Yoga

Yoga for back pain

Yoga is a gentle way to help strengthen the body especially if you are suffer from back pain. Many yoga asanas focus on the spine and postural alignment. Many postures work to improve spinal strength and flexibility, making yoga perfect for back pain.

Why do you do yoga?

As a recently certified yoga teacher, I’ve been thinking about what’s important in a yoga class. As a teacher, I think it’s important to understanding why your students are attending your class and what they want to get out of your class. All of this made me think about the varied reasons we do yoga.

Cleansing with Jala Neti

According to Hatha Yoga there are six Shatkarmas, also known as cleansing techniques. The Shatkarmas activate, cleanse and purify the body’s system allowing prana to flow freely and ultimately help one achieve a deeper yogic state. The six shatkarmas involve a range of techniques that focus on different aspects of the body such as the […]

The sattvic way of eating

One might assume that if you’re in an ashram,  you’d be be getting the same bland, vegetarian dishes day in, day out. The ashram I stayed at however, offered a variety of different meals full of aromatic spices and fresh vegetables which I’ve since tried to replicate at home. As I’ve mentioned before, the ashram […]

Life’s little learning experiences

I’ve just returned from India where I stayed in ashram for a month living the yogic lifestyle. That means 5 a.m. starts, 4 hours of daily yoga practice, maintaining a strictly sattvic diet, undergoing cleansing techniques, chanting, meditation, karma yoga and so much more. It sounds so cliched, but in this short time I feel […]

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Yoga for MS

For sufferers of multiple sclerosis, symptoms are debilitating and difficult to live with. Gentle yoga can help to naturally reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life for the many who live with the disease.

Building blocks of success

I was once critical of using props in yoga. Admittedly, there was a bit of pride involved in it. Props were well and good for people that did not have the flexibility or perhaps had restrictions that did not allow them to hold the posture, but not I. I could already achieve the full benefits […]

Unleashing the silent mind

Yesterday’s yoga class was a bit different. After our standard 3 “Oms” to begin the class our instructor gave us some theory on the mind. I have always enjoyed the theory side of yoga. Although I have attempted numerous times to brush up on yoga theory (my latest effort being the Hindi sacred scriptures, Bhagavad […]