Is that true? To say that hyper-extending your knees is ruining your yoga practice seems a bit extreme, don't you think? 

But, I would say it's true. 

This is coming from a person that had severe hyper extension of their knees in every single balancing yoga pose for over 10-years. 

I thought that...

My body tilted right... and then bolted to the left. I felt out of control and was pretty sure I was going to crash into the person practicing in seemingly perfect stillness right next to me. 

I was at the front of a mirrored room and there was no way that no one saw the mess that was my Eagle Pose...

As I looked out on the students in my class, my eyes went directly to their feet. All of their attention was on holding Warrior III, also known as Balancing Stick Pose. 

Some of their feet were engaged, holding onto the floor and ultimately contracting all of their leg muscles to support the postur...

It happened to me the other day. I was about move into my yoga room to work through my daily inversion practice and the thought popped into my head, "You could do your handstand work, or you could make a cup of coffee and chill with your book." 

I laughed to myself. It's been almost 20-years of pra...

I am not the kind of woman that enjoys lifting weights at the gym. It's simply not my thing. 

But, lifting my body into the air using just my core and upper body strength in an arm balance pose or and inversion? That is where it's at. 

And, every day as I wake up diving deeper into my late 40s, I ...

My husband, Jeffrey, has now dropped a total of 65 lbs. since August 2023. And, every time he walks through the door from a long day teaching middle schoolers how to tune a ukelele and sing on pitch, my heart leaps at the sight of him. He looks like he's thirty-five again. 

I realize now that I had...

I used to think I would be (finally!) proud of my yoga practice when I accomplished Standing Head to Knee Pose. But, until that moment, it was about putting in the "hard work" to realize this goal. 

This seemed to be a theme in the earlier years of my practice. 

Once I found one yoga posture, it w...

I was confronted with the thought this week that who I was ten years ago would be so, so proud of where I am now. 

"Is that true?" I thought. 

From the outside you might believe there was little growth. Ten years ago, at thirty-seven years old, I was teaching yoga. And, I still teach yoga today. 

This week we hung up a picture of the Flatirons in Boulder, Colorado in our bedroom. It's a huge sweeping photo we captured from the top of the opposite mountain. And, I remember standing in that spot, the hair on my neck standing on it's end because it was so out of this world stunning. 

And, now ...

I get it. A lot of people swear by Pilates or lifting weights endlessly at the gym once you hit your 40s.

So, why is yoga, in my opinion, the lifestyle and exercise regimen that exceeds all others?

Because it gives you everything you need.

Unlike other exercise activities where the focus is solel...

I don't care who you are, it takes some time to build into therapeutic splits. 

Therapeutic splits have:

1. Your two hips in one line. 

2. Your back leg knee points down to the ground and not out to the side. 

3. Both legs are in a straight line, with your ankles in line with your hips. 

And, t...

It's not just you. Seeing someone fly in an arm balance when you have yet to achieve flight in one of these postures can be intimidating.

You are not the only one to see someone fly in a fancy arm balancing posture and think, "That will never be me."

But, know that is not the truth.

And, for me, ...