Brain Health: An Interview with Ram Rao

by Nina and RamNew Growth by Melina MezaI’m trying to learn more about brain health so I can write a brief overview about how you can use yoga to foster brain health. And since we just happen to have a handy expert on the topic—Dr. Ram Rao—I thought I’d interview him as a way of doing my research. You lucky people get to see my interview in its complete form today. —NinaNina: What are the types of dementia? And what is the probability for developing...[Readmore]

Friday Q&A: One Leg Shorter Than the Other (Rerun)

Q: I recently learned that my back pain for two years now (surgery recommended) is due to my right leg being shorter (2nd opinion from another back surgeon). My right shoulder and right hip are higher than the left side. Is there a yoga exercise or two that could help me correct this and alleviate the back lumbar pain?Upper Leg BoneA: This is a great question, and quite a common finding for many people: having one leg shorter than the other. And...[Readmore]

9/11 Anxiety and Yoga (Rerun)

by BaxterSome years ago, when Nina and I were working on a series of yoga classes for stress management, I read the book The Relaxation Response by Dr. Herbert Benson, and an interesting finding from the work he did has stuck with me. He noted that his blood pressure patients who meditated regularly not only saw improvements in their blood pressure readings, but they also had certain substances in the blood stream that increased or decreased. One...[Readmore]

Thursday Building Unity Farm - The Land Awakens

Now that we’ve had a few days above freezing, work on the land can finally begin.In April, the ponds and streams of Unity Farm begin to fill with spring peepers, salamanders, and wood frogs.     The melting snow recharges the wetlands and turns the low lying trails into mud.  In an effort to protect the land from the erosion of foot traffic during mud season, I built two new removable bridges that enable travel for woodland maintenance....[Readmore]

The March HIT Standards Committee

The March HIT Standards Committee focused on the Standards and Interoperability (S&I) Framework projects for 2014, an overview of the 2015 Certification Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and a first review of the standards maturity for the proposed Meaningful Use Stage 3 criteria.Doug Fridsma presented the S&I update.  Importantly, a new initiative has been launched to coordinate decision support and clinical quality measures as related...[Readmore]

Stuck in a Rut? (Rerun)

by NinaCreative Front Yard in Austin by Nina ZolotowI don’t know about you, but sometimes I get stuck in a rut with my yoga practice. I have a few different sequences that I’ve developed for myself, and I tend to fall back on them again and again. Then I start to get a little bored. So lately I’ve been making a conscious effort to change things up a bit. Of course it would be a lot of work to write a completely new sequence for myself every day....[Readmore]

"Transferring" and Yoga: Wisdom from Jane Fonda (Rerun)

by BaxterNina recently shared with me some fascinating information about Jane Fonda, who has lived many lives, from actor to fitness guru to political activist, just to name a few. Fonda reportedly used to practice a more strenuous yoga two hours a day. “But,” she says now, “those days are long gone. It got to be too hard.” All of that hard work has paid off even as Fonda approaches her golden years, though. She puts it this way:“Every single time...[Readmore]

New Tricks for Old Dogs: Working with Bunions (Rerun)

by BaxterIt was my first class with Donald Moyer in the new year, January having flown by and February upon us. I checked in with him before class began and mentioned an unusual aching in the lateral aspect of my left foot that I had been experiencing for about two months. It was not bad enough to prevent me from participating in my normal activities, but I noticed it when turning my left foot out to 90 degrees for many of my standing poses. He gave...[Readmore]

Friday Q&A: More About Yoga for Heart Health

Leveil du Coeur by William-Adolphe BouguereauQ: Baxter, in your recent post Yoga for Heart Health and Circulation, you mentioned that you were working on an online program on yoga for heart health. When will that be available and where can I find it?A: Thanks for asking! The online course will be available on yogauonline.com on Tuesday, April 1 and Tuesday, April 8,  2014, 5:30pm Pacific / 8:30pm Eastern. To get an early start, you can download...[Readmore]