Aside from teaching over 15 classes per week at multiple locations, what is one of the quickest ways to yoga teacher burnout? Always teaching a new class every single time you teach. Attempting to use your creative time and energy for a new playlist, new sequence, new peak pose, new theme is ultimately unsustainable. I get it - we want to share the breadth of our knowledge, share new transitions and poses with our students, offer the vastness of what yoga asana can offer, and what you can offer to your students. In order achieve this objective, does it mean we have to always teach something different?
Starting a new journey is usually a natural combination of two things: excitement and nervousness. New journeys can be exciting because they often involve joyfully conquering a goal about which we are passionate. Somewhere along the way, these new journeys can also unearth our doubts and our insecurities. Is this the right path? Are we making the best choice? Are we ready? This is the exact reason why we often fear taking the big leap into Teacher Training: self doubt. Let's overcome that together.
I invite you to draw your attention to your eyes. Draw your attention to what you see, to where you look. Above all else, I invite you to notice how you see things. This attention to what we see and how we see it is an ancient yogic practice called "Drishti." Use this practice to turn your mind from distraction to direction.
There is a ton of excitement around bending forwards to touch your toes and stretch your hamstrings. Many times throughout the week, I hear people talk about why they don’t do yoga. One common response is, “I can’t touch my toes.” Stretching your hamstrings has incredible benefits for your mobility, hips, and back health and I recommend to practice them often. At the same time, forward bending isn’t what it’s all about. What about bending backwards?
I know that thinking about starting teacher training can be as nerve-wrecking as it is exciting, but trust me when I say it is one of THE best decisions you will ever make. I’m not saying this just because I’m the owner and creator of red lila yoga Teacher Training School, but as a fellow yogi. A person who desired to take a leap, trust myself, and share what I love.
Do you want to open your chest and back without a struggle? Do you want to improve the health of your spine? Do you want more energy and vitality? Then your yoga prescription very well may be backbends. Not all backbends require your foot to touch your head, or maneuvering your body in a manner similar to a Cirque-du-soleil act. In fact, Supportive Bridge Pose is one of our favorite backbending poses that is accessible to all bodies, all levels, and all ages.
Through our everyday hustle and bustle, it is easy to give into stress, move fast, and overwhelm ourselves with endless checklists. But wait... can it be just as easy to remain mindful? Yes! Can mindfulness really be incorporated into everyday life while your in the office, out to dinner, in a shopping line, and in the midst of a challenging experience? Absolutely!
Mala beads can often be mysterious. They are found in various colors, materials, and sizes. Each person who uses a mala has a slightly different reason for having one. Generally, there is one collective reason they are used: to help your mind focus on a specific intention. So, what are mala beads?
The plantar fascia is a long, thin connective tissue throughout the body, and it lies beneath the skin on the bottom of the foot. It connects the heel to the front of your foot, and also supports the arch of your foot. Toe Squats are all about stretching the fascia at the bottom of your feet.
The New Year brings a new sense of motivation, commitment, and vitality to change our routines, change our environment, change ourselves. Commitment to change is powerful and one of the first steps to transformation. “No settling time time, I am conquering my goals!” At the same time, it is also important to remember one of the many yoga sutras in yogic philosophy: Santosha.
This playlist is heavy with yoga musician staples like DJ Drez, Janet Stone, and MC Yogi. We love the music they create and the words they use (or lack there of) to create an ambiance of going inward during yoga classes. Almost all of the music has been released in 2021 and 2022 — some of it may be new to your ears including an album we’re really enjoying called, “Bolo.”