Tag: home practice
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My Yoga Prop Collection
“What type of mat would you recommend?” one of my students recently asked. She already has one, but it feels slippery. We all can relate. Sliding hands make Downward Dog agonizing. But I couldn’t give her a solid recommendation. I’m not up on yoga mats. I acquired my little stable…
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Why Silence Matters in Yoga Class
From January to March, I taught the “wall stand” in every class, every week. As my students stood, I navigated the room, giving group instructions and individualized corrections. I was constantly moving, constantly speaking. In contrast, when doing my daily wall stand, I was alone at home—often in pre-dawn darkness,…
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Improve Your Posture: The Wall Stand
Last November, I visited my parents in Hilo, my hometown. One day, I got my mom and dad to try a one-minute “wall stand.” I’d given my dad a mini yoga sequence years ago—to help his golf game, I said. But I wanted to add something new and efficient, the…
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Trouble Getting Started? Make It Doable
In May, walking past a Little Free Library in Kitsilano, a book title caught my eye: 3 Minutes to a Pain-Free Life. That very day, I was finalizing a blog post on chronic pain. What a coincidence. The book was “like new” and I couldn’t resist taking it. Written by…
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My winter of Supta Virasana
This winter I’m teaching Supta Virasana (Reclined Hero Pose) every week in my two-hour classes. Every week. Will simple repetition boost progress in this surprisingly demanding restorative pose? If taught only occasionally, students never familiarize themselves with it. Most require elaborate prop set-ups to accommodate tight quadriceps and iliopsoas, knee and ankle issues, and so forth. If unfamiliar with…
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Home practice in my hometown
Flying into Hilo, my hometown, two weeks ago, I gazed out the airplane window. An endless, supersaturated palette of green, along the Hamakua Coast. While much of the world, including California (my subsequent stomping ground) is suffering from drought, Hilo has had over 12 inches of rain in the month of April alone. The aerial view was striking.…
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Take it to the next level
Last summer, I resumed freestyle lap swimming after a hiatus. I’m purely a rec swimmer and will never be super fast, but I still want to cut my 1000-meter time, 25 minutes. “What’s a ‘decent’ 1000-meter swim time?” I asked my yoga student who does triathlons. Here’s her paraphrased answer:…
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Can Iyengar yoga attract the masses?
A friend recently tried a few classes at one of Vancouver’s large, multi-branch yoga studios. While her main practice is Iyengar yoga, she was curious to see what else is out there. She found teaching quality quite variable, and she was amazed at the hordes of students. “How big are…
Yoga Spy 