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Outer Hip Relief

Have you been doing your “Kitchen Sink Yoga” or “6-Minutes of Yoga For Stiff Bodies“? Well here is another pose to add to your repertoire. The big muscles on your outer hip called the external rotators can tend to get tight. Use this stretch to target them at work, home, or virtually anywhere to help relieve the tension that comes from a sedentary life. Holding on to a table, counter, or the sink bend your knees and cross your shin over your opposite thigh. Flex your foot to protect your knee. Press down into the table with your hands to keep your deep core engaged. Lean forward until you feel sensation that you can sustain and breathe into. Create the action of pulling your knees away from each other to target stretch. Hold for 30-45 seconds and repeat on the second side. As you open you will be able to walk further […]

52 Weeks To Greener Living

Be A Conscious Consumer I believe with great passion that we vote every time we spent a dollar. Unfortunately most companies are not committed to the sustainability of our planet or to the health and well-being of the population who is buying their products. The market is driven by the dollar, if we all made choices with the environment in mind, companies would be forced to change. It’s overwhelming to think about all at once. Start by considering where you keep your money. Are you in a big, national or international bank, or a at local credit union? Where you keep your money is the foundation of how you engage as a consumer. Then, think about the basic products you use every single day: toilet paper, soap, toothpaste, laundry detergent, trash bags… Once a week, choose one product and look for a comparable local, sustainable, organic product you can switch to. At the […]

6 Minutes of Yoga For Stiff Bodies

People with stiff bodies face a special challenge in yoga classes where everyone seems pretzel-like in their flexibility. But don’t despair! Everybody has six-minutes a day to spare, right? These four exercises done daily will change your life! Ok, that might be a bit dramatic but it will change your body which will make you feel better in it. Do them religiously, and within a couple of weeks, you’ll notice the difference. Even if your body is more open use them as daily maintenance to stretch out when you wake up or after sitting for a long time. 1. Stand with one foot on a table or counter top. Push the heel of the foot on the table down firmly and use that power to stand fully in your leg that is on the floor. Tone your belly and lengthen up through your spine. The more open you are the higher […]

Happy Feet

Many of the discomforts in our body begin with our feet. As you walk, your foot, which could be thought of as a sense organ, finds the ground and sends messages to the rest of the body how to support your movement. This function is limited because we put our feet in shoes and walk along paved streets when our bodies were built to run barefoot on the earth. Whether or not you have foot pain, fallen arches, bunions, toes that don’t spread, or you wear high heel shoes, this one simple exercise will help you open and increase blood flow in your foot, loosen tight calves and hamstrings, and allow your foot to ground more completely. What To Do: 1. Get yourself a “pinky ball.” 2. Step down on it with your heel, slowly move the ball 1/4 inch at a time toward your toes. Stay 30 seconds in each spot. 3. You […]

Wrist Relief

Nothing upsets me more than seeing and hearing negative posts about yoga in the media. It is frustrating to me because pain and injury in yoga can completely be avoided if you know what you are doing. That said, you need to go to take the time to learn about your body and choose teachers who educate you about how to do the postures and take care of yourself. As a yogi it is up to you to take responsibility for your body and your practice. Together let’s keep yoga’s reputation intact. Wrist pain is one of the common complaints in yoga classes. Here’s how you can avoid it. 1. Place the foundation of your hands clearly and stay rooted through the finger prints, the knuckles – especially the index knuckle, and keep a lift in the center of the palm. Avoid collapsing into the heels of your hands. 2. Practice working […]