Balance is a common theme in yoga. Not just balancing on one foot or your hands, but balancing movement and effort. For example, we always do movement on each side of the body. And we also balance one type of
Strengthening the back muscles
These last few weeks, we’ve looked at different stretches for the back to help relieve back pain. It’s also important to focus on strengthening the muscles of the back. A dynamic version of locust pose can help. Dynamic means moving
Simple back stretch with active glutes
So what if you just want to stretch the back? Sphinx pose is often quite effective and simple. However, it’s very important that your buttocks and core muscles are active or you might feel more pain in your back. Lie
Stretching the side of your body – take 2
Yep, I’m still focused on different ways to relieve back pain – who knew there were so many options! Yoga is great for moving your body in ways that you often don’t – particularly twisting and bending sideways – both
Stretching the side of your body – take 1
I’m still on that theme of relieving back pain. There are a lot of reasons people experience back pain and it depends on your unique body. In fact, check out this great article on why every yoga pose if different
Another option to stretch the hips and help the back
Last week’s email featured a yoga pose that often helps with low back pain when the back pain is due to tight muscles in your legs and hips. But that doesn’t work for everyone, since it depends on which muscles are
So what do you do with back pain?
Last week I mentioned a brief article from US Consumer Reports highlighting a study that found yoga (and tai chi, or the like) was helpful to almost 90 percent of people who experienced back pain. I also said the suggested stretches
Yoga for back pain
Research shows yoga can help with back pain.
Recovery after climbing (or too much time hunched over your desk)
I’ve just finished the final edits for the booklet we’ll use in my upcoming workshop on learning how to do restorative yoga at home. I’ve also just come back from a weekend of climbing. The combo together means my shoulders,
In a standing twist, what part of your body is twisting?
So we’ve covered tipping your pelvis up/down and side-to-side. But you can also twist your pelvis, or more accurately rotate your hips forward or back. We often don’t notice that our hips or pelvis can twist or rotate. However, it’s