By Mark Goldstein Many who practice yoga are familiar with a series of posture we call “Sun Salutations”. This set of postures includes our Warrior poses (see Quepolandia article Warrior Pose November, 2011). In many cultures the sun is seen as a very male energy, and is linked to things
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein After sitting in stillness, and setting our breath for our yoga practice, I almost always begin our yoga class with these two postures Cat and Cow. Practicing these poses, which really turn out to be movements, we experience and accomplish many things. First, and foremost, they just
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein May is here and that means the arrival of our long awaited refreshing rains. Our rivers and waterfalls will be filling up again, and many of us will be heading for the beach as we have some extra time now that our busy season has ended. So,
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein Don’t do yoga with me. Well, please do, I will love to have you join us! My point is to ask you to do some yoga on your own. Having your own yoga practice, away from class, is often the key to forming a lasting and progressive
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein This March, our pose of the month here at PranaVida wellness is the Headstand. If there are two things that we all did far more as children, they had to have been somersaults and headstands. This month I’d like to offer to all of you the opportunity
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein This month we are concentrating on your periformis muscle, your back pocket muscle, your pain in the butt muscle. Why? Because it feels so good to stretch and release this muscle. and opening up this muscle can have a huge effect on your life. Have you ever
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein I would like us to focus on a pose this month which will be a challenge for us all. The pose of the month is Bakasana, in English known as Crow Pose. Bakasana is an arm balancing pose that all of us can do, that is, as
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein If there is anything close to “winter” here in Costa Rica, it is this time of year. It is our rainiest, muddiest, and least busy time of the year. You can find us making more soups, and baking and roasting more of our foods. This is partially
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein Like a long, strong dancer…… I’ve used this description many times while teaching yoga. More exactly, I will say, “More like a strong dancer, and less like a body builder.” Think about it, imagine in your mind a beautiful ballet dancer, man or woman. They are elegant
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein When was the last time that you said to yourself “It will feel so good to shrink things down, to compress my body, to squeeze things shut” ? Maybe you have, but I doubt it. In retrospect, what do we all do after sitting at a desk
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein The answer is; Absolutely, definitely. Yes. Flow! After all, when you think about it, the opposite of flowing is stopping, or worse yet, stagnating, and we surely would not want that to be a part of our yoga practice. This month’s yoga pose is more of an
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein We were in Shivasana at the end of a yoga class recently, and because it is the dry season, the waterfall next to our yoga deck is running much softer now. With the music off, the sounds of the surrounding jungle settled in, and the slow steady
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein Becoming lighter is something that many people are obsessed with. As long as we are referring to the shedding of extra pounds, then doing what you need to reach your optimum weight can be a very healthy endeavor. However, that’s not what this months article is about,
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein Decide right now that you will try something new today. O.K., did you do it? Did you commit to yourself that you will try something new? It could be anything, anything at all. If not, try again. Did it? Good. Maybe you’re reading this on the publishing
Read MoreBy Mark Goldstein It’s November now, and hopefully the rainy season is behind us. Now is the time for those of us that live here in Manuel Antonio to get ready for our upcoming busy season. There are moldy things to air out, supplies to gather, and people to welcome
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