The Beauty of Yoga

On May 4, 2022May 4, 2022 By Kim LuyckxIn Uncategorized1 Comment

What has 8 limbs, is 5,000 years old and generates happiness and peace wherever it goes? Well, yoga of course!

Yes, yoga does have eight limbs. One limb for each aspect in the yogic system. These eight different appendages are called: yamas, niyamas, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana & samadhi.

I am going to, briefly, identify each limb one by one so that you can get a better understanding of the full system of yoga.

If you’d like to listen to the information presented here in more detail, tune into my podcast On Wellness Way.

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Use Restorative Yoga to Release and Rebalance

On February 2, 2019January 31, 2019 By Kim LuyckxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Typically the final resting posture is the most relaxing part of a yoga session. In Savasana or corpse pose, yoga students learn to focus on their breath and completely release any effort of body and mind. The reward is a sense of peace and equanimity that can lead to a reduction in stress and an easing of ailments caused by anxiety or tension.

There are many yoga pose variations that can elicit a Savasana-like awareness and promote relaxation. For this post, I will give you the techniques for the restorative pose called Supta Baddha Konasana or Supported Bound Angle Pose. Continue reading “Use Restorative Yoga to Release and Rebalance” →

Tips for a Safer Yoga Practice: Mastering Chaturanga Dandasana

On January 26, 2019January 25, 2019 By Kim LuyckxIn Uncategorized2 Comments

If you are a practicing yogi, you know what a sun salutation is – a set of postures linked together in a particular sequence. Although there are slight variations, most sun salutations include plank, chaturanga dandasana, upward facing dog and downward facing dog. Chaturanga dandasana (or 4-limb staff pose) is that tricky transitional pose that occurs between plank and upward facing dog. It takes awareness, alignment and strength to avoid injuring the shoulder joint. The question is, should everyone be using it?

Well, how else can you get to the floor? Sure, you can start in 1/2 plank or ardha phalakasana to make the transition easier. However, it still takes good alignment and overall strength to get safely to the floor. It also requires full body awareness – and that is the key.

Here are some steps to start building the full body awareness you need to master the elusive chaturanga dandasana: Continue reading “Tips for a Safer Yoga Practice: Mastering Chaturanga Dandasana” →

Daily Yoga Vitamin for a Healthy Nervous System

On September 22, 2018September 22, 2018 By Kim LuyckxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Are you ready for today’s Yoga Vitamin?

For the past few weeks, I have been providing an assortment of Yoga Vitamins – a sequence of yoga postures and breathing techniques to nourish your body, mind and spirit. To be the most effective, a daily yoga vitamin should consist of six essential ingredients: centering & opening positions, standing & focus poses and inversion & relaxation postures.

This week I will give you a “prescription” for a healthy nervous system sequence. This is a soothing yoga vitamin – one that provides balance and creates a centering and calming effect. Continue reading “Daily Yoga Vitamin for a Healthy Nervous System” →

What’s Missing from Your Yoga Practice?

On August 11, 2018August 28, 2018 By Kim LuyckxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Most yoga students begin the practice of yoga to learn and benefit from its physical postures or asana.

It’s the way that I got started. As a former dancer, I was drawn to the slow movements and deep sense of alignment that the poses provided. At that time, I didn’t realize that I was simultaneously tuning into my breath. My first teacher would gently remind the class to inhale and exhale as we stretched and contracted. It felt fluid and natural and my body felt aligned and peaceful at the end of each session. But we didn’t call it pranayama. At the end of class, we took time to close our eyes and sit quietly. We were encouraged to focus on the simple pattern of our breath, the sounds within the space or a specific intention for ourselves. But we didn’t call it meditation. Continue reading “What’s Missing from Your Yoga Practice?” →

Three Reasons to Practice Shoulderstand

On August 4, 2018February 11, 2021 By Kim LuyckxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Shoulderstand is considered one of the most beneficial postures of yoga. It is both energizing and soothing – it brings equanimity to its practitioner. Over the past three years, I have written several posts on its advantages. Here is a concise summary of why you should be practicing it. Continue reading “Three Reasons to Practice Shoulderstand” →

Support A Steady Yoga Practice: Expand Your Vessel & Truly Breathe

On April 30, 2018May 18, 2018 By Kim LuyckxIn Support A Steady Yoga PracticeLeave a comment

“Your hand opens and closes, opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralysed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds’ wings.” ― Rumi, The Essential Rumi

As students of yoga, we eventually learn how to connect with our breathing. We come to understand that the simple act of inhalation and exhalation can be enhanced when our posture is aligned. As we physically straighten, we open ourselves up to experience a fuller range of movement in the upper chest/back, ribcage and abdominal areas.

In an attempt to expand our vessels for the breath, here are three key strategies:

#1 Counteract “Techno – Hump”

Using computers and cell phones can adversely affect our breathing function. The head forward position can lead to a spinal curvature disorder called kyphosis which compresses the movement of air by collapsing the chest.

Here is a short posture sequence for reducing upper back tension and straightening the body:

Continue reading “Support A Steady Yoga Practice: Expand Your Vessel & Truly Breathe” →

Support A Steady Yoga Practice: Combine Effort & Ease

On March 26, 2018April 14, 2018 By Kim LuyckxIn Support A Steady Yoga PracticeLeave a comment

“Focus your attention on your breath. When your mind wanders, simply return your awareness to the inhalation and exhalation. You don’t need to empty your mind or have perfect attention. It is the act of noticing mental distractions and bringing the attention back to the breath that lends the mind steadiness (sthira) and ease (sukha).”

How do we keep ourselves physically challenged yet safe? Continue reading “Support A Steady Yoga Practice: Combine Effort & Ease” →

Support A Steady Yoga Practice: Seek Integration

On March 5, 2018February 28, 2018 By Kim LuyckxIn Support A Steady Yoga PracticeLeave a comment

“As you bring your hands together at your center, you literally connect the right and left hemispheres of your brain. This is the yogic process of unification, the yoking of our active and receptive natures.”

The definition of yoga is to yoke, or join together. This week, we start to explore the ways that we can develop a more integrated yoga practice. We will begin with three easy techniques for uniting the main components of yoga: Continue reading “Support A Steady Yoga Practice: Seek Integration” →

Support A Steady Yoga Practice: Lead With Your Heart

On February 26, 2018February 27, 2018 By Kim LuyckxIn Support A Steady Yoga PracticeLeave a comment

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.” – Rumi

A set of heart-opening poses may be the very most important piece of the yoga asana puzzle. Here are three reasons to lead with your heart:

#1: Emotional and Physical Revival – Psychologically, backbends can teach you receptivity, acceptance, compassion, and determination. Physically, backbends correct our tendency to hunch. Especially in this era of increased computer and cell phone usage, our “tech necks” and upper backs are in dire need of lengthening.

#2: Beat Bone Loss – The act of spinal extension or back bending can help to prevent or slow down the effects of osteoporosis or bone loss. Gentle back bends such as Salabasana (locust pose) or supported Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose) were included in a long-term study of osteoporosis reversal (click here for details).

#3: Energizing – Back bends bring energy into our subtle heart centers. The heart or anahata chakra stimulates our love for self and others and permits our brilliance to shine. Often times in class following a back bend, I can feel my students’ positive energy level come alive.

Here are some heart-warming poses to ignite your flame. Try to incorporate one of these essential back bending postures into your yoga practice each day:
Continue reading “Support A Steady Yoga Practice: Lead With Your Heart” →