In When Does Flexible Start to Mean Harmful?, Lorraine Kreahling asks, Does too much stretching cause injuries? Ten to twenty years ago, when I was teaching yoga in San Francisco, one rarely heard of people being injured from practicing yoga. During this time I worked both as a chiropractic assistant and in sports medicine research. To the extent that we saw yoga … Read More
Yogananda often said, “A bent spine is the enemy of Self-realization.” Patanjali stated in his Yoga Sutras, “The fruit of right poise is the strength to resist the shocks of infatuation or sorrow.” In The Art and Science of Raja Yoga, Swami Kriyananda wrote, “Right posture is vitally important to the yogi.” And one of the first known written books on Hatha Yoga, … Read More
Picture this: You are about to begin teaching your Thursday evening yoga class when in walks a new student: a middle-aged man, slightly overweight, wearing glasses and a smile on his face. In making your usual introductions, you learn that his name is Randy. You ask him, “Do you have any injuries, or anything else that I should know about?” … Read More
“Will I ever be able to do ____?” [Fill in the blank with a popular yoga asana.] This is a question that I often receive from my students. They have seen the pictures in the books and watched some of their classmates glide—seemingly effortlessly—into a pose that is challenging to the watchers. I never answer with a simple yes or … Read More
See also Pregnancy Posture Tips. Tadasana will usually need to be modified, sooner or later, by placing the feet wider apart. This will help with balance as well as comfort when the pelvis begins to shift and the baby gets heavier. Standing asanas in general will help improve posture if you, as the teacher, make it a priority to constantly watch … Read More
Hey, guess what? We are going to pretend that Randy — you remember Randy from the last therapeutic yoga article, whom we almost sent to the hospital because he had so many complications with his back problem — has responded well to a conservative yoga therapy program. Can you guess what has been his favorite part of his yoga program? Well, … Read More
