Blog

Get Back to Work

Backbends that Counteract Strain and Fatigue With gardening season approaching its end, one sure cure for a gardener’s tired back is to bend it the opposite way.  Of course in yoga vernacular, we call that back bending.  The Ustrasana (Camel…

Helen Maupin

Green State of Mind

Use gardening to connect with Mother Earth Right up there with yoga asana, gardening is a profound healing and meditative practice. In creating an indoor or outdoor green oasis, we enable the emotional and mental healing so necessary for when we…

Helen Maupin

Elbow Room

Strong joints equal perfect poses Not everyone can do yoga poses, but everyone can do yoga actions. The purpose of each yoga action, presented in the many articles published here, is to awaken the intelligence of the body. The required shift…

Helen Maupin

Breathe Easy

There are ways to slow it down Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again. — Thich Nhat Hanh For most people, a surprising…

Helen Maupin

From the Bottom Up

As our bodies age and physical habits become even more deeply ingrained, the once-perky heart-shaped buttocks of our youth tend to move in one of two directions — toward flat and flabby or tight and tense.  Neither too flabby nor…

Helen Maupin

Easy on the Knees

Alignment plus Strength are the Wellness Keys Do you currently suffer from chronic knee pain?  Do your knees hyperextend? Or, do you hear “snap, crackle, pop” when you bend your knee joints?  If so, these are the primary indicators of…

Helen Maupin

Your Good Space

What happens to the mind also happens to the body and spirit.     Donna Raskin As yoga teachers and writers, we all came to the practice of yoga for its holistic approach of uniting mind, body and spirit.  For us,…

Helen Maupin

Shouldering Responsibility for Balance and Truth

Although we may not consciously think so, everyone intuitively understands why it is important to stand evenly on our two feet—when we balance our weight distribution equitably, we do not overwork one side of our body while underworking the other.…

Helen Maupin

Living in Your Spine

As yogis and yoginis, we are often told to “live in our spine” whether in asana and meditation or off the mat in everyday living.  But what does it mean to live in our spine? Simply put, yoga intends us…

Helen Maupin

To Move Forward . . .

Better step on it Winnipeggers know the sheer delight of exposing their feet to the summer elements after a winter constricted by heavy socks and thick boots. As we don our summer footwear, a sense of freedom ripples up our…

Helen Maupin

Fight, Flight or Flex

Stress parks itself somewhere What happens to the mind also happens to the body and spirit. — Donna Raskin As yoga teachers and writers, we all came to the practice of yoga for its holistic approach of uniting mind, body and spirit.…

Helen Maupin

Stand Tall

With practise, the effort will seem effortless Our legs root us to the grounding energies and support of the Earth.  Standing on our own two feet, weathering life’s storms requires a flexible and strong foundation. Our bodies’ foundational pillars are…

Helen Maupin