The sunshine over the last few weeks has been amazing and has left many of us with proud tan lines and rosy faces. The sunshine can help us to boost our vitamin D levels, change our sleep patterns, and enhance our immune system as well as our mood. Not to mention all the summer events popping up everywhere to keep us out and active. Whatâs not to love about the sunshine? If youâre like me and youâve been trying to…
A student was talking to me after class recently and mentioned that her friend is really âgood at yogaâ and that there are loads of people in class who are âbetter than herâ. It strikes me that there is a tendency for all of us to focus on the aesthetic of the postures without really examining our thought patterns and judgements while we move through postures. That is to say, we automatically jump to how things look, and put the…
More and more people are turning to yoga to help prevent and recover from injuries as doctors, physiotherapists and trainers are increasingly aware of the positive benefits of a long-term yoga practice. As yoga enters the sports arena (so to speak) it is becoming another key tool for athletes and those who are looking to maintain their fitness in a way that will complement their injury prevention or recovery plan. In terms of injury prevention, yoga is an excellent way…
If you are one of the many people who have recently started yoga, you will probably have read or heard a lot about vegetarianism. A lot of yoga teachers and practitioners will often take up a vegetarian diet once they get serious about their yoga practice – you might be wondering what that’s all about. The answer lies in the historic roots of yoga. There are two main historical reasons for this connection, and both of them lie in the…
When I say I am a yoga teacher, a really common response is âWow, you must be really flexible.â At a wedding recently a girl I had just met went so far as to scream âYou do yoga, DO THE SPLITS ON THE DANCE FLOOR!â When I laughed that off she started chanting âDo the WORM, do the WORM!â. I can do neither so I didnât⊠much to her disappointment and everyone elseâs relief. The screaming girl at the wedding…
If youâre new to yoga and joining mixed level classes with more experienced yogis, itâs normal to feel unsure of some of the postures when a teacher cues them to the class. Here’s a cheatsheet with 3 commonly used yoga cues and how I interpret them. Chaturanga In flow classes, youâll usually have a lot of âchaturangasâ. This is when you flow down from a plank position to slowly lower your body to the mat on the exhale. Keep your…
Anxiety. Weâve all been there – sweaty palms, racing thoughts, quickened heartbeat. Anxiety can strike before a big presentation, an important meeting or a first date. Or sometimes it can creep up on you when youâre tired or under-slept. When it surfaces, anxiety can rob you of the joy of the moment, and it can zap your energy. So hereâs one simple, discrete yoga pose to have in your âyoga tool beltâ when anxiety strikes, depending on where and when you…
Downward facing dog is one of the most common yoga poses, and it would be pretty rare to have a class without it, for many reasons. Itâs one of the best overall body stretches you can do, as well as strengthening key muscle groups, and helping to reduce stress and anxiety. So if youâve been doing yoga for more than 10 minutes of your life, more than likely youâve been told to ârelax back into downdog.â However, when I started…
We all – or a lot of us, anyway – love the idea of morning yoga. Starting your day off with a room full of like-minded yogis, flowing on your mat, and connecting body and breath. Heaven, right? Except sometimes – especially when it’s still dark when the alarm goes off and you can hear rain pouring outside – that idea just doesn’t become reality. Much as we might want it to! So here are our top 5 tips for…
Have you ever heard your yoga teacher mention Ayurveda and not fully understand what they were speaking about? Or maybe some of you may have heard about Ancient Chinese Medicine? Ancient Chinese Medicine is approximately 2,500 years old and included various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage and exercise. Well, Ayurveda greatly influenced Ancient Chinese Medicine. Ayurveda is an Ancient Indian medicine that has been used for thousands of years and is still greatly used today.Ayurveda dates back 5,000 years…
