The word “holy” means “dedicated or consecrated to God; sacred.” From its inception in the Indus Valley over 5,000 years ago, yoga emerged through the divine inspiration of rishis and seers in search of the Godhead. They recognized the sacred all around them and embarked on an inner journey of purification and meditation toward union with the Divine. At its pure essence, all yoga can be called “holy.” While yoga began as a sacred practice in ancient Eastern culture, today it is practiced by over 37 million people in the US and is a $16 billion industry. People are turning to yoga for its myria ..read more

A good friend and former AOL colleague of mine, Tim Carr, and I were chatting many years ago after we had both moved away from Northern Virginia about what constitutes home. Is it the place you live now?  Where you grew up? At the time, Tim shared his thoughts that you know you are home when you land at an airport and have a feeling of coming home. I can relate. When I recently traveled from Asheville to Washington Dulles and saw the iconic air traffic control tower, I definitely had a sense of being “home”. That feeling continued over the course of my visit. When I arrived at my parents’ hous ..read more

This is an installment of our Interview with a Flowgi series, in which we feature our many talented Flow Yoga team members in a Q&A format. Ann Thomas began practicing yoga and meditation in the early 80’s. The nuns in grade school, Mr. Rogers, and Lilias! (the first televised yogini) inspired her when she was growing up. She loves the synergy between Flow’s vinyasa style and my alignment based training. “Flow opened my heart and practice in ways I never expected,” she wrote in her bio when she began teaching at the studio. “That’s the thing about yoga: it opens your heart and reveals thin ..read more

If you’re ready to move beyond the practice of asanas (postures), you might have tried any number of the other practices of Patanjali’s eight-fold path. Dhyana or meditation (the seventh limb of the path), is the one that students regularly get hung up on and have trouble getting started, despite its extraordinary benefits. Research has shown that the benefits of a regular meditation practice can include decreased stress, anxiety and depression, an improved ability to regulate emotions, better sleep, and an increase in overall happiness. Who doesn’t want that? So, what’s stopping us? Some ..read more

“This practice helps you to be more present.”  A gentle reminder by a dear friend and talented yoga teacher, Tim Hutchinson, in the class I recently took at Flow Leesburg.  He continued…” We all rush through our days.  This practice offers us an opportunity to slow down…” During my children’s recent spring break (and thus mine!), I was reminded about the magical powers of yoga to do just that—slow down and be more present.  The time off from my day job paired with the gift of childcare from my parents allowed me to take more yoga classes than usual. And the extra time on my yoga mat really see ..read more

Yin yoga was never really part of the plan. I mean, I graduated a vinyasa teacher training, and vinyasa was what I was going to teach. However, I soon came to realize that this “other” practice very quickly became something I so desperately needed. It was an innate childlike curiosity that brought me to that first Yin yoga class. I was skeptical. How can a handful of poses really do that much for me? That first class was challenging in ways I didn’t know were possible. It asked me to greet sensations and emotions that arose without fleeing. How many of us like some sort of control? I’m the fir ..read more