Hamstring Quest 2010 (see Making Lemonade) begins (and sometimes ends) with uttanasana. In class, I find that although I do this pose often, I don't get the longer holding time that seems to be required for my hamstrings to start to open up. It's great to hang out here for awhile when I'm doing my home routine.

Standing Forward Bend - Uttanasana Is the Yoga Pose of the Week originally appeared on About.com Yoga on Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at 23:01:19.

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It's been over a month now since I tweaked my shoulder coming into an upward facing dog. I haven't had a nagging injury like this since the great hamstring pull of 2003; that took forever to heal. I'm trying to take my own advice on yoga injuries and not practice on it. I know this is the way to heal, but it's been making me grumpy! Until I decided that instead of dwelling on all the poses I can't do, I'm going to try to make the most of those I can do: in particular, forward bends. Even before the great hamstring pull of 2003 (see above), my hamstrings have been a bane. They are so quick to tighten up when not stretched regularly. So this is my practice now, and I'm actually looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Making Lemonade originally appeared on About.com Yoga on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 12:06:12.

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Hey, you! Yes, you, the one hunched over your computer. Come up for air for a minute. Take a break. Do these desk stretches. Your back will thank you.

Wednesday Stretch Break originally appeared on About.com Yoga on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 07:01:56.

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A reader recently wrote me to ask the difference between pyramid pose and what I call straight leg lunge (which I know isn't a great name, since a lunge just isn't a lunge without a bent leg, but this pose is what happens when you are in a lunge and then straighten the front leg). These two positions are quite similar, but in pyramid pose, the stance is a little shorter to allow for an emphasis on forward bending over the front leg. In the straight leg lunge, the emphasis is more on straightening the front leg rather than forward bending. Also the back heel is placed down in pyramid, with the foot turned out 45 degrees, while the heel stays up in the lunge. These small differences allow for a subtly different stretch.

Pyramid Pose - Parsvottonasana Is the Yoga Pose of the Week originally appeared on About.com Yoga on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 at 22:02:26.

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