Lift your fingers to work your upper arms in downward dog pose
caption = “Yes, you get marks on your hands, but the work in your arms is worth it. How do you walk your downward dog? I’m tempted to say, “let me count the ways,” but there are so many. Let’s just look at one breed of dog, the group that uses height to get a […]
Shoulder stand preparation on a little plastic stool: Five-minute Yoga Challenge
caption= “So lovely. All it needs is an ‘I heart little plastic stools’ bumper sticker. It is unlikely that little plastic stools will ever take on the iconic status that’s afforded to chairs in Iyengar yoga. You need only look at Eyal Shifroni’s amazing new book, A Complete Guide to Iyengar Yoga Practice with a […]
Headstand at 70? Why not?
JoAnn came to her private yoga class last week with a copy of “Father William,” Lewis Carroll’s poem in which an obnoxious young man attempts to guide his father in age-appropriate behavior. “Do you know it?” she asked. Do I know it? My mother loved it, and often quoted the first lines. I’ve used it […]
Success! 94 days of shoulder stand, and counting
I did it. I met my commitment to do shoulder stand every day for 90 days. Day one wasn’t glorious. Neither was day 90. There were days when my entire practice was seven minutes draped over a chair. However, mostly it’s been good. I stay longer and do more variations than when I started my […]
How I gained super powers in my desert-island pose
If I were castaway on Modriki Island in Fiji – site of the Tom Hanks movie – I’d be doing shoulder stand.If I ever had to pick just one pose to do for the rest of my life, I’d have no hesitation: I’d choose shoulder stand, all the way. Why does it make my list […]
Ninety days of shoulderstand: the end is nigh – or is it?
Well, at least it’s coming into view – and who knows, I might just keep going.Sixty-five days into 90 days of shoulder stand, I find myself thinking about a New Yorker cartoon I saw a long time ago, and by that I mean 30 years. The drawing is of a street prophet, in beard and […]