Life is Yoga: March 2010: Do More Good than Harm

I am reading a wonderful book by Zoe Weil called Most Good Least Harm. The premise is obvious but the content is not. What I have taken away from it so far is that there are so many ways to do good in this world. We all have a composite image of a “do gooder” in […]

The Pulse Cafe

I am over the moon about the new vegan restaurant that just opened in Davis Square, Somerville, Ma, called The Pulse. I had dinner there last night and just loved it. This is vegan comfort food, not just a bunch of steamed veggies, and everything including the desserts is vegan. We started with the mushroom calamari […]

February 2010 Hanumanasana (Split Pose)

Hanumanasana incorporates hip extension and hip flexion while maintaining a neutral spine. In other words, the 3 biggest challenges for most yogis/yoginis all wrapped up into one posture: multi-tasking and multi-challenging! This asana is named after the monkey god, Hanuman, who leapt across the ocean in one jump spanning from one foot to another in […]

Life is Yoga: January 2010: Yoga Citta Vrtti Nirodha

When considering the pose of the month, hanumanasana (please see thePose of the Month column), I couldn’t help but see the metaphors, the comparisons, and examples for everyday life. So much of yoga is lost when it is isolated to the mat. So much is gained when the experiences and lessons we learn on the […]

December 2009 Yoga Energetics 101

This month, rather than a posture, we will focus on the energy of the postures and maximizing it. We will talk first about the energetic body, including the Chakra system. We’ll discuss which postures are grounding and which are energizing. We will also talk about the effects of hand and foot positions; when do you […]

Life is Yoga: December 2009: Citta Vrtti Nirodha

Many yogis consider Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras to be the heart of yogic philosophy. The sutras are like a guide to the practice of yoga through short sentences called sutras. The second sutra is the definition of yoga—Yoga is the effort towards steadiness of mind: notice the word ‘effort.’ Another of my favorite quotes about ‘effort’ is […]

A Note About Seitan and Silk

The other day, I was at the health food store talking to my friend Scott,the owner. I asked him why he doesn’t carry Silk soy milk anymore. He said, Silk has gone from using non-gmo organic soybeans (US grown), to non-gmo soybeans(US grown), to now conventionally grown soybeans from China. The worst part is that […]

November 2009 Pincha Mayurasana (Forearm Stand)

Pincha Mayurasana, or Forearm Stand, is one of my favorite poses. Pincha Myurasasa translates to “peacock feather.” Think of your feet lightly reaching for the sky in a multicolor display of energy! Okay, I am reaching, but you can get the image! This posture is one of the more difficult inversions, but is less injury-prone […]

Life is Yoga: November 2009

Change comes whether you want it or not. Beryl Bender Birch often says, “Celebrate impermanence!” I am still working on that concept, but I do know that much of my life I have spent preparing for things that never happened. Instead, something completely different happened. I am now, finally, and only sometimes, understanding what it […]

October 2009 Dynamic Core Strength for Backbending and Beyond

The spine moves in 6 directions: forward (flexion); backward (extension); sideways (lateral flexion right and left); and rotation (twisting right and left). Most of the time we are in forward flexion: think slouching. In order to maintain and even improve good posture we need to strengthen the spine in all directions, but especially in extension. […]