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Friday, August 31, 2012

Friday Q&A: Head Rush

Q: Quick question, Baxter. Every morning when I wake up and come down, I stop at the middle landing, grab two post on both sides of the staircase and take a deep breath and slowly start bending back and I stay that way for about 20 seconds or less till I start getting a slight dizziness/rush/ kinda thing and then I do the "cow" pose (reverse). And I feel so fresh after that...now while doing this am I doing something that could be not right in course of time and I should stop doing that...does it sound like a kundalini rush or just a good work...

Caloric Restriction and Longevity

by Nina and BradPhoto from National Institutes of HealthYou may have noticed that we’ve been talking about yoga for healthy eating this week (see Yoga for Healthy Eating) without defining what “healthy eating” entails. To be honest, we’ve intentionally been avoiding getting too specific about dietary recommendations because there is so much controversy these days about what a healthy diet is. However, one thing we can now say with confidence is that...

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Reasons for Doing Yoga

by NinaYesterday in his post Yoga for Healthy Eating, Baxter wrote about a study that showed that obesity in modern societies was not caused by our sedentary lifestyle but instead by our eating habits. But the fact is, our current culture is a very sedentary one, and if weight loss isn’t a good reason for exercising, there are many, other important reasons, including both physical and mental health. If you’ve been reading our blog for any amount...

Monday, August 27, 2012

Georg Feuerstein, 1947-2012

by Nina Doorways by Nina Zolotow Just the other day in my post Why You Should Study Yoga Philosophy I wrote about how much I valued the work of yoga scholar Dr. Georg Feuerstein. Then yesterday I learned that he died on August 25. Even though I never met him, I consider him to be one of my most important teachers, so I wanted to take a moment to honor him. It was always the work of Dr. Feuerstein that I turned to (and will continue to turn...

Friday, August 24, 2012

Friday Q&A: Post-Surgery Scar Tissue

Q: Hi good folks. Several years ago I had emergency surgery for diverticulitus (I was 44, now 48). Afterward I lived with a colostomy bag for six months and then had a colon resection. During the second surgery it was discovered that I had extensive scar tissue. I am assuming that there is even more scar tissue now resulting from the second surgery. Since then I have experienced some occasional intense short blasts of pain when doing asanas (parsvottanasana and prasarita padottanasan in particular). I know I have to be careful of causing hernias...

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Featured Sequence: Chair Yoga Mini Sequence

.by Baxter and NinaHow much yoga can you do without getting out of your chair? Well, it turns out quite a lot! In fact, today’s mini sequence is a well-rounded practice that includes backbends, forward bends, a twist, a hip opener, and a relaxation pose, all of which can be done at your desk or at the airport. The entire sequence is accessible to almost everyone, including people who find it difficult to get up and down from the floor or who cannot...

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Why You Should Study Yoga Philosophy

by NinaArctic Sun by Michele Macartney-FilgateBaxter’s post yesterday (see Does Home Practice Make You Healthier?) was packed full of interesting tidbits, wasn’t it? But one of the most striking comments for me was this one about yoga philosophy:Notably, frequency of philosophy study was the yoga practice variable that most often predicted health. In addition, more frequent philosophy study also contributed to a lower BMI and higher odds of being...

Monday, August 20, 2012

Balance and Safety

by ShariA lot of my students tell me that they have balance issues and want to improve their balance with yoga practice. There is no unifying factor on why these students have balance issues. Some are due to injuries with surgical repairs (ankle fractures or other bone fractures, joint replacements of the hips or knees, spinal surgeries). Some are due to soft tissue injuries of muscle, tendons or ligaments. Some are due to brain injuries, such as...

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Featured Pose: Seated Cat-Cow Pose

by Baxter and NinaThis deceptively simple, gentle pose from our office yoga series brings mobility to your entire spine, allowing you to move your spine in two of the six important movement directions in which your spine can move, extension (back bending) and flexion (forward bending).  Mobility in the spine is important for maintaining the health of your spine, and for your entire body since your spinal cord, which communicates with your entire...

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Yoga Injuries — Fact or Fiction Telesummit

We’re pleased to announce that Yoga for Healthy Aging contributor Dr. Timothy McCall will be a featured speaker in a free “telesummit” this weekend that we think will be of interest to you:Yoga Injuries – Facts and Fiction TelesummitSaturday, August 25, 2012, 12 pm to 4 pm EDT; 9 am to 1 pm PDT“Yoga is a wonderful, powerful practice, with the potential to change lives. It's our hope that this telesummit will not just help clear up misconceptions...

Diving Deeper into Prana

by BaxterWhen I want to dive a little deeper into any yoga-related topic, I feel blessed to work with one of the smartest and well-studied yoga teachers in America today, Richard Rosen. Richard is the owner of the Piedmont Yoga Studio in Oakland, CA, as well as author of two books on pranayama (a word I will let him define in a moment) and a Shambhala audio series on pranayama, as well as a new book on the earliest yoga poses Original Yoga (see here...

Monday, August 13, 2012

Frequently Asked Questions: Yoga and Aging

by Nina And BaxterRecently Baxter and I helped Brad prep for an interview with More Magazine (we'll let you know when it comes out) about yoga and aging. The interviewer sent Brad a few very general questions, the kind that people who know little or nothing about yoga frequently ask. I thought you might be interested to hear our answers. Latch on Weathered Door by Nina ZolotowQ: How is yoga good for aging bodies?A: The physical postures help...

Friday, August 10, 2012

Friday Q&A: Morton's Neuroma

Q: I have a question about flat feet and Morton's toe. I'm a 57 YO man who walks a lot and I have both. I always have difficulty balancing on one foot—tree, eagle pose, etc., and have recently had a bout with Plantar Fasciitis showing up in my left heel. No fun. I was at a yoga class yesterday and some poses felt good, others hurt. When I left the class, I literally limped home and iced it for 1/2 hr. then heat, then rest. I had acupuncture at Quan Yin this morning for it and bought new, sturdy shoes and heel pads. It feels a little better today....

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Featured Sequence: Standing Shoulder Stretches

by Baxter and NinaThose of you who have been following the blog for a while will have noticed we’ve been slowly working our way through a series of office yoga poses. Our original plan was that after individually describing each of the poses in our complete sequence, we would, as our grand finale, write a post that links them all together into a full-length office yoga sequence. Eventually we realized two things: 1) the full-length sequence wouldn’t...

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Take Care of Yourself or Your Students: Yoga and Safety

by ShariNavigating Through Icebergs by Michele Macartney-FilgateI have been thinking a lot about the topic of safety when I teach these days, so I thought I might share some of my insights with you all, both students and fellow teachers.So many people wander into a yoga class these days that it can be overwhelming for the teacher to juggle all the special needs that people may present. Let me give you some examples of my typical yoga students. I...