“Who am I really, and how do I want to be today?”

How many times have you been asked the question “What do you do?” At parties, during first introductions, at a family gathering, people find it easy to define us by asking what we do and placing that answer in their frame of reference. But what happens when we choose to shift that question slightly and examine within ourselves the deeper question of “How am I a part of my life today?” This simple question has the ability to transform our sense of authenticity and inspire a renewed sense of honesty with others and ourselves. (more…)

So often we begin a yoga practice to release built up tensions, and stresses from our active lives. And then we soon find that what we are actually gaining is a balance of spirit, mind and body. But as one creative non-fiction teacher discovered - the release of a creative self-can also be a result of a consistent yoga practice.

Michael McColly of Columbia College Chicago and Northwestern University was reading story after story of self-abuse, addictions and rape from his students. (more…)

How many of us have successfully healed ourselves after a critical loss in our lives? What approach have we embraced in order to ease our pain? And have we learned all that we were meant to from the experience?

In the article entitled Grief to Gratitude, (Fit Yoga, October)the writer Libuse Bider recounts how she sought out her yoga practice to aid her in dealing with the transition of losing her father. (more…)

“I think there is a definite connection between a patient’s mental health and their physical health, which is why yoga might have major benefit for heart failure patients,” he said. “It stresses that connection between the mind and the body.”
-Dr. Bobby Khan, Emory University School of Medicine

Although this may not sound like “news” to devoted yoga practioners, it is an encouraging advancement for the medical community. Many physicians, researchers and patients have been ardently seeking alternative solutions to such concerns as heart disease and breast cancer. (more…)

At what point in your life did you decide that yoga was the key to making a change in your life? Did that come easily? Or was it an unfamiliar challenge? We often hear about the benefits of yoga in ones daily life, but what did we have to overcome in order to begin?

With all the known benefits of a consistent yoga practice, it is always good to hear about someone who was truly challenged and persevered to gain freedom from an addiction and control over his life. (more…)

In a LA YOGA article by Julie Deife “Is Yoga Medicine”, she reports “2,000 yoga professionals are represented in the U.S. by the International Association of Yoga Therapist (IAYT).

Julie Deife is not only the editor and publisher for LA YOGA she is also on the advisory board for IAYT. Her article offers extensive background and dialogue on the beginnings of this movement and where the medical system stands on incorporating it into the healthcare system. (more…)

Amidst the beaches of North Carolina, yoga teacher Jean Costa gathers with a group of women who have survived breast cancer and are seeking a refuge where they hope to regenerate their health and spirit.

Born from her own struggle with breast cancer, Jean Costa personally experienced the need of a restorative and supportive atmosphere for women being challenged with this disease. (more…)

Some of our youth are in danger of being without a real means of handling their lives in a healthy way. Those that have already missed a step and are now in camps and detention centers are struggling to find their way. These incarcerated youth are more vulnerable of returning to the lifestyle that got them in this situation the first time, if they are not given viable options.

Fortunately there are organizations like Y.O.G.A. for Youth who are creating the opportunity for troubled youth to regain confidence and an improved self-awareness through the practice of yoga. (more…)

To lift my spirits, I sing. And this month - with mercury in retrograde and the fire season in California and a summer of strange and wobbly changes that have affected my bank account, my health and my confidence - I’ve been singing a lot! (more…)

Having just watched an very good public television special called Menopause and Beyond with Dr. Christiane Northrup made me reflect on one of the most common questions asked by female yoga students: can doing yoga help with menopause? (more…)