New Worldwide Study Finds that Yoga Can Help Ease Symptoms of Depression

Each year, 17 million people or 7 percent of American adults experience at least one major depressive episode of two weeks duration or longer. Depression is also a common additional symptom of several other mental health problems. Several studies have

The Problem with Prescribing Yoga Poses

I’m sure you’ve seen some of the ubiquitous YouTube or Instagram yoga videos where a beautiful woman or an Indian Swami tells you exactly how their perfect yoga poses are going to solve all your problems. Recently, my father told

Carrot Apple Breakfast Cake

I’m on a quest to find a quick, nutritious breakfast. Let me qualify that a little. There are a few other criteria it has to meet, along with being fast and good for you: It has to have some protein

Yoga Anatomy: Tone Your Vagus Nerve to Combat Inflammation

Researchers now know that the vagus nerve is the key to relaxation, and, as it turns out, one of the body’s best defenses against inflammation. One of 12 cranial nerves connecting the brain and body, the vagus nerve is the

Breath Awareness for Young Children

Invariably, all children will encounter some level of stressors. While they should know it’s okay to feel sad or angry or anxious, children should also have the needed skills to calm and relax themselves. As parents, we can help by

Boost Your Immunity: Walk Away From Colds

Research that took place at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, shows that exercise is perhaps the best way to keep the common cold at bay. Taking a moderately-paced walk for between 30 and 45 minutes daily was found

Change It Up: Increase Your Balance—and Maybe Your Brain Power—with Yoga Variations

In a recent post, I made the following statement about variations: “Because I’ve realized the limits of always doing poses the same way (you get really good at that body position, but not the vast array of other possible places

Postpartum Pooch: A Yoga Sequence for Diastasis Recti

Diastasis recti is the vertical splitting of the rectus abdominus muscle, the muscle that produces the iconic “washboard abs” or “six-pack” along its centerline. To some degree, it occurs in all women during pregnancy and can be measured using finger

When Savasana Doesn't Feel Relaxing: Three Trauma-Informed Alternatives

Savasana—so many yoga practitioners absolutely love it, and if anything, want it to be longer. There are even t-shirts saying, “I'm only here for Savasana.” Yet this final resting pose, nearly universal in modern yoga classes, can be triggering to

Yoga and Resiliency for First Responders: Part 2

This is part 2 of an article on Yoga and Resiliency for First Responders. Here’s a link to part 1. Yoga is a Pain Management Technique Pain is something that many first responders deal with on an ongoing basis, and

Eat Green: 5 Simple, Creative Ideas for Inviting More Plants into Your Diet

I get asked all the time, “What are you?” (as in, “Are you vegan?” or “Are you Paleo?”) And my first instinct is always to reply that I’m a mom and a wife and an entrepreneur and, most recently, a

Too Much Sitting? 7 Must-Do Stretches to Ease Low Back Pain

These days we all sit too much, often hunched over a keyboard or a smartphone. Sitting puts our joints into a state of sustained flexion, which tightens the muscles that act on those joints. Sitting also weakens the back muscles

From Probation Officer to Yogi: Teaching Mindfulness in the Juvenile Justice System

If someone told me 25 years ago that I would be sitting in front of teenagers inside a juvenile detention facility teaching and leading them through mindfulness practices and yoga asanas, I would have looked at them with a puzzled

Increase Self-Awareness: New Decade, New Habits

There is a lot of anxiety at the moment about what the new decade will bring and, although many of us know the changes that we want to see in the world around us, there are widely divergent views about

Living In Uncertain Times: A Yoga Practice to Calm Anxiety and Stress

For most of the country, it’s been over a month of living under some version of a quarantine order in hopes of slowing the spread of COVID-19. Although this respiratory disease has hit some areas of the country harder than

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