Friday Q&A: Foot Position in Pigeon Pose

Q: I'm wondering if you would please weigh in on something in one of your posts. It has to do with the position of the ankle - dorsiflexion or plantar flexion - in pigeon pose. I've always heard to dorsiflex the ankle (toes toward knee) in thread the needle and pigeon. But recently I heard that in pigeon the ankle should be in dorsiflexion only if the shin is parallel to the front edge of the mat, i.e., at a 90 angle to the knee, as it is in thread...[Readmore]

Positive Psychology vs. Yoga Philosophy

by RamThe Moon Over a Waterfallby HiroshigeRecently, I was introduced to the topic of positive psychology, a newer branch of psychology that has earned wide popularity thanks to the seminal work done by psychologists Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (this name is tougher to say than a yoga pose in Sanskrit: the closest I can come to his name is “Me-high Sheek-sent-me-high”). According to Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, the focus of...[Readmore]

Unity Farm Journal - The 5th Week of May 2014

The Memorial Day weekend included shearing day on the farm.   Every year in May, we trim 15 pounds of fiber from each alpaca, removing a body size “down jacket” just in time for Summer.  The animals are transformed from teddy bears to Dr. Seuss animals.  We gently halter the animals and reassure them with ear and chin massages.   Then we lead them to a foam pad and use a soft rope to restrain their legs so that they cannot move...[Readmore]

Featured Sequence: Easy Balance Practice

by BaxterAs we have talked about many times here at YFHA, balance is one of the key physical skills to cultivate as we age. As Shari said in Nina's interview with her about aging and balance:“ …if we can’t balance, we fall and break bones or hurt ourselves in different ways. Twenty percent of all Americans have balance issues, and falls are a public health catastrophe. They send people to hospitals and may require costly surgeries and months of pain,...[Readmore]

Early reaction to the Electronic Health Record Incentive NPRM

Last week, I posted the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking from CMS that offers flexibility to Meaningful Use attestation in 2014 .Since then, I’ve received hundreds of emails about it from my fellow CIOs across the country.   Here’s a summary:1.  To clarify, the NPRM offers flexibility for hospitals to attest to Stage 1 criteria for 2014 from July 1 to September 30.   However, it offers no flexibility for 2015 which begins October...[Readmore]

An N of One and an N of All: Personalized Medicine and Personalized Yoga

by BradPatterns in Nature by Melina MezaA couple months ago I attended a conference in Seattle sponsored by US HUPO (Human Proteome Organization) called “From Genes to Function.” Afterward, while I was mulling over the talks, I was reminded of some earlier posts I’ve written where I discussed studies that were “under powered,” that is, they didn’t have enough subjects and controls to come to any firm, or statistically validated, conclusions. These...[Readmore]

Cultivating Healthy Posture with a Simple Restorative Pose (Rerun)

by TimothyPoor posture is a common problem that people of any age can have but it is one that tends to worsen over time. Particularly common is the rounding of the upper back into a C-shaped curve, aka Slumpasana. People often hold their heads several inches forward of the body’s plumb line, which can lead to neck and upper back discomfort, among other problems. I’m just back from teaching workshops on therapeutic yoga at Kripalu and the Himalayan...[Readmore]

Aging Muscles, Bones and Joints

Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the ElderQ: You all have been writing a lot about muscles and bones lately. I was wondering, how exactly does aging affect our musculo-skeletal system? And how can we influence the aging process with yoga and our lifestyle choices?A: The process of aging affects our musculo-skeletal system in several particular ways. As I have written about previously, as muscles age, especially after about the age of 50, we start to...[Readmore]