My dear Yoga enthusiasts, namaste. I want to briefly talk about my newly discovered attraction to Tai Chi.
Tai Chi has been practiced for centuries. But until recently, I had never studied it, even though I had been curious about it for some time. I was very interested to see if it shared any of the same benefits as Hatha Yoga, which Continue reading
For this mini-lesson we will pay attention to The Complete Breath Standing. The room should be well ventilated and quiet. Soft, gentle music playing in the background is okay.
It is strongly advised to never practice on a full stomach. Please wait at least 90 minutes after having eaten a full meal. And always be sure to check with your physician to make sure these exercises are okay for you.
Let us now begin. Standing with feet together, slowly raise your arms while simultaneously inhaling and lifting your heels to stand on your toes. If you have trouble standing on your toes you may keep your heels down. Continue the inhalation, and raise your arms until your hands touch overhead. Hold to the count of five.
Slowly exhale as you lower your arms and rest on the soles of your feet. Continue a deep exhalation until your abdomen is contracted entirely. Allow yourself Continue reading
Namaste. Back to school, back to work, back to eating healthier, back to the gym, back to yoga. So you got away from it all. But perhaps you got a little further away than you had planned. No need to worry. Every day is a new day to embrace and start fresh.
As with many things, sometimes the hardest part is just getting started, or in this case restarted. Often, all it takes is Continue reading
Not only can yoga help relieve tension, a common trigger of headaches, but specific yogic breathing exercises can help target the head area.
What is a headache? A headache is a pain anywhere in the overall head area, often concentrated above the eyes, above or behind the ears, in the Continue reading
Did you ever think to yourself: “I wish I could write, paint, act, sing, dance, garden, bake, create some specialty cuisine, etc.?” Well, the possibilities of what you can do are endless. That’s because they are there within you, but perhaps just hidden.
There are often many distractions or excuses for not activating your creative chakras. Yet there is no real reason for not being creative since everyone has the ability if the desire is there. However, one can often feel stuck, as if something is in the way of you “getting there”, or even just getting started.
Yoga can be a good friend to help you open up these closets of creativity. There isn’t one specific yoga exercise, or in Sanskrit “asana”, Continue reading
Good morning, Namaste. Before you go for that strong cup of coffee, try this brief eye opener mini yoga lesson. Afterwards you just may want to forget about the high-test and make it decaf because you no longer feel the need for the caffeine!
You can keep your pj’s on…sure, keep them on! You will want to awaken slowly, no hurrying or rushing. Allow yourself to begin your day in a more Continue reading
Breathing. The life force of our being. How we all take for granted the beautiful rhythm of our breath. When we are hurried or under stress, we tend to hold our breath and in turn lose vital energy. Let’s take a couple of moments to focus on our breath and hopefully find ourselves a little more relaxed, refreshed and energized.
You may want to sit in a Lotus position, seated on the floor cross legged, if you are able to. Or you can choose to lie down on a blanket, towel or mat. You can even practice the following if you are seated at your desk. You may also want to consider practicing this at bedtime to help you fall calmly to sleep.
Ideally you will practice the following in a room that is comfortably warm, without any Continue reading
***BIG NEWS: Richard Hittleman’s classic TV series “Yoga For Health” Has been released on DVD! Check it out at www.richardhittleman.com ***
Richard Hittleman’s “Yoga for Health” is not a new book. It is, however, tried and true. First published in 1983, “Yoga for Health” has been a reliable resource not only for beginners, but for long term practitioners as well.
Hittleman (1927 – 1991) is famous for bringing Yoga to millions of people in the 1960s and 1970s with one of the first ever Yoga television series. He brought Yoga to more people than any other living person at the time. He was indeed a pioneer.
In fact, his TV program is how I came to discover Yoga in the first place. With four of my six children already born, and my husband in college full time, Continue reading
Sometimes, just getting started is the hurdle. You might have questions such as “How long and how often should I practice yoga?”, and “What do I need to get started?”.
The amount of time to spend practicing yoga depends on what you’d like to achieve. But if you are a beginner, anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour every other day is a good place to start. You’ll get the greatest benefit if you can do some every day. However, if you only have ten minutes a few times a week, Continue reading
Yoga is Awareness.
Yoga is a path toward a healthier mind and body. It is a teacher of “letting go” of unhealthy habits. Yoga is an awareness of all the beauty that surrounds us and finds the good in all life, humans, animals and plants. It is a key to unlock our hidden creativity, opening up new avenues of unimagined talents which come to the surface from our innermost areas of mind, body and spirit.
By seriously practicing Yoga you can find the following benefits: