By Neal Ghoshal, Sacred Moves A little while ago I wrote an article on the eight essential principles of Restorative Yoga. Since then I've been continuing to delve deep into this beautiful practice. Deep rest is always calling! I'm happy to be sharing some more … and one of the most profoundly restful of the Restorative postures is Supported Child's Pose (Salamba Balasana). This is a posture which many find deliciously comforting and relaxing, perhaps because it tunes us into a time when we … [Read more...]
The Benefits of Yoga: Are They Proven By Science?
by Lucinda Staniland The benefits of yoga are well advertised. We hear that yoga will help us (among other things): lose weight, breathe better, live longer, have better sex, recover from depression, cure sciatica, heal our digestive system, build core strength, alleviate back pain, heal mental illness, and build bone health. But does science agree that yoga can really heal us in all these ways (and more)? Is Yoga really the silver bullet we've been waiting for? It turns out that yoga and … [Read more...]
How I’m Using the Power of Kirtan to Drive Positive Change
by guest author Madi Das, Kirtan Shakti Courtesy of Integral Yoga® Magazine, Summer 2015 Most days, I go to my regular job, wearing my regular clothes, and I type regular things into my regular computer until it’s time to go home. My co-workers know me as Joe, that guy who has enough light banter to be social, but not so much as to get distracted from his typing. Joe is a good guy. Familiar. Dependable. You know the type. But on Tuesday nights, I trade my collared shirt and GAP slacks … [Read more...]
How Yoga Helped Me Emerge From the Darkness of Depression
By Astrid Vause I have been practicing yoga for a while now, in fact I am a yoga teacher, but it wasn't until I got sick that I fell deeply in love with this beautiful practice and it's healing powers. It was a warm sunny and vibrant day in my new home in Los Angeles and my children were building towers with wooden blocks and laughing as they toppled over. I sat on the floor with my knees tucked up to my chest and watched the crashing blocks, wincing as they hit the ground. I felt like I too had … [Read more...]
The Yoga Body Myth & My Late-30s Body
By Roseanne Harvey, It's All Yoga Baby Recently I was having brunch with my granny and she said; “You’ve gained weight. With all the yoga that you do, you should be skinny!” There’s nothing like being fat-shamed by your grandmother. But she was echoing a common misperception about the “yoga body,” something that has been presented by the dominant culture, a way of understanding the effects that yoga has upon a woman’s body. Reflections On A Changing Body Of course, my 84-year-old granny didn’t … [Read more...]
Why Yoga Studios Are Not Enough: The Community Yoga Project
My book The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga got me thinking about all the ways in which people are excluded from yoga - reasons like social class, race, money, incarceration or general access. Much as we like to think yoga is accessible for all and inclusive, the reality is that there are many barriers which prevent large numbers of our populations from benefiting from it's practice. I wanted to highlight the work that is being done to bring yoga to all the people and hopefully inspire other yoga … [Read more...]
Five Ways Yoga Improved My Body Image
By guest author Anna Guest-Jelley, Curvy Yoga When I began practicing yoga in the late '90s, it didn’t occur to me that yoga would have any impact on my body image. In fact, I wouldn’t have wanted that at the time because I was spending my days bouncing between diets, waiting for the day I’d finally have the perfect body I’d always wanted. Who needs a positive body image when they have the body of their dreams, right? Ha! What I got instead, much to my initial chagrin and later delight, was … [Read more...]
How Yoga Helped Me Deal with the Emotional and Psychological After-Effects of Trauma from Living and Working in Afghanistan
by Marianne Elliott When it comes to working with fear, yoga is one of my secret weapons. Fear is not just a thought or idea. Fear is a neurobiological reaction to perceived threat. This is where modern neuroscience catches up with the wisdom of yoga and meditation. The autonomic nervous system (i.e. the part you don't consciously control) is divided into two sections: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system acts to mobilize the body's 'fight or … [Read more...]
What Qualities & Strengths Make the ideal Ayurveda Client/Student?
By Vaidyar Mani and Nicky Hewett, Ancient’s Best – Ayurveda & Yoga Ayurveda, ‘the Yoga of Life’, where the body and mind is understood and then used as a means or instrument to attain Self-Realization, sadly is not for everyone. This is not a statement of arrogance or exclusivity but is based on individual evolution and Karma. The one who is ready now is spiritually evolved, able to think differently, and ready to take responsibility. The primary function of Ayurveda and all other … [Read more...]
6 Ways to Maintain Work-Life Balance as a Busy Yoga Teacher
by guest author Cailen Ascher As busy yoga teachers, we wear many hats: instructor, marketer, parent, entrepreneur, personal assistant, manager, friend, spouse, confidante, errand gofer and more! With the fast-paced nature of our daily schedules, it can seem that it’s nearly impossible to maintain any sense of balance in our lives. And even though we yogis are better equipped than many to handle the multitude of challenges and stressors that get heaped on our plates, sometimes the … [Read more...]