October - 2015

Should You Complete a Yoga Teacher Training?

Not all programs are created equal. Ask yourself these six questions before enrolling. Leading yoga classes can be rewarding, but getting certified to do so takes time, money and realistic expectations. Almost every yoga studio has a teacher training program. If you practice regularly, you have probably heard the teachers or studio owners talk to students about it before class. For the right people, completing a yoga training can be life-changing. But it's important to know

What Is Self-Realization?

This term “self-realization” is used and asked about quite often. I see no wrong answers to this question, however there are certainly different layers to its meaning and understanding. The term “self-realization” is often related to the concepts of self-actualization, self-discovery, self-reflection and self-exploration. In this article I will be expressing what I have experienced to be the core of this term Self-realization, which is to understand and experience our Self in

Players Turning to Yoga as a Way to Stay in Shape

Titans linebacker Wesley Woodyard practices yoga to “open up my back and heart area.” The Titans veteran Wesley Woodyard said he believed every linebacker could benefit from yoga. That does not quite seem to jibe, given that one of the tenets of football is to be aggressive and not back down. Yet yoga has made impressive inroads in the N.F.L., and Woodyard is one of several players who are using yoga to help them physically and mentally prepare for and deal with the sport’s c

May All Beings Everywhere Be Happy and Free

I've been practicing yoga "seriously" for almost two and a half years. I began yoga mostly because I needed to start exercising again after an intense job kept me from working out. I felt remarkably lazy. I thought, mistakenly, that yoga would be easy and I was hopeful that it would be bizarre enough to distract me from feeling as miserable as working out can often make you feel. I was quite wrong and I'm so grateful for that. Yoga has done some wonderful things for my body (

New Study: Yoga Boosts Cancer Survivors’ Well-Being

Good news just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month: A new study has found that participation in a yoga program helped cancer survivors feel better physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It also showed a correlation between practicing the more “contemplative” aspects of yoga — intention setting, mudra, pranayama, and final relaxation — and a greater increase in emotional and spiritual well-being. “Participation in the Healing Yoga for Cancer Survivorship (HYCS) protoc

Mental Health: A New Priority in Corporate America

Some industry leaders are focusing on well-being as well as other aspects of their employees' health. An office yoga class at a lab in Cambridge, Mass. Corporate mental health wellness programs have been shown to significantly reduce employees' stress levels. Joe Sifer was a moody, agitated and sometimes angry young employee at Booz Allen Hamilton in 1996. He suffered at work. He was told he had potential but he needed help. Now a senior vice president at that same strategy a

Living in a Pressure Cooker? Try Yoga.

The practice can teach you how to turn daily conflicts into opportunities to grow. When faced with overwhelming demands, take a deep breath. Yoga can help you get in that habit. As overworked and stressed-out Americans, we face many challenges. We all work tirelessly to support ourselves and succeed. Eventually, the frenetic pace of life may catch up to us and affect our health and relationships. Life is a like a battlefield. Yoga is a means to navigate the battle skillfully.

7 Ways Yoga Can Help You Age With Grace

Maintaining a yoga practice throughout your life can help keep your mind sharp and your body nimble. There is no avoiding aging – it’s one thing that’s certain. Yet, out of fear of the inevitable, we often neglect to take logical steps to prepare for the future. Yoga is a safe and fun way to stay physically healthy, and to keep our minds sharp and positive. Committing to a yoga practice helps us accept the life cycle and prevent becoming a burden to our loved ones as we age.

Treating Stress and Trauma With Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a committed, concerted, targeted practice -- a life skill. While pausing for a few deep breaths may make you feel better in the moment, practicing and training regularly will allow you to achieve long lasting results, brain health, and that calmer, less reactive place of being. Just as you would not tell someone who wanted to be physically healthy to take a five minute walk to achieve solid results, you would not expect physiological well-being from a few deep

Diving Into Your Fear

The saying goes that when the Buddha was confronted with fear he invited it in for tea. Fear is something we all feel at one time or another; for some it can be crippling, for others it is subtle and pervasive, possessing different faces and disguises. On the one hand, fear is a natural response to physical danger, but it can also be self-created, such as the fear of failure, of the dark, of being out of control, of being different, or of being lonely. We fear loving because