The Surprising Benefits of Online Yoga – Reflections on Practice During the Pandemic
A few years ago, if you’d asked me if it was possible to safely teach yoga to older adults over a computer, I’d have been skeptical. As a yoga therapist who specializes in teaching seniors and people with health challenges, I consider it essential to be able to observe my students closely to make sure they are moving safely. In our Integrative Yoga for Seniors Professional Trainings we encourage yoga teachers to continually scan the room to monitor...
Cultivating Patience in Challenging Times – Yogic Tools to Find Ease While We Wait. . .
Crashing websites, interminable phone holds, and cancelled appointments are just some of the frustrations encountered by those of us trying to get vaccination appointments—and that’s just among the minority of Americans who are even eligible to get inoculated against Covid-19. It will be months before everyone who wants the vaccine can get one, say public health officials, who are pleading for patience. But after enduring a year that feels like we’ve...
Breathing Lessons: Stress Relief and Better Health, Right Under Your Nose
By Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT If you think you're an expert in breathing just because you've been doing it all your life, take this test: Put one hand on your chest and the other hand on your belly. Close your eyes and take several full, deep breaths, paying close attention to the movement of breath in your body. When you inhale fully and completely, which part of your torso expands the most -- your chest or your belly? If you answered "chest," like...
Hand Washing as a Yoga Practice
The Principle of "Saucha" Can Help Fight Infection By Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT Postures, breathing, and meditation are three well-known components of the yoga practice that can enhance wellbeing. And as the Covid Crisis transforms our world, a less-recognized part of the yogic toolkit can also offer guidance and support. The yogic principles for ethical and moral conduct, called "yamas" and "niyamas," are part of the Eightfold Path to...
