All THOUGHTS & PRACTICE Articles

AcroYogis, Deven Sisler and Sam Miller guided our workshop group through a very short, simple warm up. Their plank partnering taught us about holding our own weight and they shared the best standing core exercise ever – The Hollow Body! We all played around taking turns trying things out, with lots of assistance from Deven and Sam. When ithe workshop was over, the Sams and Deven took off into flight.

Here are some photos from the workshop on November 22, 2009.

This was originally posted by Jennifer on Hip Slope Mama (www.HipSlopeMama.blogspot.com).

Oh the joys of new Motherhood—so much excitement and so much caretaking to do for the new child. And if the new baby is not the first baby in the family, the other little ones still need our complete attention, not to mention the spouse that needs our attention as well. Whether we work either in or out of our homes, juggling it all can be quite a challenge. How are we supposed to fit in all the things we need to do – including our own fitness? (more…)

The powerful movement and sequence of a wave is used to create a rippling effect in the body by mimes, break dancers and even ballet dancers (think of the dying swan’s wings). It transfers energy from one point to another. A wave can also be used to clarify our neuromuscular patterning. (more…)

This was originally posted by Jennifer on Hip Slope Mama (www.HipSlopeMama.blogspot.com).

Have you ever watched a dog get up from a nap and do a beautiful Downward Facing Dog followed by a graceful stretch into Upward Facing Dog? My dog Baxter, who is quite familiar with waking from naps, stretches his legs to the back like a dancer. (And when he gets wet he looks like he is wearing black spandex tights with his skinny legs all sleek and shiny.) (more…)

The lesson of this warm up is to sense our self without trying to emulate someone else’s ’shape’. We go as far as we need to experience our sensation. At that point of senstion we integrate our awareness of what it feels like to be alive in our bodies and mind while consciously relaxing and breathing fully. (more…)

Lion Pose, Simhasana, is said to cure bad breath, clean the tongue and improve speech and enunciation. It is such fun and a fantastic release of tension and energy. The ‘Roaring’ part of it comes (more…)

To begin our practice we must carve out time for ourselves in our schedule (more…)

When we anchor ourselves firmly into ground, we can allow our heart a feeling of buoyancy. This warm up begins with releasing the inner legs downward, all the way. If you could get your inner legs to touch the ground, (more…)

This article originally appeared on YogaCityNYC.

As central as the Sun Salute is to so many practices, it seems as if each yoga school, or tradition, teaches its own brand. With so many subtle differences between them you could become a collector… So we did! Some jump, others step. Some include Warrior Poses, others don’t. All of them include a wonderful balance of up and down, in and out, flexion and extension movements to wake up the body, like the sun of a new day. (more…)

Many yoga poses require us to keep our hips squarely facing front. This direction is something that we have all heard so many times and have done so many times (more…)