Yoga & Life, Lesson 5: Celebrate the Little Things

At last night’s yoga class one of our members exclaimed, “I can touch my toes!” It was a triumph. Last week, she couldn’t. Due to the slow, almost contemplative, nature of yoga, practitioners are encouraged to pay attention to baby steps of progress. “This time, stretch a little farther…hold that pose a little longer…see how [...]

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Yoga & Life, Lesson 4: For Once, It Really Is About You

I am not a competitive person, especially when it comes to sports. I’m athletically challenged, for one thing. It’s not that I don’t want my team to whup yours, but if it’s a game that I’m personally playing, I figure I’m more likely to lose than not. Can’t we all just be happy and get [...]

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Yoga & Life, Lesson 3: Start Where You Are

It seems to me the world is divided into two basic camps: those who ease into the pool one toe at a time and those who jump in. If you’re a cannonball-er, this lesson may not apply to you so much, but if you’re a “proceed with caution” type, this could be a a challenge. [...]

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Yoga & Life, Lesson 2: Focus

At the end of Lesson 1 we were busy being still. Now it’s time to arise smoothly from our reclining positions—or in my case, lumber up with the grace of an arthritic elephant—and move to task number two. Focus. As my yoga teacher said, “Decide what you’re going to focus on.” Let’s just pause here [...]

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Yoga and Life: Lesson 1

I recently completed a month’s worth of yoga sessions. (I had a Groupon.) I figured it would be good for me, help with some of my flexibility issues, and improve the strength of the knee I injured last year. And I was right. What I didn’t expect was that I would learn some valuable principles [...]

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Yoga with Cats

“Now take your strap in your right hand and hold it behind your back…” Easy for you to say, Allie. Your strap is not currently being held captive by a marmalade Manx mix. Allie is the perky yoga instructor on my “Yoga Basics for Beginners” DVD. The Manx is Henry, the younger of my two [...]

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