Tadpole Pose
Tadpole Pose is a blend of Frog Pose and Child’s Pose, offering a soothing stretch to the inner hips and lower back. As you settle into the posture, …
Yoga Exercise
Learn more about yoga asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing techniques), the effects they have on the body and mind and the many health benefits that can be experienced with regular practice.
The Natural Need for Grounding and Earthing in a Fast-Paced World
In today’s fast-paced world, grounding and earthing have become very popular, natural practices for holistic well-being. Simply placing your bare feet on the ground or sitting directly on …
Do You Suffer from Respiratory Problems, Poor Posture, and a Sense of Imbalance? It Could Be Your Psoas Muscle.
Have you ever felt off balance, experienced respiratory difficulties, or struggled with poor posture? You might be surprised to learn that the culprit could be your psoas muscle. …
Stretching vs Lengthening: What’s The Real Difference?
Stretching and lengthening: Are they the same? Well when we are referencing muscles, the answer is no. Both however are beneficial, although it has been found that the …
Face Yoga for Relaxation and to Boost Your Mood
For centuries, women have sought to preserve their youthful appearance using lotions, creams, and face packs. In response to the rise of injectables and cosmetic surgery, along with …
Travel Smart: Yoga Tips for a Comfortable Long-Haul Flight
Escaping the winter cold? Lucky me! However, this escape comes with a price, both financially and in terms of the long hours spent on a plane. A long …
Cat/Cow Pose
A very simple pose which is accessible for just about everyone because you can do it either standing, sitting or kneeling. This pose mobilises the spine in a …
Finding Emotional Balance Through Yoga: Cultivating Calm Amidst the Storm
In today’s world, tuning into the news often feels like bracing for an onslaught of negativity: wars, hatred, violence, pain and suffering. It’s overwhelming, enough to make one …
Yoga for Back Pain
Yoga for back pain. For some people it’s a preventative, for others a cure, for some it’s maintenance while for a very rare few it might be a …
Yoga: A Healing Path for Cancer Survivors
With sadness I am submitting this article for this month’s newsletter because the dear friend I was writing it for has lost her struggle with cancer and is …
The Healing Power of Yoga: Stories from ASMY
Yoga is not only enjoyable but improves our health. I was reading the other day about a study that showed how a steady yoga practice far outweighed stretch …
Tiptoe Mountain Pose
Balancing poses hone our ability to focus and concentrate. They provide a wonderful feedback system – as soon as the mind wavers we start to wobble. Because the …
Forearm Side Plank
The Forearm Side Plank is an excellent exercise for strengthening your core, with a particular focus on toning the obliques. Additionally, it offers the benefit of toning your …
Yoga for Spinal Decompression: A Path to Health and Healing
In many yoga poses I like to dwell on the feeling of my spine decompressing. It’s a delicious sense of creating space within the spinal column. In our …
Gate Latch Pose (Parighasana)
Benefits Opens hips Stretches shoulders Lengthens side body Strengthens back Opens chest Cautions Kneeling may be contraindicated for people with knee tenderness Herniated discs Hernia Late pregnancy. Moving …
The Science Behind Stretching Fascia: Benefits and Techniques
While most people are familiar with the benefits of stretching muscles, a lesser-known aspect of flexibility lies in stretching the fascia. Slowly the understanding of the role of …
The Vagus Nerve: Unraveling the Wonders of the Body’s Superhighway
The human body is a complex marvel of interconnected systems that work tirelessly to maintain balance and homeostasis. At the core of this intricate web lies the vagus …
The Essence and Meaning of Namaste
Namaste is a traditional greeting that we often hear in the yoga community. It is usually offered with the palms held together, lowered eyes and a bowed head. …
Question Time: How Can I Improve My Balance?
The teachers at ASMY get asked many questions, some about the spiritual aspects of yoga and others more on the physical side. Maybe the following question is one …
Warrior 3 Pose (Virabhasana 3)
This pose challenges your balance, the stretch of your hamstrings and the strength of just about everything else. To add more of a challenge, you can move your …
Improve Your Vision with Yoga
As I sit here squinting at my computer screen, I am reminded of the need to do my eye exercises. Although I resort to glasses for very fine …
Extension Not Tension
Many people embrace yoga asanas as a way of getting rid of muscle tension. Muscle tension is when your muscles stay partially contracted for a period of time, …
Feel the Oscillating Breath
This is a wonderful way of bringing breath awareness into our asana practice. To find the oscillating breath, it is best to first experience it while we are …
The Power of Community: Why Group Yoga & Meditation Classes are Beneficial
Traditionally yoga was taught one on one and practiced alone. Originally it was taught as an adjunct to a spiritual practice, training the yogi to be able to …
Goddess Pose
This pose is much like the Horse Stance from the martial arts tradition. They both have a wonderfully grounding effect and are both strengthening for the legs and …
10 Reasons to Practice Flow Yoga
Flow yoga, also known as vinyasa yoga, is a dynamic and physically active form of yoga that involves flowing from one pose to the next, often with the …
Anjali Mudra
Mudras can be loosely described as positions which we adopt to bring about a certain subtle result. Anjali mudra is a gesture of peace and respect. It is …
Sacrum Circles
This is a great exercise to do just before you start relaxing. It’s also great to do when you want to wake up out of a deep relaxation …
How To Teach Our Kids Persistence
Never say a child can’t do persistence. Children are great at persistence ……. as long as the reward at the end is big enough. Admittedly there are huge …
Put Some Spring into Your Practice: A Seasonal Yoga & Meditation Guide
Spring has announced itself once again heralded with fragrant flowers and fresh green leaves. There is a warmth to the atmosphere whispering delights of the balmy summer days …
Anxiety – Cause, Effect and Support from a Yoga Perspective
Anxiety is all too common. You may be dealing with anxiety in your own life, or you may know someone who is. It is showing up more and …
Yoga for Resilience
Resilience is an important quality that we all need. It sees us through those tough times that we encounter throughout our lives. To be resilient means we have …
Supine Pigeon
This pose supports the back while stretching around the side of the hips. It’s a great pose to relieve sciatic pain, release tension around the back of the …
Yoga for Sciatic Pain
Sciatic pain is not uncommon. Most of us either know of someone who has had it or have actually experienced it ourselves. In fact it is said that …
Yes, We Even Need Yoga for the Eyes!
Sore and tired eyes from too much screen time? Needing to wear glasses to read now that you’ve been eyeing that screen on and off for the last …
The Yoga Breath: Deep But Not Full
There is a common misconception that to relax we should take big deep breaths. While it is certainly beneficial to breathe deeply in order to relax, full or …
Breathing for Better Health
I always find that knowing why I should take up a practice that is touted to be extremely beneficial for my health is a great motivator. This article …
When To Flow and When To Go
Being immensely popular, flow yoga is taught in most yoga studios. Also known as Vinyasa yoga, it is fun, fast and strenuous. Yoga flows are usually based around …
The Year Ahead
So here we go with another year ahead of us. As we look back on the past year, let’s assess how we did. Did we achieve what we …
Breathing for Beginners
A gentle, serene breathing exercise all about creating space for calm with deeper, more mindful breathing. Take just 5 minutes to learn this powerful yoga breathing technique that …