On day three, we practiced for even longer, racking up over two hours of meditation, pranayama (breathing), qi gong, and asana (postures). It’s amazing how quickly long practices can go when you’re focusing on staying present. The focus of the … Continue reading
On day two of my advanced yoga teacher training, I was shocked at how refreshed and energized I felt when I hopped out of bed half an hour before my alarm was set to go off. The resistance and exhaustion … Continue reading
A little over three years after becoming a certified yoga teacher (RYT200), I’ve decided to start working towards my advanced certification (RYT500). I’m doing it through Yoga Tree in San Francisco. Their program is composed of three modules: a general … Continue reading
Despite how complicated and pretzel-y eight angle pose (astavakrasana) looks, it’s actually not that bad granted you have the flexibility to get your knee up high on your arm. Here’s how you get into it. Start sitting in staff pose … Continue reading
I’ve been planning to take some photos for the Yoga Journal Talent Search for a while now, but I never got around to buying a vibrant, form-fitting yoga outfit and the weather has been too bad to take photos outside. … Continue reading
The typical arm position for a crescent lunge is arms extended upwards, shoulder width apart, with the palms facing each other. Changing up the arms up arms targets different muscles and make your practice more interesting. For your base in … Continue reading
Revolved hand-to-foot pose (parivrtta hasta padangusthasana) combines a standing balance, a hamstrings/low back stretch, and a twist. The full pose with the leg extended takes quite a bit of flexibility, but if you keep the knee bent, you still get … Continue reading
There are at least two variations on one-leg crow (eka pada bakasana), but this is a good starter variation because it gives the “unused” leg a little more support, and doesn’t require as much back strength as sending the leg … Continue reading
Yoga teachers often avoid getting their yogis to push up from their bellies to plank pose, because it is so challenging to do correctly. Yogis must have the triceps strength to push the whole body, as a unit, up into … Continue reading
Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of yogis like adding “turbo” to the beginning of a pose’s name, and turbo dog probably deserves that apprehension. It is a variation on downward facing dog that targets the triceps (muscles in the … Continue reading