Ayurveda Lesson at the U.S. Botanical Garden

This past Sunday I went to an afternoon workshop with Leslie Kaminoff.  Though I was familiar with his book and I follow what he has to say about yoga anatomy on Facebook, I had not ever studied directly with him.  Much was familiar, but–and this is why it is important for teachers to study– I did take home some thought-provoking nuances that will invite my own explorations in practice.

A sound bite that very much resonated, especially from the perspective of therapeutic practice and mindful embodiment is the notion that making small changes to things we do very frequently can have a big impact.  For example, if all we do to optimize our practice is a minor alignment adjustment to how we stand in tadasana (standing “mountain” pose) or fold forward into and rise up from uttanasana (forward bend), we will make a huge difference in how our physical practice influences and helps day to day movement in our body because they are the most ubiquitous of poses in our modern asana classes.

Next time you’re looking for a bigger change in your health and embodied well-being, instead of looking at big changes and hard effort and feeling overwhelmed, see if there is a little alignment enhancement in a common posture (right now I’m thinking of how I sit in my desk chair) that might shift your everything.