I’ve written before about learning to headstand and why you should handstand, but what about the gateway drug to arm balances: crow pose. When I first started taking yoga classes, I remember a […]
I started taking barre classes during a time in my life when I had very little time, but wanted to get a good and efficient workout. I was also burned out on […]
I always think of the Cheers theme song when I come to work because Mind the Mat is a place where everyone knows my name. Which isn’t unusual — I teach full-time and […]
I don’t like my birthday. For many reasons. I was born on July 5, so it was always overshadowed by the 4th of July. Birthday decorations were inevitably leftover stars and stripes. As […]
Yoga is everywhere nowadays. However, with its portrayal on Instagram and Facebook you might be convinced that it is only for the flexible and young, those who are working on achieving seemingly impossible […]
I used to be a lawyer, a corporate lawyer, working 7 days a week, on call 24 hours a day. My blackberry was always attached to my side, and laid next to my […]
If you attend yoga classes regularly, you may notice a teacher offering students the option to go into headstand, forearm stand, or handstand. And you might wonder…..why? That looks dangerous and scary. And […]
Winter is challenging. After the stress of the holidays, familial and financial, and the aftermath of all the excitement, the cold has set in. The long dark nights and short days. The pressure […]
If you’re spending a lot of time outside this fall, particularly if you’re training for a long race or hiking, you’ll probably experience hip flexor tightness, which can lead to low back pain. […]
Jennifer: How do I plank without putting too much pressure on my wrists? Laura, Mind the Mat: Plank is less about the arms and more about building core strength, when done properly, but […]
Throughout college and graduate schools I was always trying to find a “workout” regime that worked for me, my schedule, and my student budget. In addition to running, I used to search for […]
This famous yoga pose stretches the gluteal muscles and the deep hip rotators. The back leg receives a gentle stretch to the hip flexors. Pigeon is the perfect finish to our Stylebook Summer […]
This is a beautiful heart opener and gentle backbend with a silly name. Start in downward dog and lift one foot up. Bend that knee and open your hip, starting to stack one […]
Stephanie: Sometimes I don’t have time to get to the studio for a yoga class, but I don’t know where to start with my home practice. Do you have any suggestions? Laura, Mind […]
Back in 2010, my boyfriend and I moved to the neighborhood of Del Ray. Going to Del Ray Pizzeria, the farmers market, and Dairy Godmother, we always walked by the local yoga studio […]