Diversity has been a hot topic in yoga as of late. Diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility. Three biggies that help form the foundation for the increasingly ubiquitous and benevolent mantra “yoga is for everybody.” But, good intentions aside, are yoga teachers saying the wrong things to make students feel otherwise? Short answer: yep, probably. But they [...]
For Teachers
Yesterday morning I woke up with a sensation that’s all too familiar, a little scratchiness at the back of my throat. That’s how a cold/flu/sinus infection always starts for me. I’ve been throwing some herbal defenses its way and it doesn’t seem to be getting worse, but it’s not getting better either—yet.
In yoga, we tend to place a lot of emphasis on stretching as a means toward more flexibility. But what actually happens in our body when we stretch? Most of us envision our bodies as consisting of play-doh like tissues that we pull on and make longer through stretching, but new science is revealing to us a model of stretching that is much more complex, dynamic, and fascinating than what has previously been imagined. And it turns out that thinking of our bodies in this older “play-doh” like version may be counterproductive and can lead to a number of injuries and structural problems resulting from our yoga practice.
If you practice yoga, you’ve probably heard the entreaty, “Listen to your body.” It’s good, sound advice. When you embark on any physical practice, it’s important to know and respect your body’s limits. Those limits can change over time, of course, but tuning in and listening to what your body is telling you each time you practice is essential not only to your body’s health, but to the growth of your practice. How else can you really know the effects of asana?
If you think yoga teacher is a dream job, you might want to keep your day job. CNNMoney/PayScale’s top 100 careers “with big growth, great pay and satisfying work” is out and you’ll never guess what made the list. OK, you can probably guess thanks to our headline and intro…Ranking in at top job number 10…is…drum [...]
by J. Brown The traditional roles of yoga teacher and student have collapsed under the weight of cultural appropriation, capitalism, and scandal. In the aftermath, yoga teachers often find themselves trapped in a nowhere land somewhere between fitness instructor and life coach. But yoga is learned in relationship, the nature of which largely determines the [...]
Incorporating partner poses in your kids’ yoga classes is an excellent way to teach concepts of teamwork, trust and communication. I’ll be the first to admit that when I am in a yoga class and the teacher asks us to find a partner my initial reaction is to tense up and think, “Oh man, really?” Yet, once I open myself to the experience I find myself playing like a kid and I am able to connect with a person I may otherwise never have spoken to.
It’s a crazy time of year, which is why we’re happy (somewhat relieved, even!) to share this interview with Judith Hanson Lasater from Yoga U Online who will be hosting her free holiday talk coming up on Monday, December 15th covering “Yoga Past, Present, Future – Challenges and Opportunities.” The face of yoga is changing [...]
In our YogaDork Ed series we seek to shed light on anatomy and safe practices in yoga and in our bodies. Today’s article addresses the best options when recovering safely from injury. by Maya Talisa, Certified Yoga Tune Up Instructor To ice, or not to ice? This is a question recently being discussed regularly among [...]
