Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

If you’re a guy who grew up in America, you most likely competed in sports. It’s part of our upbringing and a large part of who we are as a culture. Sports prepare you for life. They teach work ethic, how to win respectfully and how to lose with dignity and seek redemption. We like to work hard, physically compete and earn our victories. As the yoga trainer for Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union and other professional athletes, I’m inspired to hear them rave about the benefits of yoga on their athletic performance.

Clean eat your way to the body you want and don’t let your dessert desires get in the way.

I love teaching beginners. Here are seven easy tips to help you survive your first yoga classes.

I wrote this blog last night and then completely changed it this morning as the ultimate test of my own integrity came into play … as the themes always do.

Have a gratitude object. Keep a special stone, a feather, anything that resonates with your soul, in your pocket or purse. Perhaps it’s a special ring or necklace. Every time you touch this object, allow it to signal to you to think of something or someone you are grateful for. This action brings both presence and consciousness to the touching your sacred object. Find your special object now, while the idea is fresh in your awareness.

If you’ve been around this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m a big advocate of practicing your yoga in whatever way works best for you.

There’s so much pressure on local teachers to fill their rooms, be authentic, and sell studio memberships, that it’s a wonder anyone can remember why they wanted to teach in the first place.

Polarization seems rampant across all sectors of modern life. Debates on money, politics, religion, and even yoga, readily devolve into diametrically opposed camps. Moderate voices are lost in the din of intolerance and most folks understandably turn away from the discussion with disgust or lament. But without someone staking the middle ground, and others who embrace and support it, chances are the problems of the day will continue unabated.

My daily yoga practice is absolutely ordinary. It is as ordinary and common place as brushing my teeth.

This word, oh this word. Since it came into my awareness over 10 days ago, I feel like I have been rung through the ringer. And I’m not alone either! I’ve been holding space for emails, Facebook messages, texts and phone calls from people going through the same thing … Relationship issues.

Paying bills, taking care of kids, going to work… life can be very stressful at times to the point you feel like you just want to scream. With the various events that happen throughout the course of the day the mind can begin to race constantly wondering what to do. If you’ve been feeling bogged down lately, or have perhaps been over thinking every scenario happening in your life, then it may be time for you to come to terms with reality and find true peace of mind.

Are we working out? Or are we working in? When I was asked what I’d like to see in a yoga magazine, I said without hesitation: Reality.

The other day, I’m in the car with my youngest daughter and she asks me, “Mom, is there an end to the sky?” And I said … “Um no honey. It’s infinite.” And she says … “Infinite… like energy?” And I say, “Yup, just like that.” And she sat there for quite awhile looking up and out of the sunroof. As if she was trying to figure it all out.

What is Vedic Astrology? Jyotisha, or Vedic astrology, is the ancient astrology of India. It has an unbroken lineage going back over five thousand years. Jyotisha is derived from the Sanskrit word Jyoti meaning “light”. Thus, Jyotisha is often referred to as the science of light, for it helps us to see the past, present and future clearly as well as giving us insight into who we are and how to best actualize our potential.

There are plenty of funny articles online about the weird things you hear yoga teachers say, and I’ll admit I’m an offender on some of them.

“You don’t have to see the entire staircase, just take the first step” – said a very wise man named Martin Luther King Jr. So very, very true.

I know you’ve heard it before. I’ve said it before. But what does it really mean to tuck your tailbone? When you should you tuck and when shouldn’t you? And can you tuck your tailbone too much? Yes, yes you can.

There was a moment in my life when I realized that I couldn’t blame anyone else for what I was experiencing, feeling, or doing. Every action was mine alone and until I owned that, I would remain out of control.

Yoga teachers don't really make a living off teaching yoga classes anymore. Many rely upon conducting yoga teacher training. But contrary to popular belief, this trend may have less to do with the business or marketing inclinations of yoga teachers and more to do with the purchasing and study habits of the yoga-going public.

It seems like ever since The Secret hit shelves, everyone from housewives to college students to investment bankers are evangelists of the positive thinking movement.

I continually ask myself and reconsider what I’m actually doing and teaching others to do in asana. I often refer back to the great teachers on what they have to say. Beyond the mechanics of making shapes, there is, for me, a profound process under way.

Every living thing has energy...plants, animals, humans, etc. In the yogic tradition we have energy centers that house particular qualities that affect our overall physical and psychological well being.

While women are still the majority in yoga classes, there's a strong movement of men not only trying yoga, but striving both on and off the mat.

OK, I admit that happy hip stretches is a bit of an oxymoron as almost no one I know genuinely loves the feeling of stretching out tight hips. That s$!t hurts!

A few years ago I visited a girlfriend in Southern California. I was preparing for my Yogic Lore Flow workshop on the Hindu goddesses and spent the week in her lush backyard garden meditating on Lakshmi, the goddess of abundance, beauty, and grace. I came to understand Lakshmi’s power of bestowing beauty, abundance, and grace is directly attributed to her ability to recognize the exquisiteness of every moment, every flower, every day, and every smile.