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  • Yoga for Chronic Pain VIDEO

    Pain is not a thing in your body that can be taken out. It is 100% in your mind. So when people used to dismissively say “it’s all in your head,” the joke’s on them because it IS all your head. The whole world is in your head! Please don’t think this means I’m saying pain is not real. It is 100% real. We have to deal with what is going on in the mind. And we haven’t done a good job of that and sadly that’s why we have this opioid epidemic now in this country.

    The History of Pain:
    Starting in the time of ancient Egypt, pain was believed to be a demon that needed to removed. In Greece, they looked at the physical body and identified an imbalance of the humors as the cause of pain. In the 1500’s, they recognized the anatomical cause of pain. If they couldn’t find the cause, however, they attributed it to the mind, which was the realm of the church. In the 1800, they realized the brain had a role in pain, but more secondarily. So if the source of pain couldn’t be found in the body or the source didn’t match the degree of reported pain, they believed there were psychological issues. It wasn’t until the 1900’s, that we started to recognize the social and psychological factors in pain with Gate Control Theory. And this lead in to our modern framework of understanding pain: The Biopsychosocial Model. This takes into account all possible sources: physical, emotional, or social (family, society, culture, religion). So we’ve come full circle: if your culture or your religion has taught you to believe in demons and you think that’s causing your pain, then that IS what’s causing your pain and no one call tell you different.

    There may or may not be a physical cause. There are plenty of people who are in pain and scans and images show NO damage. Likewise there are plenty of pain-free people who’s scans reveal arthritis or disc damage. There is something else going on. There is no much information out there about back surgeries and knee replacements that do nothing for pain. Likewise there are studies on ‘sham’ surgeries where the doctors do nothing but cut the patient open so they have a scar and this alleviates pain and symptoms.

    Pain is an output, not an input. We do not have pain receptors. We have nociceptors. Nociceptors register changes that could be dangerous. They send the message to your brain that something is wrong. Your brain needs to get your attention so you do something about this. It sends you signal you can’t ignore so you’ll address the issue. Sadly, we instead take a pill to dull the pain and just keep doing the thing that causes us harm.

    Pain is 100% subjective. Subjective means it can only be reported by you. There is no machine and no person who can assess and measure your pain.

    Chronic pain is pain that persists for more than 3 months. Drugs do not work for chronic pain. So what does? Here’s a list: yoga, meditation, journaling, exercise, pain education, healthy eating, sleep, social interaction, laughing, massage, feelings of safety, imagery, goal setting, biofeedback, mindfulness.

    This is simple but not easy. You will have to do some work.

    Check out the books Your Body Speaks Your Mind and You Can Heal Your Life to see the underlying emotional and energetic causes of pain for specific areas of your body.

    Your level of pain is directly related to your sense of safety in the world. This is where yoga (and other healing modalities come in). You need to create a sense of safety for your nervous system so you can heal (physically and emotionally). Look for yoga that is more meditative and restorative.

    You’ve got to work out your issues and past trauma either on your own through journalling and reflecting (check out Byron Kathie’s Loving What Is) or get help from a life coach, counselor, or therapist.

    Clean up your diet. There is a connection between your gut and pain. If you eat like crap, you are going to feel like crap emotionally and physically.

    Get moving! Please do not curl up on the couch when your body hurts. Respect the boundaries of what you can and cannot do. Work with a qualified personal trainer or physical therapist for some guidance and direction.

     

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Let’s Talk About Processed Foods

    The International Food Information Council defines processing as “any deliberate change in food that occurs before it’s ready to eat.”

    Processed foods fall on a spectrum from minimally processed to ultra-processed. Basically, if you didn’t pick an apple off a tree or kill a chicken, you’re eating processed foods.

    1. Minimally Processed: fresh, frozen, or dried fruits, veggies, grains, legumes, meats, fish, and milk.

    2. Processed Foods: foods made with ingredients you have in your kitchen and would cook with. Example: salt, oils, table sugar, canned foods, cheese, nut butters.

    3. Ultra-Processed Foods: “formulations of several ingredients which, besides salt, sugar, oils, and fats, include food substances not used in culinary preparations, in particular, flavors, colors, sweeteners, emulsifiers, and other additives used to imitate sensorial qualities of unprocessed foods or minimally processed foods and their culinary preparations or to disguise undesirable qualities of the final product.” Examples: soda, packaged snacks, packaged baked goods and desserts, chicken nuggets, frozen meals, instant noodles.

    Ultra-Processed foods typically has 5 or more ingredients and contain things you wouldn’t cook with, have in your kitchen, or even be able to buy at the grocery store.

    Ultra-processed foods make up almost 60% of the US diet and contribute to 90% of our added sugar intake. The World Health Organization suggests that no more than 10% of total calories come from all sugars (natural and added). For a 2000kcal diet, that would be 200kcal per day. People who ate the most ultra-processed diet were getting 80% of their calories from sugar! Only those Americans who ate 20% or less of their calories from ultra-processed foods stayed within the WHO’s recommendations.

    So how much ultra-processed food could you eat and stay within the guidelines? 20% would be 1 in every 5 meals. If you eat 4 meals per day, you could have 1 ultra-processed meal every other day. If you eat 3 meals per day, you could eat 1 every 3 days.

    Fast food is absolutely ultra-processed. For most restaurants, you have to consider the meals ultra-processed because you don’t know what the restaurant or the supplier added to the food to make it more flavorful, last longer, or weigh more.

    Most of the processed foods I eat generally have “normal” ingredients. The  most highly processed foods I eat are pizza and ice cream (both vegan and gluten free). I have pizza once per week and ice cream maybe once every two weeks.

    What’s the problem with these chemicals, additives, and preservatives? They increase the risk of obesity and cancer and at the very least, many have been shown to be endocrine disruptors. A pilot study showed people eating ultra-processed foods typically eat 500kcal more each day compared to when they eat whole foods. Researchers hypothesize that the unnatural combination of these ingredients interferes with your brain’s ability to recognize that you’re full. You’re not getting the appropriate signals to stop eating. The endocrine system is your hormones. You have over 50 hormones. There are sex hormones, cortisol (stress hormone), oxytocin (the cuddle hormone), melatonin (for sleep), ghrelin (tells you to eat), leptin (tells you to stop eating), insulin, dopamine, hormones that control your heart rate and BP, just to name a few.

    Bottom line, read the ingredients. Cut back (or eliminate) ultra-processed foods.

    Sources:
    https://lactobacto.com
    https://www.healthline.com
    Scientific American Oct 2019

  • 10 Healthy Eating Tips (No Calorie Counting!) Video

     

    If you want to eat healthier or lose weight, here are 10 tips that don’t require calorie counting, logging, or tracking.

    1. Portion Control. Buy foods in single-serving packages. If you’re buying large packages, portion out single servings in ziploc bags.You can also hack this by using smaller plates, bowls, and utensils.

    2. Focus on your food. Have a designated place to eat, like at the dinning room table. Multitasking, working, and screen time while eating WILL cause you to eat more.

    3. Make your plate rather than doing family style. (and from tip 1, use a smaller plates).

    4. Slow down. People who eat fast are 2-3 times more likely to be overweight. Overweight people chew their food less. Pause before eating for a moment of gratitude. Check in and make sure you have physical hunger rather than emotional hunger (cravings, tired, bored, etc). Put your fork down between bites. This slows you down and keeps you present (both good for avoiding overeating). Chew your food 25-30 times. Set a timer and take a full 20-30 minutes to finish your meal so your mind and body know you’re full.

    5. Eat more vegetables and eliminate processed foods. Adding more volume (but not more calories) to your food makes you feel fuller and ‘tricks’ your brain. Adding veggies takes up space and adds more fiber (good for health and weight loss). You can also add volume by adding water (making a soup or drinking more water all day long and especially before meals). Add raw veggies to cooked foods for some texture and crunch or add roasted veggies to a salad. A pilot study showed that people ate up to 500 more calories everyday when eating processed food vs whole foods. They hypothesize that the brain doesn’t recognize the unnatural combinations in processed foods. And this is impairing the signals of fullness so we keep eating more. Stop drinking diet soda. That’s driving you take in more calories to because the brain doesn’t understand sweetness without calories.

    6. Eat regularly. If you’re skipping meals, you’ll make poor decisions about what to eat and you’ll end up eating more. Plan ahead and meal prep.

    7. Out of sight, out of mind. If you have to have a candy dish at the office, move it far away from you and put it in an opaque dish. Don’t keep junk food in the house. If you are trying to get healthy and eating junk food is sabotaging your goals and sending you down a shame spiral, why are buying that stuff in the first place? If those foods are in your house because other people are eating them, just keep them out of sight. Make the things you don’t want to eat inconvenient and the food you want to eat convenient. Set your environment up for your success.

    8. Be mindful that the more people you’re eating with, the more you will eat. Plan accordingly by using the other tips.

    9. Be aware of the Halo Effect. We tend to overeat the “healthy” foods or the healthier versions of foods. We think we can eat more if we have a salad or a diet soda with an otherwise unhealthy meal.

    10. Cut back on alcohol. Alcohol has a lot of calories (7kcal/gram while protein and carbs have 4 kcals/gram). And if you’re having mixed drinks with juice, soda, or diet soda, that’s also something to look out for. Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and impedes your decision-making process which can lead to making unhealthy choices around food.

    Bonus Tip: Get more sleep! Studies have shown that people who are under-slept are more likely to be overweight. Being under-slept messes with your hunger hormones and can lead to eating carb-dense and high sugar foods as your body looks for quick energy.

    Many of these tips come from the book Mindless Eating by Brian Wansick Wansick said after his studies, when he told people what he was studying, his subjects overwhelming said “I would never fall for that.” But they ALL did. So as soon as you think that this doesn’t apply to you, then you’re not on the lookout for it and you too will fall for it. We are all susceptible to these. This is why I still weight and measure and buy single servings packages. I don’t log or track anymore, but I am always working on these healthy eating tips.

     

     

     

  • It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect (video)

    Do you have the curse of perfectionism? Nobody and nothing is perfect. Perfect is not our aim. Change the meaning of ‘perfect’ to ‘appropriate.’ What’s appropriate for YOU right now?

    You are exactly where you’re supposed to be. Let go of striving for the unrealistic goal of perfection. Work to be better. There is no status quo in nature. You’re either growing or dying.

    Sean Achor said “Happiness is the joy we feel striving after our potential.” We find happiness in the pursuit of our ideal in all areas: mind, body, and spirit.

    Stop looking for the “best” plan. The best plan is the one you’ll stick to.

    Getting better takes deliberate practice which requires focus. A great example is meditation. Meditation is the deliberate practice of mindfulness. Exercise is the deliberate practice of a healthy lifestyle. Deliberate practice also has a goal so you know what you’re working toward. You need to be fully absorbed in your practice. It’s the feeling of losing track of time rather than looking at the clock. This is why you have to find something you enjoy. You need to be intrinsically motivated. If the drive doesn’t come from within, it will not last. Do it for the enjoyment of doing it, because it matters to you. Forget about what society tell you you ‘should’ want. Forget about looking good for one day, for one event. These surface goals will not sustain you. Get clear on what matters to you. Know your ‘why.’ You have to be consistent. And you need to get feedback, whether from yourself (think journalling or tracking) or outside feedback from a coach or trainer. This allows you to celebrate your wins to keep you motivated along the way. And it allows you to course correct if needed.

    In addition to working with a trainer or a coach, you need that deliberate practice on your own so you can experience that ‘feeling’ in your body, that feeling when you got it right. You can’t rely on the coach to always tell you. You need to assimilate what the coach is telling you.

    Your nutrition, your fitness, your routine do not need to be ‘perfect.’ They need to be appropriate for you and your goals at this stage of your life. And you need to be consistent.

     

  • https://aliciacrosstraining.com/free-bonus-codes-for-online-casino/

    Carbohydrates (carbs for short) are composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. They are one of the 3 macro nutrients (along with protein and fat). Are they bad? Short answer: No

    No food, or food group, is inherently “good” or “bad.” There are foods that move you closer to your goals and food that don’t. And even then, it’s situation dependent. And every person is unique.

    Carbs have a bad rap because people are associating carbs with processed foods: cake, pasta, cookies, bread, etc. But vegetables are carbs too!

    We started demonizing carbs after we demonized fat in the 90’s (remember Snack Wells?). Adding sugar to replace the fat lead to obesity and healthy issues so the pendulum swung the other way. Enter the Adkins Diet. That diet was full of fat and protein and carbs were the bad guy.

    I repeatedly heard people claiming that cutting out all carbs worked because they lost weight. But then they gained it all back plus more. That’s not my definition of ‘worked’! The problem was, those highly restrictive diets are not sustainable.

    The pendulum keeps swinging: we have paleo diets that became paleo-ish; keto diets became keto-light, and other popular diets “allowing” more foods like sweet potatoes because, basically, we need Carbohydrates. But the myths that carbs are bad or make you fat still linger.

    Let’s look at some facts:

    Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose. In animals, including humans, glucose is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. In plants, it’s stored as starch.

    If you consume more carbs than can be stored in muscle and liver, they will be  converted to fat for storage. This is one of the benefits of having more lean muscles tissue: the more muscle you have, the more storage space you have, and less carbs that get converted to fat.

    At rest, you burn mostly fat for energy. Except for you brain! Your brain must have glucose, it cannot run on fat. When you workout you’re burning a mix of fat and carbs. The harder you work, the more carbs are providing the energy. A short, intense sprint or a heavy set of 3-5 repetitions, for example, is when you’re burning mostly carbs for energy. So you need carbs pre-workout (like filling up your gas tank before a road trip) and you need carbs post-workout to replenish (like refilling your gas tank when you get home so you can get to work the next day). Your carb-heaviest meals will be pre- and post-workout, which is perfect because you want to take in a bit more calories on your heavy workout days.

    We get carbohydrates from simple and complex sources. You’ve probably heard that complex carbs are good for you. These are from plant sources: grains, rice, nuts, seeds, legumes, beans, vegetables, potatoes, soy. Simple carbs are from fruit, honey, high fructose corn syrup, and dairy. Anything that ends with -ose is sugar.

    Fructose, in fruit, honey, and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), must be converted to glucose by the liver. If the liver gets overloaded, it converts the fructose directly to fat. The fat will go into your blood stream and raise your triglycerides. HFCS overloads the liver because it’s so concentrated: 20oz of soda has as much fructose as 5 bananas!

    Glucose in the blood is about 25g (100kcal). Liver glycogen can maintain this for 4 hours. Muscles store about 2000kcal worth of glycogen. The local muscles glycogen is used first when you’re exercising: when you’re working your shoulders, you’re using the glycogen in your shoulders muscles. Your liver glycogen kicks in when muscles glycogen is depleted. The liver holds about 450kcals of glycogen. Together the muscles and liver can sustain you for about a 20-mile run (almost a marathon!).

    When you eat, the hormone insulin is released. Insulin is like a key that unlocks the cells to get the sugar into your cells and out of your blood. High blood sugar can be life threatening. Insulin is a storage hormone. That’s why one of the side effects of insulin therapy is weight gain. So when you eat high-glycemic foods, your blood sugar goes up, your insulin spikes, and then you  get the inevitable “crash” that causes cravings.

    How much do you need?

    The brain alone needs about 130g of carbohydrates daily.

    The World Health Organization recommends that no more that 10% of your total calories comes from all sugar (added and natural). That’s 200kcal based on a 2000kcal diet (12tsp or 50g). That’s roughly 2 servings of fruit.

    If weight loss is your goal, studies have shown that low carb OR low fat diets work. So ultimately, total carb intake will be unique to you and your body’s needs.

  • The Science and the Magic of Breathing

    You can survive 3 weeks without food, 1 week without water, but only 3 minutes without oxygen.

    You’re asking about nutrition and hydration, but if you’re not breathing properly none of that matters.

    2 reasons why we breathe: pH regulation and gas exchange.

    Breathing is regulated by the brainstem, which also controls blood pressure and heart rate. Breath is both involuntary and voluntary. Parasympathetic NS controlled by Vagus nerve (meaning ” the wanderer”). Slow, deep, belly breaths (with a long exhale) activate the Vagus nerve. This also stimulates the release of GABA, an neurotransmitter. GABA in the main inhibitor of “fight or flight.” If you have high GABA, you have low anxiety. So deep belly breathing reduces anxiety.

    Breathing through the nose warms, humidifies, and filters the air. You don’t get that with mouth breathing. When you exhale out through the nose the air passes over structures that collect back moisture (to humidify the next breath). When you breath out though the mouth, you lose that moisture. You see this when you’re going to clean your glasses: you fog them with the moisture in your breath from your mouth and in the winter, you see your breath when you breath out your mouth but not through your nose.

    The main muscles of respiration is the diaphragm. It’s like a mushroom cap under the ribs. It pulls down and creates a vacuum to pull in the air. The exhale is passive. When we need to breath forcefully, like during exercise. accessory muscles in neck and chest pull the rib cage up to draw more air in and intercostal and abdominal muscles push the air out. If you’re not breathing correctly, you’re over-relying on the accessory muscles in the neck to breathe. This is called paradoxical breathing, in which the belly draws IN on the inhalation. That leads to physical issues because those muscles aren’t meant to work like that for the 20,000 breaths you take in a day. Paradoxical breathing does not activate the Vagus nerve, instead it activates fight or fight. Which leads to anxiety.

    Ventilation is breathing in and Respiration happens at the cellular level. Alveoli (sacs) is where gas exchange happens. These surfaces need to be moist for gas exchange, diffusion, to happen. There are more alveoli at the bottom of the lunges (another reason to breathe deep). Adults have 270-790 million alveoli. Stretched out, their membranes are the size of tennis court, nearly 50 times larger than the surface of your skin. The accumulate of CO2 is what prompts you to breathe. CO2 is given off from your working muscles. Remember the body wants to regulate pH, so you breathe to release the CO2. This is why you HAVE TO breath out through the mouth during exercise.

    Borg Effect: Lower pH from increased CO2 facilitates a greater release of oxygen from hemoglobin in your blood into your tissues. If you’re breathing out your mouth with a forceful exhalation BUT you’re not working hard, not exercising, you’re messing with the O2 and CO2 balance. You’re blowing it all out, but you weren’t building any up. That changes the way your body absorbs O2: Low CO2 levels lead to narrowing of the blood vessels that supply the brain. This causes lightheadedness and tingling in the fingers, called Hyperventilation (over breathing). You are breathing too much for the activity you’re doing. If you are practicing yoga or meditation you should NOT be mouth breathing. You might have experienced yourself: I saw this myself teaching Pilates to new people: the forceful breath caused new people to get dizzy.

    Here’s how to practice: Begin by lying supine with one hand on your belly and one hand on the chest. Feel the belly rising and falling with each breathe and no movement in the chest. Once you’ve mastered belly breathing on your back, practice in seated again with one had on the belly and one hand on the chest.

    Here’s how the breath can help you in the moment: When you’re feeling stressed, you’re in a heated conversation or a tense situation, stop and notice how your breathing and where the breath is. And then take a slow deep belly breath.

    Your big take away: Always breathe through the nose, unless your exercising. And then breathe out through the mouth to release the CO2. Remember that yoga is not a workout. Yoga strengthens the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the opposite of where you are when you’re exercising. Remember your breath needs to match your activity. Breathing correctly protects your healthy, improves your mood, and keeps all the systems in the body working as they should.

  • Wanna Get More ‘Toned’?

    Do you have a goal to get more “toned”? What does that mean and what does it take to get there?

    First, let’s talk about what tone is. Tone is the tension or the “stiffness” a muscle has all the time. Your muscles are slightly active to keep you standing upright. Tone also stores energy for release later and allows for fluid movement. If you have too much tone, or hypertonicity, in a spot, that’s a trigger point (a knot) or a cramp (charlie horse).

    So you could say that you want more definition. You want to SEE your muscles. That further clarifies your goal to “gain muscle and lose fat.” And you do that with diet and exercise.

    Diet: Eat in a way that supports your goals. You can eat up to 1g of protein per 1lb of desired body weight. So definitely increase your protein intake to support fat loss goals. Studies have shown that either low-fat or low-carb diets support weight loss. So that choice is up to you. You do need to eliminate processed foods so you’re getting healthy carbs (vegetables, grains, potatoes, beans, some fruit) and healthy fats (nuts, seeds, fish, coconut, olive oil, avocados).

    Exercise: While cardio is necessary for the health of your heart and lungs, it’s not the most effective for weight loss. What is? Strength Training! Strength training will support both your goals of building muscles AND losing fat. You probably get that strength training builds muscle. But how does it help with fat loss? Well, when you increase lean muscle, you increase the amount of calories you burn all day long. And that’s where you burn the most calories: at rest, not in the 1 hour you’re at the gym. That means less calories get stored as fat. Double bonus!

    Start by measuring where you’re at: body weight and body composition (body fat percentage). I suggest checking body comp monthly to make sure you’re losing fat and not muscle (eat lots of protein during fat loss). For myself and my clients, I use a hand-held bioelectrical impedance device. You could purchase this device or get a scale that also measures body comp.

    Begin a strength training exercise routine based on your goals. Strength training can be done with weights (free weights or machines, but you know I’m not a fan of machines), bands (love these!), or body weight (including TRX). If you want my chart explaining the benefits, sets, and rest times associated with different rep ranges, drop your email in the comments or send me an email and I’ll send it to you. You can work in ranges from 1-5 up to 15-25. The ranges all have different benefits and applications. No matter what range you’re working in, always use the heaviest possible weight for the prescribed number of reps. If you’re picking up only 1-2lb weights, this will not support your goals of building muscles, increasing your metabolism, and losing fat.

    Got questions? Post them in the comments.

  • Best Tips for Belly Fat

    If you’re belly isn’t looking the way you’d like it to, here are my best tips for you:

    1. Are you bloated? If bloating is an issue, look at your diet. Don’t eat foods that cause bloating. Check out an Anti-Vata diet (Ayurveda) or avoiding FODMAP foods. If bloating is caused by water retention, watch your salt intake and make sure you’re drinking plenty of water (aim for 100oz). Get rid of processed foods that cause inflammation. If you have poor digestion, fight constipation with water and fiber. Don’t eat too close to bed time. Manage stress as that affects digestion.

    2. Speaking of stress, that can contribute to belly fat. You need to manage stress with yoga, meditation, journaling, reflection, and self-care. And don’t add to your stress with exercise like running and intense bootcamp style workouts, especially if you’re a women over 40 with a stressful life.

    3. Exercise! Instead of stressful workouts that can elevate stress levels and contribute to belly fat, prioritize strength training (45-60 minutes max), walking, and yoga. Pilates is also great because it works you core muscles and it improves posture. Just standing up tall can make you look leaner!

    4. Diet. This is the most important tip. If you’re eating more calories than you’re burning in a day, the excess will be stored as fat. You can increase the amount of calories you burn all day long by building lean muscle (with strength training). AND you also need to eat to support you fat-loss goals. P.S. skipping meals increases stress!

    Stick to these tips consistently and skip fad/crash diets and the latest gimmicks you will see progress.

  • Mindset is Key

    Are you doing all the right things but not seeing the results you want? Check your mindset!

    If you want to look good and feel good (physically and emotionally), step into a positive headspace.

    Do the inner work to get the outer results. Your first step, before you take any action, is to get your mind right. It’s all about intention.

    You first need to notice that you are thinking all the time. Do this with meditation. Realize that you are always thinking and that your thoughts are not reality.

    Then get a better understanding of your limiting beliefs by learning from others. Listen to podcasts, audio books; read books; following inspiring people online; and have conversations with other people. Realize that there is another way to think and to be. Question your beliefs and the ideas that you take for granted. See the possibilities that are out there.

    It’s also important to reflect and journal. Use journal prompts to know yourself better. Just search online for journal prompts.

    Once you’ve discovered self-defeating thoughts or beliefs you’d like to change, make some affirmations that feel true to you and take you in the direction you want to go. A book that can help with that is Dr. Wayne Dyer’s Excuses Begone! 

     

  • Take Your Yoga off the Mat with the Yamas and Niyamas

    The Yamas and Niyamas are the ethical practices of yoga. This is how we live our yoga off the mat. The Yamas and Niyamas are the first 2 limbs of Patanjali’s 8 limbs of yoga. The remaining 6 limbs happen on the mat and are considered ‘Hatha Yoga.’

    The Yamas: How you deal with the outer world
    1. Non-Harming
    2. Truthfulness
    3. Non-Stealing
    4. Moderation
    5. Non-attachment

    The first step of yoga is getting your relationships right with people and the planet.

    The Niyamas: The inner work
    1. Cleanliness
    2. Contentment
    3. Self-Discipline
    4. Self-Study
    5. Surrender

    More yoga in your life does NOT mean more poses and more physical practices.

    Get the book The Yamas and Niyamas by Deborah Adele here