Recently, during a yoga class, I attempted a two-legged “Malasana (Squat) to Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana)” and succeeded on the first attempt. When I returned to my feet to try again, my following attempts were unsuccessful. Needless to say, my…
Self-deception and repressed feelings manifest in our physical body as tension, numbness, and/or disease. Tension, in the form of gripping or holding, is revealed through sensations such as tightness, strain, and pain. A human self-deception is the belief that we…
The Yamas are the fundamental renunciation of a life based on fear. They are the change. The Niyamas are the fundamental practices that sustain a life based on love. They sustain the change.Rolf Gates & Katrina Kenison The five yamas…
The seven myofascial tension bands universally situate in all human bodies, which arguably could be proof that we are all one. These connective tissue bands are unnatural straps holding tension just under the skin’s surface in the outer layer of…
A while back, I blogged about this very question: Who Am I? From a yoga perspective and my own personal experience, I recognize the importance of re-evaluating my understanding of who I am on an ongoing basis. Given that change…
7 Tension Bands or Straps: Myofascia is the flexible network of tissue that surrounds, cushions, and supports muscles, bones, and organs. It acts as a riverbed containing the flow of interstitial fluid. Interstitial fluid fills the spaces between cells and…
I recently read the following quote in a 2005 book written by Mary Doria Russell — When the preponderance of human beings choose to act with justice and generosity and kindness, then learning and love and decency prevail. When the…
Over the past several weeks, I shared Yoga Actions focused on creating space in the major spinal joints — sacrum-tailbone, lumbar-sacrum, thoracic-lumbar, and C7-thoracic. Using your awareness and breath to expand the space between these spinal vertebrae brings greater ease…
Over the past several weeks, we practiced asanas utilizing yoga actions that engage the subtle body — Pranamaya Kosha (energy body), Manomaya Kosha (mental-emotional body), and Vijnanamaya Kosha (wisdom/intuitive body). As you may have discovered personally, the holistic impacts dampen…
Stillness within one’s body and silence within one’s mind are outcomes of a dedicated yoga practice that includes asanas (postures), pratyahara (sensory withdrawal), pranayama (breath regulation), and meditation (absorption). There are many wholesome reasons for choosing such a path. Primarily,…
In two previous posts, Tailbone-sacral and Sacral-lumbar joints, I wrote about the significance of moving beyond our physical reliance on the Annamaya Kosha (muscular-skeletal flexibility and strength). In our youth, our bodies can respond and heal more readily from the…
In this life cycle of seasons and snowy months, winter is the time for hibernation (rest and reflection), and January is the month for stocktaking. Each year, I spend the month of January reflecting on my past year, pondering my…
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