Tag Archives: health

Tips for Going Upside Down — A Handstand Post from Aimée

I love doing handstands. I love kicking up and feeling my heels tap the wall. I love pressing down through my hands and up through my tailbone and my feet. I love the way the reversal of gravity feels on my spine. I love how free my toes feel. I love that feeling of trying out my (very wobbly) balance and feeling the whole length of my legs balancing from my pelvis. I love that a tiny wiggle of one of my fingers can send me all the way over to one side or another.

I do handstands as often as I can, just for the sheer joy of it.

I used to take gymnastics when I was a kid (I was never any good at it at all, ever, but I LOVED it) and as a result was always doing cartwheels and somersaults and wheel poses and handstands at the wall in my living room during the commercial breaks of TV shows. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t do this. I know I was still doing it in high school–here’s a picture of me doing a headstand against the wall that somehow wound up getting taken and ultimately placed in a family album.

Continue reading “Tips for Going Upside Down — A Handstand Post from Aimée”

Dreamy-Creamy Coconut Chickpea Curry

This recipe was created by Leena, and she thought it was so easy and delicious that it might be worth sharing with the QSY community! This dish is very allergy friendly, which makes it great for potlucks… It’s vegetarian, dairy free, gluten free, nut free, but still super delicious!  

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Enliven Your Spine with an Ergonomic Desk

Do you identify with this photo?

posture-skeletonMany of us do. Many of us use computer stations or laptops that are not positioned well for us to maintain healthy posture. Andy, Leena and I have become aware of the effects of non-ergonomic computer use while we’re working away at the studio, and we’ve been experimenting with different ways of elevating our screens, keyboards and mice so that we can work in a more optimal position for our spines. Check out the various desk arrangements we’ve experimented with. We are lucky to have lots of yoga blocks around to play with! Over the course of the day, we alternate between standing and sitting desk arrangements. (Read more about the benefits of standing desks in this article). We also try to take regular stretch breaks (which sometimes turn into dance breaks in the front studio) to move our bodies and rest our eyes.Continue reading “Enliven Your Spine with an Ergonomic Desk”

A Heart-Warming Letter about Yoga from QSY Student Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell wrote this letter to us about how yoga has changed his life. He feels that yoga has played a large part in lowering his blood pressure and allowing his body to do a “natural bypass” to assist a blocked coronary artery. It has also helped him relate more effectively with his teenage son, and enjoy running his company. We are so happy that Glen stepped out of his comfort zone to join us at the studio, and we are so happy to see him so regularly in class! 

It was January of 2014 when I got hit with some bad news regarding my health. I had the same health issue five years earlier and it had returned. It was my heart again! I had been doing all the right things (diet, weight loss, don’t smoke, reducing stress and exercising) but my body rejected the stents that were put in my right coronary artery. It was 100% blocked again! My doctor told me nothing can be done surgically as it’s a difficult repair. Drugs were my only option and to just hope for the best. Every day I woke up and wondered if this would be the day I would have a heart attack. I could get through my day but if I did a little more than moderate cardio I could feel the pain in my chest. It was hard to plan for the future when I didn’t know if I was going to make it through the day. Not a great way to live. It was the darkest time of my life.

Continue reading “A Heart-Warming Letter about Yoga from QSY Student Glen Campbell”

Reposition Your Internal Self

ImageScientists say it takes seven-ten years to regenerate and replace every cell in your body, including bones and organs. A whole new body every 7 years! And, of course, many cells, such as your skin cells, regenerate much more quickly. Of course there is a strong genetic matrix that you are rebuilding upon, but that generation is also responding to whatever it is we’re asking of our bodies. Continue reading “Reposition Your Internal Self”