Anusara

A Little Help From Our Friends

Our bodies tell the stories of our life. Layers and layers of tension build up from all of our life experiences, physical injuries, emotional traumas, and simply from the way the modern world asks us to use our bodies. When any part of the body is misaligned or restricted due to injury, posture, or emotional distress, the nervous system is agitated and communication within the entire body is disrupted. Though health and vitality is our inherent nature and the body will always seek well-being the best it can, many times the compensation is not optimal and will cause stress on your entire system. Sure an alignment based yoga such as Anusara® can help us to create healthy habits in our body. A regular yoga practice will shed much of the surface tension our body holds while creating more awareness. However, if there is a biomechanical misalignment, even the way you […]

Feeling Tired? Try This Supine Yoga Sequence

Supine poses or yoga postures done lying on your back are a great way to release stress and increase flexibility in your hips and hamstrings. Opening the pelvic region of the body promotes the release of the downward flowing energy. When this energy is stuck it can contribute to anxiety, insomnia, digestive issues, and even fertility challenges for women. Use this short sequence to restore and ground yourself anytime of the day. Supta Padangustasana – (Reclining Big Toe Pose) photo – 3 variations 1. leg up, 2.leg to the side, 3. leg across the body as a twist. The main action is to press your thigh bone toward the back of your leg and maintain the natural curve in your lower back. It does not matter how close your leg is to your chest! Use your hands on the back of your thigh or use a belt around your foot. Hold […]

Connecting Hearts to Their Source… In China!

Often when people begin to practice Anusara Yoga and they first hear about the philosophy, the life view, and the approach, they find themselves thinking, “Wow, this is exactly what I believe and how I try to live. I can’t believe there is a system out there, a group of people who have the same beliefs.” This is precisely how it happened for me when the Anusara method found me in 2002. It was as if some part inside of me already knew these ideas to be true but I did not yet have the words to articulate it. My heart felt blissfully at home in a community of like-minded and like-hearted people. Over the years, many of my students have shared these same feelings that the Anusara philosophy truly resonates deep within their hearts. Recently this same theme was illuminated while I was teaching a 50-hour Anusara Immersion in […]

A Touch of Shri

Sigh… I have arrived in Bali. Though I love to travel and explore new places there is something very special about this island and I am delighted to be back. I could feel it right away. What struck me the most when I was here for the first time three years ago was the extraordinary beauty in everything. In addition to the magnificent natural environment the Balinese people revere art and creativity which seems to be woven into every aspect of their culture. Even the most basic everyday items are presented in an exquisite way. The word we use for this kind of beauty in yoga is shri. Like most Sanskrit words shri cannot be defined with one English word. Shri is the goddess Lakshmi; she is divine beauty both elegant and graceful. Shri is splendor; the magnificent light that shines from the rays of the sun, gleams off the water […]

What is Your Art?

I have just returned from the Anusara Yoga Certified Teacher’s gathering. This year we were in beautiful, lush North Carolina. Thank you to the North Carolina Kula for being such wonderful hosts! I have attended these gatherings for the past several years and each time it always amazes me how much more cohesive the group becomes. It is clear the practice works! During the past year John got super clear about his vision of Anusara yoga and it’s philosophy, Shiva Shakti Tantra so he spent quite a bit of time articulating and sharing with us candidly. When John wrote his vision in 1997, he said, “Anusara Yoga is a Merry Band of bohemian artists…”. While this vision and the Universal Principles of Alignment remain constant, our experience of them deepens and continues to unfold inside us to become us. At the gathering John asked us, “What is your art?” He […]