Recently, we asked for your suggestions, and one of our yogis asked for our insight in choosing a yoga mat. Here is our take: While there are many options available, the vast majority of yoga mats work perfectly well for any style of yoga and personal preference plays a big role in ultimately choosing the mat that is right for you. That said, understanding the differences will help you select a mat that fits your personal needs because purchasing a good mat is going to cost you a few bucks. Yoga Mat Thickness and Weight Yoga mats range from super thin and compact travel styles that weigh a mere 2 lbs.…

Here we are yogis – one week into 2016.  I’ve been thinking long and hard about my goals and a resolution for 2016.  We talk a lot about taking our lessons off the mat and out of the studio, and I really wanted to make that part of my intention for the new year. I shared with my class last night a conversation with my youngest daughter where she was going on and on about how stressed she was.  I immediately shot back with, “well, you think your stressed, well then I am really stressed!”  And back and forth we went in the conversation trying to argue who in fact was…

  Reading has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I have parents that made reading important and who are still regular customers at their local library.  Whenever I’m embarking on something new, trying to figure something out, or searching for some comfort, my habit is to find a good book and to start learning.  Books provide us with knowledge and comfort.  Often through reading, we find out we are not alone in our neuroses, our questions, our sense of humor, or our quest.  Because a lot of people know this about me, I’m often asked for book recommendations, and I’ve had quite a few…

  THE YAMAS Ahimsa – ‘Non-Violence’ Satya – ‘Truthfulness’ Asteya – ‘Non-Stealing’ Brahmacharya –  ‘Right use of energy’ Aparigraha – ‘Non-Hoarding’   The last five days we have been exploring the Yamas as part of our Balanced Planet Yoga Instagram challenge – #BPYMindBodyChallenge.   We have been able to just provide a drop in the bucket of what understanding and making these precepts a part of your daily living can do.  The Yamas and their counterpart the Niyamas are a framework for living. You may have noticed how these first five Yamas are so interrelated.  One of the questions that I have explored involves Ahimsa and Satya or non-violence and truth.…

If you have attended yoga class at BPY, no doubt you have heard your yoga teacher calling out alignment cues as you move through your practice.  These practice cues include “keep your knee over your ankle,” during our low lunges or “roll your shoulders away from your ears” during up dog and are important reminders for keeping the body safe. Listening for and trying to incorporate these alignments during a slower paced class is much more easily done than during a faster-paced Vinyasa flow or Budokon class, which could cause some of students to overlook alignment and this can contribute to habits that over time can lead to injury. I am sure…

Hello BPY Yogis!  Next up on our journey through yoga lingo, I would like to introduce some of the Sanskrit basics when learning yoga posture names.   To facilitate understanding the names of poses in yoga, you may find it to be most helpful to gain an understanding of what the root words are that forms the construct of each Sanskrit word or phrase. The names can be broken down into similar categories and then observed how they can be combined. When we see the separate names that combine to create a pose, the logic of how they are formed easily leads to the understanding of other combinations/pose names, for many…

Have you heard your yoga teacher say something that you were pretty sure was not English?  At the time you are desperately trying to stand on one leg and it just doesn’t seem the time to raise your hand and ask.  In fact, you are sure you may be the only person that didn’t understand, and you certainly don’t want to call attention to that or the fact that you actually cannot stand on one leg.  You get to the end of class and you know you wanted to ask your teacher something…what was it, what was it???? You are not alone….with the struggle to learn yoga’s terminology, balancing on…

A few weeks ago I was listening to a radio interview and heard something that I thought was profound. The gentleman being interviewed said that we suffer when we live from a dark place filled with thoughts and emotions like hate, anger, and fear.  He said that we also suffer when we live from a place of light and love.  The difference is that when we live from a place of light and love we have a greater opportunity to experience the moments of happiness and contentment that we all yearn for. To me, the tools and techniques that we learn in yoga can help us to live in a…