We are super excited to be evolving and expanding our partnership with Pete Guinosso, an internationally recognized yoga teacher. Pete is the creator of the Lighting The Path teacher training program (Yoga Alliance registered 200 hours), Yoga for Change, Yoga Prankster movement, and travels internationally teaching workshops, conferences, and adventure yoga retreats.

After thirty years of running, cycling, and competitive sports, Pete was astonished to learn that his biggest challenge and adventure would happen on a yoga mat. Within six months of practicing yoga consistently, not only did Pete feel stronger and more flexible, but he also began to realize the deeper benefits of meditative movement.

Known for his joyful energy, compassionate guidance, and sense of humor, Pete creates a spiritual yet light-hearted environment for his students to uncover the deeper benefits of yoga.

Pete’s teaching style is best described as a Forrest Yoga Inspired Vinyasa flow. His online yoga classes are designed to help you journey toward connecting the mind, body and spirit through vigorous asana, breath work, and awareness. Powerful and dynamic sequences are crafted to create a fluid practice of meditative movement, while also cultivating a strong awareness of proper alignment.

“Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry, and we will always sweat on the mat.” ~Pete G.

To get a feel for Pete’s style, check out his latest online yoga class on YogaVibes: Unraveling the Hips, Shoulders & Neck.

This invigorating, 60-minute online yoga class is intended to create freedom and strength in the hip, neck and shoulder areas. Use intensely focused breath work and asana (including inversions, standing poses, and Vinyasa) to safely unlock these habitual tension spots. What’s more, strengthen and lengthen the muscles around these joints to create space and promote ease of movement. This online yoga offering is great for athletes. Practice this class regularly to walk through life with greater grace and freedom.

Whether a newcomer to yoga or an advanced student seeking adventure and challenge, turn to Pete as your guiding source. Visit Pete’s Teacher Spotlight page to find more of his amazing online yoga classes and free online yoga videos on YogaVibes.

~Tess

Learn more about Pete at www.PeteGYoga.com

I’m writing this post for you as much as I’m writing it for myself. The last time I was in full splits, I was holding poms poms. That was about 10 years ago. Oh, my youth.

Anyways, I’ve been practicing yoga just about everyday for over a year now, and still have not realized the full split (Hanumanasana). Sigh. What’s taking so freaking long? I know, I know. Patience, patience. Practice, practice. I hear you loud and clear. Though recently, I experienced a revelation: What if yoga isn’t enough? More specifically, what if my current practice of yoga isn’t enough? This got me wondering – wondering if a slight shift in my split strategy was in order.

So, I went digging – digging for answers. Do you dare to know what I conjured up in my quest for the full split? You may not like the answer. The truth is, yoga may not be enough. The truth is, the only way to leap effortlessly into the full split is via lots of stretching. You mean I won’t get full splits if I practice yoga for 1.5 hours per day 6 days a week? Yes, that’s precisely what I mean, provided you have not maintained your natural, youthful suppleness.

So what’s the solution for us severely stiff beings? Read on, yogis.

1. Practice Half Split. Duh. But I’m not talking the typical practice of half split. I don’t mean holding this pose for a mere 5 to 10 breaths. I’m talking 5 to 10 minutes. Each side. Hold on…don’t get all worked up just yet. You aren’t going to start there. Start at 1 to 2 minutes each side. Journey your way toward longer holds.
2. Stretch daily. Get up and stretch for 15 minutes. Focus on stretches that target the hamstrings. Hanging forward fold. Half split. Also, focus on stretches that work the psoas, hip flexors, and quads. Lunge and lunge variations are awesome for this. Kneeling crescent (2 minutes per side) is a great beginning pose. Pre shut-eye, do another 15 minutes of stretching. In total, that’s 30 minutes of stretching per day. Can you and your stiff self handle it? Sure you can.
3. Be consistent. Consistency is crucial. If you really want to realize the full split, you must devote heavy practice to it daily. No excuses.
4. Warm up. Don’t crazily attempt to leap into the full split in heroic Hanuman style. Turn up the heat gradually. First, get those hamstrings loose and limber. Practice a hanging forward fold to awaken those testy, tight suckers. Set the timer for 1 to 2 minutes. And breathe. For guidance, tune into Sage Rountree’s free online yoga video for athletes demoing a forward folding method to stretch all 3 parts of the hamstring.
5. Don’t force it. When you are in your fullest expression of the full split, you do not want to feel any pain. Of course, you do want to feel a deep, strong stretch. The place where you experience this intense yet manageable stretch is your edge. When you reach your edge, relax. Set the time for 1 to 2 minutes. And breathe.
6. Use support. I love using blocks and blankets to support my split and to promote deeper relaxation. There’s no shame in props, yogis! Another great support system is the wall. Practice standing split against the wall to work deeper and deeper into the pose. Again, hold your pose for 1 to 2 minutes per side. And breathe. Check out a free online yoga video with Kim McNeil for prop ideas and modifications and to discover an accessible place to work (and HOLD) this pose.

There is a get-splits-quick scheme. It’s called stretching. LOTS of stretching. But the thing is, stretching is not enough if it does not come with strategy and consistency.

So, if you truly aim to master Hanumanasana, join me in this strategic and steady split stretching spree. Take pictures of your daily split practice and progress. Keep a stretching journal. Do whatever it takes to keep you honest and on top of your Hanumanasana game. Here are some hashtag ideas for all you fellow Instagram junkies:

#HanumanWannabes #SplitSpree #SplitsorBust

To end, let us invoke Hanuman, the Monkey deity, to inspire and motivate us at the launch of this split undertaking.

Om Hanumate Namah

 ~Tess

Photo Credit: Hanumanasana via _danielito’s Instagram

These featured yogis are the real deal. If you truly aim to enhance your athletic performance, push past mental and physical barriers, and achieve your highest goals, turn to these stellar teachers for inspiration, guidance, and support.

• Sage Rountree :: As an endurance sports coach, an accomplished age-group triathlete and runner, a highly experienced teacher, and a continuing student of physiology, Sage knows what’s up. Her popular yoga classes and workshops for athletes draw students ranging from recreational athletes to Ironman triathletes, Olympians, NBA and NFL players, and NCAA players and coaches, including UNC men’s basketball and football. Take her online yoga classes to discover ways to sharpen your focus, relax for peak performance, and remain balanced.
• Gwen Lawrence :: Gwen is the yoga instructor for 5 Pro teams in New York, including the New York Giants, New York Knicks, New York Red Bulls, and the New York Rangers, in addition to major college teams such as Yale and UNC. She is well known for her sports-specific Power Yoga for Sports classes and training programs and was recently dubbed the “Best Innovation in Sports Medicine” by ESPN Magazine.
• Ted McDonald :: As a former Elite Adventure Racer and Lacrosse player at UCLA, Ted has been an athlete his entire life. Educated in both Iyengar and Ashtanga styles of yoga, his classes focus on strength, alignment and the breath, in order to help his students increase flexibility, strength, and focus. Ted also offers many forms of meditation, yin yoga, and restorative yoga classes designed to lengthen connective tissue, prevent injuries, and open energetic pathways in the body.
• Rolf Gates :: Gates is the author of the acclaimed book on yogic philosophy, Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga. He conducts 200 and 500-hour Vinyasa Intensives and Teacher Trainings throughout the U.S. and abroad. As a former social worker and U.S. Airborne Ranger who has practiced meditation for the last sixteen years, Gates brings his eclectic background to his practice and teachings.
• Pete Guinosso :: Known for his joyful energy, compassionate guidance, and sense of humor, Pete creates a spiritual yet light-hearted environment for his students to uncover the deeper benefits of yoga. Pete’s teaching style is best described as a Forrest Yoga Inspired Vinyasa Flow. His online yoga classes are designed to help you journey toward connecting your mind, body and spirit through breath work and awareness.
• Danielle Diamond :: For over fifteen years, Danielle has been teaching a kick-butt yoga class that focuses on alignment and breath to open your body through a creative sequence, designed to make you smile as much as you’ll sweat. Danielle is the founder of Xen Strength Yoga – a modern twist on yoga that fuses a Vinyasa flow with light hand weights.

Do yoga to discover the secret to unlocking your ultimate athletic potential.

~Tess

To access our growing collection of yoga videos for athletes, check out YogaVibes’ Yoga for Athletes page.

Fortifying the core is a timeless fad, especially when it comes time to suit up for the beach. Sure, I get it. Looking strong and sculpted is a reasonable intention in my book. Yet, a solid core delivers much greater benefits – benefits that reach far above and beyond a beach ready bod. Fortifying the core will serve you well in mind and body and, as mentioned by Gigi Yogini, may also relieve a very common, frustrating issue: Back pain.

Got back problems? Most of us do…and guess what!? You can cure a lot of back issues by strengthen your core. Sounds crazy, but it’s true. Granted, some back issues are more serious than others. But the scary truth is that back pain is second the most common ailment in Americans next to headaches.

So if you want to strengthen your core center, practice these powerful exercises that work not only the front body, but also the back and side body. You activate your muscles and you will tap into a strong sense of willpower and determination.

This is a perfect practice if you have an arm or leg injury, but still want to practice yoga and build strength. You will also increase your ability to balance and improve your posture.

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Hard Core on the Floor

Enjoy Gigi’s 19-minute online yoga class – a Vinyasa flow designed to fire up all muscle layers of the core.

For more core-activating classes with Gigi Yogini check out these online yoga videos:

Primal Core Activation

This online yoga class, filmed at Bhakti Yoga Shala, awakens Shakti, the manifesting energy of the Universe, with chanting, powerful core exercises, a dynamic warrior flow and more. It is an exploration of the breath as it rides sacred sound waves and intentional movement, helping us to remove obstacles like magic. (75 mins.)

Strong Roots = Strong Tree

This is an invigorating online yoga class with a theme of Grounding with Gratitude. This Vinyasa flow will activate your inner power through intention setting, core exercises, balancing and a fun (but challenging) tree pose flow. (67 mins.)

~Tess

Photo Credit: Navasana via www.rachelbrathen.com

Stefanie Eris, exhale’s national yoga director, shares the significance of offering her yoga classes online:

“I have many students who travel for work, leave NYC for the summer, or simply don’t have time in their busy lives to make it to the studio everyday. YogaVibes gives my students the opportunity to practice with me anytime, anywhere, whether on the road or in the comfort of their own homes.”

Exhale Flow Yoga classes (and variations), Core Fusion classes, and Core Fusion Barre classes have already arrived online at YogaVibes.com from this new studio. To get a taste of the awesomeness this filming location has to offer, check out some of its latest filmings:

Exhale Flow Yoga: Focus on the Hamstrings with Stefanie Eris

This online yoga experience – a slow, Vinyasa flow – focuses on strengthening and stretching the thighs, hamstrings, hip flexors, and feet, helping to ground and inspire connection to the earth. (60 mins.)

Exhale Power Yoga with Sarah Coleman

Get ready to sweat in this athletically and mentally challenging online yoga class that is both uplifting and flowing. This fast-paced vinyasa flow class will tone your limbs, tighten your core, and promises a deeply relaxing finish.  (78 mins.)

Core Fusion Barre Open with Elisabeth Halfpapp

Fusing the disciplines of core conditioning, Pilates, the Lotte Berk Method, and yoga, this highly acclaimed transformational fitness experience incorporates 50 years of collective teacher expertise. It allows you to work from the inside out, consistently delivering results, including washboard abs, a tighter and higher backside, and a perfectly toned body. This class is open to all levels and no experience is required. Have socks, light hand weights, a ball or block, and strap available. (62 mins.)

Explore additional online yoga classes filmed at the Central Park South location and stay tuned for more live and up-to-date yoga videos to be added soon from this beautiful Exhale Spa studio space.

~Tess

This weekend, amongst your sun bathing, beer drinking, and other general acts of merriment, carve out some time to cater to your core. Turn up the heat and awaken your center in one (or more!) of the following online yoga experiences.

Journey to the Core with Pete Guinosso

Get ready for a physical and mental journey deep into the core of your own being. In this Vinyasa yoga experience, you will do focused work for strength and flexibility using awareness, breath, and asana. This online yoga class includes strong core exercises (modeled after the Forrest Yoga ab workouts), twists, and standing pose sequences. (46 mins.)

Core Fusion® Barre Open (6) with Elisabeth Halfpapp of Exhale Spa 

Fusing the disciplines of core conditioning, Pilates, the Lotte Berk Method, and yoga, this highly acclaimed transformational fitness experience incorporates 50 years of collective teacher expertise. Core Fusion classes allow you to work from the inside out, consistently delivering results, including washboard abs, a tighter and higher backside, and a perfectly toned body. This online yoga class is open to all levels and no experience is required. (62 mins.)

Core Extravaganza with Ashley Turner

Gear up for a core extravaganza! Challenge your entire core (both back body and front body) with a plank series and some unique core exercises on the floor. Get strong and feel more confident after practicing this online yoga class. (19 mins.)

Core Flow with Danielle Vardakas-Duszko

Get all set for an Honest Yoga signature flow spiced up with intense core exercises. This online yoga class is an all around great practice for your mind and body that will ignite your center from the big toes up! This practice will enhance your regular yoga routine by strengthening and toning your entire torso, allowing your practice to advance to more challenging asana. Work your rectus abdominis (the six-pack abs) and transverse abdominis (the girdle that wraps from the sides to the front of the torso). (65 mins.)

Journey to your core to strengthen and satisfy the nucleus of your being. Better support yourself and your practice and also enhance your bikini-bearing beach bod. Be solid to the core, yogis.

~Tess

P.S. For more core exercises, visit our FREE and FUN collection of core stimulating yoga videos.

If you have an injury, I know it sucks, but it’s no excuse to enter negative Nancy mode like I did. So please, do yourself a favor and rebound quickly from the “poor me” attitude. You got this. If you need some help and inspiration to get over it, read on for tips to avoid morphing into a post-injury bum.

1. Meditate. Come on. You know it’s good for you. Now that your physical body is temporarily relenting, this just may be the perfect opportunity to sit and be still. Maybe the idea of meditation – of stillness – freaks you out. Guess what? That’s normal. The only way to get over it is to actually meditate and work through the freak-outs. Start now. Check out some of our guided online meditation classes.
2. Breathe. When the universe deals me some crappy cards, I find that there’s one super effective way to get over what I’ve been handed. Enter Breath of Fire. I know I shouldn’t have favorites and that I shouldn’t be super attached to any particular thing, but I most certainly am addicted to this form of pranayama. First, it’s killer core training. Second, it’s a sweet release. This forceful, powerful breath allows you to let go of the thinking mind and expel all the garbage that comes along with it. You may also release some nasal garbage. It’s cool. Let that go, too.
3. Do what you can. Don’t entirely give up on the physical practice of yoga if you don’t have to. My current injury is neck related, so I’ve taken this opportunity to really focus on standing balances and stabilizing core work. It’s also given me the opportunity to create sequences that those with neck worries and injuries could handle. See…this is an opportunity in disguise! The universe is sneaky.
4. Restore. Whip out the restorative party favors. Grab your blankets, blocks, and bolsters and go to town with some restorative yoga at home. But wait. Don’t stop with the restoration process post Namaste. Don’t step off your mat and enter bum mode. Keep feeding your body healing, pure foods, hydrating, and engaging in mentally stimulating and renewing activities.
5. Surrender. Consider this minor setback a cosmic wake-up call. The universe is telling you to slow down. Listen up and surrender to this cosmic cautioning. You’ve now been warned.
6. Release excuses. It’s easy to just throw in the towel and say, “To hell with all of this.” It’s easy to slump into your couch, numb the brain with crappy TV, and pig out on ice cream and beer. It’s easy to let an injury totally break you down in brain, body, and spirit. Don’t let it. Commit to a positive healing process. Being hurt isn’t an excuse to totally let yourself go. If you do, you’ll only make it worse.
7. Stay positive. Don’t let this injury distract you too much. Handle it. Be mindful of it. But don’t let it consume you. This is NOT a catastrophe. This is NOT the end of the world. Consider this obstacle an opportunity to train the mind and body in new, unexplored ways.
8. Affirm your healing. Write down some self-supporting affirmations to promote healing and keep your vibe high. Recite them daily. Examples: This too shall pass. All is temporary. Obstacles are opportunities…You get the idea.
9. Recite mantra. Chanting is an awesome way to release tension, anxiety, and all the chatter of the thinking mind. Sing out loud to free your self-pitying, woe-is-me blues. Create elevating, positives vibes.
10. Remember: Warriors get hurt. They get knocked down. They get roughed up. But then, they get back up. They brush off the crap and keep forging ahead. Getting knocked down and roughed up doesn’t make you any less of a warrior. Just don’t stay down. Get back up. Brush off the crap. This is the stuff of life that makes you strong, yogis.

~Tess

Photo Credit: Warrior I via www.thatsmyyoga.tumblr.com

Looking for an effective post-game game plan?

Enter yoga for athletes.

Yoga does a body good, offering a way to rejuvenate and heal after you’ve endured some pretty heavy, physically taxing action. What’s more, yoga supports a speedy, successful recovery so you can enter your next game in topnotch, beastly, don’t-wanna-be-messed-with form.

Here’s an online yoga sequence you athletic types can get down with to mentally reset and physical renew. Lengthen and loosen up your muscles to ward off potential aches and pains and the accompanying moans and groans in an online restorative yoga class with Sage Rountree: Post-Game Recovery.

Join Sage and the Cornell women’s lacrosse team in this mellow, low-to-the-ground practice for post-game recovery. Start with a supported backbend and breath meditation to encourage letting go of the past and focusing on the now. Move through gentle stretches for the spine and hips, including a series of twists to open up the chest, back, and legs. All along the way, you will use the breath as a tool to stay anchored in the present. Find comfort and support in this restorative yoga experience for athletes. (66 mins.)

Can’t get enough post-game restoration?

Here’s another online yoga class with Sage appropriate for the morning after a tough game, or for anytime you are approaching a peak event. Again, you will remain close to the floor in supported poses and twists, gently working the shoulders, spine, and hips, all the while paying close attention to your breath. Finish in legs up the wall, a great pose for recovery and mental resetting. (55 mins.)

Get on the mat to get on the road to recovery.

~Tess

Photo Credit: Legs Up the Wall via www.sunroseyoga.com

How do you prepare for a deep meditation? How do you meditate comfortably? How do you release the thinking mind during your meditation practice? Let’s turn these questions over to Gigi Yogini…

Sometimes one of the biggest distractions for our meditation practice is how uncomfortable it is to sit. Even if you want to start with only 5 minutes of conscious breathing, it’s often a good idea to prepare yourself with some yin yoga to deeply stretch the hips. Otherwise, discomfort can become a distraction and meditation will seem unattainable.

In addition to feeling uncomfortable, the other problem I had when starting meditation with the business of my mind. I thought I was supposed to immediately be able to erase all thinking from my mind, but it doesn’t always work like that.

I started to use simple breathing techniques, such as counting, in order to keep my attention on the my breath. In my online yoga video, Yin Yoga to Begin Meditation, help yourself find a comfortable seat and concentrate on the breath. Use props if you need them. If 5 minutes feels easy, perhaps try another 5.

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Happy and comfy meditating, yogis!

~Tess

Photo Credit: Meditation via www.weheartit.com

Where da party at? Instagram.

We invite you to get in on the party – to share your yoga practice and radiate your positive vibrations in a creative, visually stimulating way.

Show us how you move and groove. Show us where you get down and dirty with your personal practice. Show us what elevates and expands your vibe.

You can find us on Instagram at yogavibes where we’ve been putting out some of our own positive vibrations. Remember, in order for us to find you and your yoga awesomeness, you gotta use (and freely abuse) the hashtag #yogavibes.

Vibe, flow, #StrikeAPose, and connect with us and the beautiful YogaVibes community.

Don’t have Instagram, but wanna get in on the party? Download Instagram for the iPhone or for Android.

Offer and convey your beautiful, yoga-inspired vibrations. Let’s get some cool vibes flowing, yogis.

~Tess