Category Archives: Yoga Equipment

Richard Hittleman’s Yoga 28 Day Exercise Plan

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***BIG NEWS: Richard Hittleman’s classic TV series “Yoga For Health” Has been released on DVD! Check it out at www.richardhittleman.com ***

Today I reached the halfway point of Richard Hittleman’s Yoga 28 Day Exercise Plan. 14 days down, 14 more to go. This book is from the yoga pioneer who brought Hatha Yoga to the masses via TV in the 1960s and 1970s. I’m using the original hardcover version (shown in these pictures), but a newer paperback version is also available. Richard Hittleman photo As she mentioned in her review of Richard Hittleman’s Yoga for Health, Hittleman’s televised programs were how my mom, Lee, began to practice yoga in the first place. She’s our resident expert here at HathaYoga.com, and she still refers Continue reading →

Aurorae Synergy Yoga Mat – Towel

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The biggest complaint I hear about traditional mats is that they can be too slippery. When people practice hot yoga and/or work up a good sweat, they often find themselves sliding out of pose. Not only is this counterproductive, but it is potentially dangerous.

Aurorae Synergy Yoga Mat-Towel

One company that has created a solution to this problem is Aurorae with their Synergy Yoga Mat – Towel. It is not a separate yoga towel. It’s an actual yoga mat that is merged with a microfiber towel. The two pieces are bonded together.
Synergy Yoga Mat - Towel folded to show both sides

It’s an unusual item. For a while I had been very curious to try it, especially Continue reading →

Richard Hittleman’s “Yoga for Health”

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***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.

Richard Hittleman - Yoga for health

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.

Richard Hittleman changed my life

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 →

Trigger Point Therapy Workbook review

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In my previous post I reviewed the Theracane. I told the story of how I used it to cure 15 years of chronic neck pain by applying trigger point therapy. I learned how to do this from The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies. It describes in detail everything you need to know to treat your specific condition. I definitely wouldn’t have figured out how to treat my pain without this book.

Trigger Point Therapy Workbook

Trigger points are knots in your muscles that can cause pain in other parts of your body. Sometimes the pain is far from the trigger point. That’s called “referred pain”.

The best way to treat trigger points is with direct massage. The Theracane allows you to locate and work on your trigger points yourself. Massage techniques vary a lot for different Continue reading →

The Theracane – How I ended 15 years of chronic pain

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I suffered from chronic neck pain for 15 years. I tried everything, including physical therapy, massage, acupuncture, and going to a chiropractor. I bought therapeutic pillows and even a new memory foam bed. Eventually I resigned to living with my pain, and thought I’d be rushing to the ibuprofen bottle first thing every morning for the rest of my life. At the end of a physical therapy session one day, my therapist had an idea. She showed me a Theracane and told me to buy one online. I literally haven’t been to physical therapy since!

the theracane

I followed my physical therapist’s advice and ordered a Theracane, which allowed me to perform “trigger point therapy” on myself. To learn how I also bought “The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook” by Clair Davies (Update: I’ve reviewed the book here). The key to how trigger point therapy works is the concept of “referred pain”.

Trigger points are basically knots in a muscle. What most people don’t realize is that these knots can cause pain in  Continue reading →

Yoga Cat Mat: My New Favorite Yoga Accessory

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Today I came across something which is currently my new favorite yoga accessory: The Yoga Cat Mat! It’s a mat and toy made especially for yoga cats, from the yoga curious to the full on feline yoga gurus.

yoga cat guru

I can totally relate to how the Yoga Cat Mat’s creator, Paige Hodges, likely came up with the idea. On the “About” page Hodges explains, “In order to accommodate the felines and make room for myself on the mat I’’ve learned to modify poses in ways that would make my yoga teachers cringe in horror”. In addition to getting a huge kick out of this, I was also relieved to discover that I’m not the only one that has to move my asanas to make way for the whiskered warrior poses.

Not only do my cats have the need to coach me when I’m in the middle of my yoga practice, Continue reading →

“Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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I just finished the book “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Yes, that is the correct spelling. Yes, it’s impossible to pronounce!). Wow, what an amazing book. It’s a challenging read, but incredibly rewarding. Pretty much all 240 pages are packed with really profound insights on how to be happy. I wish someone would write “Flow For Dummies”!

"Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Flow occurs when you’re doing an activity where the challenge matches your skill. When that happens the focus required absorbs you completely. When you’re playing tennis and you’re totally involved in the game, that’s a flow activity. You forget everything else but the game. That’s flow.

Yoga is arguably one of the best flow activities, and the book has a section specifically on flow and yoga. But almost anything can be a flow activity, from sports to music to reading.  If it’s something you enjoy focusing on, it can be a flow activity.

Flow makes you happy

In spite of all the wonders of modern technology, humans aren’t any happier now than they have been throughout history. We are healthier and live longer, but we aren’t happier. So what can we do about it? Csikszentmihalyi shows that how often Continue reading →

Aurorae Classic Yoga Mat review

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When you read reviews of any mat (or just about anything for that matter), there are always people who love it, people who hate it, and many in between. Some want a mat that is not slippery, and those who don’t perspire much prefer one that’s not too sticky. Some want a lightweight mat to easily carry to and from class, and some want a mat that provides more cushion. So, just as in yoga itself, it’s really all about what you as an individual are looking for.

I recently shopped for a new yoga mat. My criteria were that it had to be environmentally friendly, biodegradable, non-toxic, not too thin, and free of any odors. I also wanted to spend under $40. I did loads and loads of online searches, read the pros and cons of the many mats out there and finally I decided on the Classic Yoga Mat from Aurorae. Continue reading →

Shopping for my first yoga mat

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A yoga mat is the most essential thing you need to do yoga. It’s also one of those things that you just have to have one of your own (nobody is borrowing my toothbrush!). The things I considered while shopping for my first yoga mat included thickness, length, and of course price.  Mat material is also important to me. Stickiness/slipperiness is an important consideration, especially since I tend to sweat.

shopping for my first yoga mat

Since I’m a beginner, I checked out the Gaiam Yoga For Beginners Kit.  It seems like a very good deal since it has some extras and the price is very competitive, but unfortunately I Continue reading →