The Daily Downward Dog Blog
Inspiring Stories, Cool Yoga Playlists, and Yoga Tips!Let’s Get More Men on the Mat
According to a “Yoga in America” study done by Yoga Journal in 2008, of the 15.8 million Americans that practice yoga, approximately 72.2% are women and 27.8% are men. Why are there so few men on the mat in America? It really is puzzling, because yoga has...
Join the Yoga Pose Fan Club
I was doing yoga with my sister last week, which was super cool. My sister lives out of town, so we’ve never had the chance to practice yoga together before, and it was special to share our practice together. We were doing Trudie Styler’s Warrior Yoga DVD, with the...
It’s National Yoga Month, the Perfect Time to Give Yoga a Try!
Wednesday, September 1 was the kickoff of National Yoga Month, and you’ve got 28 days left to get into the festivities. The purpose of National Yoga Month is to create awareness about the many benefits of yoga and hopefully encourage Americans to get out there and...
Amazing Yoga Moments
If you’re one of those yoga aficionados that can do all the crazy poses, like headstands and bird of paradise, this blog post will either bore you or amuse you, but if you are a yoga nerd like me and still working on the basics, hopefully this blog will encourage you...
Setting New Intentions for National Yoga Month
I have not been a good yoga student lately. My head is not in the game. I’m surprised I haven’t had to pay more for the extra baggage I’ve been bringing with me to class—stressful thoughts from the day, all the items I didn’t accomplish on my to-do list, the errands I...
Mean People Suck
I always love it when a yoga instructor starts out a class with a homily. It’s kind of like going to church and hearing a sermon. Hopefully, the message resonates and is something you can carry with you throughout the rest of class or take with you off the yoga mat...
Floating Down the River of Relaxation
I’ve been hearing this super mellow song about floating down the river quite a bit in my yoga classes. It’s sung by a dude with a sultry, soothing voice who is accompanied by something that sounds like a lute. The mystical sounds of a Japanese orchestra in the...
Fanning the Flames
Fresh from my recent fortune cookie epiphany, I ventured off to yoga class. The instructor started off the class with a message about boredom and how boredom really doesn’t generate from other people; it is manifested from within and is brought on by our lack of...
Fortune Cookie Teachings
I don’t know about you, but I think everyone loves the opportunity to crack open a fortune cookie and read the message. I always hope it will say something like, “You’re going to get lucky,” or, “You’re going to win a million bucks!” Actually, once I was really...
That Girl Has Some Major Connections!
In my blog on Monday ("What’s Om Got to Do With It?"), I provided the definition of om, which represents the union of mind, body, and spirit and the whole universe compressed together into one single sound. I provided the definition for two reasons. First, I really...
Does Chi Mean Pain?
Last week I was in yoga class and we were doing my favorite pose (not!)—boat pose (paripurna navasana). As I’ve mentioned numerous times, I really dislike any exercise or yoga pose that extensively calls on the abdominal muscles. My stomach is my Achilles heel. I know...
What’s Om Got To Do With It?
I remember when I first started going to yoga class. At the end of class, the teacher would say some funky things in a language I didn’t know and then bow to us while saying, “Namaste.” The entire class would say it back to her, except for me. I wasn’t going to say...
I want my D.D.D.
I want my MTV! Wow, I’m showing my age with this one. Do you want your Daily Downward Dog (D.D.D.)? Are you wondering what happened to my D.D.D.? Well, something really exciting has happened (for me, at least). The D.D.D. was feeling a little cramped over at...
Favorite Savasana Songs, “Glitter in the Air”
I need to start keeping a list of my favorite music for savasana. I wrote a few weeks ago about “Be Here Now” by Ray LaMontagne, which I think is probably one of the best songs to listen to if you need to come down a few notches on the stress-o-meter. That song is...
Celebrity Yoga
I recently posted some blogs that included funny quotes about yoga from celebrities. Here’s one that got a lot of hits from Chris Rock: “Why do people do yoga? To clear their minds? I embrace the clutter in my head.” —Chris Rock And Ellen DeGeneres provided us with...
Eat, Work, Yoga
“[My guru] says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you are fortunate enough. But that’s not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You...
Close Your Eyes and Get Into the Yoga Zone
Do you sometimes have a hard time getting into yoga class? Is it hard to walk away from the stress of your day and leave it all behind? Do you want to get all the benefits of yoga? If you want to get into a better state during yoga class, try closing your eyes. I’m...
Yoga Fêng Shui
I don’t know a lot about feng shui, but I do know that I believe in it. If you are not familiar with feng shui, here’s my very simplified definition: Feng shui is the ancient Chinese practice of placing stuff in the “right” place in order to receive good vibes and...
Be a Lover, Not a Fighter (of the Yoga Pose)
My yoga instructor totally made me laugh the other day when we were in pyramid yoga pose (parsvottonasana). She must have noticed quite a few of us struggling, because she said to us, “Don’t fight the pose; embrace the pose.” It made me think to myself, Yeah, why am I...
The ABC’s of Yoga
I’ve been thinking a lot about my Daily Downward Dog posts. I seem to focus more on the physical aspects of yoga, but I don’t spend as much time on the spiritual aspects of my yoga practice. Over the past year I have become more flexible and my back feels great, but...
Why Are So Many Yoga Poses Named After Animals?
“Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you.” —Missy Dizick and Mary Bly, Dogs Are Better Than Cats (1985) My yoga instructor made a really interesting point in yoga class last week. Why are so many yoga poses named after animals? Think...
Waves + Yoga = Nirvana
Waves and yoga; these two words together equal extreme relaxation and a calming yoga practice. I’ve written many times about how amazing it is to practice yoga while listening to the sound of waves. It’s the best soundtrack I can think of. If you’re landlocked or...
Trees, the Instant De-Stressor
“When you look up from your typewriter, look at the trees, not the calendar.” –Mary Virginia Micka It’s looking like I’m going to be on a nature kick this week at MariaMedia. I love this quote because it reminds me to not get so wrapped up in the day and the deadlines...
Chris Rock on Yoga
“Why do people do yoga? To clear their minds? I embrace the clutter in my head.” —Chris Rock, Comedian You gotta love Chris and, yes, we all have a lot of clutter in our heads, but it is amazing how great yoga and meditation can make you feel and what a relief it is...
Boat Pose Mind Games — Part 2
Last week I wrote about how my yoga instructor basically had us play mind games to get us through the difficulty of boat pose. I’ll say it again: Yoga boat pose is definitely on my top-five list of poses I really dislike and is a boat trip I do not want to take. So,...
Taking it Off the Mat
In yoga class the other night, we were in half-moon pose (ardha-chandrasana), and our instructor encouraged us all to take a risk and try some of the more advanced stages of the pose (like letting go with the hand holding us up and taking that hand to your calf or...
Strike a Pose and Take a Picture
I’ve been writing a lot about savasana, the time at the end of yoga class where you lie still, breathe, and seal in your yoga practice. It’s basically a mini nap, and how cool is it that you get to take a nap at the end of a workout?! I never take naps on my own, so...
Hip-Opener Month!
One of my yoga instructors has designated the month of July as Hip-Opener Month! We hold a lot of crap and tension down in our hips, and I, for one, love a great hip-opening pose in yoga class to stretch out those muscles and release the massive quantity of angst I’ve...
Boat Pose Mind Games
In a recent yoga class, the instructor had us get into boat pose (paripurna navasana). If you are not familiar with boat pose, it involves sitting on the floor on your tailbone, balancing your legs out in front of you, and lifting your arms up in front of you. This is...
Have You Ever Been Mellow?
Or perhaps I should ask: Do you want to be mellow? Since I'm kind of on a yoga music theme this week on the Daily Downward Dog, I thought I would keep it going and tell you about one of the mellowest songs I've heard in a long time. Seriously, if you need a song to...