Category: Health and Wellness
10 Simple Postures That Boost Personal Performance
“Psychological research suggests simple actions can project power, persuade others, increase empathy, boost cognitive performance and more.”
From Wake Up World Blog, some insight into the world of body language. And these will not be what you think… or what you expect.http://wakeup-world.com/2011/08/05/10-simple-postures-that-boost-personal-performance/
“Many of these studies support a theory about human life (and indeed all life) called ‘embodied cognition’. The idea is that we don’t just think with our minds, we also think with our bodies. Our mind isn’t a brain in a jar, it is connected to a body which moves around in an environment.
As life becomes increasingly virtual, played out on screens of varying sizes, we need reminding that the connection between mind and body is two-way. Human intelligence is more than abstract processing power; it’s about the interaction between mind, body and the world around us.”
The Changing World of Yoga
The yoga world is changing almost as fast as the dance world with the many forms and iterations tumbling over one another, trying to be first in line for your attention. The public never tires of the novel ways to move on their mats but having done it all, or so it seems, I’m all about the focused and meditative in my own practice. Oh, I can teach it all- yoga on the beach, fitness yoga, hot yoga, morning yoga, yoga at the park at sunrise, flirty girl fitness yoga, yoga to drums, etc etc etc…. And I’m glad to and even enjoy the challenge of teaching all those forms and helping students understand how awesome yoga can be. But what’s so special about the diversity is there’s something for everyone with yoga. And all it takes is the discipline to get yourself to the class, the willingness to accept the redundant nature of routine as master and teacher, the compassion to treat yourself well, each and every day.
The Mystery of Stretching Revealed
To paraphrase the great dance kinesiologist Sally Fitt, of all the principles of conditioning, the most frequently overlooked is effective sequencing. Five teaching principles:
1. start gradually- warm-up first
2. After fatiguing a muscle group, take time to recover and loosen (the primary problem w most gym programs)
3. before stretching a major muscle group, ‘set up’ by doing a maximal contraction in the opposing muscle group if it’s equal mass
4.consider joint actions
5. listen to the body
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March 2013 Yoga Update
The Rod Stryker Prana Shakti Master Training course at the end of February 2013 was phenomenal! The test for the course, The Path of Fire and Light by Swami Rama was concise and informative. Continue reading
The Pros and Cons of Foot Stretching
Humor and Openness
“Learning how to be kind to ourselves is important. When we look into our own hearts and begin to discover what is bitter and what is sweet, Continue reading
New Mind – Leaving Behind the Canned Syllabus
We must now think with New Mind. When I realized my advanced dancers had rotten cardio, Continue reading
The Real Reason I Teach Young People
The real reason I teach ballet isn’t to create ballet dancers. My students DO learn the best skills – don’t get me wrong. I am a professional teacher and I take my work very seriously. But there are few jobs Continue reading
My Issue Isn’t Dance Team Itself, But How Qualified Are Those Instructors?
As a professional movement coach, a mom, and a former cheerleader, I get it that my students want to be part of the ‘in crowd’ Continue reading
Carol Schwarzkopf 