Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

Roses, chocolates and teddy bears aside, you don't need another person to validate love this Valentine’s Day (though we’ll take the box of chocolates). Today, we challenge you to roll out your mat and write a love letter to yourself. Take fifteen minutes to celebrate everything that makes you whole, even the messy parts. Write them down and see them for what they are: regular human qualities worthy of love. Then, through today’s asana practice, celebrate that self-understanding. Embrace your shaking legs, sweaty mat and experience the fullness of who you are.

Are you awake? Or, are you going through the motions without really paying attention? Sleepwalking through life? When’s the last time you took the time to assess where your time and energy are flowing? Or not flowing, as the case may be.

You’ve been talking about yoga for years. You’re going to try it. Soon. Tomorrow. Next week. But, you’re too busy, too tired, too inflexible…fill in the blank. Maybe you are scared of yoga—that you won’t be good at it, that everyone will laugh at you in the back of class trying to figure out what in the world is happening.

This week we celebrate freedom and the right to live the lives of our dreams. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an incredible inspiration for all of us, as exemplified in his iconic “I have a dream” speech. His courage and bravery to fight for the rights of all people resonates today and for all time.

Known as the “queen” of all yoga postures, Shoulderstand is packed with healing and restorative benefits for your mind, body and spirit.  Shoulderstand is indeed the queen, or mother of asanas. As a mother strives for harmony and balance in the home, this asana strives for harmony and balance in the human system. It can be seen as a panacea for most common ailments. In Sanskrit, Sarva means “all” or “entire” and Anga means “organ” or “body part.” Translated, it means “full body pose” because of all of the many benefits for the entire body.

What does success mean to you? How do you align your values, your intentions, and your priorities to achieve the life of your dreams while being your authentic self? To create success with a yogic mindset, try meditation to clear your mind and allow your deepest dreams and desires to rise to the surface. Rather than focusing on the object of your desire, meditate to quiet the chatter in your mind and surrender to the process of discovering your true intentions and dreams. Are they personal? professional? health-related? We’re all different and at any given time, certain areas of our life shift to the forefront.

Whatever you thought about 2016, this year is a fresh start. We’re here to help you take your life to the next level with new programs and classes to make sure you can put your best mind, mood and foot forward. While some big-picture new years resolutions are ‘head-in-the-clouds’ plans that will soon fade, this is about creating attainable daily routines and results through yoga and meditation classes that will restore, revitalize, and sustain you throughout the year.

Last week, we discussed the Winter Solstice and how when we align with nature, we settle into a rhythm that honors our own inner being. It’s easy to get off balance this time of year when the world seems focused on the holidays, and your usual schedule flies out the window. How we can maintain our self-practice or Sadhana!

During the holidays and at an year’s end, it’s normal to get off track from routines and our daily practices of yoga and meditation. We go into unfamiliar spaces in airports and places where we can’t bring our meditation cushions or altar. While traveling is exciting, it is easy to feel out of touch with our spiritual practices.

Can you feel the change in the air? December 21, 2016, marked the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. What exactly is a solstice? “Solstice” comes from Latin: sol meaning "sun" and sistere meaning “to stand still.” The Winter Solstice is the perfect time to pause, reflect, and create our dreams and intentions.

Tune into your heart and find joy in settling into Camel pose. Camel is a deep heart-opening posture that strengthens your back while freeing your neck, chest, lungs, abdominals, and thighs. Explore how good it feels to open up through the heart by breathing into the space surrounding it. Because Camel pose directly links to the Anahata, or heart chakra, practicing it allows us to tap into our energy center to foster more genuine self-love, trust, compassion and forgiveness.

You may not have realized this, but your favorite yoga poses are also the key to bringing more love, warmth and fa-la-la to your holiday season. This time, we’re not talking about using your practice for a deep and introspective personal journey toward self discovery, we’re talking about a joy break right on the surface. Keeping spirits bright, we’ve identified the very best poses for your favorite holiday activities. Enjoy the jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell bhakti and the most wonderful time of the year will be exactly that.

Flexibility, balance, strength, and equanimity—you’ve probably heard of all those reasons to practice yoga, right? Not just benefits for the body, but for the mind and soul as well. How about combating stress and delving into spirituality? Absolutely! The list goes on…

How’s your state of mind? We here at YogaDownload.com know how hectic life becomes this time of year. We’re right in the stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve when many of us could use a shot of adrenaline or a warm blanket and a teddy bear to make it through to 2017. At the very least, we could use a rejuvenating yoga class or a calming meditation practice.

Happy Thanksgiving friends! We’re here to help you kick off the day mindfully. Before the company gets here, take 10 minutes for yourself to get grounded in a moment of thankfulness – that’s what today is all about, right? Root down by sitting or standing in a place that feels comfortable, and spend a few moments gathering all your favorite people and places and foods and pleasures in your heart. Sometimes it’s easiest to start a meditation with “I am grateful for…”

When we are in harmonious times, it’s easy to express our beliefs and our truth. Many of us yogis surround ourselves with like-minded people seeking to live life on a higher vibration. We choose to focus on the positive and live from a place of compassion and love. Practicing these principles on the yoga mat strengthens our resolve to practice them off the mat. But how do we stand in our truth when it is challenged from all sides? How do we remain peaceful and positive when there’s no choice but to fight to preserve our dignity, our values, and our beliefs? The concept of being a warrior and fighting doesn’t have to mean that we are denying our spirituality.

Reverse Warrior is a powerful standing pose that stretches your hips and groins, while lengthening your spinal and intercostal muscles. The posture also helps blood circulation, reduce stress, mitigate back pain and can be a mood-booster.

Nobody’s life is a static, well-paced journey, despite how many plans we make, how many goals we set, and how well intentioned we are. No, life is messy and serves up surprises every day. The world's a roller coaster and we aren't strapped in. Maybe we should hold with care, but our hands are busy in the air. This line from alternative rock band Incubus’ iconic song 'Wish You Were Here' sums up how many of us feel on a day-to-day basis. Flying along by the seat of our pants— navigating the challenges we encounter along the way.

This week we’ve got some great new classes designed to help you unleash your inner Shakti energy. Activate your connection to Shakti by mixing up your usual routine— change is good!

This soothing toddy will warm your bones as we transition from long summer days to the fall and winter months. The ginger lends a spicy kick, turmeric brings in an earthy quality along with an array of health benefits, the honey soothes the throat, and lemon balances it all out. You can make the turmeric honey paste ahead of time and keep it on your counter so that you can whip up this delicious toddy in just a couple of minutes.

Natarajasana, or Dancer's Pose, is a glorious heart-opening posture that challenges balance while lengthening the chest and spinal muscles. Also referred to as Lord of the Dance pose, Natarajasana stimulates the Heart Chakra (Anahata) and the Third Eye Chakra (Ajna), to help the practitioner feel more grateful, forgiving, focused, intuitive, and free. 

The spirits are stirring this time of year, which means that some of you might be conjuring your own personal demons (again). We all have a few ghosts from the past and skeletons in our closet that like to haunt our memories – and we’re going to help you shake them out and clear your spiritual cobwebs.

Do you ever feel like yoga should be more accessible? It has become harder with our fast-paced lives to get our practice in. Especially in a highly digital world, we have become more and more distracted. Instead of staying centered and trusting our internal compass, we’re pulled in a million directions. What’s the solution?

We’ve got something new for you this month. In the interest of exposing you to a broad range of yoga, we’re excited to roll out new Kundalini classes and practices with Guru Jagat from the Rama Institute for Applied Yogic Science and Technology. If you aren’t familiar with Kundalini, you aren’t alone. More mysticism surrounds this style of yoga than most others. Do you have to wear white? No. Is it a religion? No. And, what’s this about coiled serpents? How can this ancient practice apply to me in this modern age where I’m just seeking to find a mind-body connection?

Among the core tenets of yoga philosophy, drishti—a Sanskrit term referring to immersive mental concentration—can expand, deepen and recalibrate that intrinsic mind–body connection during your practice. In order to experience these benefits for your well being, however, you must become attuned to every nuance of movement on your mat, from the postures and energy flow to breath work. The best part: you can practice to reach this desired degree of focus off the mat, just as effectively, through other pursuits that sharpen both cognitive function and physical dexterity. The following autumn inspired activities can help yogis everywhere, from the disciplined veteran to the untrained novice, improve their drishti throughout this beautiful and transformational time of year.