Don’t avoid yoga because you think you’re not good enough.

If you’re intimidated then begin with small steps. Take some online classes or a beginner class in-person. Learn modifications that work for your needs and take breaks as you need them. Then begin to ask questions. Find the answers, make mistakes, learn, and grow. Then keep on doing it.

Life is a rollercoaster. It can go from being sunshine and lollypops to poop buckets of DOOM! real freakin’ fast. Life doesn’t really pull any punches and has a penchant for going straight for the gut without any warning.

When it comes to the debate of coffee vs. tea, people can get very intense.

I’ve seen things get just as heated as political debates! Or worse… the classic pirates vs. ninjas debate.

Countless yoga practitioners all over the world can attest to how the activity serves as an excellent program for staying in shape. But aside from its physical benefits, yoga and one of its integral components – meditation, have amazing effects on the brain as well.

Have you ever experienced back pain?

...You probably just answered with “no shit”, right? If you have a spine then you’ve probably had some kind of back pain at some time or another. It’s frighteningly common.

It all begins with an idea.

Personally, I never used to bother. I thought they were half-hearted and insincere… like the Christmas cards you get from family members you haven't seen in well over a decade. The sentiment is sweet but it feels like it’s just about following protocol!

A lot can change over the course of a year, in our personal lives and in the world around us.

Some of it’s great, some of it’s… not so great.

The end of the year is the perfect time to sit back and reflect. It’s time to celebrate the victories, remember the lessons, and recall all the things we’re grateful for.

There are decorations, cookies, and hideous sweaters everywhere. There is no escaping it. It’s everywhere you look. Whether you love the season or not, it can be a stressful time! Between the politics of gift buying, family, party obligations, etc… a season that is commercialized as a heart warming time of connection and good cheer can quickly become exhausting and frustrating.

It all begins with an idea.

Stress is a normal occurrence in one's life. It is impossible to avoid it in today's busy world. And due to stress, anxiety kicks in. More often than not, anxiety can make even the simplest things more difficult. When there's anxiety in your system, your decision-making will be clouded. That's why there's a need to clear your mind and deal with stress in a healthy manner. But not a lot of people know how to deal with anxiety and stress the right way. Below are some of the ways on how to clear your mind.

Still, this is not a shortcut. We don't get credit just for showing up, we have to put in the work and in some cases we even have to relearn how to learn. In his book, The First 20 Hours, Kaufman explains the difference between practice and GOOD practice. These have to be diligent and intentional hours. Then, we also have to be persistent in our practice, no matter how stupid we feel or how much we fail.

In February 2015, I was starting to recover from the breakup of a long term relationship. During the fallout of the breakup my outlet became structure, discipline and flexibility training which had effectively turned me into an uninspired, anti-social robot. None of these things were what I wanted to be! I needed to shake things up. I decided it was time for me to get back out into the dating world.

It wasn't until late the next day that I was struck by the strangeness of that exchange. Why had a personal visit devolved so naturally into a militant reciting of our to do lists? And why did it seem like a positive thing?

Flexibility is a full time pursuit of mine. The decision to pursue extreme flexibility came about several years ago and I still remember the night that I decided that this was what I wanted to do. I found a photo of a woman doing a "chest stand". She was laying on her chest with her butt up around her head and her feet were casually on each side of her face. She was smiling and she was fabulous. I needed to be her and I needed to do that.

A quick personal 'rant' - - good quality physical exercise of ANY kind is critical, not just for the sake of your physique or your weight maintenance, it's absolutely essential for your mind health too - really, don't tell me you've never heard the good old saying "A Healthy Mind Makes For A Healthy Body", or at least something of that "ilk"... well if you didn't before, you have now... and it's absolutely the spot-on truth..!

When you first find out you have back problems, you will often hear about treatments such as spinal fusions, disc surgery, and spinal injections. Not all cases, however, require such severe and invasive treatments. In addition, treatments such as injections will often only provide temporary relief and not actually address the real problem.

Anybody can practice yoga at home. Over the years of practicing yoga I have experimented with various styles and teachers and still really enjoy going to a class. I love to be challenged in a new way that I don't always get from my own practice

I am here to tell you that most of the time, anybody putting out a yoga book is going to try to look as good as possible... from a yoga standpoint, at least. They are going to show themselves in the final, perfect position, forgetting about what it was like for them to fall over while trying Warrior II position for the first time.

Statistically, research has shown that about 80% of adults would suffer from low back pain at some point in their lifetime and this condition is a major cause of job-related disability worldwide. If you are presently experiencing low back pain, here are some beneficial health tips in treating or providing considerable relief from this condition.