When I first started falling in love with yoga, I found myself sleeping better, feeling stronger, and keeping my cool in the face of challenge like never before. With such great benefits, I had a hard time not talking about this awesome practice to pretty much anyone who would listen. I couldn’t wait to spread the word and share the gifts of yoga with my family and friends.

While most weren’t ready to buy a mat and pop into tree pose, a few friends agreed to give yoga class a try. For some it stuck and others it didn’t, but I remember very clearly the joy I felt at having offered up my little slice of heaven.

Last week one of my long-time students brought four of her close girlfriends to class. They laid their mats one next to the other, giggled during class, and quietly helped one another when lost. It was an absolute joy to see and feel the warmth of friendship in class and made me fondly remember those moments when I shared yoga with loved ones.

While we certainly don’t want to push others to yoga, it’s a great feeling to share something you love. If you have a friend that is looking to get healthy, build community, or just get out of the house, bring him or her to yoga class! Your support and encouragement will undoubtedly make their experience and yours a whole lot sweeter. –Michelle Laxton

When just arriving to your mat and closing your eyes, be extra sensitive to the first few breaths of your practice. I’ve found that the first few breaths can reveal a great deal about the current state of your mind-body-heart.

The first few breaths that happen to be deep and relaxed reveal the soothing effects of your earlier jog and healthful breakfast. The first few breaths that happen to be short and choppy reveal the stress caused by the traffic jam you encountered. The first few breaths that happen to be labored and tight reveal the pain felt from a disagreement with your partner.

In order to live our lives, working our jobs and caring for our families, we often feel the need to ignore our feelings. However, healing through yoga requires an open and observant mind. By watching the first few breaths of your practice, you may discover what situations throw you out of balance. When those same challenges arise in the future, you’ll be more connected to your mind-body-heart and therefore better able to keep your yogic cool. –Michelle Laxton

In years past, I’ve never been a big fan of Daylight Savings. The suddenness of the time change and the loss of light so early in the day always left me feeling as though I never had enough time. This year however things feel a bit different. Instead of lamenting the darkness, I’ve felt a sense of protection and warmth with the early arrival of night.

In my evening yoga practice this week, I’ve been especially grateful for the darkness. With the night sky, my mind shifts to release the day more easily and I feel more open to embrace a clear mindspace. I am better able to listen to my breath and move into the “yoga zone” where mental stresses and plans are put on hold. It’s as though the darkness informs my mind that the day is winding down. If you’re having trouble adjusting to Daylights Savings on a physical, mental, or energetic level, try taking time for a yoga practice in the evenings in order to embrace and integrate the darkness into your mind-body-heart. –Michelle Laxton

In yoga class, you’ll often hear teachers instruct students to “find the edge” in a given posture. The edge is not the point where you can’t breath or the point where you feel nothing at all, but somewhere in between. I like to teach my students to look for a point of mild discomfort where you can still breath deeply, but there is definitely a sensation of challenge. Pigeon pose is a great place to experiment with your edge.

In pigeon, we focus primarily on relaxing our muscles so that we can allow gravity and our own body weight to open our hips. Usually when I first enter into pigeon my body is a little surprised by this sudden stretch, therefore my muscles contract. At this point my edge is very apparent and very near. However, after a few deep breaths my muscles will relax and my edge will have shifted. I may need to stretch my torso forward and reach my forearms ahead to get back that sensation of challenge. By surfing the edge, you’re able to not only gain optimal physical benefits, but also to keep your mind steady, a practice that offers mental clarity and fresh energy to the mind-body-heart. –Michelle Laxton

Inversions, postures in which we place the heart or feet higher than the head, can be challenging and sometimes nerve-wracking to learn. I vividly remember my first experience with headstand. After practicing yoga for about a year, I was feeling confident and decided to take a level three class. Two minutes into class my self-esteem plummeted when everyone popped into headstand with no guidance or assistance. The following 100 or so seconds were pretty much the longest seconds of my life.

I was scared of headstand as well as level three classes for a few weeks after that fateful day, but was finally coaxed to give it another go by a fantastic yoga instructor, Manel Rodrigues. Manel was encouraging and helped me learn headstand at my own pace. After a couple months, I was comfortably balancing in headstand.

If you’re just beginning to dive into full inversions, I encourage you to take a workshop or connect privately with a teacher if you have the resources. The techniques and assistance that can be shared in these settings are critical to enter into postures like headstand, handstand, and forearmstand safely and with confidence. If you’re beginning to venture into full inversions or looking to refine your alignment, Maral Hadidi will be leading a workshop on inversions in November. Her sweet, approachable style of teaching will undoubtedly create a fantastic atmosphere to experiment and grow your practice. –Michelle Laxton

“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” When I first heard this quote a few years ago, I absolutely loved it. As a yogini it naturally made me smile, but it also made me think. Flexibility of the body is a wonderful benefit of a regular yoga practice, but flexibility of the mind is also a great benefit that is often overlooked.

Try taking a mindfulness approach when practicing mental flexibility. Simply notice the next time you find yourself frustrated, annoyed, or bothered. Are you upset that a substitute is in for your regular yoga teacher? Do you wish you had another six inches of space around your mat?

Beyond mindfulness, take your practice a step further challenging yourself to see the experience as an opportunity to develop mental flexibility. If you’re open to the substitute teacher, you might find that his style of teaching resonates with you. If you embrace the close confines of a popular evening class, you might find that the greater number of yogis in class gives you a boost of positive energy and a chance to make new friends.

It may be easier to perceive yoga as something we do for a specific period of time, in a specific place. However, if you take your yoga with you in the car, at the dog park, and in your own living room, you’ll find the possibilities to grow your mental flexibility abound. –Michelle Laxton

Whether I’m practicing yoga at home or in a class, each time I sit on my mat and close my eyes, I take a few moments to observe how I’m feeling physically, mentally, emotionally, and energetically. We often move through our days at lightening speed and seldom take time to self-reflect. A few moments of mindfulness can inform your yoga practice, showing you how to work towards greater balance in your life.

Some days I’ll notice that I need more patience. Some days, more joy. Other days, I’ll need to heal a certain part of the body. Before my first aum, I join my palms together in anjali mudra and set my intention to create whatever it is I need that day. My intention resonates in every breath and every posture, and after my last aum, I know I’ve given myself the gift of greater wellness. Next time you find yourself on your yoga mat, consider setting an intention that most serves your mind-body-heart at that given moment. –Michelle Laxton

As all summers tend to, this past summer flew by quickly. Kids are already back to school and the days are growing noticeably shorter. While many lament the end of summer, I think there’s a beauty that comes with autumn that is not limited to watching the leaves change color.

We spend our summers working hard to take advantage of the long sunny days. Happily breaking routine, we take trips, send children to camps, and visit the beach. Exciting and sometimes exhausting, our summers are different from the rest of the year and we love them for the new, fresh energy they offer.

As summer represents change, I feel autumn represents a return to stability and a sense of grounding. The idea of having a daily routine seems to carry a negative connotation in our culture, but a routine can be a powerful tool to keep our minds and bodies healthy. With summer over, we return to a more regular work, yoga, and dietary schedule and our bodies often respond happily to such normalcy. If you’re looking to make changes in your life, autumn is a great time to create new habits and develop a new routine. Celebrate the equinox today and celebrate the beautiful comfort that autumn brings.  –Michelle Laxton

When I first started practicing yoga, the majority of my thoughts during class were focused on making sure my expression of the postures was as close to textbook (i.e. Yoga Journal) as possible. It was hard enough trying to decipher which pose blah-blah-blah-asana was, but then attempting to align everything from my toes to the crown of my head was enough to send my thoughts spinning. I’m not sure if it was several months or several years later, but eventually the postures became familiar, the yogic breath became a habit, and my practice became much more fluid. I cared less about how the poses looked and more about how they felt, and with that my expression of the postures changed.

When I practice now, I try to let my thoughts rest exclusively on my breath in order that the poses may become an expression of what my mind, heart, and physical body need. Some days I find stillness in the postures helps to ground me while other days I want to play, trying new variations and flowing dynamically. By staying present with each moment of your practice, you will discover which expression makes the most sense for you at that exact point in time. In this way, your yoga will more fully meet the changing needs of your mind-body-heart, keeping your physical body safe, your mind steady, and your heart happy. –Michelle Laxton

Sometimes when my yoga practice feels stale and I need a resurgence of that je ne sais qua to reinvigorate my flow, I watch a video clip of Seane Corn demonstrating yoga as body prayer. Seane Corn is known around the world as a talented teacher and practitioner of Vinyasa Yoga as well as Karma Yoga. While I’ve never attended one of her workshops or taken her classes, her energy as a yogini reaches me all the same through the net.  

In this short You Tube clip, Seane demonstrates just one round of Surya Namaskar/Sun Salutation B. The asanas and sequencing are familiar, but the beauty and intensity of her flow is always powerful enough to re-awaken my passion for yoga. It’s easy to move from posture to posture while letting the mind run wild. For me, the real work is presence: staying connected to each asana and ensuring that my movements are a reflection of my intention. This is a practice that will never get stale, but will continue to challenge, teach, and inspire me. –Michelle Laxton

Seane Corne Demonstrating Yoga as Body Prayer