“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, a.o-button”} }”>
Heading out the door? Read this text on the brand new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!
>”,”name”:”in-content-cta”,”type”:”link”}}”>Download the app.
Each week, the editors at Yoga Journal compile moments—sometimes mind-bending, sometimes easy—that remind us yoga is, the truth is, in all places.
COPE
Many corporations mainly shout from the rooftops about wellness perks designed to boost worker satisfaction. “Free yoga classes on Thursdays! Lifetime access to meditation apps! Office ball pits!” Yet a prevailing sentiment amongst employees appears to be, “Perhaps just pay us more?”
And now there’s support for that sentiment. A recent study suggests these perks aren’t actually improving anyone’s well-being or retention levels. (We’re guessing because nobody could actually slip away to take yoga.) What would help? In accordance with the study, volunteering or charity work increased positivity in full-time employees. And, as this text by Salon.com suggests, more paid break day and four-day workweeks probably wouldn’t be a nasty thing.
(Photo: Shridhar Gupta | Unsplash)
OVERHEARD
“Yoga teachers are like cats. They only come into your life while you need them.”
MEDITATE
People meditate for all kinds of reasons. In “This Week’s Sex Diary” on The Cut, we hear about “the divorced guy too drained for sex” who finds himself unable to sleep in between encounters arranged through five different dating apps. So he muses to himself, “Perhaps I want to start out meditating?” No judgment here. And yeah, meditation helps with just about every thing.
(Photo: The Cut via X)
STRETCH
Likelihood is you’ve heard a yoga teacher cue you to take prayer hands and press your palms together or ask you to return into Cat-Cow and angle your fingers outward toward the long side of your mat. Felt pretty good on the forearms and wrists, didn’t it? Although you most likely forgot about it the moment class takes you into the following pose. And that’s a mistake.
It’s been estimated that 25 percent of American those that are lively in athletics or use their hands for work find yourself with some amount of wrist strain and pain. Even the only of strengthening and stretching exercises, including prayer hands, could make a difference when practiced consistently. For easier stretches, try our article.
(Photo: pixdeluxe | Getty)
STRENGTHEN
In an article published earlier this week in The Guardian, a author reflects on her hypermobility and explores whether it’s a blessing or curse. “For many of my life, I actually have believed this to be an excellent thing: I often feel smug in yoga classes.”
As the author found through personal experience in addition to research, that very same hypermobility can result in joint pain in later years. Yet certain low-impact, strength-building types of exercise—including yoga, swimming, and Pilates—may also help support “bendy” body parts, in response to research. Although not all yoga teachers are trained to assist students with hypermobility, you’ll be able to learn more about its subtleties in Yoga for Bendy People, a comprehensive resource written by Libby Hinsley.
LEARN
When a student walked into Red Sun Yoga in Winter Springs, Florida, not way back and inquired about classes, she had difficulty communicating with the non-Spanish-speaking studio owner. So the studio owner requested the assistance of considered one of her teachers, Luz Paez, who could explain the category offerings in Spanish.
Just a few weeks later, Paez noticed that the scholar had signed up for a mild hatha class. Paez took it upon herself to attend class along with her. “I told the girl that I’d be there within the background, and in case you get stuck, just let me know,” says Paez. She ended up quietly translating the whole class, word for word. She also modified poses as needed so the scholar could practice safely. “She told me that she’d been in a automobile accident and had some spinal issues,” explains Paez. “I didn’t want her to get hurt.”
Paez recently celebrated her one-year teaching anniversary. In her short time teaching, she clearly understands yoga.—Lisa A. Beach