The other day Greg and I were stuck in some mood-ruining slow-and-go traffic. Instead of picking a fight we picked a mantra (sacred syllable) and started chanting. Somewhere between the opening om and the closing swaha, the air cleared and we were in it together again. And that’s when I remembered the billboard. [...]
One day, mid-flow, I noticed the rest of the class was already down-dogging it while I was still pulling my heart through my arms in bhujangasana (cobra). Which surprised me. I’ve always avoided bhujangasana. Teachers bust me for rushing through it. And when I have managed to stay in the pose for the requisite number [...]
Hot Nude Yoga Inspires Sweaty Self-Acceptance “Nudity is Mandatory.” It’s not the usual tagline for a Yoga class. But for Hot Nude Yoga, as popularized by Aaron Star, skin is part of the practice. I had seen ads for his Hot Nude Yoga, and never quite knew what to make of it. Looking [...]
Larry Payne, PhD, is one of the founders of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), a professional organization of Yoga therapists holding their third annual conference this March, the Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR). A Yoga therapist himself, he founded the Samata Yoga Center in Los Angeles and spearheads the Yoga therapy [...]
What we call our environment is made up in part of other beings – both people and animals. Tantric meditations from ancient texts such as the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra invite us to pay deep attention to all of these relationships and inter-relationships, and dare us to become capable of greater intimacy. We are called [...]
Practice Pages: Yoga Therapy What is Yoga Therapy? by Felicia M. Tomasko, RN The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) sponsored their third annual Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR) in Los Angeles, March 5 - 8. The weekend featured a historic three-day meeting of the organization’s Council of Schools, where more than [...]
Animal Spirit Representations of Kundalini Energy Kundalini is a very powerful and transformational energy located at the base of the spine at a space within the last three vertebrae of the tailbone or coccyx that extends to the perineum. Kundalini is a natural birthright for all people and can be sought and nurtured with a [...]
Golden Bridge Yoga in Hollywood was once the Cadillac dealer where Elvis shopped. Then it became the sound stage where Old Blue Eyes, Johnny Mathis and Barbra Streisand did their sound checks before it transcended the confines of the entertainment industry and fixed its gaze on a more enlightened path. “We didn’t pick [...]
My daughter was sitting on my bed when I returned home from a Yoga class. “What’s that on your pants?” she asked. I did a quick scan for food stains. I couldn’t find anything. She pointed. “That thingie on the back of your pants...” I looked in the mirror and saw what she was referring [...]
Feel Your True Colors Energetic Chakra image courtesy of Vyana The word chakra means wheel, denoting movement. Your chakras are vortexes, spiritual focal points and wheels of energy. When awakened they transfer prana (vital life-force energy) throughout your body to nourish your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. When a chakra is moving effectively, [...]