Yoga-based support for chronic pain & stress
Shoulder pain can make it hard to do the things you love to do. Can yoga help? Because I'm a yoga therapist and teacher, people tend to ask me for certain kinds of advice. It usually goes a little something like this. My shoulder is killing me! It's keeping me up all night and I'm… Continue reading Three Things to Consider When Your Shoulder Hurts
When I started learning about therapeutic yoga from Susi Hately, I noticed this question was coming up a lot. What support is needed? What is the support that would create enough safety to move with ease, to have less pain, to relax, and to reveal what’s possible? I often find that I don’t know. But… Continue reading Practice tip: What support is needed?
Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com I find I turn to Mary Oliver's poetry a lot at the turn of the seasons. No one quite captures the lessons of each time of year the way she does. Here's one of her poems as we head into summer: Just as the Calendar Began to Say Summer… Continue reading On Unlearning
Photo by Klaus Nielsen on Pexels.com I get asked about Adho Mukha Svanasana/ Downward Facing Dog a lot. For good reason - it’s a pose that makes a lot of demands on your body that are quite different from the demands of daily life. For one thing, you’re bearing weight on your hands. For another… Continue reading Help! I hate Downward Facing Dog!
It's Friday, and today we're taking a fresh look at Virabhadrasana 2 (Warrior 2 Pose). I've already written about the hip rotation involved in coming into this pose, and also about the alignment of the front knee. Today I want to give some love to the straight leg. When the right knee is bent in… Continue reading Fresh Take Friday: Virabhadrasana 2 (Warrior 2 Pose)
Happy Friday! For today's post, let's take a fresh look at your basic seated posture. In Sanskrit, the word asana, which we often translate as "pose", actually means "seat" - so a simple seated pose might very well be the original asana. In Western cultures where we've transitioned away from sitting directly on the floor,… Continue reading Fresh Take Friday: Sit on the earth
Happy Friday, everyone! Today, let's take a fresh look at coming out of Balasana, or Child's Pose. Balasana is a pose that is commonly used as a place of rest in many yoga classes. I want to look specifically at how we exit this pose today, but before we get into that, I think it's… Continue reading Fresh Take Friday: Balasana (Child’s Pose)
Happy Friday! Today, we're taking a fresh look at Supta Padangusthasana (Reclined Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose). This is a common pose done lying on the back. One leg is extended into the air, usually either with a strap around the foot or holding the big toe in the fingers. This is often thought of as a hamstring… Continue reading Fresh Take Friday: Supta Padangusthasana Part 1
Photo by Tree of Life Seeds on Pexels.com Pain is definitely a sign that something isn't functioning quite right in the body, but the existence of pain is also a normal part of being alive. It's an indicator that the body is functioning correctly; it's communicating with you about what isn't working and what needs to change.… Continue reading Practicing Yoga with Pain
Take a look at the picture below. How many folks are worried about her front knee? Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com If you've taken a yoga class before, you've probably heard the cardinal rule: Don't let your knee go past your ankle. When I did teacher training, that's one of the things we were taught… Continue reading Fresh Take Friday: What about the knee?
Rachel Ishiguro Yoga Therapy 