Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

Whether you leap out of bed without the assistance of an alarm clock or you hit snooze five times before you consider throwing off the sheets, morning yoga may be the game-changer you need. Stepping onto your yoga mat first thing can set the tone for your day and start your it on a positive note. Here are three of our favorite reasons to wake up and stretch. Starting your day with even a short yoga class is a natural way to create a positive perspective for your entire day. Yoga is a practice of learning to control your busy mind and direct your attention where you want it to go and elevating your “feel good” hormones can help. Who doesn’t want to feel happier?

According to Yoga Sutra 2.33: Vitarka-badhane pratipaksha-bhavanam, When disturbed by negative thoughts, cultivate the opposite mental attitude. This practice of actively working to shift your perspective is key to creating a life where you’re flourishing and living your fullest life. When we flow on our yoga mat, we don’t simply impact our physical bodies, we release fear and negative blocks holding us back from experiencing more love, happiness, and peace. Sometimes manifesting your dreams begins with something as simple as sweating it out. Yoga is a practice of self-discovery. Whether you’re interested in learning how to stop getting in your own way, releasing past trauma and stress, or motivating yourself to take action, a mindful practice can fuel your journey. Vinyasa is a flowing style of yoga linking breath to movement and is derived from Ashtanga Yoga. It’s like one long dance with your breath where you create a moving meditation. A strong, dynamic yoga practice can dislodge and set free emotions trapped in your physical body.

Yoga retreats are an opportunity to literally turn off the buzz of Smart phones, television, computers, traffic and the rest of those modern conveniences that over-stimulate us and keep us stuck in “fight or flight” mode. The profound relaxation and joy established while disconnected from “real life” helps us tune in to how we’re feeling and appreciate the present moment. When you arrive to your retreat, external noise is silenced, and profound peace is accessible. Unlike when you’re home focused on all life’s daily responsibilities, you can get quiet enough to hear your thoughts, experience your feelings, savor delicious food (prepared by someone else), and lose yourself in new surroundings. A great retreat is one where you have the freedom to listen to your inner voice.

Are you harnessing the power of the world around you to connect to your truest self? This week’s classes dive into how aligning yourself with the cycles of the moon can help you connect more deeply with your own light. While it’s vital to turn your focus inward during yoga and meditation, it’s also essential to connect with universal energy. Everything is connected. A powerful way to align with the cycles of nature is to tune in to the cycles of the Moon. Yoga helps us find balance––inside and out. Hatha yoga’s name derives from Ha-tha, which means Sun and Moon in Sanskrit. Ha = Sun. Tha = Moon. The solar channel of the body encompasses the sympathetic nervous system, masculine energy, and the right side of the body. The lunar channel is the left side of the body and encompasses the parasympathetic nervous system and the divine feminine. We’re all made up of masculine and feminine, light and dark, and active and passive. Yoga can help us learn to balance these forces out and aligning with the moon’s phases is a powerful way to do so.

It’s true––sleep is a form of nourishment and necessary to wake up refreshed. Or put another way, rest is just as important as work. If all you do is work, you’ll burn out and be less able to live a well-balanced, healthy happy life. And if all you do is sleep or lay around on the couch, you’re missing out on the world around you. Many of us live busy lives, so it’s important to quiet your mind and tap into your parasympathetic nervous system. Life is all about balancing active, “fight or flight” energy and passive “rest and digest” energy. If you’re a chronic insomniac or only suffer sleepless nights occasionally, an evening yoga practice is a great way to get ready for bed.

Back pain impacts millions of people at one time or another, whether from a specific injury or from long-term poor posture. Most of us sit too much and as a result, our spines become compressed, our muscles and connective tissue tighten, and then we are hurting. This week, we have six practices designed to give you a spinal tune-up and help prevent future pain. We tend to store emotions in our tissues and if we don’t create a release, physical tightness and strain can result. Whatever is causing your back pain is individual. How yoga helps is universal.

Without darkness, can we truly appreciate the light? Each one of us is composed of light and shadow. Masculine and feminine energy. Life is all about balance. The warmth from the sunshine on our skin. The cool gleam of a full moon’s rays. Yin and Yang. Just like the day is balanced out by the night, work is balanced out by rest. If you’re accustomed to a sweaty, vigorous Vinyasa class, learning to slow down is work.

Nirvana is defined as complete freedom from pain, worry, and the external world. In yoga, it’s considered the highest spiritual state. Used in a broader sense, nirvana can be defined as a state of bliss or a release from all suffering. This week, we’re sharing four practices designed to give you that sweet feeling in your neck and shoulders. Whether you woke up with a stiff neck or spend hours daily in front of a screen, tension in the shoulders and neck can prevent you from feeling your best. These classes will help loosen tight muscles, balance your Visshuda (throat) chakra, and clear your mind.

Maximizing the strength of your glute muscles isn’t just about looking great in your yoga pants. Having a powerful backside is incredibly important for hip stability and proper posture. Sitting causes the glute muscles to turn off completely, so if you spend most of your day in front of a computer, it’s time to make sure you dedicate time activating your glutes! Most people have heard of the gluteus maximus, which is the largest muscle in the body. Two other gluteal muscles, the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, are deeper than the gluteus maximus and play an important role in building and maintaining a powerful posterior.

Whether you can slide right into Hanumanasana or Monkey Pose like an Olympic gymnast or if the idea of dropping into this pose strikes fear in your heart, we’re here to persuade you to approach the splits with a fresh perspective. Of course, there are modified versions to accommodate injuries or physical limitations, but some version can work for you. And dedicating time to master something seemingly impossible results in deeper lessons than the simply finding the posture’s full expression.

Feeling out of balance? Maybe it’s time to turn your focus inward and create alignment from the inside out. We are all composed of energy or life force or as we call it in yoga, prana. Our energy fluctuates from minute to minute and sometimes maintaining our equilibrium is challenging. Yoga helps us align our energy through Nadis, which are energetic passageways carrying prana through our subtle body. Keeping energy flowing is important to feeling our best because when our prana is stuck, our mind, our body, and our emotions suffer imbalances. By aligning the Chakras from the Muladhara (Root) at the base of our spine through the Sushumna Nadi to the Sahasrara (Crown) Chakra, we are creating balance in our system.

When your yoga teacher moves into backbends, does it spark excitement or anxiety? Backbends have so many benefits for our body, our mind, and our heart but sometimes they can stoke fear, especially if you’ve had back injuries or issues. No surprise as the Anahata or Heart Chakra is the seat of courage, love, and fear. Let’s break down the benefits and the cautions to these enlivening poses because there’s a version for you! Physically, bending backwards strengthens your back, shoulders, and hips. Backbends improve your posture and increase mobility of your entire spine, while opening the chest, abdominals, and front of your pelvis and legs. Emotionally, these poses open your heart for more compassion and aid in letting go of fear. Mentally, backbends energize and awaken your brain, helping impart a sense of clarity and alertness.

Stop what you’re doing for a moment––well, after you read this––and close your eyes. Place one hand over your heart and one hand on your belly. Exhale everything out and take the biggest inhale you’ve taken today. Inhale the possibility that you can change the way you’re feeling right now. Inhale and trust you can renew your spirit by tuning into your heart. We’re here with a gentle reminder that yoga is one of the most powerful tools for regenerating your body, your mind, and your spirit. No matter what style of yoga you love to practice, the emphasis on conscious breathing helps to uplift your spirit.

Every time your tablet, phone, or computer fails to function properly, experts will advise you to flip the switch off and wait. Most times, that momentary unplugging fixes the issue. When you slow down and shift your focus inward, even for a short time, you’re refilling your well and benefitting your nervous system. Yoga is an incredible way to reset your mind, body, and spirit. Simply by unrolling your mat for practice, you’re eliminating distractions and choosing self-care. All types of yoga will do the trick, but slower styles like Slow Flow, Yin, Gentle, and Restorative allow you to dive even deeper

Who is ready to boost endorphins and create a strong, balanced body? This week, we’re focusing on how asana can help you grow physically strong. Sure, building muscle strength and endurance will help you feel better in your yoga clothes but being as strong as you can be is about how you feel more than how you look. Prioritize feeling great in your skin! We’re taking out the guesswork for you. All you need to do is roll out your mat and join our global yoga community every day for two-weeks. Three different class options per day will provide something suitable for beginners to advanced yogis! Let’s get stronger together.

Pilates is an incredible exercise system which builds strength, stability, and flexibility in your core and spine while also developing mental focus and clarity. Before we dive into three reasons why you should consider incorporating Pilates into your fitness regime, we wanted to share the fascinating history behind the method originally called Contrology...

Here's a quick and easy recipe for a healthy and delicious vegan quinoa salad that can be made in just 20 minutes. It's perfect for a quick lunch or a light dinner. This quinoa salad is crisp, delicious, and refreshing. It’s made simply with fresh cucumber, red bell pepper, red onion, chickpeas, fresh parsley and a honey-cumin olive oil and lemon dressing.

Pilates is an incredible exercise system that builds strength, stability, and flexibility in your core and spine while also developing mental focus and clarity. Before we dive into three reasons why you should consider incorporating Pilates into your fitness regime, we wanted to share the fascinating history behind the method originally called Contrology.

When we consider asana (postures), we often think first about creating flexibility in the muscles. But yoga also positively impacts connective tissue. Think about when you peel an orange and there’s all that spongy, stringy white stuff between the peel and the fruit. Yes, that’s what our bodies’ network of ligaments and tendons a.k.a. fascia can be compared to––or maybe even a spider web–– supporting our bones, joints, organs, muscles and nerve fibers.

Whether you’re in the thick of winter, trying to keep warm until the leaves re-emerge on the trees, or if you’re in the other half of the world where the summer sun is heating your skin, it’s important to keep your inner fire burning. Our lives are created from the inside first, so join us this week for some classes designed to stoke your inner flame and boost your energy and confidence.

Loving yourself means embracing and accepting who you are, including all of your strengths, weaknesses, and imperfections. It means recognizing your worth and valuing yourself as a person. Feeling self-love is essential to our overall well-being and happiness, as it provides a positive foundation for our relationships with ourselves and others.

To truly love yourself takes a lot of work! We all have ingrained emotional wounds and patterns developed over a lifetime which can mire us in patterns of self-doubt, self-criticism, and lack of self-love. Yoga is one path to release what’s holding you back from what is preventing from loving and respecting yourself. No matter who you are and where you are on your journey, you are worthy, valuable, and lovable.

What do you think first when you hear about learning to go deeper in your yoga practice? Mastering an advanced asana or standing on your head for five minutes or “fill in the physical achievement here?” Sure, working consistently toward your edge in yoga is valuable and for many is as deep as they care to go in their practice. That’s fine! But this week, we’re delving beneath the surface of the physical body and connecting to something deeper.

Whether you slept wrong, overdid your workout, or are under major stress, pain and tension often manifest in your neck and upper back. In an ideal world, you’d have your massage therapist at your beck and call to knead out the knots. Most of us aren’t in the position to afford daily massages but we can manage or eliminate tension with yoga.

How is your inner dialogue? Would you talk to your best friend or a stranger the way you speak to yourself? Often, we are more critical, judgmental, and hard on ourselves than we are with others. If this sounds familiar, it may be time to work on developing a deeper sense of self-compassion. Yoga can help.