What you need to know about your new student and how to get it
Every time a new student comes to yoga, the teacher needs to develop some understanding about who this person is and what they need. It is particularly important if the[...] The post What you need to...
View ArticleThe art of observation in yoga: Reading the student’s body story
Our bodies reflect our personal stories and our journeys, both physical and psychological. They hold traces of our daily movement patterns, history of injuries (physical and emotional), and hints...
View ArticleSOAP Notes: A Structured Approach to Yoga Therapy Documentation
When we work with yoga students one-on-one, it is essential to keep detailed notes of our work. Those notes help us determine students’ challenges and strengths; develop an appropriate plan[...] The...
View ArticleNEW: Sequence Wiz Student Management System for yoga teachers and yoga...
When I was little, I liked to play doctor. I would examine my dolls and write down their symptoms on the mailing labels that I had snatched from the post[...] The post NEW: Sequence Wiz Student...
View ArticleFour yoga practices for strong immunity
Your immune system is complex and multilayered. It includes seemingly unrelated parts of your body, like skin, mucus and tears; a range of organs and tissues, like bone marrow, thymus,[...] The post...
View ArticleRegulate your physiology: Standing Five Vayus practice
There is a series of eight sequential movements in qigong called “eight pieces of brocade” or “eight silken movements” that has been around for hundreds of years. Individual movements of[...] The post...
View ArticleThree types of digestive discomfort and what we can do about them in yoga
When you plan to use your yoga practice to aid digestion, images of deep twists might begin to crowd your mind. We’ve been conditioned to believe that twists are great[...] The post Three types of...
View ArticleCan we use hand gestures to change how we feel? Neurological impact of mudras
I noticed that when I start my day with news, social media or to-do lists, the whole day is marked with a tinge of urgency and mild agitation. But if[...] The post Can we use hand gestures to change...
View ArticleHow we can use mudras to affect our energy, psychology and spirituality
The word “mudra” is most often used to describe a particular hand gesture, but there are also face mudras and whole-body mudras. According to the yoga tradition, mudras have multiple[...] The post How...
View ArticleMudra in a leading role: How to organize an entire practice around a mudra
Since most mudras are simple hand gestures, they are pretty easy to integrate into one’s yoga practice. What we try to avoid is making a mudra an afterthought, something that[...] The post Mudra in a...
View ArticleMudra in a supporting role: How to use mudras to help manifest the intention...
Last week we discussed how you can organize an entire practice around a mudra, if you give your mudra a leading role in your yoga practice. A mudra can also[...] The post Mudra in a supporting role:...
View ArticleHow to infuse your yoga practice with meaning: Devata Yoga
In our home yoga practice and in our work with our students, we always seek to make the yoga practice personal and relevant to the practitioner. This can only happen[...] The post How to infuse your...
View ArticleNyasas: Symbolic gestures that turn your body into a temple
Mudras are specific hand gestures that are meant to have symbolic, energetic and healing qualities. Most mudras are static gestures, but you can also make them dynamic when the actual[...] The post...
View ArticleHrdaya (Anga) Nyasa: Open up to cosmic energy and protect yourself from...
Nyasa is a symbolic gesture of placing the mantra onto one’s body so that the body becomes the seat or temple of the Deity. One of the most potent and[...] The post Hrdaya (Anga) Nyasa: Open up to...
View ArticleRevise your body story and give your practice meaning with Nyasas
Humans have used body movements and hand gestures to tell stories and facilitate particular psychological states since the beginning of time. For example, Hawaiian hula dance was meant to promote[...]...
View ArticleMorning Rituals: Four steps to creating a morning you love
How do you start your morning? In a given week, do you create space to begin your day with intention, peace of mind and a connection to something bigger? Or[...] The post Morning Rituals: Four steps to...
View ArticleFive yoga practices for better digestion
Our digestive systems are in charge of breaking down food into its basic components, which are then absorbed into the blood and transported throughout the entire body. Food is the[...] The post Five...
View ArticleWhat’s next? Reemerging from the pandemic and setting direction for the future
I will never forget the description of the experience my yoga teacher Gary Kraftsow shared with us about his recovery from brain surgery many years ago. As I remember it,[...] The post What’s next?...
View ArticleThe path of a teacher or yoga therapist: Accessing inner wisdom to chart your...
We live in a busy world. The householder stage of life is weighted with responsibilities at work and home and being a citizen of the world. Wonderful, but complicating, is[...] The post The path of a...
View ArticleYoga snacks for summer activities
After a year of keeping our interaction circles and our travel routes intentionally small, we are now starting to venture out into the world, only to discover that our bodies[...] The post Yoga snacks...
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