Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

Loosen Up Your Lower Body: Unlock Freedom and Flexibility

While modern life offers unprecedented conveniences and technological advancements, it also harbors insidiously major risks to our well-being. Behind a veneer of constant connectivity and convenience lie hidden dangers that threaten both our physical and mental health: risks include heart disease and obesity from sedentary habits, anxiety and depression from digital overload, and a growing inability to relax and recharge. Join us below as we dive deep into these problems, including what causes them, how a modern lifestyle worsens them, and what you can do to reclaim control over your health.

A strong core is more than just toned abs; it's the powerhouse of your entire body, providing stability, balance, and strength in every movement you make. In yoga, the core is the epicenter of many poses and transitions, acting as the key to unlocking advanced postures and maintaining proper alignment. According to B.K.S. Iyengar, the core muscles are essential for achieving steadiness and ease in practice. Without a strong core, one cannot fully harness the benefits of yoga, as it plays a pivotal role in supporting the spine and facilitating breath control, or pranayama.

What if happiness was a choice? What if even if you were in one of the most challenging chapters of your life, you could still live with a grateful attitude? What if you learned to trust the transience of the peaks and valleys? If you could trust that everything is temporary, and you can be happy despite the difficulties? In yoga, this concept is expressed as Santosha or contentment. Yoga Sutra II.42 interprets the Niyama Santosha as the greatest happiness, the underlying joy that cannot be eradicated despite life's challenges. All steps along the yogic journey take practice and cultivating gratitude is no different. Learning to be grateful for what you do have in any given moment instead of focusing on what’s missing can transform your life.

This week, we’re here to remind you that sometimes slowing down helps you feel more present. Yoga is all about learning to live in the now––not in the past and not in the future. Sometimes, we need to slow down to cultivate a greater sense of being present. While all styles of yoga help you cultivate flexibility, strength, and balance, sometimes slowing down allows you to sink deeper into the physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits of practice. Yoga Sutra 2.46 Sthira Sukham Asanam means the asana or posture should be steady and comfortable. Steadiness is a quality of strength and grounded energy. Working on developing a mindful steady approach in your yoga practice will aid you in staying centered and stable. If you usually prefer a faster paced Vinyasa or Power Yoga class, that’s great!

In our fast-paced world, distraction surrounds us. One of the greatest gifts of yoga is offering ancient wisdom that resonates in the modern world. The Yoga Sutras offer a path to hone your focus and more consistently tune out all the external and internal noise and pay attention to what really matters to you. It may sound simple, but don’t confuse simple with easy. Who wants easy though, right?

June 20th marks the Summer Solstice with Full Moon energy in the Northern Hemisphere. The Solstice is a reminder to align ourselves with the divine rhythm of nature. To celebrate the earth, the sun, the planets, and the stars beaming down on us. So, this day is the perfect moment to turn inward and reflect on what it is we’d like to grow and transform. One way to celebrate the Solstice is to move your yoga practice outside.

In yoga, we often hear Yoga Sutra 2:46 Sthira Sukham Asanam which translates to the posture should be a balance between effort and ease. And with how yoga has progressed in the West, there’s been a definite emphasis on the effort, a reward for how physically demanding a practice is and a shift away from the importance of the ease or comfort in the asana. If you feel like you’ve lost that balance and want to shift toward a softer yoga class, focus on gentle yoga. What do we mean by gentle yoga? Plenty of variety exists but in general, gentle yoga classes move at a slower pace, encourage using props and modifications, and emphasize “trying easy” instead of pushing yourself to your edge in each moment.

Now, we’re not saying you aren’t perfect just as you are but it’s easy to become a little too comfortable with our routine sometimes. And when we realize we’re no longer challenging ourselves, it’s a wakeup call. If we aren’t growing and expanding, we become stagnant. Yoga can empower you to tap into your inner fire, so you continue to grow and move forward in your life. Yoga reminds us that everything is temporary. The only constant is change and tuning into this universal truth reminds us to continue to renew our minds, hearts, and bodies. Asana, Pranayama, and Meditation all help balance our nervous system. Then, we can better manage our thoughts and emotions, not to mention feel physically better.

Sometimes life feels heavy, right? Between all the responsibilities with finances, family, and friends, it’s tough to stay balanced inside and out. Add in “tech neck” from hours on the computer and phone and it’s no wonder we can feel like an albatross is perched on our shoulders. Pain and tightness in the neck and shoulders is a complaint for many of us. Yoga can help you find some freedom and relief. One of the major physical causes of neck and shoulder tension comes from improper alignment and poor posture. As a result of slouching or sitting too much, our shoulders round forward and our necks stick out, like a turtle poking its head out of its shell. This type of misalignment can cause muscular pain and tension, headaches, distracted thoughts, and shallow breathing. Yoga focusing on creating mobility in the shoulders and stretching the neck will keep your muscles strong and supple and prevent injury.

Are you ready to tap into the fountain of youth and feel more vibrant and energetic, no matter your chronological age? When you focus on practices designed to strengthen your center, you’re not just creating toned abdominals and back muscles, you’re boosting your overall health and wellness. Every movement you make, from yoga to sports to walking, involves your core. This week, the spotlight is on how creating a powerful center helps tone your muscles, keeps your spine healthy, encourages healthy digestion and elimination, and balances your navel or Manipura Chakra.

Are you ready for today to be the day your dreams come true? What if you shifted your mindset and each morning when you opened your eyes, you decided today would be your best day, regardless of external events? Yoga reminds us that we cannot control anything except our reactions to what’s occurring around us. According to the Yoga Sutras eight-limbed yoga path, we can achieve happiness and peace by turning inward. All we need is within us. If we cultivate gratitude and a sense of Santosha, or contentment, we are one step closer to making each day our best day. Yoga Sutra 2:33, Pratipaksha Bhavana, states, “When negative thoughts present themselves cultivate and think the opposite thoughts with feeling.” This philosophy encourages us to repetitively practice replacing negative thought patterns with positive ones until the positive attitude becomes the default.

Yoga Sutra 2.46 Sthira Sukham Asanam means each asana or physical posture should be a balance of steadiness and ease. Steadiness is a combination of strength and grounded energy. If your muscles quiver and strain when you’re trying to hold an asana, you’ll struggle to achieve a sense of calm. While flexibility and mobility are key elements of a well-rounded yoga class, without stability it’s impossible to truly find your yoga groove. We all can benefit from some yoga classes specifically designed to build internal and external stability so this week, we bring you four classes to help you feel grounded and powerful. You’ll embody strength and softness with each breath and movement. Classes focused on strength aren’t just about your muscles but creating a healthy spine and strong bones and joints. You’ll not only be able to hold postures longer while controlling your breath, but you’ll also release mental and emotional stress.

Are you ready to feel your best from head to toe not just on the outside but also on the inside? Physically, a consistent yoga practice will improve your posture, prevent injury, alleviate pain, and benefit your nervous and digestive systems. Opening the body creates corresponding openings in the heart and emotions, as well as helping develop a clear, calm mind. This week’s classes offer synergistic effects of a well-rounded yoga practice for your entire being. When you step onto the mat, an integral element of the practice is learning to stay present through the challenging and the simpler parts of class. When you utilize the breath to filter out distractions and shift your awareness inward, you can tune into what you’re feeling and release what no longer serves you.

Okay yogis, it’s time to mix it up on the mat. We all have our favorite teachers, preferred classes and routines. And if returning to your favorites keeps you practicing consistently, that’s fantastic! But sometimes, you’ve got to shake things up to continue growing. This week, try a faster paced Vinyasa Flow class. Read on for just a handful of the benefits to this style of yoga. Vinyasa Flow yoga is a flowing, varied sequence of postures linked with your breath to create a moving meditation. These classes are all unique, colored by the teacher’s creativity and energy. Of course, classes vary but the faster paced practices feel like a powerful dance with your breath. Whether the class emphasizes a vigorous pace or an emphasis on muscular strength, you’ll feel invigorated.

Whether you’ve never tried yoga before or practiced sporadically and never found your groove, it’s never too late to try again. Maybe the timing wasn’t right before, or you couldn’t find a yoga teacher that you connected with––the reasons why you’re trying yoga for the first time or returning to the mat aren’t what’s important. What matters is your attitude. If you can step into a beginner’s mindset and be open to step outside your comfort zone, you can discover the myriad of benefits yoga offers. A well-balanced yoga practice will help you become stronger, more flexible, more centered, and happier. What’s key is finding a style you love and a set of instructors who encourage you to be patient with yourself. One of yoga’s primary teachings deals with learning to release attachment to outcome. To let go of pre-conceived notions of what you believe yoga should be.

What’s your go-to warm up before you start your favorite workout? And do you cool down and stretch after you hike, bike, run, or do a HIIT class? To enhance your performance and to prevent injury, it’s important to warm up properly as well as allow your system to return to normal after exercise. If you’ve never tried yoga before or after your favorite sports and activities, this week we’ve made it easy for you. Many cardio activities, like cycling and running, consist of repetitive movements in one direction and in one plane of motion. Sports like golf and tennis are focused on using one side of the body, which over time develops certain muscle groups to the detriment of others. Over time, this creates imbalances in the muscles and joints leading to overuse injuries. Yoga is dynamic and moves your muscles and joints through a full range of motion. A well-rounded yoga warm up is a great way to stay balanced and aligned.

Yoga is an incredible way to renew our mind, body, and spirit each time we step onto our mats. We’ve heard over and over from our students that one of the best benefits of regular practice is the feeling of softening or a sense of being more content. And physically, if we aren’t keeping our bodies moving, we literally become stiff and inflexible. We’ve just celebrated the Vernal Equinox, which is a perfect time to celebrate the changes in the seasons. When we align ourselves with the cycles of the earth, we harness the strength of nature to become our most balanced, strong selves. Depending on where you live, you’re either eagerly awaiting the flowers blooming or watching the leaves fall. It’s a great time to shed what no longer is serving you and create space to invite in the fresh and new.

Does anyone else have trouble falling asleep at night? You snuggle under the covers, lay your weary head on the pillow ready to drift off to dreamland and boom––your mind is racing. If you can relate, you’re not alone. Many of us are stuck in the “fight or flight” syndrome and our nervous systems have trouble switching into “rest and digest” mode. Quality sleep is essential for us to rejuvenate and maintain our physical, emotional, and mental health. If you’re ready to have your best night of sleep tonight, read on for a few of the ways yoga and meditation can help.

When we are going with the flow, we are aligned with ourselves and with the world around us. But with the busy-ness and fast pace of life, it’s easy to slip into a state of distraction and lose sight of your center. Yoga is all about clearing out the mental clutter and finding freedom in your mind, heart, and body. A “flow state” is when you are immersed in an activity to the point you no longer reason you’re “doing” it, you’re simply in it. For some people, finding their flow is playing or listening to music, running, dancing, surfing, gardening, or whatever activity allows them to settle in an energized state of freedom. Yoga is an excellent path to finding your flow. When we focus on connecting the power of physical movement with the practice of breathing in certain ways, we can expand our prana or life force energy and get energized or relaxed, depending upon the technique.

oga is many different things to many different people but at its core, yoga is a tool to create a quiet mind and a serene heart. Yoga reminds us that we cannot control external events; we can only control our reaction to them. Our world is a hectic place these days and if you’ve felt helpless seeing all the suffering, you aren’t alone. The power of the individual can radiate out to the collective. So if we work to increase our own love and compassion and share it with those around us, and others do the same thing, we can create a more peaceful world. An excellent starting point is to balance our Anahata (Heart) Chakra. Love lives in our hearts and Anahata is associated with selflessness and with enlarging our capacity for compassion. Love and fear are two sides of a coin and when we’re stuck in fear, or when we cannot forgive others, we shut down. We aren’t as kind to others because we fear being hurt and our energy impacts those around us.

Yoga’s gifts are numerous but one of the best is the ability to move from the reactive state called fight or flight where we’re operating with high stress levels and taxing our nervous systems. Through asana (physical postures), pranayama (breathwork), and meditation, it’s possible to move into rest and digest mode, which is a receptive state. If stabilizing your blood pressure, balancing your heart rate, and lowering stress hormones sounds like what you need, read on. Depending on what style of yoga you practice, you can energize or relax. To become more calm, poses like forward bends, twists, and restorative postures will help you quiet your mind and pacify your nervous system. By slowing down on the mat, you’ll create the space to feel more clear and relaxed. This week, we’ve hand-picked classes to help you chill out, naturally.

You’ve heard the expression “waking up on the wrong side of the bed,” right? Well, some days when your alarm goes off, you and want to burrow beneath the covers instead of getting up and facing the day. Our emotions and moods are always changing. And depending on what’s going on in your life, you may be facing serious challenges at work or in your relationships. We can’t control a lot of what’s happening around us, but we can take steps to control our reaction to them. Yoga and meditation are powerful tools to help us create tangible space in our reaction time to external events. No matter what’s happening in your day to day, practicing yoga in the morning sets you up for a positive experience.

Ready to align with the moon? February 10th marked the Lunar New Year, which celebrates the New Year based on the lunar calendar. This week, we’ve got four classes designed to attune your physical and subtle body to the energetics of the moon. Light can’t exist without darkness and vice-versa. Hatha is the physical practice of yoga and “Ha” means sun and “tha” means moon. The sun provides us with light and life, but the moon wields significant power on the Earth and on us. On a grand scale, the moon controls the ocean tides with its gravitational pull. About 71% of the earth is covered by water of which the oceans are 95%. So, as the moon waxes and wanes, it influences everything from fishermen’s livelihood to tsunamis to daredevils surfing fifty-foot waves off the coast of Nazaré. Of course we all feel the moon’s impact on our moods and emotions so aligning with the moon’s energy can be really impactful.

A strong core and a healthy spine go hand in hand. Visualize the muscles of your core, which include your abdominals, back, and glutes, as a natural girdle supporting your spine. Keeping these muscles strong and supple will protect your spine, improve your posture, maintain and improve alignment, and help you avoid lower back pain. Whether you’re taking a yoga class specifically designed to focus on core/spine health or a core/Pilates class, you’ll garner these benefits. Back pain is often the result of weak abdominals, tight hip flexors, and inflexible hamstrings. It’s vital to ensure all three of these elements are addressed to keep your core and spine in optimal health.