Any new practice can be intimidating – be it sports or music, or the geekier things I love like cosplay or learning Klingon (Qapla!, or Success! with that one). Thankfully, yoga is among the easiest practices to begin – and it’s immediately rewarding. To start, try out these three simple beginner’s poses (Mountain Pose, Child’s…
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Then again, I’m willing to wait for Burr’s control
Recently I wrote about the virtue of flexibility, expressed both in yoga and in Hamilton. Obviously a body must be flexible to do yoga poses, while Hamilton was flexible in his strategy towards life. He “did what it [took] to survive” (and thrive). Burr, meanwhile, is inflexible and unadaptable to the point where it destroys…
The Four Hogwarts Houses of Yogis
Which one are you? When you are really into your yoga, do you….? Have a need to read? Do you want to take notes in class? Research your anatomy to see what’s really moving around in your body, from the nerve signals to the muscles and ligaments? Buy the best rated books on yoga to…
Who’s ready to Expelliarmus? : Warrior II
The wizarding world is full of quaint, quirky fun like chocolate frogs and booger-flavored jelly beans. It’s also a vicious place where the few words of a forbidden curse can leave you a smoldering spot on the floor. The extremes experienced by Harry Potter and crew require some structure to navigate, and interpersonal conflict is…
Shanti: Sit Down and Talk
“Shanti” : “Sit Down and Talk” – The Doctor, “The Zygon Inversion” Shanti is a soft word, a pretty word, a word we chant in yoga while just enjoying its sounds. But Shanti, or peace, is revolutionary. Shanti is what the Doctor calls for in his famous speech in “The Zygon Inversion,” delivered in tones…
Defying Gravity, Cold, and the Patriarchy: The L-shaped Handstand
Life is a drag. This is news to no one, particularly recently. Constant pressures weigh us down in countless ways. And in a very literal sense, gravity is dragging us down every second we are here. That’s kind of good, since sailing out into space isn’t preferable, but also has some major downsides. Our bodies…
The Girl in the Fireplace is the Yogi in Yin Yoga: Taking the Slower Path
“There is a vessel in your world where the days of my life are pressed together like the chapters of a book, so that he may step from one to the other without increase of age, while I, weary traveller, must always take the slower path.” So says Reinette, aka Madame de Pompadour, in Doctor…
We are Groot: Tree Pose
Being a tree isn’t exactly second nature to us. As humans, we are more into pruning… or picking… or chopping, when it comes to plants in general. In fact, telling nature what to do has always been one of our species’ favorite hobbies. And that makes sense: anyone itching from a mosquito bite will agree…
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations: The Logic of Mountain Pose
If I write the word “Fascinating,” how did you hear it in your head? Did you hear Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor, full of vim, vigor and sass? Or did you picture a cocked eyebrow and the detached intellectual bemusement of Spock? Although I totally grok Spock, I have to admit, I’m the type of person who…
May She Prove Her Worth: Half Moon Pose and the Hero’s Journey
Luke leaves his farm to become a Jedi. Katniss volunteers as tribute to save her sister. Sisko takes control of Deep Space Nine, moving on from the grief over losing his wife. Harry Potter flies away from his awful aunt and uncle to go with Hagrid to Hogwarts. We’ve all been there, right? Actually, we…