I’ve been thinking a lot about my Daily Downward Dog posts. I seem to focus more on the physical aspects of yoga, but I don’t spend as much time on the spiritual aspects of my yoga practice. Over the past year I have become more flexible and my back feels great, but I’ve also grown more…

“Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you.” —Missy Dizick and Mary Bly, Dogs Are Better Than Cats (1985) My yoga instructor made a really interesting point in yoga class last week. Why are so many yoga poses named after animals? Think about it—cat, cow, elephant trunk, pigeon, dolphin, more…

“When you look up from your typewriter, look at the trees, not the calendar.” –Mary Virginia Micka It’s looking like I’m going to be on a nature kick this week at MariaMedia. I love this quote because it reminds me to not get so wrapped up in the day and the deadlines and all the more…

Waves and yoga; these two words together equal extreme relaxation and a calming yoga practice. I’ve written many times about how amazing it is to practice yoga while listening to the sound of waves. It’s the best soundtrack I can think of. If you’re landlocked or can’t get to the beach, there is still hope more…

“Why do people do yoga? To clear their minds? I embrace the clutter in my head.” —Chris Rock, Comedian You gotta love Chris and, yes, we all have a lot of clutter in our heads, but it is amazing how great yoga and meditation can make you feel and what a relief it is to more…

Last week I wrote about how my yoga instructor basically had us play mind games to get us through the difficulty of boat pose. I’ll say it again: Yoga boat pose is definitely on my top-five list of poses I really dislike and is a boat trip I do not want to take. So, this more…

In yoga class the other night, we were in half-moon pose (ardha-chandrasana), and our instructor encouraged us all to take a risk and try some of the more advanced stages of the pose (like letting go with the hand holding us up and taking that hand to your calf or taking a bind with the more…

I’ve been writing a lot about savasana, the time at the end of yoga class where you lie still, breathe, and seal in your yoga practice. It’s basically a mini nap, and how cool is it that you get to take a nap at the end of a workout?! I never take naps on my more…

One of my yoga instructors has designated the month of July as Hip-Opener Month! We hold a lot of crap and tension down in our hips, and I, for one, love a great hip-opening pose in yoga class to stretch out those muscles and release the massive quantity of angst I’ve stored up in my more…

In a recent yoga class, the instructor had us get into boat pose (paripurna navasana). If you are not familiar with boat pose, it involves sitting on the floor on your tailbone, balancing your legs out in front of you, and lifting your arms up in front of you. This is not a boat ride more…