Category: Teaching
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Never Fear
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A central paradox of my career is the name of what I do: teaching yoga for athletes. It’s really just yoga, presented in ways that complement what athletes do, and that also work for most folks with tight hips and shoulders (read: Westerners). It’s not, as the name might imply, athletic yoga. Athletes get their…
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Functional Core Sequence
What a nice group joined me yesterday at Carrboro Yoga for a core-strength workshop! Our theme was finding mountain pose, the neutral and stable alignment of the pelvis and the spine, and holding that even as our arms and legs were moving and our orientation to gravity shifted. As I promised the students, I’m posting…
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Thank You, Wellness Center
It’s Wednesday evening and getting dark, and I’m feeling nostalgic for the class I’ve just retired from: a Yoga for Athletes class at the UNC Wellness Center. I taught the class for the last six years (and also taught indoor cycling there for four). In conjunction with my standing Monday night class at Carrboro Yoga,…
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Reverse Vinyasa
This is a follow-up to my variations on vinyasa post, as well as the story of a lightbulb moment. During my fantastically fun intensive on teaching yoga to athletes (there’s still room for a few more in New York next month), I was bemoaning the monotony of the standard vinyasa from plank through chaturanga to…
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Variations on Vinyasa
In my class this week (join me for a repeat Thursday night at 5:45), there are a lot of opportunities for the vinyasa from plank through chaturanga to cobra or upward-facing dog to downward-facing dog. This opportunity happens about forty times in the sequence, which begins with warm-up moves, builds to standing poses, and segues…
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Speaking with Intention
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In spare moments over the last month, I’ve worked my way through Nick Morgan’s book Trust Me, on public speaking. It’s full of interesting information about the interaction between the verbal and the nonverbal conversation. Morgan explains that the nonverbal conversation dominates; if there’s a conflict between body language and spoken language, the audience will…
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Delays and Detours
“Delays and detours to my limited vision are actually the perfect path unfolding to a higher eye.” —Julia Cameron I came across that epigraph earlier this week in a funny little book called Blessings, by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way. While I liked it enough to post it to my Twitter feed, little…
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Kripalu, February 2010
The people who traveled to Kripalu to study with me in a weekend intensive on yoga for athletes were uniformly lovely. We had the expected array of runners, triathletes, and yoga teachers, as well as a former collegiate rower, now coaching; a seriously competitive Ultimate Frisbee player; and a woman teaching yoga to a university…
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On Indoor Cycling
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At the end of this week, I’ll teach the last of the indoor cycling classes I’ve led every Tuesday and Thursday for almost four years. It has been a wonderful experience, because my students have been so special. Most came to the class from other indoor-bike classes, expecting a rip-roaring workout, and sometimes they got…
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Your Dream Running and Yoga Retreat
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As this year wraps up, I’m planning my 2010 teaching schedule. I’ve reserved the fabulous facility at ZAP Fitness in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina for two weekends, May 14–16 and October 22–24. It’s a wonderful place to spend the weekend doing yoga and running (and eating, and sleeping, and hot-tubbing), and my…
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Sage Yoga Training: Wall Folds and Twists
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Wall Folds and Twists Perfect for practice after a long or hard workout, this gentle series of stretches encourages recovery and open hips, while helping you relax. You’ll need a wall or a closed (and locked!) door. Be sure to keep your back neutral against the ground throughout—don’t let your bottom curl up as your…
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Coffee Table Yoga
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Today was my last trip of the season to teach yoga to the UNC football team. They’ve had a good season, which officially ends next Saturday but which will continue to a bowl game. My role is as part of the lift-and-flush workout, in which they do some light weights and running, plus yoga. It’s…