Because it’s fun and healthy! Many people come to yoga primarily for physical and mental benefits. While yoga asanas are healing and effective for body and mind, yoga is so much more. Yoga is a lifestyle and a commitment. It is an opportunity to fulfill a promise to ourselves, which builds confidence, faith and responsibility. Yoga is an invitation to live deeply and to experience every moment meaningfully.

Yoga asks us to take responsibility for our goal setting. For example, if your goal is to gain mastery in asana, or become a teacher you might choose to practice 6 days a week. If you are serious about changing injurious body patterns or lifestyle habits, you’ll see best results if you practice several times per week. If you would like to be spontaneous and prefer not to have definitive goals, practice at your leisure.

It depends on your schedule, what is reasonable and what you want to experience. In the pre-dawn hours the benefits are mental spaciousness, and a greater ability to connect with the spirit. Mid-morning, the body has good stamina, though you may have to work through some stiffness. This is a good time for a powerful practice and backbends. The body is more flexible in the afternoon. Try poses that require suppleness like hip openers and seated poses. I also like inversions because they stimulate the brain for the rest of the day’s activities. The evening is the time that the body and brain start to slowly settle again. A yoga practice can help move out excess energy that is not allowing you to focus or relax for bedtime. If your practice is too late and too vigorous, it could over-stimulate you and not allow you to get settled for bed. Ask yourself what you would like to gain from your practice that day and go from there. You are free to change your mind at any time!

Yoga isn’t just a workout, it’s 'a practice'. Yoga asanas, or postures, tone and heal the outer as well as the inner body. The asanas bring balance to the endocrine system, which balances our moods, muscles and metabolism. Each of the asanas targets specific muscular, organ and glandular systems. Prananyama (breath work) and meditation help balance both the right and left hemispheres of the brain; clearing the clutter and releasing cerebrospinal fluid. Yoga is preventative. "May you never know what you are preventing by practicing.”

Wear non-binding clothing that does not inhibit your range of motion. With so many stretchy, high-performance fabrics available, the choices are endless. Cotton, bamboo and wool breathe the best. If you sweat a lot, you might opt for something with wicking properties. Wearing layers ensures that you will be able to adjust your temperature as needed.

It depends. I generally wait a couple of hours after eating a meal to practice. The best thing to do is to listen to your body. Give yourself adequate time to digest so that you can practice in comfort.

Definitely not and we hear this all the time. Gaining flexibility and combating the effects of aging are both great reasons to start practicing. It is never too late to begin taking care of yourself and optimizing your wellbeing. You are never too stiff (this is what yoga addresses, bringing balance to your body), and what you do with your life starts right now, regardless of your age. That's the beauty of yoga... it begins here, now.

In any pose, be sure your foundation is set and your body is in good alignment. It’s best to check in with a qualified instructor in person. Many pain issues are resolved with a simple adjustment, which can be offered by someone with a trained eye. If no teacher is available in your area, listen to our classes carefully and look in a mirror very closely to see if you are doing exactly what is recommended. After the foundation is established, activating muscle energy in the feet and lower legs is a key pain preventer, along with attention to ankle and shin loops.

The legs govern the lower back. Lower back pain almost always comes from the thighbones moving too far forward in the hip sockets. This tends to happen both in backbends and forward bends. Always "root your femurs". In backbends, tightness in the shoulders can also contribute to low back pain as well as bending too much in the lower back (not maintaining outer spiral and pelvic loop).

Shoulder principles begin with breathing and making space inside. This means lengthening the side bodies, so that the head of the arm bone is in line with the base of the neck. From here, draw muscle energy from the hands into the shoulders as you "plug" the head of the arm bones back into the shoulder socket. Keeping the side bodies long, draw the shoulder blades deeply on the back without collapsing the lower back.

Come to know the proper foundation for the given pose, and activate muscle energy evenly from the four corners of the feet into the core of the pelvis. Spread your baby toes and hug your shins in to the midline. Then activate your shin loop by lifting the back of the calf, and pressing the top of the calf forward as you extend down through the front of the shin. Keep these actions as your thigh bones do the opposite actions.

If you’ve ever had major trauma to your head or neck, it may be very uncomfortable to place your head below your heart. Avoiding any posture that causes discomfort is recommended. Again, always consult with your doctor if you are experiencing sharp pain. Neck pain deserves gentle and mindful movement. Neck rolls, head from side to side, holding the direction for 1-3 minutes; and head up and down, to optimize range of motion is beneficial. Also, addressing the chest and shoulders can alleviate neck pain. Open the chest and shoulders through shoulder rolls, and gentle back bends such as sphinx, without compressing the neck. Inverted postures such and headstand and shoulder stand are not recommended in an acute state of pain.

Remember every 'body' is different. It is recommended to seek out a qualified yoga instructor for answers to specific questions in regards to your discomfort or injury. Always consult your doctor if you are experiencing acute pain.

Each system of yoga is a method of helping us experience joy and freedom of motion. As various styles of yoga have evolved over time and space, technologies and insights have become available through testing of the practice and philosophy. Yoga is evolving NOW through you, and it will continue to do so, as you test what methods work for you in the process of your own awakening.

Anusara (a-nu-sar-a), means “flowing with Grace,” “flowing with Nature,” “following your heart.” Founded by John Friend in 1997, Anusara yoga is a school of hatha yoga which unifies a life-affirming Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness with Universal Principles of Alignment. Anusara yoga is growing quickly all over the world with over 250 certified teachers, 750 licensed Anusara-Inspired yoga teachers, thousands of teachers in training, and hundreds of thousands of students world-wide. Anusara yoga now has a presence on every continent throughout the world, excluding Antarctica. For more information visit Anusara.com

Ashtanga Yoga is an ancient discipline that promotes physical, mental and spiritual health. Ashtanga Yoga as taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois involves synchronizing the breath with a progressive series of postures. The process produces an intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs. The result is improved circulation, a light and strong body, and a calm and focused mind. A deeper experience of the self becomes possible through consistent practice. The 8 limb classical system includes the yamas (restraints), niyamas (observances), asanas (postures), pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) Dharana (concentration) Dhyana (meditation), and finally Samadhi (bliss or super consciousness). For more information visit Ashtanga.com

Kundalini Yoga is the tradition of Yogi Bhajan who broght the style of yoga to the west in 1969. Kundalini focuses on the controlled release of Kundalini energy believed to live at the base of our spine in the Mulhadara (root chakra). This dynamic practice involves chanting mantras and incorporating breathing techniques. Kundalini means spiral of hair which later came to be known as the coiled serpent of potential energy and consciousness which lies at base of our spine and can be awoken by various practices.

Hatha Yoga is the umbrella under which all the traditions or schools of yoga live. Hatha is known as the "forceful Yoga" or "physical practice". There are various schools and disciplines such as Kundalini, Ashtanga and Raja. A class which combines two or more disciplines may be known as a Hatha Blend.

Vinyasa Yoga is the synchronization of breath and movement, creating a moving meditation. The "asanas" (yoga postures) can be arranged into different sequences that can meet your need or mood. Multiple postures are linked together to create intense heat and concentration that purifies and strengthens the mind and body.

The orthodox approach would be to discontinue practice during your cycle, as it is not recommended to engage your bandhas in this condition. Light practice that avoids inversions and intensity is a good alternative. A restorative sequence is calming and comforting during this time.

Consult with your doctor. Practicing right up to delivery is often acceptable if the right modifications are made as your pregnancy progresses. Again, this question is personal and it is more important than ever to stay acutely aware of your own medical conditions, as well as the health of the pregnancy. If you become pregnant soon after beginning a yoga practice for the first time, be more prudent and ask a lot of questions from qualified instructors. Seek out prenatal yoga classes if they are available in your area.

By the sixth to eighth week, avoid twisting and laying on your belly. Use props and make modifications for comfort if needed. Every pregnancy is different so always consult your physician to be sure.

Yes! Of course. ☺ The first yoga teachers ages ago were men only. Try it, you’ll see.

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