Asana Anatomy-Understanding the Sacroiliac Joint
Thursday, July 10th, 2008 by Kreg Weiss
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Dr. Robin Armstrong presents her latest article, Understanding the Sacroiliac Joint, that discusses important issues with the SI joint and Yoga postures. As an important joint for generating pelvic stability, Yoga practitioners can readily create an SI joint that is hypermobile and echoes dysfunction.
“Controversy does not often strike the yoga community. Non-harming, truthfulness, and loving kindness are not very controversial concepts. Yet the poor, barely mobile, sacroiliac joint has become the center of a yoga debate – to square or not to square the hips. Ok, so it is not as racy as a celebrity feud, but it may affect your personal yoga practice…” Read More
Click Here to learn more about Dr. Robin Armstrong and read more of her articles.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Workplace Remedies - Dr. Carla Cupido
Monday, July 7th, 2008 by MyYogaOnline
Enjoy our new free Yoga video with Dr. Carla Cupido who offers therapeutic exercises for proactive carpal tunnel care and prevention of carpal tunnel syndrome. These exercises can done easily at your desk or workplace in only a few short minutes.
Please feel welcome to send Dr. Carla Cupido a comment or question below. You can learn more about Dr. Carla Cupido by clicking here.
Popularity: 23% [?]
Asana Anatomy-Upward Facing Dog Pose
Thursday, June 5th, 2008 by MyYogaOnline
Dr. Robin Armstrong offers a new article on Upward Facing Dog pose. She dissects Upward Facing Dog pose providing a wealth of alignment and safety tips so this Yoga back-arch is performed with integrity and enjoyment.
“Our animal friends are a wonderful study in the fluidity of yoga. It is no coincidence that when a dog wakes from a nap, he can be seen moving slowly through upward dog and downward dog and casually walk away satisfied. The family pet makes urdhva mukha svanasana, or upward facing dog, look simple, and we can embody this ease when we too practice the pose.” Click Here to read more of this article.
Popularity: 33% [?]
Asana Anatomy-Downward Facing Dog
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 by MyYogaOnline
If you have ever taken an Ashtanga or vinyasa flow class, Adho Mukha Svanasana, Downward Facing Dog, is no stranger to you. Downward Facing Dog is a fundamental yoga asana, but a surprisingly complex one. As my teacher recently joked, “If I hear one more instructor say the phrase - ‘ Downward Facing Dog is a resting pose’- I’ll shoot them!” Nothing is more daunting to a student on their 5th or 6th or 7th Downward Facing Dog to learn that they are supposed to be resting in this complicated pose. Learning about the anatomy of the pose can help us find a little more ease in the mystery that is Downward Facing Dog.
Click Here to read more from Dr. Robin Armstrong’s article about the foundational cues that create a Downward Facing Dog full of integrity and benefits. Feel welcome to also send a message to Dr. Robin Armstrong by submitting your comment below.
Popularity: 38% [?]
Scapular Stabilizers and Shoulder Injury
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 by MyYogaOnline
Although shoulder injuries are often complex, many do happen to be related to one common problem: weak muscles that support the shoulder blades, otherwise known as scapular stabilizers. Dr. Carla Cupido reviews the various muscles that stabilize the scapula, thus preventing shoulder injury. She also offers her perspective on how Yoga and other exercise principles can be applied to develop these scapular stabilizers. Read More
Read Other Articles by Dr. Carla Cupido:
Yoga and Chiropractic
Yoga and Developing Proprioception
Please feel welcome to add your questions or thoughts below for Dr. Cupido.
Popularity: 34% [?]
Yoga and Managing Plantar Fasciitis
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 by MyYogaOnline
Dr. Carla Cupido has added a new, insightful Yoga Anatomy article to My Yoga Online titled “Managing Plantar Fasciitis“. Dr. Carla Cupido discusses the cause and effect of developing plantar fasciitis as well offers suggested remedies, including various Yoga poses.
Plantar fasciitis is a condition that affects an assortment of individuals. It plagues those who are highly involved in sports as well as those who are sedentary and often a bit overweight. Despite the variety of people it targets, one and all feel the same: frustrated! Fortunately, it can be a simple condition to manage. Read More
Read Other Articles by Dr. Carla Cupido:
Yoga and Chiropractic
Yoga and Developing Proprioception
Please feel welcome to add your questions or thoughts below for Dr. Cupido.
Popularity: 33% [?]
High Blood Pressure and Yoga Inversions
Saturday, April 26th, 2008 by Kreg Weiss
High blood pressure is a serious health condition to be addressed when practicing Yoga. HBP generates many possible contraindications especially in Yoga postures, like Salamba Sarvangasana, that invert the head below the level of the heart. Learn more about the effects of high blood pressure and how one should modify a Yoga practice to avoid complications and ill-effects. Read More
Popularity: 34% [?]
Benefits of Nostril Breathing in Yoga
Monday, April 21st, 2008 by Kreg Weiss
Breathing is a crucial element in Yoga whether one is doing Yoga poses (asanas) or just meditating. There are wide variations in breathing styles, rhythms, and structures. These variations all come into one basic purpose-to generate greater connection to energy flow, to manipulate the presence and function of prana (life-force energy), and to enable a stronger foundation of internal balance (mind, body, and spirit).
The variations of breathing patterns and styles can often be daunding and overwhelming to new participants to Yoga. However, often the most simple forms of breathing can provide the greatest rewards and benefits. As one of the simpliest forms of breathing, basic nostril breathing yields a wealth of benefits.
*By breathing through the nostrils, the inhaled air becomes moistened by the nasal passages. The nasal passages have light coatings of moisture and mucous that is picked up by the passing air. This moistened air is then received better by the tissues of the bronchial passages and lungs.
*When we inhale through the nostrils, the air has more passages to pass through than by inhaling through the mouth. This extra time flowing through airway passages warms the air. Again, this nasal flow prepares the air better for the lungs.
*The nose contains a lining of hairs. These hairs assist in removing air borne particles and other forergn matter that may be undesirable for the lungs. This filtering acts as a secondary support system to the cilia (micro hair-like projections) in the bronchial passages that gently propel mucous and air particles out of the airways.
*When we exhale out of the nose, we retain the warmth of the breath. Inhaled air is greatly warmed in the lungs. During our Yoga practice, we want to conserve this heat energy so it can be transferred into the muscles and tissues. When we exhale through the nose, the heat in the air is transferred to the walls of the nasal passages rather than being lost. This heat then can move into the blood vessels and circulate back into the body.
*Breathing through the nose can aid in developing a slower, more focused breath. By elongating the breath, we can establish a more profound inner gaze and meditative state whether we are doing Yoga postures, lying in relaxation (savasana), or enjoying time in meditation.
By starting with basic nostril breathing, we can build a powerful foundation to our practice. Through this simple breathing, we understand the benefits of breathing and develop an appreciation for more advanced breathing practices (pranayama). At the beginning of your practices, avoid rushing into Yoga flows. Embrace the time to establish your breath first. Feel the texture of the breath moving through the nose and passages. Experience the sense of connection, presence, and focus that nostil breathing provides.
Click Here to read more articles about Yoga, breathing concepts, and variations of Pranayamas.
Popularity: 30% [?]
Ask Our Experts-Yoga and Pelvic Instability
Friday, April 11th, 2008 by MyYogaOnline
Q: I was trying to find yoga poses that were designed to stabilize the hips and pelvis and prevent a sideways rotation. I do a lot of stabilizing exercises and my hips are in alignment but my pelvis turns to one side so that my centre of gravity is turned to my right and takes my ribcage along with it. My centre of gravity seems to have shifted to the right hand side instead of being directly in front of my hips. I do a lot of meditation and I keep getting a strong feeling to do Yoga, which I do small amount of but I don’t know which asana’s would target my problem.
A: Our bodies are complex structures and often function altruistically. When one part of our body is not performing optimally, another part must compensate. Our biomechanics can be altered dramatically due something such as a weak or tight muscle.
During gait, the pelvis and lumbar (low) spine are intimately connected. In a normal gait cycle, the lumbar transversospinalis muscles (rotatores and multifidi) function to rotate the lumbar spine to the same side that they are located on. These muscles contract to pull the torso to the opposite side of the leg that is in extension. For example, if our right leg is in extension, the lumbar spine will rotate to the left to bring the upper and lower body into equilibrium.
If your pelvis is rotated to the right, your lumbar rotatores and multifidi will likely be shortened. If hip extension on your right side is limited due to shortened hip flexors (psoas, iliacus, rectus femoris, tensor fascia latae (TFL)), the left lumbar transversospinalis muscles will have to lengthen to compensate for this lack of movement. This will therefore create an inequality between the right and left transversospinalis groups, leaving the right side shortened and the left side lengthened.
A decreased range of motion through the hip flexors will wreak havoc in the body. Since the psoas attaches from the lumbar spine and attached into the femur, it functions as both a hip flexor and a lumbar spine stabilizer. If this muscle is too tight, not only can it affect lumbar spinal rotation, it will affect the lumbar lordosis (lumbar spinal curve) by increasing it, thereby intensifying the load placed on the upper lumbar vertebrae.
Other muscles are likely contributing to the pelvic rotation that you are experiencing. A thorough assessment by a health care practitioner will inform you of where the root of your rotation lies. Opening the hip flexors in Warrior I and lengthening through the right transversospinalis group in poses such as Half Lord of the Fishes Pose and Mariachi’s Pose could be beneficial for you at this point in time.
There can be other reasons for a rotated pelvis: weakness, muscular inhibition, and skeletal anomalies, among others. However, these are the most likely muscular causes of a rotated pelvis. Get yourself assessed to determine the cause of the rotation so that you can safely and properly determine the right course of action for your body.
Read Other Articles by Dr. Carla Cupido:
Yoga and Proprioception
Please feel welcome to add your questions or thoughts below for Dr. Cupido. Click Here to learn more about Dr. Cupido.
Popularity: 34% [?]
Yoga and Developing Proprioception
Sunday, April 6th, 2008 by MyYogaOnline
Enjoy My Yoga Online’s latest article by Dr. Carla Cupido addressing the importance of developing a strong physical foundation through enhanced proprioception. This development of proprioception is greatly attained through the practice of Yoga and balancing Yoga poses.
“Balance plays a pivotal role in our lives whether we notice it or not. We are constantly bombarded with external forces that disrupt our equilibrium. So much so, that we often fail to notice, as our bodies are so effectively equipped to deal with such disturbances. We do, however, notice when our systems fail us, resulting in injury or an embarrassing moment, or even worse, both! Understanding balance in its entirety makes it much easier to comprehend movement, appreciate how incredible our bodies truly are, and realize how something like yoga can develop abilities that we didn’t even know we possessed.” Read More
Read Other Articles by Dr. Carla Cupido:
Yoga and Chiropractic
Please feel welcome to add your questions or thoughts below for Dr. Cupido. Click Here to learn more about Dr. Cupido.
Popularity: 35% [?]
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