Short Yoga Sessions Stimulate Brain Function and Improve Cognition

by RamMonarchs Feeding by Melina MezaBoth Nina and Baxter emphasized the need to have a short session of yoga as a quick practice especially during long travel or while taking a break from work (see Mini Office Yoga Practice).  And I recently wrote a piece about the ill effects of prolonged sitting, and suggested taking short breaks and bringing in office yoga or supplementary yoga (see Yoga, Your Compantion Through the Day). All these articles...

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Featured Sequence: Lower Body Strength Practice

by BaxterWarrior 3 PoseLower body strength is vital to so many of our daily activities, from the simplest tasks, such as, getting out of bed in the morning and moving around the house as we start the day, to elective activities, such as, getting up and down in the garden on a lovely spring day, to unexpected events, such as helping to move furniture for your best friend. So, from from my perspective, we are talking about strengthening the muscles...

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When Relaxing Isn't Relaxing

by NinaCactus Flower by Melina MezaOn Friday, Baxter wrote about how meditation and other forms of conscious relaxation, such as yoga nidra, can be agitating for certain people (see Friday Q&A: Can Meditation Be Dangerous?). I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true for many of us at certain times. Sometimes when you’re feeling anxious or depressed having to sit quietly with your thoughts can be overwhelming. The same thing is true for lying...

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Friday Q&A: Can Meditation Be Dangerous?

Cactus by Melina MezaQ: I've got a question for Baxter (as one of his former teacher training students and budding yoga teacher): Are there any studies showing that individuals with mental disorders such as depression or schizophrenia should not meditate because it may worsen their condition or otherwise?A: My students are always spurring me to look more deeply at what I know about yoga and its safe application for so many conditions! And this question...

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Accidentally Karma Yoga

by NinaAustin Graffiti by Melina MezaBrad has recently been telling me about how gratifying he finds mentoring his younger colleagues. He said that he’s turning more and more to this activity as a way of finding fulfillment at his work. Then, just last night as we were walking home from dinner out, he told me he’d read an article about a scientific study that confirmed his new approach to his job Meaningful Activities Protect the Brain From Depression...

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One Thing: Yoga, Zen, Whatever

by NinaZen Jewel by Torei EnjiLast night I was thinking about someone close to me who is going through hard times—struggling with rather serious depression. Although he exercises regularly, he doesn't take yoga classes. He's considering starting, though, and naturally I'm the go-to expert on that topic so I spent some time reading up on the studios in his area in an attempt to help. But when it came down to it, I surprised myself by recommending...

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Yoga and Foot Cramps

by Baxter  One of our readers sent in a question that I was surprised we had never received before: “I'm having this ongoing cramping of the feet, mostly the arch during yoga classes. The cramping I experience happens is not flex, such as in seal or cobra or even in a kneeling pose where the top of my foot is on the mat. It's then I get the cramp in the upper arch of my foot. Each foot will cramp and sometimes both cramp at the same time....

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Jack Up Your Training Intensity With 21s.

High Intensity Training SeriesJack Up Your Training Intensity With 21sBy Veeraj Vic GoyaramRonnie Coleman is well known for doing his barbell curls with 21sMost of you probably already know about 21s as a great way of making your workouts interesting, fun and to bomb a lagging bodypart by hitting it in a way that it is not accustomed to. The use of this awesome technique mustn't be limited to barbell curls as many exercises can lend themselves to...

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Friday Q&A: How to Subscribe

Q: Could you sign me up to receive updates by email?A: We actually get this question quite frequently. Although we have instructions for subscribing to the blog on our How to Subscribe page, the blog's new way of showing the pages in a drop-down list instead of tabs (Google surprised us by making that change) means that some people don't realize the page is there. So in today's post, I'm going to provide the same instructions you can always find...

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Starting to Move Again, Part 2 (A Progress Report)

by NinaDaffodil by Melina MezaAs some of you may remember, during this last winter, Baxter and I became concerned about people we were hearing about who were afraid of leaving the house because they were worried about falling on the winter ice. Even worse, we heard about a couple of people who had fallen and who had then lost all their confidence in their physical abilities. The real problem here is that loss of confidence can lead to inactivity,...

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Mental Exercise, Yoga and the Perfect Brain

by RamAbstract Lights by Melina MezaGenerally we assume that as long as the brain is working fine and memory is reasonably good there is no need to pay attention to it. But the concept “use it or lose it” applies to the brain as well as the body. Our brains are like the car engines; just as the performance of the engine is enhanced as long as the oil is changed regularly, similarly the brain actively grows and rewires itself in response to stimulation...

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