by Kara-Leah Grant Chaturanga Dandasana is one of those postures that we often don't spend time in - either in yoga class or in our home yoga practice. It's a one-breath wonder. We're in, we're moving out, that's it. Partly this is because it's a challenging posture and we usually want to get out of it as soon as possible. And part of it is because it's not a flashy yoga posture where we feel like we get somewhere or gain a lot over time. It's easy to see Chaturanga Dandasana as just a … [Read more...]
Physical practices are a huge part of any yoga practice! Here you'll find all the best advice about different types of physical practices, and how to find what works best for you.
How to use Mula Bandha (root lock) to strengthen every pose
by guest author Carol Lux, The Yoga Life Next time you attempt Wheel Pose (back bend or Urdhva Dhanurasana) tell yourself; “Lock Mula Bandha!” You won’t believe the difference it will make. Like magic your core will strengthen, your chest and pelvis will rise toward the ceiling and your arms will feel light and airy. I hear you asking; “What miracle worker could this Mula Banhda be?” Let me tell you a little story. One day I found myself at an Ashtanga workshop and we were all … [Read more...]
How to conquer your monkey brain and calm your world
by guest author Carol Lux, The Yoga Life Remember those horrible flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz? Now picture those ghastly villains taking control of your brain. What a horrible nightmare that would be! So what does it feel like when a Flying Monkey Brain has taken up residence in your mind? Surprisingly, you may know the feeling well. Think of the last time your thoughts were so scattered, your mind so incessantly busy, that you just lost control over what is happening now. You … [Read more...]
How to find your inner teacher and move with intuition and grace
By guest author Maddy Schafer Are you consistently inconsistent? I am. I’m a one DVD yogini. That is, a friend shared her yoga DVD and I got hooked. I quickly memorised the fifteen minute morning yoga series, and started doing it on the floor at work a few days a week. Happily I work in an environment where there is carpet and this is possible. But that isn't the beginning of my yoga story. I don’t know how many years prior it was that I decided to start stretching at work in my breaks. I … [Read more...]
Free your pelvis and the rest will follow
by Kara-Leah Grant Years of yoga practice and yoga teaching has taught me that our ability to freely move our pelvis is a key aspect to unlocking our spines, and releasing any chronic low back issues or holding patterns. I've also learned that it's not always the muscles, ligaments and tendons that are locking our pelvis in place. It can be our minds. Yes, the psyche can affect the way that our pelvis moves. Fortunately, over time, yoga practice can unlock both the physical body and the … [Read more...]
Who knew? There isn’t just one right way to do things. Even in Yoga.
by regular columnist Elissa Jordan, Adventures in Teaching One of my Dad’s favourite stories to tell about me as a little girl is the one about my favourite word: why? I carried the word with me everywhere until it was a scraggly, worn-out dirt-encrusted version of itself. There’s some discrepancy as to whether or not this was, in fact, my first word. Dad says yes. Mom thinks it was second, after no. Either way, right from the start I’ve wanted to know the why behind things. Not one to be … [Read more...]
A curious approach to sitting and back-bending
By guest author Oli Wiles, Free to Move Find sthira sukham at your desk and on the mat A friend recently posted a pic on Facebook of his 3-month-old boy sitting propped up on a sofa. The caption read: "Propped up at 3 months, eventually he toppled." It got me thinking about sitting and back-bending … Now, as you sit at your desk, it is likely that the muscles of your back are stopping you from toppling into the keyboard. In playing this important role, however, parts of your back … [Read more...]
Why do I resist my yoga practice when I know it’s good for me?
This is something that's come up a few times lately from readers - why is it so hard to get on the mat when I know it's good for me and I feel so good afterwards? Oh boy, have I been there! Here's my experience, what helped me bust through that resistance once and for all, and what I learned in the process. My first yoga experience was a ten-week Iyengar course in 1995. I knew, without a doubt, that yoga was going to be an integral part of my life. That it was Super Duper Important and … [Read more...]
Practices for the Heart Chakra, Part 2
Embodying the Heart In Part One, The Meaning of Anahata, I wrote about the energy of the heart center, the compassion and love that it exemplifies and gave simple breath-focused meditation exercises to help you turn towards the sweetness within. Here in Part Two, I’d like to offer a few body practices to further your journey toward Anahata. That backbending postures open the heart is a familiar concept to most yogis. Physically a backbend straightens the thoracic spine, it does not move … [Read more...]
Practices for the Heart Chakra, Part 1
Regular contributor Jessica Powers looks at ways to open the heart - crucial if we're going to shift out of mind consciousness and into heart consciousness. The Meaning of Anahata The Sanskrit name for our energetic heart center is Anahata, ‘the unstruck sound’. While that at first seems to be a Zen koan, in actuality it speaks of the vibrational basis of the Universe and the place within each of us that resonates with it: beginningless, endless, eternal. Anahata refers … [Read more...]