This summer in my house, nap time is yoga time. The best feeling in the world is listening to my “baby” sleep off his hard morning of play while I settle into my practice upstairs. Then there are the days when he skips his nap.  I go into Lucien’s room, change his diaper and offer him some water, and then it’s back in the crib to try and sleep. I head back upstairs to my yoga corner, feeling exhausted at the prospect of a long, hot afternoon with a tired toddler. I have a few minutes to practice before giving up on the nap completely. It’s one thing to practice yoga when he’s sleeping soundly, but quite another to practice when the monitor is all lit up and red. Here’s a quick sequence* for when you’re tired, and time is short.  It should take you about 30 minutes, long enough for your baby or toddler to have a chance to fall asleep, but short enough so that you can feel refreshed and like you fit in a decent practice–even if a nap is just not happening today. Supta Bahhda Konasana (Take a good five to ten minutes here.) Downward dog Sirsasana  (If headstand is a regular part of your practice–no need for stress today!) Chair Shoulder Stand Ardha Halasana with Chair  (My all time favorite nap-time pose.) Savasana  (Enjoy a long and luxurious rest once your child falls asleep.)    *Sequence inspired by one of my favorite asana books, The Woman’s Book of Yoga and Health by Linda Sparrowe and Patricia Walden    Jessica Berger Gross is the author of enLIGHTened: How I Lost 40 Pounds with a Yoga Mat, Fresh Pineapples, and a Beagle Pointer (Skyhorse), she lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband and two-year-old son.

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Five Poses to Beat the Nap-Time Blues

Parent-baby and parent-toddler yoga classes seem to be growing in popularity, but does it really help the children find their center? Shivani Vora from the Wall Street Journal reports. “A growing number of classes around the U.S. and DVD programs insist kids can reap all the benefits of yoga–but in a less-structured format. They say that yoga is calming for children, teaches them more awareness about their bodies and even helps with their development. But Punam Kashyap, a senior developmental and behavioral pediatrician at the Institute of Child Development at the Joseph Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, N.J., says there is very little evidence that the practice can have a positive effect on young children. “It’s a theory, not a fact that yoga can calm babies,” she says. “That said, as long as your child is having fun in a class, it’s not going to harm them in any way.” As parents, we were curious if yoga would do anything to mellow out our small children. We tested three classes and a DVD for comparison. (Read the entire blog for the details of the “experiment.”) Our daughter paid attention for at least half of the DVD before her attention started to waver. She attempted a few of the poses and was fascinated by the animal and nature sounds like a hissing snake and barking like a dog. We aren’t sure if it made her any calmer, but she did have a good time and now keeps asking to “do yoga” to her disc. While the children didn’t seem noticeably more chilled out in the end, yoga did amuse them and introduce them to a practice they can use to de-stress when they’re older. For us, that makes yoga for kids a keeper.” What do you think about kids doing yoga? Are they old enough to reap the benefits?

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Is Yoga for Kids any Good?

I left New York City on Monday with everything I own packed into a trailer, and set out for Austin, Texas, where I will be living for the foreseeable future. Though this was my decision, and I think a good one for my yoga career, my health, and my sanity, today it hit me: Everything I knew about my life in the city is now technically gone from me. My home, my neighborhood, my social scene, my yoga classes, even my local cafe have dissolved away as if in a dream, since I can no longer rely on them to help me feel grounded and secure. I spent a decade getting to know friends, eating at my favorite places, living in an apartment I loved, and settling into a routine that comforted me.  The fact that I know that moving to Austin will be more productive for me doesn’t change how floaty and surreal the world feels right now. Even the ground itself is moving, the highway spooling out and spinning away beneath my wheels. When most everything external literally proves to be as impermanent as the Buddhists and yogis tell us it is, whether it’s a big move we’re going through, the loss of a relationship, a job or smaller transitions, like a well-worn pair of jeans finally kicking the bucket, there’s always a sensation of shift.  These moments of ebb and flow can be unbalancing and scary.   Yoga teaches us about ideas that come from the things other people have lived. We turn to our teachers as guideposts, as those who have navigated similar situations, and emerged victorious using the tools of conscious awareness they then pass onto us. When our studies meet our personal life, and we are asked to walk the walk along this path, it’s a whole new yoga practice, perhaps the hardest one of all. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather endure Warrior 3 until my leg gave out than go through a breakup or a radical move.   When we as seekers of center experience times where all that we thought was real turns to smoke and slips through our fingers, and we’re dealing with the grieving process of moving from the past into the present, there’s a powerful question I can think of that we might ask ourselves: This is happening. Now, what am I gonna do about it? Believe me, when I was in the space of first realizing how much I’d just given up in order to follow my goals, one thing I could have done was totally, completely freak out. I felt the panic rising, as if I was that little bubble that’s supposed to be in the middle of a carpenter’s level, but someone tipped it, and my poor bubble was squished way up in the corner. In that moment could have turned back, canceled the whole crazy Austin idea, and settled back into what I knew.   Then again, my heart is calling me towards something different, and if yoga has taught me anything, it’s to be able to endure uncomfortable sensations in the body, mind, and heart, long enough to get to that atman, the soul, or center of myself. Once there, I can more easily bring myself back to a leveling off place, and find that calm bubble of my core returning to center. In fact, it’s not our inner peace that wavers as life does, but our moveable parts: thoughts, emotions, expectations, perspectives, and even the physical body. When we remember that just because our outer world changes doesn’t mean our innermost one has to, we dissolve the illusion that we are the constructs, and not the constant. So, we can answer our own question by choosing to draw not from our first reactions, but from the stillness inside. Then we can act from equilibrium to move towards the next, though as yet unformed, part of our journey, with the integrity it takes to create the future experience we want to live most of all.   Here’s the pose I did at the Virginia rest stop that helped me remember that … Core Pose: Natarajasana   If you see a statue of Nataraj, you’ll notice he’s standing on what appears to be a baby. Don’t be alarmed–it’s actually a demon. Nataraj is the cosmic dancer, and he exemplifies the power of riding the wave of universal energy rather than being consumed by the dark forces of doubt, insecurity, lack, and fear. Whenever I want to find my ground, and from there, let the joyful dance of life take me where I’m supposed to go next, I make sure to include Natarajasana in my practice.   Stand with feet hip-distance, about two-fists-width wide. Ground into your right foot, and bend your left knee so you can take hold of the outside of the left foot or ankle in your left hand. As you draw your low belly up and lengthen the tailbone down to maintain space in the front and back of your lumbar curve, begin to kick your foot behind you as you reach the chest and right arm forward, or up to the sky as your balance and flexibility allows. The amount of backbend here is up to you, but if you stay rooted into your standing leg and foot you’ll gain the stability and gravity this pose requires in order to inspire its freedom dance.

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Finding Center

I just did something so major I have to write it down to believe it. I’m relocating from New York City where I’ve lived and taught yoga for nearly a decade, to Austin, Texas. I’ve decided to relocate so that I can focus exclusively on my health, yoga, travel, and teaching for what I’m calling my yogi artist’s retreat year. After that, I’ll see where I am. The requirements of my burgeoning yoga career are intense, and living in a place like New York City doesn’t make things easy. For example, it took me 4 hours to drive 11 miles to the airport the other day, only to miss my flight. Total cost: $1,600. Austin has a shuttle that goes from my new apartment to the airport in 10 minutes. Total cost: 50 cents. I kid you not. Now, don’t get me wrong. Just like the T-shirts say, I (heart) New York. That’s why I’ve lived there for so long. But it’s time for a change, and specifically, I’m interested in what will happen to my yoga trajectory when I steep in it fully for a good period of time. This will be a Dharma Immersion, if you will. At first, I was torn about whether or not to make such a radical move. So I practiced what I teach. I put fears and judgments aside and thought about what would serve my ultimate goals the best. Right now, I require ease of travel; a location that is equidistant to both coasts and the flyover states; an affordable apartment with enough space for me to film my YouTube and training videos; and a community that values health, good food, and good yoga. A creative environment and a lack of traditional winter weather is just icing on the cake.   For these reasons and more, Austin was an obvious choice for me. The cool thing is, once I chose it, I was surrounded by so many universal green lights that I have to believe the signs are pointing me on the road I’m meant to take now. Before I was a yogi, I would have shut myself down before I ever began this journey. I probably would never have left the safety of the Midwest to try my luck in the Big Apple, or taken any of the risks that have brought me to where I am now. Yoga teaches us how to step out of our own way, remove the veils of uncertainty, and quiet the voices that tell us we’re insane to do what we are being called toward. If we can turn down the volume of our fears, it’s possible to hear that still, powerful whisper of our satya , or truth; that core voice that can move us toward transformation. We do this through cultivating a regular asana practice so our limiting patterns don’t build up and slow us down. We learn to sit in meditation and listen intently until we hear only our inner guide and not the confusing cacophony that surrounds it. We implement our lessons off the mat, do our best to be brave, and lead by example into our next incarnation of who we want to be. Most of all, when grounding is called for, we ground, and when flying beckons, we find out how wide our wingspan really is. The yogi is a shapeshifter, an energetic alchemist who uses the raw materials of experience, relationship, self-knowledge, and prana (life force) to create magic out of what others see as a static reality. Is it the perfect choice for me to take a year in Austin? Perhaps not. Staying in the city has its benefits, too. But we can always go back to what we know. So why not try going forward? Yes, it takes a big leap of faith sometimes. But we yogis have that in spades, y’all. So what is your dharma calling you to do next? Core Pose: “First Eye” Goddess This asana is one I teach and do whenever I want to envision my next move. It stimulates the forehead center, the seat of our intuition, and expands perspective away from the constriction of fear. This is why I call it the First Eye. It’s a primary tool of perception, your mind’s eye, and keeping it wide open will serve you well as you navigate your next steps along your path. Sit on your mat. Bring both feet together, knees open wide. With a long spine, tilt your sacrum and top hip crests forward as you bring your elbows onto the floor or two yoga blocks. Place your thumbs inside your eyebrows, just above your nose. Allow your forehead to release towards the thumbs even as you maintain the open hips and spinal alignment of the rest of the pose. Breathe here for 1-2 minutes, and then come into knees-together Child’s Pose for a few breaths to counterbalance the asana.  

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Moving Forward

Lucien and I made a trip to the naturopath a couple of weeks ago. Being in a doctor’s office for two hours with a two year old was quite a challenge, but it was worth it. (At my urging, Neil went a few days later.) Within days we’d each changed our diet pretty dramatically (no dairy for Lucien, no sugar for Neil, a liquid iron supplement for me, and much more protein for all of us) and added a regimen of pro-biotics, protein smoothies, and the like to our run of the mill multi-vitamins. We felt better almost immediately. In addition to the dietary changes and supplements, the naturopath (Kristen Brown at the Crossroads Center in Vancouver) suggested that one of the reasons we kept getting sick, as I described a couple of weeks ago, might be that we were all doing too much. Neil needed more sleep, she said. And my system seemed depleted from a three year period that included an IVF cycle, a pregnancy and c section, and two plus years of breastfeeding–all while writing a book, teaching classes, and providing most of Lucien’s daytime childcare. Not to mention moving to a new country. (Although props to Canada for making it possible for us to afford to see the naturopath; the visits will be reimbursed by our health insurance at an incredible 80%.) Was my body trying to tell me something?  Have I been doing too much?  Have we all been? On the drive home, I thought of the David Sedaris essay “On the Kookaburra” where he discusses the idea of the four burners. Think of your life as being like a stove top, says one of the people he encounters on a trip to Australia, where each burner represents a key component: family, friends, health, and work. In order to be successful, the theory goes, you need to turn one of the burners off, and in order to be really successful, you can only have two burners on. Trying to do too much means you’ll suffer in all areas.   The word success is an interesting one. To the yogi, success can, of course, mean fulfillment and inner peace, as much as worldly accomplishment. Either way, I think there’s something to this theory and I’m having a hard time deciding which one–or two–of the burners I’m willing to turn off, even temporarily. Do we all need to readjust our stove tops? Do I? And how to go about making the choice of which burners to turn off, even for a time?  Or is it better–more yogic–to keep all the burners on a moderate flame?   Which burners do you have on high?  Which are you willing to shut off?  And does anyone know where I can get a seriously discounted Viking range with six burners, which would solve the problem completely? Jessica Berger Gross is the author of enLIGHTened: How I Lost 40 Pounds with a Yoga Mat, Fresh Pineapples, and a Beagle Pointer (Skyhorse), she lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband and two-year-old son.  

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The Four Burners

There are hard facts of life here in Uganda. You can find depressing statistics about the incidence of rape, the HIV percentages or the challenge of educating girls.  All have so much effect on what it means to be a women here…but its really not so different at home in North America. Maybe that’s why it was so hard to write this because in all of the women we meet I see my mother and my sister and myself.   There are equally positive statistics to quote about the number of women in government in Uganda and the ways the government is trying to get more girls into post secondary schools and all of the work that the people we meet are doing.   I met with a journalist friend here who is writing about the gay community in Kampala and the proposed new bill. He is looking to write a story on a lesbian who has been raped. I think he was expecting me to be shocked to find out that that is what happens to ‘cure’ lesbianism here. But the rape story has been told over and over and over to us in so many ways that I wasn’t shocked. I just added it to the list of the how’s and the why’s it can be difficult to be a woman. And then we were at a birth. I lack the words to describe the power and the beauty of that experience. This 17 year old girl, who was alone with her sister, who is now a mother has quite a job in front of her.  That baby girl might have the odds against her but I have to be hopeful for her future.   Mothers, sisters, daughters, women get to be all of those. I will get to be all of those. At 32 years old, I did not arrive in Uganda a girl but I feel like I am leaving a woman. I had dinner at a womans house named Bubeera last night.  She lived in a 6′x8′ room with her 10 year old daughter. (her 3 sons hours away with their grandmother). We sat on the floor and ate by lantern light/cell phone flashlight.   She is HIV+.  She is alone and raising her child. She is very very lucky.   Bubeera was chosen out of 600 applicants to be part of Shanti Uganda’s  www.shantiuganda.org <http://www.shantiuganda.org>  income generating group.  They make jewellery out of paper beads which they also make.  This group brought 26 women together chosen for their dire circumstances (to qualify you have to be HIV+, widowed or raising children/grandchildren on your own) and they are taught how to make the jewellery, run a business, and manage money.  They have a self elected leader and full control over all of their profits.  The money they make is used to pay for their homes, send their children/grandchildren to school and to buy better more nutritious food.  Better food improves their health which makes it easier to deal with HIV. So, Bubeera is lucky.   Lucky that she now has some control of her life.  Lucky that she now has some choices.  Her daughter is lucky too…as now she has a chance at going to school. Pardon my over simplification but education is the key to poverty.   They say you educate a woman and you educate a village/nation.  I think you give a girl access to education and you give a girl access to choice.

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Women in Uganda by Davian Den Otter

What prevents people from jumping on the yoga bandwagon? According to a new survey conducted by Yoga Alliance, several misconceptions could be what’s keeping non-yogis from trying their first class. Below is an excerpt from the press release : The research sought feedback from people who have never stepped foot in a studio as well as those who have made yoga an essential part of their lives. It found that, despite growing “buzz,” there are many Americans who know little about yoga or, worse, have incorrect assumptions which inhibit them from participation. The three most common misperceptions are that yoga: Is religion-based. 57% of those who do not currently practice yoga believe that it requires mantras or chanting related to a form of worship. Requires flexibility in order to practice.  Nearly 3 in 5 Americans – 59% of respondents – who do not practice yoga think that it requires a person to be in at least “decent” shape. In truth, however, anyone – of any size, shape or physical state – can benefit. Is not really exercise. Half of men who have never practiced yoga believe it “isn’t a workout.” In contrast, 73% of people who do practice believe it is just as effective as running, swimming or weight lifting.” That confirms my suspicions about why some people are simply not interested in yoga. I think it’s a shame that misinformation about the practice has led so many to shun something that so many have found beneficial. It makes me wonder, what are we, as a community, doing wrong? What can we do to help people understand more clearly what yoga is really all about?

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Survey Finds Common Yoga Misconceptions

I have a confession: I have been avoiding my yoga practice lately. After being sidelined for a few weeks by holiday travel, illness, and a pesky hamstring injury, I haven’t been able to get myself back on my mat. Now, I know in my head that the minute the asanas start flowing I’ll feel stronger and calmer and more centered — more me. My body, however, is rebelling. It seems to think its much nicer to sit on my couch and channel surf instead. But then I realized: This is the perfect time to recommit myself to my yoga practice. It’s the start of a new year — a new decade even — and I know this one will be the best one yet. As a student, as a teacher, we sometimes need these opportunities of renewal to remind ourselves what is most important to us. We are given the opportunity to commit and recommit to these things in a thoughtful and meaningful way. For me, my yoga practice will be a key focus to work back into my routine in the new year. What will it be for you?

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Recommitting to Your Yoga Practice

I’d like to personally invite all of you yoga bloggers out there to take advantage of any holiday down time to put together a pitch to become the next Yoga Journal blogger. At YJ, we believe that each individual has a unique experience on their mats. And we can all benefit from hearing about the struggles and triumphs you face as you practice daily. The Yoga Journal editors will choose one lucky blogger to become a regular guest on our Yoga Diary blog for six months. If you think you’ve got a compelling story to tell, please submit your information along with your blog concept to http://www.yogajournal.com/blogcontest . I can’t wait to read your stories!

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Calling All Yoga Bloggers!

If your choice to be vegetarian or vegan has anything to do with the yogic principle of ahimsa , or non-harming, you probably think you’re doing less harm to living things and the environment by choosing to eat plants instead of animals. But how often do you consider the harm you’re doing to the plants–also living beings–when you eat your vegetables? “Just because we humans can’t hear them doesn’t mean plants don’t howl,” writes Natalie Angier in a recent NYTimes article about the ways plants fight off their predators. For example, plant scientists have found that plants release chemicals to attract large predatory insects in hopes that they will eat the smaller insects that prey on the plant. It’s a compelling argument. Maybe plants really do want to live, but we have to eat something to survive. Is eating plants the lesser of two evils? Or are we doing harm either way?

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Do Plants Have Feelings, Too?

Yoga has been proven to be an effective tool to enhance a weight loss plan. Even when the practice is gentle and doesn’t burn tons of calories, practitioners are less stressed and more mindful which contributes to reaching a healthy weight. The mind connection is what three yoga instructors and hypnotherapists were hoping to enhance when they combined yoga with hypnosis to create Hyp-Yoga . According to the Hyp-Yoga website, the practice combines hatha yoga with positive visualizations that speak to the subconscious mind to impact the conscious. Have any of you experienced Hyp-Yoga? If so, did you notice a big difference from a regular yoga class? Do you think it would be more effective at aiding weight loss than yoga alone?

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Yoga + Hypnosis = Weight Loss?

This time of year there always seem to be a plethora of articles and news reports about how to deal with the stress of the holiday season. Take, for example, this video by a news station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota: We all know yoga can help us deal with stress from the holiday season–or any other stressful time for that matter. What else do you do to help you keep your calm during the hustle and the bustle?

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Holiday Stress: How Do You Deal?

Friends actress Jennifer Aniston wants you to experience the yoga practice (and yoga teacher) that changed her life. Aniston is lending her celebrity-status to get out the word that her teacher and friend Mandy Ingber is releasing a yoga DVD called, Yogalosophy . She gives the intro to the video and will be attending a launch event on Thursday in Los Angeles, according to People.com . “It’s one of the most fun workouts I’ve ever had,” Aniston says in the video intro. “So have fun and work hard because it will totally pay off.” Does a celebrity endorsement make you want to try a new yoga style, class, or teacher?

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Yoga Changed Jennifer Aniston’s Life

Friends actress Jennifer Aniston wants you to experience the yoga practice (and yoga teacher) that changed her life. Aniston is lending her celebrity-status to get out the word that her teacher and friend Mandy Ingber is releasing a yoga DVD called, Yogalosophy . She gives the intro to the video and will be attending a launch event on Thursday in Los Angeles, according to People.com . “It’s one of the most fun workouts I’ve ever had,” Aniston says in the video intro. “So have fun and work hard because it will totally pay off.” Does a celebrity endorsement make you want to try a new yoga style, class, or teacher?

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Yoga Changed Jennifer Aniston’s Life

Friends actress Jennifer Aniston wants you to experience the yoga practice (and yoga teacher) that changed her life. Aniston is lending her celebrity-status to get out the word that her teacher and friend Mandy Ingber is releasing a yoga DVD called, Yogalosophy . She gives the intro to the video and will be attending a launch event on Thursday in Los Angeles, according to People.com . “It’s one of the most fun workouts I’ve ever had,” Aniston says in the video intro. “So have fun and work hard because it will totally pay off.” Does a celebrity endorsement make you want to try a new yoga style, class, or teacher?

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Yoga Changed Jennifer Aniston’s Life

One of the things I’ve learned from my yoga practice is that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Sure yoga can help you rehabilitate an overstretched muscle, but it can also teach you had to move your body mindfully so that you never hurt that muscle in the first place. Personally, I prefer the latter scenario. This is a lesson I take off the mat and extend to other areas of my life, too. It has helped me come to the conclusion that I should always practice yoga, manage stress, eat healthy foods, floss daily, get regular check ups at the doctor, etc. I’m a firm believer that the sooner you catch a potential health problem–whether it’s a pulled muscle, a cavity, or something more serious–the easier it is to address. I’d rather spend some time in yoga strengthening the muscles around my hyperextended knee now than to have surgery to fix a knee problem later on. I’d also rather have an unpleasant little tooth filling now, than a root canal later. Coming from that perspective, it’s hard to understand why anyone would suggest fewer screenings that could catch something as serious as breast cancer , which a government task force did earlier this week . The task force changed the recommendation that women begin getting mammograms at age 40, and now suggest they get one every other year starting at age 50. But I want to know what you think. Has yoga changed the way you approach your own health care? If you’re a woman, will the new recommendation change when or how often you get a mammogram?

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Yoga and the Great Mammogram Debate

Friends often ask me if it’s possible to make a living as a full-time yoga teacher. I always say absolutely! But at times it can be a hard road to venture down. As a newer teacher (under the five year mark), I feel much more secure maintaining a full-time job outside the yoga studio and teaching on the side. (I’m also lucky enough to work for Yoga Journal where I can continue feeding my yoga passion every day in a different format.) I have other teacher friends who I can barely drag out of the studio. They teach ten to twenty classes a week and sometimes more, if the opportunity arises. They work hard and make enough to make ends meet through sheer number of classes. And they love what they do. But I’m not so sure this excess outpour of teaching energy is sustainable. I’ve seen it lead to burn out more than once. And then there’s the Uber-Teachers. You know the ones — they teach four classes a week and pull in enough people to fill a stadium. They’re doing well and so they should. They’re great teachers, well loved, and they are getting compensated for what they do. So my question is — how do teachers make the jump from teaching as many classes as they CAN to make ends meet to teaching as many classes as they WANT instead? At what point and in what way does yoga teaching transform into a job that is just as monetarily sustainable as being a banker or a web designer or a school teacher for that matter?

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Can Yoga Teachers Teach Full-Time AND Pay the Bills?

Yoga for Kids is one of the fastest growing yoga niches out there today. It’s taught in hundreds of studios across the country. A recent report from CNN featured kids that use yoga to cope with everything from ADHD to divorcing parents. But can a 4-year-old really appreciate the depth of the practice? Who cares!? As long as it’s helping them manage their stress and feel better, they’re getting the benefit of the practice. “I think the younger kids may not know exactly what they get out of it. It’s kind of like when you put zucchini in their muffins and don’t tell them,” yoga instructor Cheryl Crawford told CNN . “They don’t really know. They just know they they feel good.” (See video below.) Do you have kids who practice yoga? Have you noticed any benefits?

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Yoga for Kids: It’s Like Eating Your Greens, But Fun

The shooting at the army base at Fort Hood that resulted in 13 lives lost and 30 people wounded was a tragedy that saddened the nation. But in the last year, the leaders at the base have been experimenting with new ways–including yoga–to help soldiers deal with the stress and pressure that comes with their jobs. In the aftermath of the shooting, they hope the “resiliency campus,” which in a huge facility that offers programs like yoga, aromatherapy, and video games with traditional counseling,  will help troops recover from the tragedy, reported the Wall Street Journal . “The campus … is designed to impart a new army philosophy focused on nurturing soldiers’ body, mind and spirit,” Brigadier General William Grimsley told the Wall Street Journal . “It marks a radical shift from the philosophy under which the army operated for years.” As a yoga student, I feel like any shift toward nurturing “body, mind and spirit” is a good one. What do you think?

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Can Yoga Improve Soldiers’ Mental Health?

Good Morning America recently featured yoga as an effective therapy for kids dealing with with both cancer and ADHD . Though no one knows exactly why yoga is an effective treatment, says the report, but it might have something to do with how yoga helps the brain regulate the stress hormone cortisol. Watch the video here , and please share your healing yoga stories by commenting below.

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Yoga Helps Kids with Cancer and ADHD

By now most of us have heard about the tragic Spiritual Warrior retreat and sweat lodge in Arizona that resulted in three deaths and dozens more hospitalizations. The retreat, led by James Author Ray, was meant to facilitate the “spiritual cleansing” of the 60 participants. It seems the participants pushed themselves too far in an attempt to reach their spiritual goals. It’s something we can all relate to as yoga students. Bay Area yoga teacher Katchie Ananda wrote a column in the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday that I think draws an important parallel. “As a spiritual seeker, I’m very aware of the “edge,” the place where we push ourselves past our comfort zone, to let go of old patterns and explore a bigger potential. In a culture that is focused on comfort, that’s often an important exercise,” writes Ananda. “But how far should we push ourselves or encourage our students to push?” Have you ever pushed yourself too far in yoga class–physically, mentally, or spiritually? And how can you tell that it’s time to back off?

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Lessons from the Sweat Lodge Tragedy

I was recently watching Yoga Journal’s latest DVD: Yoga For Strength and Toning with Flow teacher Stephanie Snyder. (Full disclosure: Stephanie is my main teacher so I am thrilled that she just released this brand new DVD.) Strength and toning seems like a great reason to do yoga but it got me thinking: I wonder how many different reasons there are that people practice yoga? Some super-busy students of mine do yoga to de-stress; others to stay in shape. Some sporty students do yoga to stretch out after their workout.  I do yoga for different reasons on different days but mostly because it makes me feel good: mind, body, and soul. (And sometimes I joke that I do yoga because it makes me a little bit less crazy.) I know my students do yoga for some many reasons. What are those reasons for you? What brings you to the mat?

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Why Do You Do Yoga?

A recent government study in the U.K. found that fewer school children are participating in school sports and are signing up for more “fun” non-competitive alternatives like circus skills (think juggling) and yoga, reported the Telegraph.co.uk . According to the article: “The study found that 58 per cent of secondary schools – and almost a third of all schools – offered cheerleading as a sport, more than a fifth trampolining, 21 per cent yoga and 18 per cent ‘circus skills’. This compares to the number offering rugby falling from almost three quarters of schools in 2006 to two thirds now.” Could this be a new trend in the United States, too? Do you think it could be a good thing?

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British Kids Ditch Team Sports for Yoga and Circus Skills

There’s no denying Lululemon’s rise in popularity or its wildly popular marketing campaigns designed to inspire (and sometimes shock) us all to get healthy and look good doing it. As a New York Times writer put it in a recent article: “Everything [aboout Lululemon's stores] is  relentlessly cheery, as if someone were constantly tapping me on the shoulder and saying ‘Yay!’” But the writer gets at something more profound than the bottom line of the yoga-inspired clothing franchise. What does Lululemon’s success say about the yoga community when the company’s positive, goal-oriented approach to marketing has been so successful? Isn’t yoga really about accepting and loving yourself no matter what you look like in your pants? (Let’s face it, people, it’s not always a happy, sunny picture.) Is this really our secret yoga mantra?: “I am willing to bow to an elephant-headed god, but I refuse to look skanky when I walk to my car after class because there might be a hot guy around.” Are we losing something by adapting an ancient practice to fit into our modern lifestyles or just making it more accessible?

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A Secret Mantra?

The newest professional athlete to give yoga a try is basketball star Shaquille O’Neal. The Cleveland Cavaliers center tried a class in suburban Cleveland, according to the Associated Press . He needed two mats to accommodate his 7-foot-1, 325-pound frame. (The studio will be special ordering a 100-inch-long mat for his next class.) “I’m the worst yoga student in the history of yoga,” O’Neal said. But if he was out of his element, imagine how his teacher must have felt trying to come up with appropriate modifications for the basketball player. “He’s got some tight hamstrings,” his teacher Tami Schneider, owner of Cleveland Yoga in Beachwood told the AP. “He’s obviously a big, strong man. He told me he doesn’t stretch very often and that was pretty apparent. I’m looking forward to working with him to get him into some deeper stretches.” I bet it will help his game! What do you think?

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Shaq Tries Yoga

When it comes to comedy movies, yoga is often portrayed as either a weird, New Age activity or a prime opportunity for wildly inappropriate sexual innuendo. Based on the press surrounding Couples Retreat , a movie about couples who go on a retreat to save their troubled marriages, I’m guessing it falls into the second category. Vince Vaughn, who stars in the film, told Parade.com that the yoga class scene came from an experience he had in real life. “I had a girlfriend in L.A. who took me to a yoga class,” he said. “While it was going on I was saying to myself, ‘Is this really happening?’ It was like the instructor was making all these moves and he was basically dry humping the girls. Nobody batted an eye. I felt like I was in The Twilight Zone . So we had our class in the movie with a creepy yoga guy.”  Here’s the trailer for the movie (the yoga class is at the very end!) Couples Retreat opens today! The reviews aren’t great, but it looks like it will be good for a few healthy laughs . Will you go see it? 

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New Movie Features "Creepy Yoga Guy"

When it comes to comedy movies, yoga is often portrayed as either a weird, New Age activity or a prime opportunity for wildly inappropriate sexual innuendo. Based on the press surrounding Couples Retreat , a movie about couples who go on a retreat to save their troubled marriages, I’m guessing it falls into the second category. Vince Vaughn, who stars in the film, told Parade.com that the yoga class scene came from an experience he had in real life. “I had a girlfriend in L.A. who took me to a yoga class,” he said. “While it was going on I was saying to myself, ‘Is this really happening?’ It was like the instructor was making all these moves and he was basically dry humping the girls. Nobody batted an eye. I felt like I was in The Twilight Zone . So we had our class in the movie with a creepy yoga guy.”  Here’s the trailer for the movie (the yoga class is at the very end!) Couples Retreat opens today! The reviews aren’t great, but it looks like it will be good for a few healthy laughs . Will you go see it? 

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New Movie Features "Creepy Yoga Guy"

If you’re like me it just dawned on you that the time to start planning for the holiday season is NOW. Earlier this week my husband started the frantic search for affordable plane tickets. And,  because I love handmade gifts (and perhaps am a bit of a glutton for punishment), I began taking inventory of all my crafting supplies and started a new knitting project. Unfortunately, preparation for the holiday season is one of those times that my yoga practice suffers and my mind spins with infinite to-do lists. So this is perfect timing for a reminder of the many ways yoga can help ease the pain and stress of crafting on a deadline. I loved the feature Crafting a Green World did on yoga for crafters. They covered a wide variety of crafts–everything from jewelry to scrapbooking–and even specific body parts that crafters tend to sacrifice for their art. Be sure to check the blog, then let us know what projects you plan to work on this season. Does yoga help you with your crafting hobbies? Do you use it to combat holiday stress? If you’re looking for a new project for a yogi friend, consider a mat bag or eye pillow .

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Yoga for Crafters

As a yogi I try to keep my crankiness to a minimum. But I have to say, nothing puts me on the cranky-train faster than a poorly done yoga teacher headshot. You know the ones – where your favorite yoga teacher (who is cute as a button and radiates sunshine) looks like a blurred-out, fuzzy mess who quite possibly has just finished an all night bar crawl with her ten closest friends (who are of course whooping it up in the background of the tiny image.) Or the one where your teacher is twisted up so far into a pretzel that you are not sure where her legs end and her head begins and you just want to look away because, frankly, that looks like it hurts and you just don’t want that to happen to you because you quite possibly will get stuck. Forever. Come on folks. Let’s get our headshots together. Often a yoga teacher’s headshot is the first thing that you will see when deciding if you want to take your class. Wouldn’t a happy, meditative, in-focus yogi convince you to take a class more than a lot of the pictures out there? I beg of you – if you are a student and your yoga teacher’s headshot is just not up to par, let them know. Take a snapshot yourself if you must. You’ll be helping them, I promise. And if you are a teacher – take a quick look. What is your headshot saying about you? For articles with some lovely headshots check out our Yoga Mentor Experts .

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Your Yoga Teacher’s Headshot: Is it Up to Snuff?

Today while deleting the no longer useful off of my snail of a laptop I came across a file in which I had saved a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke. One of my favorite poets, Rilke had an astonishing ability to put into words those emotions you thought couldn’t be described. I found it quite fitting the poem I happened upon on today’s Autumnal Equinox was called Autumn Day, and perfectly mirrored my own melancholy mood:      Lord: it is time. The summer was immense. Lay your shadow on the sundials and let loose the wind in the fields. Bid the last fruits to be full; give them another two more southerly days, press them to ripeness, and chase the last sweetness into the heavy wine. Whoever has no house now will not build one anymore. Whoever is alone now will remain so for a long time, will stay up, read, write long letters, and wander the avenues, up and down, restlessly, while the leaves are blowing. The last of the peaches and strawberries, the darkening skies, the descent from summer’s high. I bristle with resistance and struggle with acceptance. We need this retreat, my mind tells me, to unwind, decompress, recharge. But I’m not done basking in the sun! I will take this time to stay up, read, write long letters, and maybe restlessly wander a few avenues. I have quite a collection of yoga books beckoning to me from the shelves. I aim to read a few and share with you my thoughts. I will also be taking some Ayurvedic courses with Pratichi Mathur at Vedika Gurukula , and will be attending the first workshop in CIIS’s new Certificate in Yoga course, taught by none other than T. K. V. Desikachar ! What was I complaining about earlier?   May blessings ride upon these winds of change~

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Autumn Day

Yoga Journal invites you to unfurl your mat, open your heart, and infuse your spirit in the splendor of the Rocky Mountains. We have a tradition of bringing today’s yoga luminaries together in this stunning place-and this year is no different. We are thrilled to host yoga legend T.K.V. Desikachar, where he will teach an intensive, deliver the closing keynote, and more. But that’s just the beginning: We feature 30 presenters from around the world in our signature Main Conference, offering insight and expertise in every style of yoga–and beyond. And don’t miss our special events, expert panels, intensives, and special conference just for beginners. So whether you are a new yogi or a seasoned teacher, whether this is your first visit or your tenth, be prepared for deep transformation, education, and rejuvenation. Join us! And watch for some inspirational blogging directly from the conference all next week.

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14th Annual YJ Colorado Conference Begins This Monday!

Slate magazine’s site Doublex.com recently featured an article about the trials and tribulations of being a yoga teacher. We all know making a living as a teacher isn’t easy, and with teacher training enrollment up during a down economy it sounds like the competition for teaching gigs is going to keep growing. (From a supply and demand standpoint, that also might mean lower pay for the teachers who land those gigs, which would make it harder than ever to pay the bills.) “If you want yoga to pay your bills, you’ve got to leave the deep breathing and asanas at the door and do the capitalist hustle,” writes the article’s author Anna Sale. My question is for the yoga teachers who read this blog. Do you feel like you’re doing a “capitalist hustle” these days, juggling many different small jobs just to pay the bills?

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Teaching: It’s Harder Than It Looks

Four years ago I graduated from yoga teacher training and was declared, officially, a “yoga teacher”. I have to admit that declaration scared me to death. Did I know enough to teach? Had I absorbed enough alignment, anatomy, physiology, philosophy, sequencing and Sanskrit to really teach others? What I be a fabulous success or a total flop the first time I stood in front of a group of brand new, paying (!) students? Yup, I was scared. But as all of us “teachers” do, I went out and I taught. Because I knew deep down that I love yoga and I had to share this joy with others. Now, four years later, I have noticed a shift. I feel confident in telling others that I am a yoga teacher. I no longer shake (yes, literally shake) when I stand in front of a group of students. I am more able to pour my heart and soul and love of yoga into my teachings. But some days, those questions still crop up. And, not surprisingly, a whole new crop of questions has emerged, big and small. What voice do I want to express in my yoga teachings? Do I use music or not? Should I adjust alot or a little? I am very excited to be writing for Yoga Journal’s Teacher Tells All blog so that I can explore these questions and more with all of you. I will be so grateful if you will post any questions, comments, advice, or words of encouragement below. Let’s form a teaching community and get our questions answered so that we can go out and shout from the rooftops: I am a Yoga Teacher. To follow me on my journey please keep reading .

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I am a Yoga Teacher

A study published recently in the journal Spine found that yoga may help relieve pain and improve mood in patients with chronic back pain. The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health found that patients who took a yoga class tailored to people with chronic back pain twice a week were in less pain and less likely to be depressed than their counterparts who did not practice yoga. (For more information about the study click here . Are you surprised? Has yoga helped you or someone you know manage chronic back pain?

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Chronic Back Pain Reduced through Yoga, Study Says

I’ve been seeing a commercial for Yoplait yogurt on television a lot lately. It’s kind of funny, but it also pokes fun at yoga students who twist themselves into all kinds of crazy positions because we believe it will fix everything–in this case, digestive health. It’s like they’re saying: “Silly yogis. Why would you want to do that when you could just eat this miraculous, yummy yogurt instead?” My response? Silly advertisers. Watch the commercial and let me know what you think.

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Yoga and Yogurt

A Columbia, SC museum is hosting a yoga class in the middle of an art gallery. Doing yoga among beautiful pieces of art enhances the senses says Rikki Donahue, the yoga teacher who will lead classes at the museum through September 9th. “You notice the vastness of the canvas, the colors and the mixture and your senses are so much more aware,” Donahue said. Would you take part in a class like this? For more information visit wltx.com or watch the video below.

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Art + Yoga = Bliss

I am very close with someone who grapples with serious addictions. I have had to create distance from this person in the effort of self-preservation. I have been quickly and brutally introduced to the unbelievably complicated formulae of genetics, childhood history, mental chemistry, and socialization that contribute to addiction (and even that is oversimplifying). I have tried every possible way to convince another person of what they must do, and have failed and finally come to the conclusion that nothing I do or say will change anything. At this I feel both helpless and relieved. It is a heavy thing to admit powerlessness. I think one of the reasons Alcoholics Anonymous is so successful, aside from the social support it provides, are the 2nd and 3rd Steps of its 12 Step Program : We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. This folks, sounds a lot like our friend and niyama Ishvara pranidhana . The insecurities, shame, regret, and self-hatred perpetuated by addiction make it extremely difficult to love yourself enough to care to change. Belief in a Higher Power puts it into sharper perspective and change becomes possible, hope dawns. While these steps are aimed at the addict, they speak to me louder and more clear every day. I am not in charge of the universe, and I do not get to decide how people should and should not behave. My preferences have nothing to do with the hills and valleys of another’s path. I pray that I can remember this arduous lesson. 

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Addiction

Businessmanagementdaily.com recently posted a list of tips using yoga techniques to help productivity. It’s something I can definitely relate to as I sit at my desk on a Friday afternoon. It’s also a fabulous lesson in applying yoga to everyday life. 1. Drill your attention into the present moment. People mostly accomplish this through meditation, but you can get pretty close just by doing one thing at a time and focusing your full attention on it. 2. Turn an everyday occurrence, like walking down stairs or crossing a street, into a reminder to concentrate on this moment and think about what you’re doing. 3. Breathe deeply a few times right before you go to sleep and when you wake up. Feel the oxygen spreading to your legs and brain. 4. Instead of drumming your fingers as you wait for a meeting to start, observe yourself and see how your thoughts and emotions affect your body. 5. Slow down. I think the world would be a much better place if more offices encouraged their employees to slow down, breathe deeper, and live in the present moment. If it makes us more productive, that’s just icing on the cake. What do you do to stay focused on the present at work?

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5 Yoga Tricks to Help You Focus

At $18 a class in some cities, it’s no surprise that yoga studios are often a hub for financially secure spiritual seekers. It’s the high price tags associated with yoga classes, retreats, and trendy yoga clothes that has some folks making sweeping generalizations about how yoga is a yuppie activity. However, there’s no denying the sector of the yoga community working to change all of that. A recent article in the Washington Post features several ways yoga teachers are donating their time and energy to help low-income students, HIV/AIDS patients, cancer patients, and more by offering free classes. It’s nothing new. Those of us who are involved in the yoga community know that there are amazing people selflessly sharing yoga with under-served populations all the time. I’d love to hear your stories! What programs are available in your neighborhoods that offer yoga to people who might never set foot in a studio otherwise?

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Yoga for Underserved Populations

By YJ correspondent Nancy O’Brien. Yoga Journal, tracking down furtive reports that a yoga teacher had been arrested in a Michigan crackdown on unlicensed teacher training programs, has learned that state police appeared at Dancing Feet Yoga in New Buffalo April 30 with a warrant for the arrest of studio owner Don Wenig. The charge: operating a proprietary school without a license, which carries a penalty of up to 90 days in jail or a fine not to exceed $1,000– or both.   Michigan’s Proprietary School Unit had informed 28 yoga teacher training programs across the state on the need for licensing. “You have seven days to comply,” the letter warned.   ” A detective showed up during a class with a warrant for my arrest,” Wenig told writer Nancy O’Brien Friday. At the studio, Wenig posted a cash bond of $250 with Detective Douglas Kill and was ordered to appear in Criminal Trial Court in May, according to Berrien County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mike Sepic.   ” There were not handcuffs on his wrists. He wasn’t thrown into jail,” Sepic said, “but technically, it was an arrest.”   Wenig pleaded not guilty May 28. His case was scheduled for trial July 9, but during a status conference three days earlier, Wenig changed his plea to guilty in an agreement that will wipe the criminal misdemeanor off the books if he completes the arduous licensing process within 60 days, according to Sepic. Wenig said he’s “working on it,” adding with a laugh, “I’m glad to be free.” Freelance writer and editor Nancy O’Brien, a former Opinions editor at the New York Daily News , teaches yoga in New York, specializing in issues of illness and recovery and graceful aging. She has taught at Bellevue’s World Trade Center Clinic, the hospital’s Parkinson’s support group, a Bellevue psychiatric outpatient program and the New York Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.

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YJ Exclusive: Michigan Yoga Teacher Charged with Criminal Misdemeanor

This weekend there are two big music and yoga festivals happening in the United States. The  Wanderlust Festival , in Lake Tahoe, California, features Anusara founder John Friend, Shiva Rea, and Ducan Wong. The musical line up is just as impressive with Michael Franti, MC Yogi, Gillian Welch, and (one of my personal favorites) Andrew Bird. Meanwhile, in Tulso, Oklahoma the DFest will host bands such as The Black Crowes and Cake. The festival also features a yoga conference (for a list of the teachers click here ). For both festivals, participants can purchase tickets to see the music, take the yoga classes, or both. All this yoga and music festival talk makes me wonder, is this the next big trend in yoga? Are people going to be more likely to go to a yoga conference if it’s combined with their favorite performers? Or will the crowds and the noise make it harder to practice?

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Are Yoga + Music Festivals the Next Big Thing?

I thought you might enjoy these video clips (taken from local newscasts). I love watching how yoga is portrayed in the news, particularly how many different stories yoga sneaks its way into. Trees, dogs, whatever! To me, it’s all a reminder that all life is yoga. Enjoy!.    

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Yoga in the News

If we’ve learned anything from this recession, it’s that yoga is not a “luxury” expenditure but an important necessity for many who have found ways to stretch their (already thin) dollars to make it yoga class. In fact, many studios are noticing an increase in attendance ! Yoga students see layoffs as their perfect opportunity to finally enroll in a teacher training . Now, the NY Times is reporting that unemployed yogis are finding a way to immerse themselves in their practice without breaking the bank–by moving into an ashram for a residency work-exchange program. That’s right. Their former employers (and the crummy economy) gave these yogis the freedom to leave their homes and everyday lives. The ashrams, in exchange for a little karma yoga washing dishes or preparing food, gave them the opportunity to study for cheap. However, as Yehnemsah Oneha of Ananda Ashram in New York warns, the ashram’s immersion program is intended for deep spiritual study and contemplation, not hiding out from the world. “If you’re applying because you can’t deal with life, that’s not a good motivation,” she said. What do you think? Is a long visit to an ashram a good idea for the unemployed?

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Economy Got You Down? Head for the Hills.

This video was on a local TV station in the San Francisco Bay Area. It gives a few nice tips for practicing yoga while you’re traveling–particularly on an airplane. I have to admit, even though I may want to do yoga when I’m on a cramped plane or bus, I just can’t imaging getting up and doing Triangle Pose in the middle of the aisle. What do you think? Is it OK to practice yoga in an airplane aisle or does it impend on the personal space of other travelers?

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Just Plane Yoga

The gay rights debate has made its way into India, where a high court recently ruled to legalize homosexuality. And, according to The Telegraph , Swami “Baba” Ramdev isn’t thrilled about it. He filed a petition to India’s Supreme Court asking that the ruling be overturned. “[Homosexuality] can be treated like any other congenital defect,” he told The Telegraph. ” Such tendencies can be treated by yoga, pranayam and other meditation techniques.” The ruling offends the structure of the Indian value system, Indian culture and traditions, as derived from religious scriptures, he wrote in the petition.

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Swami "Baba" Ramdev Says Yoga Can "Cure" Homosexuality

Deepening your practice doesn’t always mean getting your body into a deeper asana. In fact, sometimes you’ll get more out of sitting down with a book and deepening your knowledge of the practice. But there are so many important yoga books filled with philosophy, history, anatomy, and spirituality that it can seem like an impossible task to just pick one up and start studying. For many yoga students, it’s even more difficult to stay motivated to keep reading when the books get too esoteric or life gets in the way. If either of these scenarios for yoga study sounds like you, you might consider joining a yoga book club. Sometimes a little extra support from friends is all you need. You could get together a group of friends once a week to discuss the texts or write your thoughts through an online community group like the YJ Community Yoga Study Group . Image from Namaste Book Club Or you could read along with a new blog called the Namaste Book Club where you can now vote for the first book the club will read together. You can even follow the club leaders’ tweets on Twitter for constant reminders (that you should get away from your computer and crack open a book, perhaps?) Have any of you ever participated in a yoga book club? What are some books you think should be first on the list?

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Join the Club

This video made me chuckle, so I decided to share it with you. It looks like it was produced to give It’s Yoga in Utah some publicity for it’s Teacher Training Program. Would a video like this make you consider signing on for a teacher training?

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Yoga Robotics

In a lawsuit against Dahn Yoga , a yoga organization with locations across the U.S., 26 former Dahn members allege the organization subjects its members to “psychological manipulation”. Dahn Yoga issued this response to ABC15 in Arizona, who has been following the story since 2007: “Dahn Yoga & Health Centers, Inc.

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Dahn Yoga Responds to Lawsuit

Summer traveling can be challenging for a yoga student. Hours cooped up in crowded airplanes, routine meditation and asana sessions disrupted by altered schedules, so far from your yoga studio. Travelers have long been seeking out cozy Bed and Breakfasts for that home-away-from-home feel.

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Bed, Breakfast, and Yoga

Upon waking for the last day of the conference, we learned that Sri K. Pattabhi Jois , 93, has passed. The official announcement is posted here , and you can find up-to-the-minute memorial posts and reactions from students worldwide here  via twitter.

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In Memory of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Father of Ashtanga

For many yoga students music is goes hand in hand with their asana practice. It’s often the music that sets the tone for an active class or helps to quiet a monkey mind during Savasana. So when I first heard about the Wanderlust Festival–a festival that combines yoga and music–my first reaction was “It’s about time!” The first ever Wanderlust Festival , which features artists such Michael Franti and Andrew Bird and renowned yoga teachers such as John Friend and Shiva Rea, will take place July 24-26 festival at Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe, California.

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Rockin’ Retreat

Gather your girls, a few pink feather boas, and a gaudy beauty pageant sash that says “Bachelorette!” It’s wedding season —and with that comes the rehearsal dinner, the bridal shower, the next-day brunch, and of course the infamous bachelor/bachelorette party. It can all be overwhelming whether you’re the bride or groom, a member of the wedding party, or a regular wedding guest. No matter what your role in the big day, it’s the perfect time to do lots of yoga.

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Yoga: The New Bachelorette Party

If you’ve ever wondered if there’s a scientific reason you feel such a warm, happy glow after your favorite yoga class (also known as a yoga buzz), the latest issue of Oprah magazine offers an explanation. The culprits are the the Vagus nerve, which serves as a messenger between the central nervous system and major organs, and a hormone, Oxytocin, which seems to facilitate a connection between ourselves with others. When both are triggered, our spirits are lifted and we feel happier

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How Yoga Makes You Happy