Backing up your Forward Bend

According to a very cool yoga site called Sequence Wiz which details the importance of sequencing which yoga poses should follow others, it's imperative that you not insist on keeping those legs straight in forward bends.

The key word here is relax.

Gradual pulling and stretching, following teacher's instructions,  easing into it,  is the key to  beautiful stretch like forward bend (Pada Hastasana).

And everything else in life.

No forcing, no straining, no struggling. Gentle asking, then allowing. Life imitates asana.

The forward bend is just one of the many ways to back yourself up in hot yoga, and done well, this forward bend can catapult you into a world of feeling good. Here's how.... 

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Don't try this at home: Thoughts on home-alone hot yoga

People always ask me, which hot yoga poses can I do at home?

My answer: the ones you want to injure yourself in.

There's a reason hot yoga is best practiced in community.

First, of course, there is the heat and humidity. Your yoga studio has the edge here, knowing just how to mix the two to provide your body with the best possible conditions for mastering the 26 poses. You can steam up your bathroom, get a space heater, put on layers of clothing....it's just not enough.

Because I'm not just talking room temperature; many other things make hot yoga better at the studio.

Take for instance the watchful eye of your teacher. Think you can't get hurt in yoga? Think again...

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Heat it. Heal it. Write it.

Hot yoga is alchemy.

Alchemy: the Medieval science of changing ordinary metals into gold, a power or process that transforms something in a mysterious or impressive way

Not coincidentally, it often required high heat.

Writing is that same process: one part you, preferably heated, and one part magic. Writing, like hot yoga. scratches the surface of your experiences and gets down underneath. Writing makes wisdom from words; it just takes a pen to draw you out and like hot yoga, you start from where you are, right now.

What happens when you add writing to hot yoga?

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10 Ways to Know You're A Hot Yoga Teacher

The saying, "If you want to master something - teach it," has been true for me and hot yoga.

Back when I was 19, I started teaching yoga because it was fun; I wanted to share my love of yoga with my friends. Now, some 35+ later, I can tell you teaching yoga has taken me on the most surprising journey into own life - and farther than I ever imagined.

How do you know if you'd be a good hot yoga teacher?

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How you do hot yoga is how you do everything

35 days ago I was a hot yoga beginner.

Today I finished a 30 Day Hot Yoga Challenge - a month of consecutive hot yoga classes, the same poses, the same script-and now it makes sense.

Hot yoga is not just something that happens in hot yoga.

Once the script gets into your brain, you can begin to see how the lessons of hot yoga relate to your actual life.

Here are my top 12 hot yoga learns:

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