Albuquerque Yoga Studio Blog: Yoga Art Space

Pranayama, Our Life Force

Pranayama Pranayama is our life force. When we practice pranayama, we learn to control our breath. Breathing is fundamental to the practice of yoga and is one of the Eight Limbs of classical yoga. There are various breathing techniques that one can practice. Below are the three that I enjoy practicing during my personal practice or when I meditate. As you prepare to practice these breathing techniques, find a comfortable place where you can sit silently without distractions. I recommend sitting towards the edge of a pillow or folded blanket. This allows your pelvis to tilt forward and helps you sit up tall for an extended amount of time. I begin all of my yoga classes this way. Otherwise, yo

'Tis the Season...

'Tis the season for stuffy noses and scratchy throats. 'Tis the season for chilly bodies and achy muscles. 'Tis the season for cold and flus. 'Tis the season to turn to our yoga practice to keep us feeling relaxed and our bodies healthy. You may have noticed that, with the change in seasons and time, comes a turn in communal health. There may be a bug floating about the office, a case of strep throat in the classroom, a slew of runny noses and shared coughs within friend or family groups. It's just what happens during certain times of the year. Right? Well, yes, but along with it just being a correspondence to the season, we must think about the different things that make us susceptible to i

Why Should You Cultivate Your Creativity? And What Does Yoga Have To Do With It?

“Inside you there’s an artist you don’t know about... say yes quickly, if you know, if you’ve known it from before the beginning of the universe.” ~Jalaluddin Rumi When I first started thinking about creativity, it was from a place of longing, a place of realizing that there was huge part of myself that I was neglecting. I wanted to paint, to draw, to write and to play music. To express. And express vibrantly. I could see myself standing up in front of a big easel with a large paint brush, moving wide swaths of magenta and turquoise on a canvas or having a guitar jam session with a friend. But I had no clue how to access the inner wellspring from which all creativity comes from. My ability t

“I can’t do Yoga… I’m not flexible”

I’ve had several people come up to me and tell they can’t do Yoga because they are not flexible! They are convinced Yoga is about being flexible and being able to accomplish difficult poses, therefore in their minds they can’t do Yoga. While I understand how they have come to this conclusion, I realize they really don’t really understand what Yoga is or why we practice Yoga. Usually, if we see someone showing himself or herself in a pose on Facebook or Instagram, they are in some amazing, crazy pose. They are always super flexible and impressive! Well, for the rest of us, this display of superior yoga ability may be intimidating and actually be showing us what yoga is not! Here in the we