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…

Tree pose is definitely one of my top ten favorite yoga poses. I love it when I feel totally balanced and can lift my hands up over my head and spread them out in a V. I push my lifted leg out farther, stand a little taller, and reach my arms up as far as more…

“Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked.” —From the yoga sutras of Patañjali Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to do! I wouldn’t mind just having a few uninterrupted hours of calm each day, and to do more…

Can’t you just hear Julie Andrews blasting out those lyrics while twirling around on a beautiful Austrian mountainside? The sound of music can just sweep you away, and I got to have one of those Julie Andrews musical moments last week while practicing yoga. I showed up for yoga class a little late (imagine that), more…

I could start out my day by saying I have to work today. I have to exercise and do my back stretches. I have to go grocery shopping. But I’m choosing to turn this all around with the simple substitution of one verb. Today I get to work and write and make a living doing more…

“Without intention, all these postures, these breathing practices, meditations, and the like can become little more than ineffectual gestures. When animated by intention, however, the simplest movement, the briefest meditation, and the contents of one breath cycle are made potent.” —Donna Farhi Before you start your yoga practice or meditation today, take a few minutes more…