Most people come to Asana, the physical yoga practice, for the physical benefits: strength, flexibility, balance, help with lower back pain, cross training, etc. But yoga offers so much more than that, the poses are simply an entryway to the myriad other benefits. Through the poses you learn about your breath and the power that
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When I bring up the topic of meditation, many people scoff, “I can’t meditate, my brain won’t turn off.” Or maybe it’s “I can’t meditate, I can’t sit still.” There are many false beliefs surrounding meditation that I cover in “3 Myths about Meditation and Why it’s Easier Than You Think!” a free eBook you
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Many people understand how 5 deep breaths can shift you from feeling stressed to feeling calm. But did you know that Pranayama (yoga breathing practices) can be used for more than just calm? Different types of breath control can help you clear brain fog, cool you down (think menopausal hot flashes), or help you feel
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Last week I wrote about the 5 Yamas (Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, and Aparigraha). These are all principles related to interacting with other people, although these principles can also be applied to ourselves. Part 2 is about the 5 Niyamas, principles related to our internal work and self-exploration more directly. There are ways to see
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There is more to yoga than just doing poses on a mat, there are 8 “limbs” to a balanced yoga practice (read more about that here). This post is a discussion about the first limb of yoga: Yamas. Yamas and Niyamas usually go together, but there is a lot to say, so I am splitting
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As a young adult in my 20s, I scheduled every moment of my day. I lived in New York City, teaching swimming and pursuing a modern dance career. I bought roller blades because the subways didn’t get me where I needed to go fast or reliably enough, and I needed every part of my day
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How it started I first began keeping a diary when I was 11 or 12 after reading The Diary of Anne Frank. Learning about her life from her diary entries inspired me to keep one of my own, just in case future people wanted to learn about me. I was a young, self-absorbed tween, cut
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Self-Reflection can be both challenging and painful, but on the other side of that discomfort is growth. Knowing your personal story, as well as the stories you are telling yourself, can help you move forward with more clarity and understanding about who you are and what motivates you in life. There are many tools for
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While most people start practicing yoga for the physical benefits, strength, balance, and flexibility, there is so much more to yoga than poses. If Yoga was a tree, this tree would have 8 limbs; asana (yoga poses) is just one of those limbs. The 8 limbs are: Each of these limbs address different aspects of
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Many types of exercise, like running and bicycling only move the body through one plane of motion. Life, however, moves us in all three planes, often multiple planes simultaneously. When you reach for something in the back floor of your car, for example, you are both twisting (one plane) and bending (another plane). Regularly moving
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