Tag Archives: health

The Open Heart & the Modern Yogini.

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photo: breahn

“A weak or concave chest indicates a depressed, sad or helpless attitude, which can be uplifted by deep breathing.” ~ Deb Shapiro

The other day I was talking to a friend, also a yoga teacher, about the expression “open your heart—lift your heart.” It is a great cue to get students to expand the rib cage and drop the shoulders away from the ears. Especially in back bending asanas, we want to lift up through the mid torso and ribs to avoid compression in the lumbar spine, and to bring more breath and energy into the lungs and heart. This encourages a shift from shallow breathing and also enhances lung capacity. Continue reading →

Prevention or Cure? Headaches and the modern Yogi(ni)

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“Almost all experts agree that prevention of osteoporosis is more effective than treatment” – Loren Fishman, MD, and Ellen Saltonstall , Yoga For Osteoporosis


“According to yogic texts, regular practice of Pranayama prevents and cures diseases” – B.K. S. Iyengar, Light on Pranayama


“heyam duhkhamanagatam: Future suffering should be avoided” –Patanjali, Sutra 11.16, The Essence of Yoga by Bernard Bouanchaud

STOP – take a breath, exhale completely
LOOK – inside, be aware
LISTEN – for guidance, the voice of instinct or just common sense Continue reading →

Sound and the modern yogi(ni)

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“Dhyana (meditation) means absorption.  It is the art of self-study, reflection, keen observation, or the search for the Infinite within.  It is the observation of the physical processes of the body, study of mental states and profound contemplation.  It means looking inwards to one’s innermost being.  Dhyana is the discovery of the Self” – B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Pranayama


“Sound can change our entire life’s course in an instant. Words spoken in anger can cause permanent problems between a husband and wife, or parent and child.  The throb of a well-tuned motor can engender such satisfaction in an amateur mechanic that a whole new career path suddenly opens before him.  A word of encouragement from a teacher at just the right time can inspire a student for many years to come.” – T. Ashley-Farrand, Healing Mantras 

Each one of us has a story about where we find ourselves at this moment in time, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually.  Continue reading →

Awareness and the Summer Yogi(ni)

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“If we want to make changes or improvements in our lives, we must first become conscious of what is going on now.  Learning to pay attention is the foundation for the development of a relationship with ourselves.” – Rachel Schaeffer, Yoga For Your Spiritual Muscles


“I imagine how a chemist would write the equation for mindfulness: concentration + calm + equanimity + rapture + energy + investigation = mindfulness.”  – Sylvia Boorstein,  Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There

Staying Fit With Cancer, a Guest Blogger’s Approach

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Dear readers, I am happy to share with you an email and article written by David Haas.He recently contacted me and I am honored and excited to post this on his behalf.  Cancer has touched my personal and professional spheres in different ways – perhaps yours too- and awareness is healing on many levels Continue reading →

Gentlemen, this Yoga blog is for you

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“Intuition is a direct signal from your deepest self that you are navigating from your true center” – Gay Hendricks, PH.D /Kate Ludeman, PH.D, The Corporate Mystic


“People with high levels of personal mastery do not set out to integrate reason and intuition.  Rather, they achieve it naturally – as a by-product of their commitment to use all the resources at their disposal.  They cannot afford to choose between reason and intuition, or head and heart, any more than they would choose to walk on one leg or see with one eye” – Peter Senge, quote, The Corporate Mystic Continue reading →