Ustrasana (Camel Pose) Photo by Paul Goyette

Ustrasana is a pose often lost when focused solely on achieving common backbends like Urdva Dhanurasana (Upward Facing Bow), one typically considered “more challenging.” However, when tackled with focus, commitment, and attention, yogis may find that Ustrasana is in fact the more difficult pose into which to mold one’s body. This pose is superb for encouraging you to open your heart and offers many variations for all kinds of bodies, including pregnant ones. Read on to learn a few tips for accessing this pose. Read the rest of this entry »

So you’ve seen many a sailboat cruising across Lake Michigan with ease…maybe you’ve ridden in a powerboat and experienced exhilarating wind blowing into your face with the OM-sounding engine’s vibrations allowing your mind to tune into the present moment more fully. And, yet, when your yoga teacher says, “Now let’s get into Navasana!” you immediately want to fall back into an early Savasana and avoid the vigorous third chakra balancing pose because it’s, well, “too hard.” Well, it’s time to just let go of that perspective and embrace your inner sailboat-powerboat self, that part of you that is able to easily coast with the wind and at the same time aggressively tackle the waves. In other words, tap into your third chakra, your source of power, confidence, and playfulness! Read on to learn a few tips for embracing this sometimes intimidating asana. Read the rest of this entry »

To access and balance the second chakra one needs to open the hips and nourish the reproductive organs. Gomukhasana (Cow-Facing Pose) challenges the body to do just that. In addition, it focuses on opening the shoulders creating space for the heart while also counterbalancing the abdominal and spinal muscles. Read on to discover a few tips for getting into the pose. Read the rest of this entry »

When describing Utkatasana (Chair Pose) Shiva Rea says it best: “To the external eye, it looks like a yogi sitting in an imaginary chair. When you do the pose, however, it is definitely not a cushy, passive ride.” Similarly, when I learned this pose, my teacher had an alternative name: Awkward Pose. There is nothing about this pose that is direct and simple, perhaps because it supports the alignment of life energy throughout your body, starting at the base – the root. Read on to learn a few quick tips for refining your version of this slightly, well, awkward shape. Read the rest of this entry »

Whether you are a novice or an experienced yogi, the use of the Sanskrit terms for postures in yoga can sometimes be intimidating. However, there is a reason teachers share this ancient language with students – not only to honor the historic roots of the thousands-of-years-old practice but also, in some cases, to give context for the postures and the shape into which you are putting your body. By knowing that splits (a.k.a. Flying Monkey Pose) is called Hanumanasana, you can understand that this challenging full-leg-spread pose is so-named because of the monkey-faced god Hanuman’s great leap from the southern tip of India to the island of Sri Lanka, carried by strength and devotion to save Sita the kidnapped wife of Vishnu. MayThis month we share with you this challenging pose, one that while complicated in its pronunciation, can be made accessible for most bodies through variations and modifications. Read on to learn more about its benefits. Read the rest of this entry »