Made evident by the proliferation of yoga classes worldwide, this ancient tradition has innumerable benefits – physical, mental and spiritual. But not all practices are beneficial for every individual. For this reason, more and more people are turning to yoga therapy, an individualized practice that takes into consideration the totality of a person’s disposition, physical health, emotional needs, mental stamina, and sense of spiritual connection. “Yoga therapy is not an intervention to achieve wellness from the outside, but to remember it within,” said Richard Miller, co-founder of The Interna ..read more

What motivates you to get on your yoga mat each week? For me, there is a need for clarity, calming, and centering. Building a meditation practice over the past ten years has allowed me to create a deeper connection with myself that translates to those around me and the rest of the planet through a ripple effect. In a world full of greed and separation, this tool has the ability to create unity and peace. Since the early 1970s, meditation has caught the attention of scientists wanting to investigate its miraculous claims made by ancient texts, yogis, monks, and serious meditators. What began wi ..read more

Up a mountain. On your living room carpet. In a sauna-like heat. In the cool breeze on the lanai. Regardless of where you take your practice, your mat comes along, too. That makes choosing the right mat integral to a Zen routine. So, what should you look for in the ideal accessory for your practice? Here are some mat-purchasing points to consider before your yoga flow is interrupted by a mat mishap. 1. The Overall Feel: ​Your mat should fulfill all the feels. Your perfect mat-match is light enough to carry, thick enough to cushion, and long enough to lay on. Floor-Side Grip​—Whether it’s a hot ..read more

We often think of surfing as an individualistic pursuit — and to a large extent, it is. Sure, surfers tend to congregate at the same breaks, enjoy paddling out with friends, and might even engage in the occasional “party wave,” but when it comes down to it, the apex of the wave riding experience is typically experienced alone. In fact, participants in the other “extreme” sports often comment on how selfish and self-absorbed surfers and the act of surfing can become. While rock climbers cheer perfect strangers on as they struggle up cracks and mountain bikers make a point of stopping and checki ..read more

A-U-M. Om. The power of this one syllable emphasizes that a singular sound manifested by breath and vibration can create enormous energy. For golfers, hitting that perfectly struck shot right in the sweet spot is a similar experience, but chanting mantra or practicing pranayama are largely unknown entities, maybe even dismissed as mysticism by golf’s upper-class elite. Yet, it’s widely known and accepted to stretch your body before you play and practice golf. Imagine the benefits of combining both breath to movement before, during, and after your next round of golf. This is the practice of Gol ..read more

You’ve probably heard the cliché “follow your gut” when it comes to trusting our sense of judgement and intuition. But have you ever considered the science behind this wisdom? Our mind, emotions, and physical body are intricately connected via our nervous system. Whenever we feel an emotion, we often feel a coinciding sensation within our physical body. Think about it—have you ever felt butterflies in your stomach when you’re excited? Or a sense of heaviness in your abdomen when you experience disappointment? There’s no coincidence to this; rather, we have a series of vital nerves that relay m ..read more

If yoga is a quest to cultivate a sense of “grounding,” how can you feel rooted when mid-air? Imagine floating 15 feet above the earth, supported by nothing more than some straps of fabric. Weightless, liberating, and thrilling come to mind—far from grounded. If you ask Andrea Torres, master aerialist and owner of Samadhi Hawaii, it quickly becomes clear that a rooted practice such as yoga is, by nature, more internal and intuitive and that the “self” is the ultimate source of grounding. Not the earth, not your mat, but YOU. “I’m so focused that I’m grounded,” says the Brazilian native, who be ..read more

Since 1992, Louisa “Lu” DiGrazia has been teaching yoga — both asana and philosophy, namely the eightfold path of yoga from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras — to Hawaii’s incarcerated men, women, and youth. Each week, she gives her students a different essay she’s written on one of the eight limbs of yoga, so that they can discuss and gain deeper understanding on the topic the following week. While her teachings sprouted from humble beginnings, Lu and her husband, Tom Digrazia, along with their board, formed the Hawaii Yoga Prison Project in 2002 as a means to expand their outreach to prisoners.  ..read more

In so many ways, pregnancy is an act of surrender. Your body becomes a conduit, channeling energy into a new being. The prana, or lifeforce, that usually sustains you, becomes redirected as your body’s primary focus becomes the creation of your child. There’s no way to control the process, only surrender to it.   The idea of surrendering is vital in yoga. Ishvara pranidhana, the act of surrendering to and having faith in a higher source, was something Patanjali described in the yoga sutras as a route to Samadhi—the ultimate state of yoga. Think of savasana, or corpse pose, when you are as ..read more

Anything is possible when walking into a yoga studio for the first time. Studios vary greatly in a multitude of areas: the yoga styles and services offered, locations, teachers, teaching experience, studio ambiance, or the kind of music played, if any at all. When all of these building blocks of a yoga studio are cared for and in place, a studio becomes a place of personal inspiration and deep community gathering.  As you find your way through the yoga world, it’s natural to follow a specific practice, studio, or teacher.  Interestingly enough — whether or not you notice — you may al ..read more