Time-Lapse Practice in Mallorca

One of my favorite things about my recent trip to Mallorca was morning yoga on the terrace. It was so peaceful - the weather was warm, but not too hot, and the sun was just rising over the mountains. Check out the video below (music is 'El Bandito' by Nicolas Jaar) - and if you like time-lapse videos, I did this time-lapse yoga video in Florida on the beach at sunrise, and this yoga video last year in my living room (funny moment at the very end). If you want a video you can practice along with, try this one (suitable for beginners) or this challenging yoga video. 

Yoga for Shoulder Strength

Heads up: We just launched the YBC Yoga Forum, a place for health conscious people (like you!) to come together and chat about everything from playlists to pigeon pose. Come join! We'd love to connect!

Here is a shoulder strength sequence I put together. You'll have to forgive me for the background mess - Greg's in Italy so I was using the self-timer. Also, note the little audience I had out on the balcony. :)  

Anyway. This is a good sequence to try if you're wanting to work on upper body strength. Try to breathe 5-7 full breaths in each pose. It starts in crow, but if you're not there yet just do what you can. (Here's how to do crow pose.) Then you jump back into chaturanga (tutorial on jump backs here),  but you could just step back if you're not ready to jump. From there we do up dog, and then down dog, and follow that up by coming onto the forearms for dolphin pose. You might notice in dolphin that your heels don't reach the mat. Don't worry about it. For our purposes this pose is really more for building shoulder strength than lengthening the hamstrings, so just work with wherever you are. You have the option to stay in dolphin, or take variations by lifting one leg and then the other. And the last pose, everyone's favorite- child's. Hope you enjoyed it!

Jump to the Front of the Mat

It's been a while since I've created a yoga gif, but the other day I remembered when I first started jumping to the front of the yoga mat during sun salutations and I really struggled. It was almost as if I didn't trust myself to bring my feet to my hands - I remember being scared that my wrists would break. So I would jump with the best intentions, but the fear and lack of core and upper body strength would hold me back, and my feet would only make it to the middle of the mat. I wanted to post this for anyone reading this who is struggling to make it to the top of the mat. Keep practicing, keep building core and upper body strength, and most importantly, trust yourself and let go of any fears.

Revolved Chair Pose Variation

Whenever I do the same yoga sequence over and over I get a bit uninspired and look for ways to incorporate variations to switch it up a bit. This revolved chair pose is great in a hip opening sequence, or if you're looking to build core strength or test your balance. Start from chair pose, then go into revolved chair pose, and then lift one leg as shown here. Breathe 3-7 full, deep breaths and then set the foot down next to the other or you could try this sequence and step to the back of the mat with the lifted foot. Totally up to you- play around with it and see how it goes. 

PS- How to do navasana (great for the core), how to do wild thing (an excellent, full body stretch), and how to do balancing stick pose (builds back body muscles and core strength).

How to Jump Back from Crow

Here's how to jump back from crow pose into chaturanga. This video is 3 mins, 42 seconds, and here's the breakdown if you're not up for watching the whole thing: 

:12 Tips for crow pose

1:32  Instructions & Prep for charging legs back to chaturanga

1:58 Jumpback

2:14 Really good ab exercise you can do to strengthen the core so you can charge the legs back from crow.

I hope that was helpful! Please let me know if you have any questions, or have a tutorial request.  

PS- How to do 8 angle pose,  how to step to the front of the mat from down dog, and a short sequence for yoga for anxiety.

How to do Crow Pose

Earlier this week I received a request for a tutorial on how to jump back from crow pose to chaturanga. I posted how to do chaturanga a few months back, and I thought today I'd do a crow pose tutorial before I post the video explaining how to jump back. (Stay tuned, it'll be up later today!) The key to crow pose is learning how to use your core strength to hold the legs up, rather than just resting your legs on your arms. Tweet me or leave a comment here with any questions.