Want to learn yoga but don’t want to spend a fortune? Yoga has been around a long time but has grown in popularity the last decade or so. Yoga studios have opened in most major cities drawing in tons of people. However, these studios can get pricey! With yoga sessions costing over $25! Having been someone who wanted to learn yoga about eight years ago, I know what it is like to pay those studio prices. With changes in my financial situation, I started to look around for other ways to learn yoga and keep up my yoga skills. I … Continue reading →

One of the exercise components to my Wii Fit Plus is yoga. I never thought that I would really enjoy yoga but I do. I will admit that I’m not into the psychological stuff of yoga but I have found some other benefits to yoga. The two biggest things that I have noticed are my posture has improved and my balance is much better. I have never been a very coordinated person, yet I seem to be doing better in that area. Yoga has also stretched muscles in my body that haven’t been stretched in a long time making my … Continue reading →

Without getting too serious about ourselves, I wanted to discuss some common, perhaps amusing, bits of etiquette to watch out for in yoga classes. Hopefully, you’ll know when I’m intending to humor rather than dictate. 1. Make a controlled effort to get there on time. When I say “controlled,” it’s because I don’t want people stressing themselves out just to get to class. I can get past people walking in while I’m taking people into opening meditation, but I know that it can be distracting for the other students. Late or not, we all have the same intention – let’s … Continue reading →

Hopefully your gym has a pleasant room, probably with hardwood floors and a window, where all of the yoga, Pilates and other group classes take place. The one in my gym is an escape from the masses right now. It appears that everyone who made a New Year’s Resolution to get healthy is at the gym every night, waiting for the parking spot, the treadmill or the free weights. Don’t get me wrong – I am more than happy that people are taking care of themselves. I’m full of hope that a great number of them will find joy in … Continue reading →

Although we never imagine ourselves admitting in front of an entire room that we have any kind of limiting physical condition (except maybe pregnancy), it may be the key to your yoga instructor delivering a safe class for you. When I first started teaching, it was in a close-knit YMCA, so I would open the class by asking if anyone had anything that might require them to modify their practice. I have since tweaked the timing of this question to better suit people’s privacy, but nonetheless, I still ask it. If I didn’t, then there’s always a chance that someone … Continue reading →

It is normal to hear a fitness instructor cue inhalations and exhalations, left or right sides of the body and water breaks, whether you are in a step, kick boxing or cardio pump class, but if you try a yoga class you may hear instructions that take body awareness to another level. Most of yoga’s principles seem simple enough at first glance, but let’s examine the implications of the cue, “listen to your body.” Listening to the body requires that one is prepared to quiet the mind of external thoughts long enough to pay attention to each physical sensation experienced … Continue reading →