you reap a habit; sow a
Three Ways to Practice Forward Bends with a Chair
It is common to feel stuck or frustrated in your forward folds regardless of how many years you’ve practiced yoga. But noticing an ingrained pattern may be an invitation to try something new. This is where folding chairs come into
5-Step Yoga Sequencing for Shoulderstand
Leslie Kaminoff brings up an excellent point when he speaks about yoga sequencing: it is not the same as choreography. In choreography the goal is artistic expression; choices are dictated by elegance and aesthetic appeal. Of course, it’s nice when
Study: Bodywork May Help Thickened Fascia
OK. We are finally down to rubber-meets-the-road time. Thickened fascia and other connective tissues really are a thing, but the question on everyone’s mind is, “What can be done about them?” Scratch that. Multitudes of people already know that bodywork is incredibly
Explore Yoga’s Breathing Techniques
There are many ways to control the breath in our yoga practice. I put them into a comprehensive chart to remind you of all the options you have and to help you organize your thoughts. All of yoga’s breathing techniques
7 Yoga Poses for Beginners
Many people would like to start yoga but they have no idea where to start. Yoga can feel like an intimidating field to navigate when you’re first starting out. It’s vast and overwhelming and there are so many different styles
Space Element: Vibrating Life
Star Trek fans (myself included) consider space to be the final frontier. But is it? According to yoga philosophy, the space element is a manifestation of a mysterious substance called ether. Science defines space as a boundless substance in which
Keys to Cultivating Self-Awareness
Have you ever had a “gut feeling” or “listened to your heart” when making a tough decision? Emerging research on interoception and embodiment shows there may be more to these expressions than scientists originally believed. What is Interoception? Interoception is
Opening to Emotions: RAIN Practice
Whatever you feel is real, but our perception is not always true. As the emotions swirl with accompanying thoughts and sensations, how many of us have jumped into the vortex and identified with the narrative, the blame, the hurt only
Mudita: Cultivate Empathetic Joy
A number of years ago, I was listening to “The Diane Rehm Show” on NPR while driving to work. Diane’s guest was a woman who had recently published a book on happiness. When Diane asked about simple everyday ways for