A Little Bit of Poison?
(Image above: Dana Davis) In my early years of studying Balance/Original Alignment, we mostly had photos of people from less industrialized countries that were in natural alignment (“in Balance”). We showed these images to students to inspire them with these healthy models of aligned posture. But I remember people didn’t really get the difference. They thought they already stood like that, or sat like that. (They didn’t). So then Jean Couch got the idea to take photos of people locally, in downtown Palo Alto, where the Balance Center was located. Whereas she had to travel long distances to get photos [...]
Is Malasana Pose Safe To Do?
(Image above: DepositPhotos: fizkes) Recently I was asked about whether Malasana (also known as “Garland” pose) is a safe pose to do. My answer to this is – it depends. Here’s an image of it from the front. If we look at it from the side, you can see varying degrees of spinal alignment. The woman on the left has a more rounded spine than the 2 others. However, I suspect that most people doing this pose wouldn’t be able to do it without rounding their backs quite a bit more. Here are a couple issues with this: These women [...]
Posture in Yoga and in Daily Life – Are They Related?
How do yoga postures relate to daily life? And how does our alignment in daily life relate to our yoga practice? We may pay a lot of attention to our alignment in yoga, dance or other sports, but what about our everyday posture? If you think of how many hours you spend exercising, and then how many hours you spend doing everything else, including sleeping, you can see that healthy alignment is especially important in daily life activities. Yet this is an area many people miss. I remember in the past seeing yoga and dance teachers when they weren't demonstrating [...]
AARP Article on Yoga for Stronger Bones (pose 5)
(Here's my introduction from Part 1 of this series, plus my take on the fifth pose) The "AARP Bulletin" from January/February, 2025, included a brief article called "Easy Yoga for Stronger Bones" with the subtitle "Research shows you can rebuild bone mass with these 5 simple moves", by Andrew J. Stillman. Here's the link, though you must be a member to access the article: https://www.aarp.org/benefits-discounts/members-only-access/info-2025/yoga-for-stronger-bones.html. It focuses on Dr. Loren Fishman's research. I've studied with Dr. Fishman, and did his certification to teach Yoga for Osteoporosis in 2017. The article shows 5 poses that Dr. Fishman recommends, and here I'll [...]
AARP Article on Yoga for Stronger Bones (pose 4)
(Here's my introduction from Part 1 of this series, plus my take on the fourth pose) The "AARP Bulletin" from January/February, 2025, included a brief article called "Easy Yoga for Stronger Bones" with the subtitle "Research shows you can rebuild bone mass with these 5 simple moves", by Andrew J. Stillman. Here's the link, though you must be a member to access the article: https://www.aarp.org/benefits-discounts/members-only-access/info-2025/yoga-for-stronger-bones.html. It focuses on Dr. Loren Fishman's research. I've studied with Dr. Fishman, and did his certification to teach Yoga for Osteoporosis in 2017. The article shows 5 poses that Dr. Fishman recommends, and here I'll [...]
AARP Article on Yoga for Stronger Bones (pose 3)
(Here's my introduction from Part 1, plus my take on the third pose) The "AARP Bulletin" from January/February, 2025, included a brief article called "Easy Yoga for Stronger Bones" with the subtitle "Research shows you can rebuild bone mass with these 5 simple moves", by Andrew J. Stillman. Here's the link, though you must be a member to access the article: https://www.aarp.org/benefits-discounts/members-only-access/info-2025/yoga-for-stronger-bones.html. It focuses on Dr. Loren Fishman's research. I've studied with Dr. Fishman, and did his certification to teach Yoga for Osteoporosis in 2017. The article shows 5 poses that Dr. Fishman recommends, and here I'll give my perspective [...]