All posts filed under: yoga community

7 Ways to (Actually) Improve Your Yoga Practice

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Yoga is one of those crazy beautiful experiences where you can receive whatever you need. Some people attend yoga classes to chill out, others go to work out. Many people gravitate to yoga because it truly is a healing experience, both emotionally and physically. This is how yoga works. It gives back however much you invest. It teaches and transforms us however much we are willing to allow. Regardless of what draws you to yoga, you’ll get the most out of your practice if you fine-tune it. Over the years, I’ve discovered some factors that really help me as a yoga practitioner, so I’m passing them onto you. Because sharing is caring. And I fricking care. CONSISTENCY IS KEY: Let’s just get this one out of the way early, because it’s obvious. Consistency is the key to everything in life, but it can be one of the more challenging things to obtain. Yoga brings out everyone’s inner tortoise or hare. You know what I’m talking about: the story of the race between the super slow …

How to Prevent Common Yoga Injuries

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Yoga is magical. After you finish a class, you basically float out on a tide of goodwill and feel like you’re riding on the back of a unicorn while sweet baby angels sing into your ear. But beyond the undeniably euphoric effects of yoga, it can be a truly healing experience, both mentally and physically. This aspect of yoga draws many people initially to their mat, so when injuries occur, it can legit feel like a gianty-giant let down. Is it not enough that we endure demanding jobs, horrific traffic, depressing articles in the news (I cannot handle anything related to current events right now), and global warming?! Must we also experience injuries during our cherished outlet known as yoga?! Good news, fellow yogi: injuries are preventable, and I’m about to tell you how.  Get that good mojo and keep it! The topic of yoga injuries is near and dear to my heart, because I’ve gone through a slew of them while doing some intense Ashtanga/Mysore training. I’ve cracked my sternum, busted some ribs, did …

How to Do: Side Crow

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Arm balances just makes me soooo happy, I can hardly stand it. I mean, honestly, every time a yoga instructor calls out an option for an arm balance or an inversion, I’m literally like, YAAAAAS GAWD. Unless I’ve eaten all the things right before class and feel as though I’m made of bricks. Then I’m like, WHHHHYYY, make the lambs stop screaming!!! Yoga is cruel to the gluttonous, just so you know. But when a girl’s gotta eat, she’s gotta eat. Even if it’s right before class. Here’s the thing I like to tell my own clients regarding the oh-so-tricky art of arm balances and inversions: it should be fun. Sure, it’s difficult—really difficult. After all, you’re both balancing and holding yourself up on a tiny portion of your body. But this isn’t the time to go Type A or let your perfectionism kick in. This is the exact moment to practice patience and give yourself grace. Before you even start, lay your ego at the door. Hey, I know you just skimmed that sentence! …

When Dairy-Free Milk Wreaks Havoc on Your Gut

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Many people switch to nut milk in pursuit of healthier options, completely unaware of some companies using ingredients that are highly inflammatory for your intestinal tract and harmful to your gut microbes. It seems like everyday, more people are ditching cow’s milk and switching to healthier options, like nut milk. With increased demand comes increased supply, so many mainstream food brands are now marketing nut milk of every variety. Many people switch to nut milk in pursuit of healthier options, completely unaware of some companies using ingredients that are highly inflammatory for your intestinal tract and harmful to your gut microbes.This should be a good thing…but it’s not. While you’d might think consumers should be able to waltz into any grocery store and not have to worry about what the hell is in our food, that world just doesn’t exist anymore. The food industry is a massive business and, like many other businesses, it’s more concerned with product sale than people’s health.  The simple truth is not all dairy-free milks are created equal, but there’s …

Ditch the Sugar, Lose the Weight

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  Pour some sugar on me… But not on my food. No way, no ma’am, no thank you. I not-so-secretly adore sugary things. Actually, I love salty foods. Fatty foods. Fried foods. If it is dyed an obnoxious color, I’ll probably like that too. (Those chewy Swedish fish make my day. Some part of my brain knows it’s not a real food, that fish are neither chewy nor bright red nor sweet, but I become 100% committed to devouring the entire box the second they’re in my hands.) I use so much salt on my food, it looks like a literal snow blizzard has descended upon my plate. But out of all my vices, I think my sweet tooth is the worst. Scratch that, it’s not a sweet tooth, but teeth. Like, a mouth full of ’em. I’m pretty sure my body is out to get me. When science is finally confessing sugar is silently killing us and likens it to a hyper addictive drug, what’s a girl to do? Find ways to cut sugar out …

Review: Best Yoga Books (for yoga addicts like you)

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I collect two things in life: books and music. And according to my bank account, I apparently go a little overboard with my obsession for both. I am unrepentant. I am without question a book fanatic/literarazzi/reader-of-all-the-things. I don’t know about you, but any location that houses books in a happy place: libraries, used bookstores, Barnes and Noble, that random pop up store down the street, etc etc etc. I’m not kidding when I say I read at least a book or two a week. I will happily turn down social engagements to snuggle up with a my fat cat and a book. HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH—called my sofaaaaaaaa. Anyway, now that we all know the real reason I’m sometimes a terrible friend (those books aren’t gonna read themselves, people), I wanted to share with you several that I’ve found really beneficial to my yoga practice. Inspirational and philosophical books are pretty easy to come across, but books with a technical focus are often difficult to find. I’ve curated several gems along the way, and they’ve made …

Natural Cleaner for Yoga Mats + Gym Equipment

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Just when you thought it was safe to watch documentaries, you come across The Human Experiment and life is over as you knew it. Nightmares for DAYS, people. Damn it, Netflix, why do you do me like that? The basic synopsis of The Human Experiment is that we’re all going to die. Well, ok, more specifically, we are experiencing a chemical overload via the things we use daily, ranging from food to products. Households cleaning items are rarely tested for long term effects on animals, and what data we do is not looking good. After watching that documentary my first instinct was to pack up, pulling a Walden, and getting my Henry David Thoreau-self outta here! But here’s the thing: I absolutely refuse to live my life in fear of all of the non-holistic things that go bump in the night. There’s a big difference between making smart, well-informed changes that positively impact your life verses being controlled by information that terrifies you. The point of educating ourselves about natural alternatives is to simplify, empower and protect our …

How to Have a Dynamic Yoga Practice

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Yoga is an investment. Like money, we don’t want our practice to be a proverbial credit card, where we’re charging skills and tricks that our body actually can’t afford for us to do. We also don’t want to needlessly hoard our energy, so we must learn to invest ourselves and our energy wisely. As with most things in life, you’ll get out of yoga whatever you invest in it. This makes me oh so happy! Hooray! A predicted outcome: work hard, enjoy the results! On the other hand, this makes me feel RIDICULOUSLY GRUMPY: wait, what? Sooo…no coasting? Not even a little cheating?! DAMNIT! I guess I’ll have to rely on good old fashioned hard work when it comes to my practice. Oh, joy. But all good things are worth the effort, and yoga is at the top of that list. Because yoga allows for many modifications and no one is shouting at you to run harder, climb higher, pump heavier, the degree of intensity is a highly personal and regulated primarily by the individual. Pros: you …