Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Too tired for a long workout? Need to stretch after a long run, working
outside or long day at the office? Try using some simple floor postures in that
will create relaxation and balance.
Get flexible, help with back pain, stimulate your prostate gland, improve digestion, and create healthy feet with one of the safest and most accessible postures that almost anyone can do using props. Reclined big toe is several postures in one. As with all of our 101 postures, be sure to check with your physician before you begin a new exercise or wellness program. Regular practice of Supta Padangustasana can balance your body and mind and create flexibility, help alleviate back pain, improve your digestion, and help with flat feet. Find a space and take time to add the posture to your busy day. Namaste. Yoga Happenings This week the long-awaited grand opening of Bella Prana opens on Saturday, April 21, at 1000 Kennedy Blvd. Along with …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
All yoga postures have different ways of challenging our mind and body. In Warrior III your balance and strength are tested in a struggle between your physical and mental state.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Columnist Erin Wheeler shares the inspiring story of Michelle Smith and her journey into yoga.
I wanted to share one women’s story, her relationship with her dying brother and how it connects on and off the mat. So I asked Michelle Smith if she would share her journey into the world of yoga. The path to yoga is never a straight line. Our experiences before we step on our mat and the healing process usually involves a lot of change in order to move ahead with our path. Smith and three others are starting a six week series on Attaining Peace (Movement Breath work and Healing Techniques for Coping with Life’s Changes). Erin Wheeler: Could you tell me a little about yourself? (Where you grew up, and what led you to this work?) Smith: I’m originally from Washington D.C., and moved to Tampa in the late 80’s with my parents. I grew up in…
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
This past weekend, I attended Yin Yoga training and it got me thinking about the many layers that is yoga. So, this week we’ll cover the Yin and Yang (the G silent) of it all.
When you take a yoga class across Tampa, whether it is a Yin (lunar) or Yang (solar) class, your body, mind and heart will get to experience some form of physical, emotional and spiritual transformation. Yin classes are popping up across Tampa Bay. (I have them listed at the end of this article.) These classes and workshops are generally called gentle, restorative, or Yin yoga and focus on long supportive holds and help connect to a passive expression in our bodies that establish a state of surrender. Typically these classes just ask that we breathe mindfully and unless guided there is no specific pranayama. A yin focused class can help a Yang active lifestyle. The practice can be done in a cool or warmed room. In a Yin class you might …
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Maybe you were slouching at the dinner table, drooping at the desk in school or hunching during roll call in the military, when you were told to “sit up straight” or “stand up straight.”
In our youth we tend to take our posture for granted. As we age, reluctantly, we have to admit that Mom was right, having bad posture takes a toll on our bodies, returning us toward a fetal position. Our pelvis begins to tilt forward, our chest moves inward and our shoulders move forward, creating a “C” shape in our posture. However, the good news is that yoga can help delay and reverses part of this inward journey. The camel posture can improve mobility in the shoulders, flexibility in the spine, lengthen hip flexors, stimulate organs in abdomen and neck, as well as strengthen the legs and abdomen. Also doing backbends can be invigorating. Structurally, they open up the chest, shoulders and spine, and energetically lead with the …
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Finding time to let the body rejuvenate and relax, with legs up the wall.
Navigating traffic along I-275’s malfunction junction, recovering from storm damage from a tropical storm, shuttling kids back and forth to summer camp, and just working outside can be stressful. Trying to keep calm and cool through the long summer months in Tampa Bay can be challenging to say the least. We also spend a lot of time in cold air-conditioning, sitting upright with knees bent and hips in a neutral position at our jobs, at restaurants, at sporting events, and at the movies allowing our circulation to decrease. Yoga can help relieve circulatory problems and release excess stress. Lying down on the earth in savasana, yogic breathing and legs up the wall posture are some of the simplistic ways to add yoga to a busy stressful …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
There are fun events in Ybor City, St. Petersburg and downtown Tampa that take the energy of a tribal dance and night clubbing and fuse them together within a fun healthy yoga atmosphere.
As the yoga world continues to evolve and incorporate other sports and activities, Tampa Bay will see more events that include, art, dance, music, bootcamps, paddleboarding, kayaking, and many other hybrids making their way into the community. This month, yoga, dance and live music are putting Tampa Bay on the map and catching it up with the yogic world around it. There are a number of fun events in Ybor City, St. Petersburg and downtown Tampa that take the energy of a tribal dance and night clubbing and fuse them together within a fun healthy yoga atmosphere. Although some styles of yoga may seem like a static practice, many styles incorporate body vinyasa, movements between postures and elements of sahaja (fluid) postures. In fact, …
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The power of touch is an amazing gift. A touch on the hand, shoulder or full body hug starts by touching our bodies together on a cellular level and can lead to a spiritual level.
I was reading Personal Growth - Have You Hugged Anyone? by Parveen Chopra. The last line in this very informative article is “It only takes a hug, a heartfelt and warm embrace, to change the lives of others.” A hug may seem simple, but it has such great power. When you allow your heart to be pressed against someone else you connect the heart chakra anahata, which is associated with compassion, love, charity and the sense of touch. The Latin word for heart is cor. Cor eventually became the word courage, which originally meant to speak your mind from the heart. Although I am not a psychologist and I do respect people’s personal space, I have the courage to be vulnerable. If you are uncomfortable receiving and giving hugs, try this for a …
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
The 60-Day Yoga Challenge can help you find inner peace and change your life forever.
Nathan Bangs, founder of Yoga Tampa Bay and the Rasa-Lila Fest, created the community event on Facebook that has over 100 people across Tampa Bay committing to practice yoga five days a week, for nine weeks. “Building the yoga community in Tampa Bay has always been a passion of mine. I started the 60-Day Yoga Tampa Bay Challenge to pull the community together with one goal in mind: Unity." This challenge is a perfect opportunity to give you the gift of yoga. You can take a class at a studio or you can practice at home. Yoga is an ancient art form that melds with all races and religions. It helps us understand ourselves better and then it helps us live in the world with more peace for ourselves and each other. The yoga community in Tampa …
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Yoga Downtown Tampa celebrates two years, with owner Francine Messano offering a blend of yoga traditions, from Prana Flow to Swing Yoga. This weekend, she welcomes a special teacher.
Owner Francine Messano had a vision of yoga in downtown Tampa. Two years later, that vision has borne fruit. Yoga Downtown Tampa offers an unusual blend of schools: Prana Flow, Forrest yoga, Jivamukti, Hatha, Power and Swing Yoga. Messano makes the yoga affordable while still drawing some of the most respected teachers in the Tampa area. Yoga Downtown Tampa has unlimited yoga for under $50. That’s a great deal. Even though the yoga studio market in Tampa is pretty saturated, Yoga Downtown Tampa (YDT) is celebrating a two-year anniversary that shows its success. Renovations continue at the studio, as the acoustic ceiling tile has been removed to reveal 12-foot high ceilings. Some of the original brick of the building has been exposed in …
Erin Wheeler
7:09 pm on Wednesday, September 5, 2012
So happy you enjoyed it Maggie and Lee!! xoxo Thank you Michele! more ›