Category: Yoga for Healing Injuries

Yoga and Menopause

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…)

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Yoga, Men and their Back Pain

While we're on the subject of our menfolk--the most common complaint I heard from middle-aged male students coming in to try yoga was lower back pain. (more…)

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Day 7: Effects of Bikram Yoga (for Real)

There is an instant gratification that comes from a good sweat. The cleansing effect on the skin and glandular system is apparent within a day or two. I was especially aware of how the lymphatic and adrenal glands are being activated through the Bikram posture sequence. (more…)

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Day 1: Sweat Yoga

I've signed up for that ultimate marketing savvy yoga class offer -Bikram's 10 classes for $10 for 10 days. In case you haven't heard what Bikram yoga classes are about; room temperature is kept at 105 degrees and it's all about the sweating. Now I'm not a big fan (no pun intended!) of a lot of hot air (pun intended!). I can barely withstand a couple of minutes in a sauna cause it...

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Yoga and Sleep

Sleep is the best medicine. (And I don't mean the medicated kind, despite the annoying pop-up ads that may find their way onto this web site. My apologies, I have no control over these ad searches but I repeat I do not advocate use of sleeping pills.) Even though we're still not quite sure what happens during the sleep state, we know when we've gotten enough sleep to feel healthy....

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In Yoga, Less Can Be Much More

I overdid a lunge yesterday. I was getting into a nice sequence of lunge/ downward-facing dog and pressed on that back heel a little too much and - tweek- felt something move all the way to my knee. Yes, I was pushing myself cause it felt good but, not knowing my limits, I set myself back instead. (more…)

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How many Downward Dogs does it take?

The Downward- Facing Dog is not a relaxation pose! I've noticed that in many of the classes I've attended, yoga teachers call for this pose a lot. Also known as the Adho Mukha Svanasana this pose, if done correctly, is quite strenuous as it lifts the upper rib cage, places weight on the wrists and hands and requires strong legs and already stretched hamstrings and ankles. Proper alignment, the placement and distance of...

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Yoga as Change or what just happened here?

There is an explanation or phrase I often used to describe what happens during a yoga session: it's as if we are creating space within our bodies. (more…)

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The Practice of non-speaking

There is a practice I remember one of my Sivananda teachers describing where you don't speak for 3 days, called mouna- it is a voluntary vow of silence. I remembered this because when I get depleted, my voice becomes very weak and I recently started feeling as if I was using massive amounts of energy just to engage in conversation. (more…)

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Give Yoga a Rest

Although there are super-teachers who say that even when they are sick they continue their physical yoga practice, I'm not one of them. I usually tell students to notice when their bodies are clearly signaling to take a full and complete rest. (more…)

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