yoga

As you may have read in my first article in this series, I am attending a program about mobility and movement at CrossFit 626 where I teach mobility myself. I am finding it interesting to see how the ... Continue Reading

One of the first anatomy lessons we learn in yoga training is on internal and external rotation of the hip and shoulder joints. In the vast majority of yoga poses, the shoulders rotate externally. In fact, ... Continue Reading

The CrossFit box where I teach mobility here in Pasadena, CrossFit 626, recently opened up enrollment into a free-for-members "Mobility Movement" program. The program is led by one of our coaches, Jeff ... Continue Reading

It seems like CrossFit is always on the defensive. There are a lot of people out there who have never set foot in a box or done a WOD who are shouting about the dangers of snatches and overhead squats. ... Continue Reading

Not only does yoga offer relaxation, restorative, and therapeutic benefits, but when you need it to, it can also offer you an extremely challenging physical practice to ignite your nervous system and ... Continue Reading

Yoga will not "cure" a bulging disc. In fact, unless you are working one-on-one with a teacher, I wouldn't recommend yoga with an active disc bulge. However, once your doctor has cleared you for physical ... Continue Reading

Have you ever been in yoga class and heard a teacher say, "The organs are like a dirty sponge, and we are ringing them out to detoxify the body?" Then you wonder, "Are we really? Does that really work?" My ... Continue Reading

A couple weeks ago I wrote about overhead squat limitations, and the poses I recommended were to open the hips. A second key component to overhead lifting is shoulder mobility. I regularly see athletes ... Continue Reading

I have been feeling a little off these past few weeks. Working too many hours, grinding too many reps at the gym, and suffering a bit of a personal set back. It happens. We ebb and flow and we burn out. I ... Continue Reading

Teaching at a CrossFit gym, I've become quite familiar with the mobility challenges of overhead squats. I've also seen injuries in athletes who repeat this motion without proper mobility in the hips and ... Continue Reading

I’m not a yogi, but from time to time I play one on television. Seriously, I do take the occasional yoga class and despite not being a ‘yogi,’ I like yoga, sort of. I have dabbled in yoga over the years, ... Continue Reading

With everything going on in health care today, people are turning more and more to alternative medicinal practices and prevention. Often science-minded people like myself take a little more convincing ... Continue Reading

I’m honored to be writing about my love for yoga, meditation, and sports for Breaking Muscle. Growing up I was a competitive athlete. When I wasn’t in school or sleeping, you’d find me at the gym, soccer ... Continue Reading

Yoga Instructor Jen Whinnen takes the concept of life as a journey somewhat literally, a perspective that has enhanced her life in myriad ways. The proprietor at Three Sisters Yoga, Jen has crisscrossed ... Continue Reading

I’ll give you props (pun intended) if you show up to yoga prepared. It’s almost weekly that a new student shows up to my yoga class without a mat or props. Of course, I never mind lending a mat, but most ... Continue Reading

Vacation for me is attending another yoga workshop in a new place. I put all my focus and energy into expanding my yoga career and knowledge. It feels so much more like yoga vacation than workshop, but ... Continue Reading

I recently read a comment stating that you can’t teach a spiritual life unless you practice it. But what does it mean to practice a spiritual life and when do you actually achieve this state? Spiritual in ... Continue Reading

It’s almost like a bad word, cancer. You never want to hear that word after a visit to the doctor. But I did, shortly after moving across the country as a newlywed army wife. The radiologist called me up ... Continue Reading

I have been using a low-priced, non-brand-named yoga mat for probably the last five years. Not a very impressive investment as yoga teacher, but economical nonetheless. I couldn’t justify spending the ... Continue Reading

I get bored with my practice occasionally. Despite my greatest efforts in rekindling the beginner’s mind, some days I just need to bust out of the monotony of Zen-like tuning and fabricate something really ... Continue Reading

Think back to your sex education class in elementary school and the push for “safe sex.” Well, that’s exactly what I’m advocating here, except we’re talking about yoga. I am adamant about not forcing a ... Continue Reading

Being afraid I’ll end up looking like the humpback of Notre Dame when I’m older is a reasonable fear. Either osteoporosis or poor posture may be my fate, unless I take some steps in the right direction. ... Continue Reading

When I first began my relationship with yoga, it was a mode for building strength and intensity. Most recently it has become a method to transition into a new phase of my living. Yoga has been a method for ... Continue Reading

Smile! Living certainly has challenges, but it also has a beautiful and bright side. Too often we lose track of what can be our greatest healing method: humor. Comedy. Smiling. Laughing. ... Continue Reading