A Dog Pose a Day Keeps the Chiro at Bay

A Dog Pose a Day Keeps the Chiro at Bay

Tonight I really wanted to write about one of the most important poses in the asana lexicon, Adho Mukha Svanasana – Downward-facing Dog Pose. But I also wanted to acknowledge the excitement in the air with the near passing of 2011.
So, I think I can combine the two with a little story of a New Year’s Eve dinner I had with an old beau years ago in the Sydney Opera House district. We were dining early, dressed in party gear, enjoying the ambience of an elegant restaurant. […]

A Dog Pose a Day Keeps the Chiro at Bay

Head to Heels Stretch – Paschimottanasana

Forward bends can be the bane of some yogis lives, especially if you are in a class and you see supple-bodied people seemingly fall into these sorts of poses with the utmost ease.
In my book,  Teach Yourself Yoga, I talk about how my difficulties with forward bends eventually helped me understand what yoga is about:
When I started yoga, I experienced great waves of frustration and sadness, whenever I performed a sequence of the seated forward bends. Sometimes I would finish a session crying. No one had explained to me that emotional discomfort could arise while doing yoga. […]

Upside-Down Bow – Arcing the Spine in Urdhva Dhanurasana

Upside-Down Bow – Arcing the Spine in Urdhva Dhanurasana

Symmetry in action, Urdhva Dhanurasana is a challenging pose for most yogis. If we could only get the backbend arc to be even from the top of the spine to the tip, then the experience would be pleasurable and gratifying. Anything less, we feel heavy, pinched and sometimes defeated. Like many adults, by the time I came to do yoga, it had been many years since I’d done backbends. The first ones I attempted in a yoga class made me feel exhilarated. My teacher was a hard task master. We students did 25 Urdhva Dhanurasanas, followed by 10 “easies”. […]

A Dog Pose a Day Keeps the Chiro at Bay

Stomaching the Holidays with Supta Virasana

Supta Virasana is a terrific stomach stretcher. Just what I needed today after experiencing the Big Xmas Day Indulgence, followed by the Big Boxing Day Seafood Extravaganza. My stomach was a tight as a drum head in this morning’s practice, and I didn’t even know it until I did the pose.

Stomachs are special organs and  need to be well-catered for.  Think of all the great expressions that relate to this organ: butterflies in the stomach, gut feelings, armies marching on their stomachs. We who are health-oriented know that stomachs need to be well-exercised, too. […]

A Dog Pose a Day Keeps the Chiro at Bay

Oops!

I have been informed that the YogaAnywhere cards link that I posted yesterday was incorrect.
Apologies, computers are not my first language 🙂 If you did try to find the site and didn’t succeed, please try again.
Here you go: www.yogaanywhere.net and
on Facebook  www.facebook.com/yogaanywherecards […]

A Dog Pose a Day Keeps the Chiro at Bay

The Story of YogaAnywhere Cards

I knew in my bones the cards would be a great contribution to yoga practising, and also, this was going to be a place for my 30-year collection of archived practices to go.I knew in my bones the cards would be a great contribution to yoga practising, and also, this was going to be a place for my 30-year collection of archived practices to go.

A Dog Pose a Day Keeps the Chiro at Bay

On Boxing Day ’11 – A Yoga Innovation – YogaAnywhere Cards

As a transplant to Australia from the USA, it’s only just now that I finally understood what Boxing Day is about.
This post-Xmas holiday is heralding the much anticipated launch of our boxed sets of YogaAnywhere Cards.
We’re thrilled to let you know the cards are here now and available to purchase on our website: www.YogaAnywhere.net or on Facebook www.facebook.com/yogaanywherecards
I invite you to check the websites to read detailed information on what YogaAnywhere cards are all about.
Our poor overworked printer was only able to give us a small quantity of packs before the holiday break started, so you […]

A Dog Pose a Day Keeps the Chiro at Bay

December 25, 2011 Mitchells Island

I can scarcely remember such beautiful weather for Christmas Day as we’ve had today.
I do remember 40 degree-plus Christmases, chilly and drizzly ones, and one year where we were without electricity through the day and night because of nearby bush fires.
We here have cause for celebration.
Happy campers in the grounds at Manning Point are enjoying perfect summer weather, and rain-free.
The Aussie economy is better than most, maybe better than all, never mind about the two-speeds.
It’s peaceful in our neck of the woods. […]

A Dog Pose a Day Keeps the Chiro at Bay

Anatasana

In typically colourful Hindu lore, Anata is one of the names of Vishnu and, as well, his serpent. Vishnu sleeps on the ocean floor on his couch, the thousand headed serpent. While Anata is asleep, a lotus grows from his navel and that is where Brahma is born. Brahma then creates the world.
In the photo above taken in Myanmar in 2007, you see the reclining Buddha arranged in Anatasana pose. […]

A Dog Pose a Day Keeps the Chiro at Bay

Ardha Chandrasana

A friend and colleague of mine said that the standing pose Ardha Chandrasana went from being a nasty pose to a nice pose for him when he finally mastered it. As postures go, it will test your balance and equanimity to the hilt. However, once you meet the challenge, it’s going to be a lifelong friend.
When I was struggling with hip arthritis, Ardha Chandrasana was the pose that could realign my femur in its socket when it went out of position. […]

A Dog Pose a Day Keeps the Chiro at Bay

Rotating, Revolving and Reclining – All in One Pose

Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana is balletically beautiful, in my view. I love the way movement into the pose takes me into unfamiliar territory. Think about it. How often in the course of a day or even a week would you rotate your spine, and after having done that, then revolve around that axis and bend laterally. The complexity of the pose means it can’t be done perfunctorily. Its path is always going to be uncharted.
The drawing above shows an advanced version. […]