Pay Attention, It’s All Right Here

Pay Attention, It’s All Right Here

Everything shows you everything about your self. If you're paying some attention. Ever since I started moving a whole lot in my life - with East Asian practices when I was younger, then climbing up mountains and flying down them, and now through yoga and tai chi - I've always felt that I am how I move. My body follows my mind, my beliefs. It goes along with where my attention is, and where it isn't. The things I find easy or run from, connections that seem effortless or times when I'm fast to bristle - it all all comes…
Strala Guide to Everyday Home Practice

Strala Guide to Everyday Home Practice

How much should I practice?  Should it be every day or do I need rest days?  How intense should it be?  What time of day is best? How can I reach my goals? One of the best things about us is we're all unique, so it's nice to answer individual questions individually. And probably what's most important isn't an exact prescription. It's simply that you do some practice each day that's good for you.   Do something that's good for you every day.   From here, it's important that this practice doesn't become isolated to the 10 minutes, 30 minutes,…
Get Comfortable Right Now

Get Comfortable Right Now

There are many poses that feel uncomfortable for a whole lot of people, pigeon among them. And we always have a choice here, in our leading, and even more important, in how we live our own lives. We can stick with the idea of the pose, and hope that uncomfortable will become comfortable one day. Or we can change the form, so it arises from our own body rather than from an idea. This creates something dramatically different. The thing about ideas is they're static, and like yoga poses, often come from somewhere else - someone else's body, someone else's…

Go Easy on Yourself

You might find that going easy on yourself is the best way to do everything there is.   Yoga is neat because it gives us a way to see everything there is to see about ourselves. And inversions can be even more fun here - not because standing on your hands will change your life, but because we get to see even more clearly what happens in our minds, and our bodies, as we approach challenge. So let's look at handstands a bit. Sometimes our approach to this kind of challenge is to exit immediately. Do nothing. Child's pose, and…
What You Need to Know About Practicing Yoga When You’re Pregnant

What You Need to Know About Practicing Yoga When You’re Pregnant

Yoga, at its best, has the wonderful capacity to heal, connect you back to your intuition and awareness, build balanced strength and mobility in your body, and energize your whole self. The secret is simple: The magic isn't locked in the poses. It's in you. How we practice, and how we treat ourselves while we practice, makes all the difference on the effects and benefits we receive. Of course, before doing anything, it's always a good idea to ask your doctor about these things. It's helpful to speak with a qualified professional who knows your own personal case history. If…