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.

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

Deep Breathing

These poses will get you ready to exhale All yoga asanas (poses) are intended to be practised with sthira (steadiness) and sukha (ease) because these qualities of being are primary health indicators. One of the foremost means of bringing about…

Helen Maupin

From Fear to Freedom

When life throws you for a loop, just turn things around Today’s rapidly changing environment guarantees we run the risk of having our personal world turned upside down. At any moment, a life-changing event can enter our sphere, flinging us…

Helen Maupin

Who’s Got Your Back?

Time to straighten up and be kind to your spine Our physical body emulates Mother Nature’s flora. In common, we share roots, trunks and branches. Not unlike plant roots, our feet, legs and pelvis (including our sacrum and tailbone) ground us…

Helen Maupin

Feel Restored

Try restorative yoga to ease the mind and heal the body Physical burnout and depression increasingly affect people’s ability to live a full and meaningful life. Too much work, too much stress, too much stimulation, too much effort all add…

Helen Maupin

Perfection’s Not the Point

Typically, students enter a yoga studio expecting to be taught how to perfectly do each of the many hundreds of asanas (or poses) which are currently part of the practice.  And, unfortunately, many yoga studios set out to meet this…

Helen Maupin