Shoulder the Load
Because the shoulder joint, with its wide range of movement, can be one of the loosest joints in the body, it is vulnerable to injury. Furthermore, as a “ball-and-socket joint,” it is really only a ball (the head of the…
Whole Being Change — Body, Breath, Brain
In her latest book, Yoga for Emotional Balance: Simple Practices to Help Relieve Anxiety and Depression, psychologist Bo Forbes emphasizes the following five healing practices for creating lasting change and health: Balance the nervous system. Our nervous system filters all…
Move It or Lose It
A well-oiled machine performs much better and lasts considerably longer, as those of us who ride bicycles or drive cars know. The same mechanical principle applies to the joints in our bodies. Simply put, a joint is where two…
Getting a Leg Up
Many of us take our lower legs for granted, without realizing the significant role calf muscles play in circulating blood and oxygen. In yoga, we refer to the calf muscles as the “heart of the legs.” Through contracting and expanding,…
The Examined Life
Many Western societies have compartmentalized healthcare by focusing treatment and prevention on one aspect of our being — body or mind or spirit — rather than administering to all three. For physical pain, a physician tends to prescribe medication and…
Keeping Your Cool
Each season brings its own benefits and challenges. Hot humid summer days help to unwind tension and tightness built up from fortifying against the blustery chill of winter. However, too much of a good thing also takes a toll. Prolonged…
Sit Up — Take Care of Your Tailbone
The tailbone, or coccyx, is a small, triangular bone located at the bottom of the spine. It measures less than one inch (2.5 cm) in length and curves like a hawk’s beak — widest where it meets the sacrum and…
Proper Sitting Crucial
Although sitting with an erect and fluid spine is the goal for pranayama and meditation (two of the eight limbs of yoga), it is also vital for most people in the workforce who spend upwards of three to five hours…
The Back Door to Health
Yoga practitioners often hear from their teachers, “You are only as old as your spine is inflexible.” Body and energy workers would agree that the more supple your spine, the healthier and more youthful your overall constitution. The key to…
Creating Space — Yoga Actions for Torso & Spine
Not everyone can do all yoga poses, but everyone can do all yoga actions. Yoga Actions for Torso & Spine is the fourth in a five-volume series of print and e-books emphasizing actions in focused areas of our bodies –…
Big Muscles, Big Responsibility
Did you know that quadriceps means “four heads”? This term of reference includes the four front thigh muscles that join at the quadriceps tendon to attach on to the kneecap. Quadriceps are some of the largest muscles in the body.…
Flex Excess — Keys to avoid or fix hyperextension
Until we experienced a yoga class, most of us never considered a person could be too flexible. In hypermobile bodies, ligaments and tendons can be too loose to prevent excessive movement of the joints, which can result in serious injury and,…