Category: Yoga Actions

Not everyone can do yoga poses, but everyone can do yoga actions. For some, yoga appears to be a pretzel-bending physical practice for those with flexible bodies. This is far from the truth. Yoga postures emerged in response to an understanding that tension, tightness and painful suffering can be alleviated and eliminated by tapping into the body’s cellular healing capacity. Our bodies always tell us the truth about what we are experiencing. Unfortunately, we are often too busy or too blind to pay attention. To better utilize our body’s innate ability to heal, we must awaken to how it speaks to us. Yoga poses (asanas) help us to discover where our pain and tension lie. Yoga actions, such as release the thigh bone back and the shin bone forward, take us deeper into our inner experience thereby bringing us ever closer to the source of our suffering. Yoga actions also help us to concentrate our awareness in the present moment. Through this intimate mindfulness of our direct experience, we learn what truth is. The body must tell one what to do, not the brain. BKS Iyengar YOGA ACTIONS began as a creative collaboration between two friends and yoginis, Candace Propp and myself, Helen Maupin. Our original intent was to write one book in an attempt to capture even a small portion of the knowledge and wisdom we gained from practising yoga. That modest intention mushroomed into — 1. six yoga actions books focusing on specific areas of the body, 2. two teacher training programs (A 200- and 500-hour) complete with facilitator manuals and student handbooks, 3. a bi-monthly yoga column in the Winnipeg Free Press, and most importantly, 4. a deeply-rewarding sisterhood filled with peace, love and joy. As always, journeys of creation and discovery, whether on or off the yoga mat, take us beyond the scope of our imagination into the Universe’s intentions and gifts. Below are some of the gifts that emerged from our collaboration.

The Critical Path to Foundation, Flow and Freedom — Part I: Awareness

My poetry reveals much of my own critical path into and through the continuous cycle of transformation. Coming of Age Another corner rounded, evidenced by shifting sensations, expressions, experiences. We are not left the same as we once were. The…

Yoga Actions 200-Hour Teacher Training Program

Course Outline: Weekend Workshops: customized to each studio’s schedule (i.e., Fri (7 to 9pm), Sat (1 to 5pm), Sun (1 to 5pm) Each workshop integrates student practice and teaching techniques for the following yoga poses—standing, inversions, balancing, backbends, forward bends, seated…

What Meditation Taught Me

I began my meditation practice in 1992, almost 30 years ago. Without question, meditation was and is instrumental in transforming my thoughts, feelings, words and actions. I have more mental, physical and creative energy in this second half of…

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…

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…

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…

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…