Another Senior Moment: Compassion in the Art of Teaching
When I first started teaching yoga in 1978, I was 26. I was born flexible. Strong and athletic, I found yoga at 17 and it fit me like a glove on all levels of my being. I never suffered from pain,...
View ArticleStuck in a Rut? Shake It Up!
[See the first half of this article here.] Snow globe yoga: Shake it up! Inspiration comes in many forms. One of my favorite ways of practicing is to pick a pose, any yoga pose, and then imagine that...
View ArticleAre Your Shoulders In Your Back Pockets?
During many yoga classes I have attended, the teacher would continually tell us to “open your heart” and “bring your shoulders back and down.” In Pilates reformer classes, the cue was to “place your...
View ArticleDon’t Just Tuck Your Tailbone, Tune Up Your Tadasana!
Many schools of yoga have their own formula or recipe of “cues” to get students into Tadasana/ Mountain Pose. The purpose of Tadasana from a strictly anatomical perspective is to teach proper postural...
View ArticleYoga From The Inside Out
I have always been fascinated with the “under layer”. This fascination later became central to my approach to helping students understand the complex movement patterns and poses found within the Hatha...
View ArticleDeconstruct Your Pose to Put it Together Again
Here’s how I apply my deconstruction principle to teaching a pose. Before I teach Vasistasana, I take my students through a step-by-step process that prepares the body-mind for the classical pose. Each...
View ArticleIntercostals: A Story That Sticks To Your Ribs
My manfriend accompanied me on my recent trip to New York City for the YTU Integrated Embodied Anatomy training. We were both excited – you see, we hail from small town, Canada and we had big plans for...
View ArticleWhat You Don’t Contract Can Kill You, Part 1
Maybe not today. Or tomorrow. Or very soon. But eventually. During the recent Level 1 Teacher Training in L.A., an excellent question was posed by one of the outstanding Yoga Tune Up® Teacher...
View ArticleWhat You Don’t Contract Can Kill You, Part 2
Why make a passively shortened muscle shorter by actively contracting it? I’m so glad you asked. First of all, how much a muscle contracts is a major determinant of its size and rate of cellular...
View ArticleBuild Your Own Total Package For Health
My first yoga experience in a YTU class taught me that there is a whole lot more to health and fitness than just strength training. Pandora’s Box had been opened. Since that humbling yet educational...
View ArticleSankalpa: Your Inner Resolve
The first day of Level 1 Teacher Training opens with Jill talking about sankalpa and I think, “ugh… she’s gonna ask me to set my intention.” I resist rolling my eyes back and force my mind to stay...
View ArticlePoses of Instagram (#PosesofInstagram)
Am I alone in feeling inundated by Instagram contests? From a marketing standpoint, I understand that people are drawn to visual stimuli and that pictures are a way of drawing more attention a...
View ArticleSitting and Other Wild and Risky Modern Habits
We are built to move. The human body is a miraculous mechanical structure of levers, pulleys, winches and tethers designed to harness the power of energy into movement. Unfortunately, we barely need to...
View ArticleScience Meets the Body
As a research scientist and a movement professional, I have spent years walking the line between two frustrating worlds; my medical hospital coworkers and alternative/complementary medicine colleagues,...
View ArticleBlock It Out
In my last article, I explored some of the ways we can use a humble yoga blanket to get curious about movement and play with traditional asanas. The yoga block (or brick) is often seen as a way to...
View ArticleThe Roll Model Method: The Science of Rolling is Coming to London!
Jill Miller will be leading the FIRST Roll Model Method: The Science of Rolling course in London this year as part of the Strength Matters Summit! This 8 hour Training of The Roll Model® Method puts...
View ArticleMeet the Teacher Trainer: Dagmar Khan
Meet Dagmar Khan, a member of our international teaching team who leads weekly Yoga Tune Up® & Therapeutic Yoga classes throughout Ireland (Waterford, Dublin, Cork, Limerick) and YTU trainings in...
View ArticleMeet the Teacher Trainer: Alexandra Ellis
Meet Alexandra Ellis, a member of our teaching team who leads weekly Yoga Tune Up® and Mobility for Performance classes in Los Angeles and YTU trainings nationwide. How did you discover Yoga Tune Up®...
View ArticleTOP TEN THINGS I have learned with Yoga Tune Up®
My name is Terry Littlefield and I’m addicted to learning. I wrote this blog because I want to share some of the highlights of studying with people that geek out and find joy in learning to help...
View ArticleTOP TEN THINGS I have learned with Yoga Tune Up: Eleven is heaven
On Wednesday, I listed the Top Ten things I have learned since beginning my Yoga Tune Up Teaching Journey. I’m a movement educator, not a mathematician. So, here’s No. 11 in my Top Ten List: 11....
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