Erin Casperson, guest blogger Ayurveda, India’s traditional system of medicine, is believed to be around 5,000 year old, and is considered to be the longest continuously practiced system of medicine. Long before blood tests, MRIs, CAT scans, EKGs, and x-rays, there was the eightfold examination process called ashtavidha pariksha. (Ashta means eight, vidha means fold [...]
Tag Archives: pranayama
Ayurveda for Moving into Spring
by Erin Casperson, Kripalu School of Ayurveda Intern According to Ayurveda, one of the keys to maintaining health is to practice ritucharya—seasonal routines. Adjusting our daily self-care rituals to seasonal changes helps us maintain balance and reminds us that we are a part of the natural world. Spring is ruled by the kapha dosha, whose [...]
Turn Your Students On: Deepening the Yoga Experience
One of the most gratifying things in my life is when I see someone light up talking about their yoga class experience. “I understand Mountain pose now,” said my student Carlene, with twinkling eyes and a huge smile. As a fairly new yoga student, she shared that she hadn’t had a clue as to why [...]
Your Brain on Mindfulness Meditation
One of the most well-known and utilized tools in meditation and yoga is the practice of self-observation without judgment, or mindfulness. Swami Kripalu called self-observation without judgment “the highest form of spiritual practice.” Likewise, if you go to any yoga or meditation class you‘re likely to hear words like mindfulness and nonjudgmental awareness repeated throughout [...]
Posted on April 23rd, 2013 by Danny Arguetty, MA, E-RYT in Teachers Corner
The Art of Dynamic Language
An excerpt from the guide “Dynamic Language and Heart Opening Themes” on Danny Arguetty’s website: Nourish Your Light. When we, as teachers, use varied language, creative words, and clear instructions, there is a more complete quality to the practice at hand. Our language supports students in remaining more present to their own internal experience while [...]
Posted on April 6th, 2013 by Portland Helmich in Conscious Living
Choose to Breathe
I’ve been freelancing for more than 15 years now. As often as possible, I’ve focused my work in the natural-health field—as a host, producer, writer, voice-over talent, even as an actor on occasion. Sometimes, I’m very busy, juggling a number of projects; sometimes, everything wraps up at once and I’m not sure what’s next. It [...]
Posted on March 11th, 2013 by Thrive in Life Lessons
My Son, the Pratyahara Detector
Micah Mortali, guest blogger, Kripalu Yoga teacher, and manager of the Kripalu Volunteer Program Pratyahara, or turning inward, is one of the eight limbs of classical yoga, and it has always been an important part of my practice: diving deep and exploring my internal landscapes, observing what can be seen when the eyes close and the [...]
Posted on February 25th, 2013 by Portland Helmich in Meditation
Chanting, Awakening, and Kundalini Yoga: Snatam Kaur
It’s a simple fact, one that I often resist. If I want my life to change for the better, then I have to change. To expect more peace, joy, and love to enter my life without any shifts on my part is kind of like expecting that my meals are somehow going to taste different [...]
Yoga and Positive Emotions
In 1998, researcher Barbara Fredrickson published a paper called “What good are positive emotions?” The paper discussed, in detail, the importance of positive emotions on cognition, action, and interpersonal relationships. While at the time it was arguably a risky scientific article, it turned out to be pivotal. Prior to this, most research focused almost exclusively [...]
Posted on February 5th, 2013 by Jonathan Ambar in Ayurveda
Stoke Your Fire with Pranayama
Pranayama (breathing) practices are a great way to cultivate inner heat during the winter. Larissa Hall Carlson, a Kripalu Yoga teacher and Ayurvedic Yoga Teacher, shares three of her favorite warming pranayama practices sure to get your inner space heater thrumming. Anuloma viloma is a variation of nadi shodhana (Alternate-Nostril Breathing), with a short breath retention. [...]
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