THE BLOG

Happy National Yoga Month! You've probably heard about all of the great benefits of practicing yoga. Now is as great a time as any to get started! Here are a few things that can make the journey infinitely easier and more rewarding. Find the right teacher Although there’s no shortage of guided practices online, when you’re just starting out, a good teacher could make a world of difference. While yoga is a fairly safe activity to try, even the simplest poses (asanas) involve

Stepping away from the daily grind, and going on a yoga retreat can be a pivotal moment in your life. As one of Firefly's previous retreat participants beautifully described retreats: "They're about temporarily removing yourself and entering a positive environment where you can nurture your body and mind, then take that renewed perspective and bring back healthy habits that you can incorporate into your life back at home." If you are feeling stressed out, stuck, or at a cross

Like many people, I came to yoga for the physical benefits. I was recovering from knee surgery, and yoga aided in the healing process and helped get me back to training for triathlons. What I didn't expect were the mental, emotional and spiritual benefits that came along with the yoga practice. In each of the first five private yoga classes I took, I laughed and I cried, and I moved through physical and emotional pain that were part of my reality at the time. As I dug deep

Last month, I wrote about my journey into yoga, and what it has meant for me personally. This month, I thought it would be fun to share some words of wisdom from my favorite teachers, and also some thoughts from my students about what yoga means to them. In the West, we tend to think of yoga as only the physical practice, however, asana is only one of the eight limbs of yoga as described by Patanjali in the The Yoga Sutras, and nowadays, there are numerous styles of yoga pr

While putting together Firefly's latest service offerings for beginner yogis, I thought about my own introduction to yoga. I was a reluctant yoga practitioner all of those years ago. I had fiddled with yoga a bit on my Nintendo Wii, and had gone to one Bikram class with a co-worker (which did not cause me to come running back). It wasn't until I had knee surgery, when I couldn't do any of my usual forms of exercise for nine months, that I turned to yoga out of desperation to

Sanskrit Name and Meaning (are-dah chan-DRAHS-anna) ardha = half candra = glittering, shining, having the brilliancy or hue of light; usually translated as "moon" Step 1: Start in Extended Triangle pose (Utthita Trikonasana) with the right foot forward. Bring your left hand to your hip, gaze at your right foot and bring your right hand down to the floor or a block outside of the right foot and about 12 inches beyond your foot. Step 2: Lift your left leg parallel to the floo

Sanskrit Name and meaning (parsh-voh-tahn-AHS-anna) parsva = side ut = intense tan = to stretch or extend asana = pose How to: Step 1 -Step or lightly jump your feet 3 to 4 feet apart. Turn your left foot in 45 to 60 degrees and your right foot out to 90 degrees. Align the right heel with the left heel. If you find it hard to balance, widen your stance. Step 2 - Square the front of your pelvis as much as possible with the front edge of your mat. Ground the back foot by pre

Sanskrit Name and meaning (oosh-TRAHS-anna) ustra= camel asana= pose How to: Step 1: Kneel on the floor with your knees hip width apart and thighs perpendicular to the floor. Rotate your thighs inward slightly, with the option to squeeze a block between your thighs. Press your shins and the tops of your feet firmly into floor. Step 2: Rest the palms of your hands on the back of your hips with the fingers pointing down. Lengthen through your tailbone. Firm the thighs, and as

Sanskrit Name and meaning vrik-SHAHS-anna vrksa = tree asana = pose How to: Step 1: Stand straight with both feet firmly on the floor. Engage your left leg and press evenly into all four corners of the left foot, bend your right knee and bring your foot into the inside of your left calf or thigh with the toes pointing down. Use your hand to assist if needed. Be sure that your foot is above or below the knee rather than directly against the knee joint. Step 2: Lengthen your

Welcome to the newest feature of our blog. Each month in 2018 we will feature a different yoga pose, including a step-by-step how-to guide, the benefits of the pose and any cautions that you should take when practicing the pose. Pose of the Month: Viparita Karani (Legs-Up-The-Wall) Sanskrit Name and meaning (vip-par-ee-tah car-AHN-ee) viparita = turned around, reversed, inverted karani = doing, making, action How to: Step 1- Sit with your right hip pressed against the wall

If you find yourself struggling to get going in the morning, one or more of these five morning rituals may be the ticket to a better start to your day. If the list seems overwhelming to tackle in one day, spread the five rituals over five days. This is a great, and accessible, way to get started. In no particular order (if doing more than one of these on the same morning, experiment to find the order that works best for you): Stretch / practice yoga – I watch my puppy move fr

The quote "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone" is one of my favorites. I believe that if you stop growing and learning, you are not living. The best way to continually expand your horizons is to challenge what you know, what you can do, and what you believe. The moment that I start to feel like I have mastered something is when I find myself wanting more; whether it’s a stretch goal, or something entirely new. For example, I started road biking to train for a triathl

This month is the official start of summer, and also marks a period of significant change in my life. I’m getting married in a couple of weeks; I recently launched the new business, Firefly; and I will begin transitioning out of my 18 –year career in Human Resources. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect for the topic that came up in the teacher training I’m currently engrossed in at Prajna Yoga of the first step of the Eight-fold Path of Buddhism, Total View. This first

The first time I went on a yoga retreat was in January 2012 to Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, about a year after I started practicing yoga. Little did I know how much that retreat would change my life, and set in motion what would later become my vision for the future. My friend, Stephanie, did all of the research, selected a retreat and asked me to come along. While I was still fairly new to yoga, I was excited by the prospect of a week on the beach practicing yoga in the morning

I was talking to a friend last night about the reasons I return to Costa Rica year after year. I explained that I love traveling in Costa Rica because of the people, the beaches, the Pura Vida lifestyle, the food, the monkeys (and various other wildlife), and how beautifully wild it is there. Later I was thinking more about it, and realized that the biggest reason I return is something that is a bit harder to explain – a certain magic that you have to feel for yourself to und