Purple Room Yoga Blog

Back in the mid '90s when I began my yoga journey, I was sharing my new interest with my dad. I was talking to him about meditation and my experience with it. He claimed he had tried it once and didn't really like it. As a brilliant thinker, he said he didn't like the idea of getting rid of his thoughts, he liked the thoughts running about in his head. He liked his ideas and how his mind worked.  This is a common misconception that people have about meditation. The goal is not to get rid of the thoughts, although sometimes that happens; the goal is to notice what is happening in the present moment, without attachment. What does that mean? Sometimes in the course of the day our mind wanders and we go down this rabbit hole of thoughts, where one leads to another, and so on. Other times we are actively thinking, trying to figure out a solution to a problem, putting another item on our to-do list, rehashing an earlier conversation, worrying about a future one, etc. These types ...

In the yoga asana practice we often talk about a category of stretching poses called "Hip Openers." They don't refer to the area where you "put your hands on your hips," but target the groups of muscles surrounding the hip joints.  The Hips include the Gluteal muscles (Gluteus maximus, Gluteus medius, and Gluteus minimus), the Piriformis and deeper hip muscles, and the Hip Flexors (psoas, tensor fascia latae, and rectus femoris). The top of the IT band can also sometimes be considered part of the Hips. Hip muscles (depending on which they are) Extend the hips (bring the thigh behind the pelvis), Flex the hips (bring the thigh in front of the pelvis), Rotate the thigh, and Abduct the thigh (move the thigh away from your midline). See if you can notice the opposite of these actions in the photos below; we stretch by moving the muscle in the opposite direction of its action. For example, muscle that flex the hip will stretch when put into extension. Common Hip Open...