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The Truth About Your Tight Hips—and What Actually Helps
If your hips feel tight, stiff, or just plain tired of sitting…you’re not alone. Most of us spend more time sitting than our bodies were ever designed for. Over time, that leads to a familiar set of complaints: So what do we do? We stretch. And stretch. And stretch some more. But what if stretching…
Why Your Hip Flexor Stretch Isn’t Working (And What to Do Instead)
If you’ve been stretching your hip flexors over and over but still feel tight or uncomfortable… you’re not alone. And you’re not doing it wrong—you just might be missing a key piece of the puzzle. Here’s the thing: our hip flexors are already under a lot of strain. Long hours of sitting—whether at a desk,…
3 Variations of Chair Pose for Balance, Posture, & Healthy Knees!
Did you know that a few creative adjustments to a classic yoga pose can completely transform how it supports your body? Especially when it comes to healthy aging, the way we approach movement matters just as much as the movement itself. Today, I’m sharing three smart variations of chair pose (utkatasana) designed specifically for the…
3 Ways to Strengthen Your Wrists for Yoga (No More Pain!)
If you’ve ever felt strain in your wrists during poses like Plank or Downward-Facing Dog, you’re not alone. Many of my students find that wrist discomfort can interrupt the flow of their yoga practice—or even make them question if yoga is right for their body. The good news? You can build strength in your wrists…
5-Minute Wrist Warm-Up for Pain-Free Yoga Practice
Join me for this quick 5-minute wrist warmup that will prepare your wrists for your yoga practice! Perfect for anyone who experiences discomfort in poses like Downward Dog, Plank, or any weight-bearing position. Add this quick routine to the beginning of each practice for happier, healthier wrists. If there’s one complaint I hear most often in…
Hasta Bandha: The Essential Hand Technique to Prevent Wrist Pain in Yoga
Have you ever felt that uncomfortable pressure in your wrists during downward-facing dog or plank pose? If so, you’re not alone. One of the most common concerns I hear from students in my yoga room is about wrist discomfort, especially from those who’ve recently started their yoga journey. What many people don’t realize is that…
Real Life Benefits of Yoga
I wanted to share something special with you this week – not about poses or techniques, but about the why behind our yoga practice. I hear these kinds of stories from my students all the time – those ‘aha’ moments when they realize how their yoga practice has quietly been transforming their everyday lives. These…
Try the “Plank Plus” for Strong, Pain-Free Shoulders
If you want strong, stable shoulders that stay healthy as you age, training your shoulder blades is key – and the Plank Plus is the perfect exercise to get you there. This simple movement targets often-overlooked stabilizing muscles that make a significant difference in how your shoulders feel and function. In my years of teaching,…
Why Strength and Stability Matter More Than Ever After 50
When we think about staying healthy as we age, flexibility often gets the spotlight. But there’s another important piece of the puzzle that deserves our attention: strength. In my yoga classes, I often notice students focusing on becoming more flexible, when what their bodies could really use is more mindful strengthening and stability. It’s a…
3 Feel-Good Yoga Stretches for Flexibility (and Less Stiffness!)
Have you noticed that your body feels a bit stiffer these days, especially in the morning? You’re not alone. As we age, our bodies naturally tend to lose some flexibility – but the good news is that gentle, mindful movement can help us maintain and even improve our range of motion. Today I’m sharing three…
The Breath of Joy: An Uplifting, Energizing Yoga Technique
Next week inside Lifelong Yoga Online, we’re kicking off a new 7-day challenge called Move with Joy. Instead of focusing on perfect alignment or pushing ourselves to extremes, we’re exploring how to find more joy and playfulness in our practice. And I’m especially excited because it means I get to share one of my favorite…
Gentle is the New Advanced: The Joy of Slowing Down Your Yoga Practice
I used to think yoga was all about the destination – mastering that next pose, pushing a little further. Maybe if I just tried a LITTLE harder, I would lose those last few pounds, I would “tone up,” I would finally be the idealized version of myself I wanted to be. It’s a common mindset…
A New Year of Movement, Joy, and Possibility: What’s Coming in 2025 for Lifelong Yoga
Happy New Year, yogis! I absolutely love planning and dreaming up new possibilities for our community. Each December, I spread out my notebooks and a big calendar, brew a cup of tea, and spend hours thinking about how to make our yoga practice even more meaningful and supportive in the year ahead. As I sat…
Yoga for Lupus: A Complete Guide to Safe and Effective Practice
Recently, a student asked me if yoga could help her friend who has lupus. (Spoiler alert: yes, it can!) As I started sharing my thoughts, I realized this topic deserved more than a quick response – there was so much I wanted to say about how yoga can support people living with autoimmune conditions that…
Finding Stillness: The Most Powerful Thing Yoga Has Taught Me
You know what strikes me as slightly ironic? I spend my days teaching yoga as a form of movement, but the longer I teach, the more I realize that the most powerful thing I offer isn’t movement at all—it’s stillness. This insight didn’t come easily to me. My natural tendency is to live two steps…
Why We Practice Yoga: A Bigger Picture Perspective
You know how it goes in yoga class – we have a tendency to get caught up in the little things. Can I touch my toes today? I hope no one looks at me trying to balance in Tree Pose. Ugh, why can’t I reach my back foot? Sometimes we need to zoom out and…
Keep Your Spine Young: The 7 Movements of the Spine
You’re only as young as your spine is flexible! Join me for this 5 minute bite-sized yoga practice that focuses on movement of the spine in all its different directions (flexion, extension, rotation, side bending, and axial extension) so that we can decrease pain and stiffness and maintain overall health and vitality! Did you know…
Get Strong and Sturdy Legs with Yoga
Want strong and stable legs? Then this gentle yoga class is for you. We’ll work strengthening the muscles in the lower body. Watch your balance, stability, and body awareness improve! When we talk about staying independent and active as we age, leg strength and balance are absolutely necessary! The type of mindful, strength-building movements we…
Yoga to Relieve a Stiff or Painful Mid-Back
If your mid or upper back (or that area in-between your shoulder blades) feels tight, stiff, or even painful, you’re in the right place! Today’s simple yoga routine will mobilize your thoracic spine and strengthen your back muscles while opening up the front of your body. This will hopefully give you some relief from your…
Beyond Quick Fixes: How Yoga Really Helps Manage Chronic Pain
Have you ever come across headlines like “5 Yoga Poses to Cure Your Back Pain!” or “One Simple Stretch to End All Your Aches!”? If you’re dealing with chronic pain, I bet these catchy titles have caught your eye more than once. And why wouldn’t they? The promise of a quick fix is so tempting…
Tuning In: The Art of Self-Awareness in Yoga
Have you ever wondered why we pause so often in our yoga classes? Why I ask you to “check in” with your body before we begin, during those moments of stillness between poses, and again at the end of our practice? If you’ve been to my classes, you know what I’m talking about. We start…
Yoga for Balance and Fall Prevention
What is the most effective way to improve balance and prevent falls as we age? As a yoga therapist and experienced yoga teacher specializing in healthy aging, I strongly believe that yoga is the best tool we have to prevent falls and keep ourselves steady on our feet. Now, you might be wondering, “Yoga? Really?”…
How Often Should You Do Yoga (and for How Long) to See Results?
“How often should I practice yoga to get the benefits?” I hear this question all the time from my students: “How often should I do yoga to really make a difference?” If you’re asking this, you’re not alone! Yoga is all about the process and not the end result. But that said, many of us…
3 Essential Daily Movements for Healthy and Vibrant Aging (for 50+)
If you’re over 50, there are a few specific things you should be doing every single day to stay mobile and strong as you get older. Today I’ll explain WHAT these three things are, WHY they’re each important, and I’ll demonstrate each movement or pose so you can give it a try as you’re reading…
2 Yoga Poses to Reverse Rounded Shoulders (With a Simple Posture Test!)
Rounded shoulders are a common issue these days. From long hours at a desk, to gardening, to too much time on our phones, many of us end up with this less-than-ideal posture. In this blog, I’ll go over how rounded shoulders can be harmful to your health, I’ll walk you through a quick posture test,…
Lifelong Yoga’s 4 Core Pillars
4 Core Pillars for Optimal Health and Vibrance At Lifelong Yoga, there’s a focus on 4 Core Pillars for Optimal Health and Vibrance: Alignment, Functional Movement, The Breath, and Therapeutic Sequencing. These four pillars are present in every group class I teach, every 1:1 yoga session, and every online program. Pillar #1: Alignment Find YOUR…
Why Balance Matters: Fall Prevention and Independence
Balance matters as we get older! Balance isn’t just about standing on one leg. It’s about moving confidently through life. Working on your balance helps to prevent falls and enhance your overall health, independence, and quality of life, and it becomes increasingly more important as we age. Preventing falls One of my first jobs as…