All THOUGHTS & PRACTICE Articles

This warm up begins lying prone, on my belly. I lay down and relax in a prone Savasana. (more…)

In this warm up, the wall is your partner. The idea is to prevent energy from leaking through our own physical patterns and misalignments. We use Jalandhara Bandha (Chin Lock) to ‘lock’ (more…)

This warm up begins standing so that we are up and ready to go. It is also a change from how many yoga classes begin – with sitting or lying down. (more…)

In this Warm Up, I was working with two ideas. The first idea is about being fully committed, even if what we are doing isn’t exactly ‘right’ yet. When we are on our way to a pose, we can make a full commitment to it, even before we get there. That is what it is to be Following the Flow. (more…)

It is quite a relief to feel our body weight releasing down, comfortably settled. Letting our bellies release the habitual gripping we often hold can tell us how our clothes are actually fitting us around the waist. We tune into our gut. (more…)

We settle our weight down onto the floor in Sukhasana (with crossed legs) to begin our practice. From this starting point we attempt to cook up some of our inner fire and energy. The first few movements of this warm up remind us to dig to the bottom and sides of our pelvic bowl to stir up our potential. (more…)

According to yogic texts and teachings, the wind that flows in the middle of the body, Samana Vayu, helps in the process of digestion. It can do much more than that. (more…)

Whatever might cause us to move through our lives in a jerky, hesitant, insecure way, we still possess the ability to be graceful, fluid and easeful. Sliding on a blanket on a smooth wood floor is like a gentle ride. It reminds us to glide through our yoga practice using our muscles in a flowing way. (more…)

Stretching out the body is one of the benefits of yoga. But, we are not stretching just our body. We are elongating and thinning our physical, mental and emotional blockages within our inner channels. So if we focus on our right side to motivate a movement, then the inner body on the right side gets tuned. (more…)

How often do we as parents and teachers say, “Good job!” in response to something our child or student has done? Feedback like this comes out of our mouths so often that it is habitual. It is only when we try to eliminate this kind of encouragement that we notice how hooked we are on it.

So, what is wrong with encouraging someone this way? (more…)