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.

***

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

To start with, we’ve launched two new online yoga practices with Pete Guinosso.

Here’s Pete rockin’ some Peacock Pose….Sweetness!!

Feelin’ worn out? Stuck in a slump? Suffering from a lethargic stupor? Wake up!

Set aside some time to just breathe in Pete’s online pranayama practice: Using Your Breath to Energize Your Practice.

The breath integrates the mind, body and spirit. Pranayama (breath/energy movement) is a powerful tool for working the nervous system in your yoga and in your life. Learn how to use your breath in this online yoga practice to energize your nervous system and, therefore, you. Explore the advanced practice of getting the breath to reach different parts of your body. Energy flows where your awareness and breath goes. So, send your breath to areas that need some extra love. (7 mins.)

Feelin’ tight? Are those habitual sitting and slouching tendencies coming back to haunt you? Or maybe all that intense running and cycling has you so knotted up that bending over to pick up your shoes in the morning has become a challenge paired with moans of agony. Man. You gotta loosen up and do Pete’s new online Vinyasa flow: Hips and Hamstrings.

Move in a struggle-free way to work your edges in this online yoga class. Use deep hip and hamstring opening poses to access these areas physically, and use your breath to mindfully work the realm between uncomfortable and comfortable. This is a great practice for athletes (runners and cyclists) who commonly suffer from tight hips and hamstrings, but it’s also beneficial for anyone who sits for long periods each day. Is that you? (40 mins.)

Maybe you just crave a change of scenery – a shift in perspective. Turn things around in Ashley Turner’s short online yoga practice: How to Do Headstand.

Break down the king – the big boy – of all poses, Headstand (Sirsasana), so you can rock this beneficial inversion safely and smoothly. Learn methods to get into and out of the pose and a couple of different variations to spice things up. (12 mins.)

Lastly, add some zing to your workout routine in this free online yoga video with Desi Bartlett: Warm Up Your Body Pre-Workout. Prepare your muscles and mind for a run, an intense gym sesh, or a fiery yoga practice in this short yoga sequence.

We trust that this is enough newness to entice and excite your yogic appetite this week. Eat up and enjoy.

Happy Friday, yogis!

~Tess

Yoga means to create union between the mind, body, and spirit. The word yoga stems from the Sanskrit root word “Yuj” which means “to yoke” or bring together.

To create this union, we yogis need a tool.

So, what is the magical yogi tool of the trade?

Take a deep inhale. Okay, now exhale. There it is!

The breath.

The breath allows for the deep integration of the mind, body and spirit.

The breath that we establish throughout the practice is called the Ujjayi breath, also known as the “Victorious Breath.“

Learn how to do this heating, victorious form of pranayama with Pete Guinosso in his new online yoga class: Using Your Breath to Energize Your Practice.

Pranayama (breath/energy movement) is a powerful tool for working the nervous system in your yoga practice and in your life. Learn how to use the breath in this online yoga practice to energize your nervous system and, therefore, you. Explore the advanced practice of sending the breath to reach different parts of your body. Energy flows where our awareness and breath goes. That’s why it is super important to breathe!

I’ll say it again and again: The breath is your greatest teacher in the practice (and in life). It is your greatest tool. It let’s you know what’s up. It signals you to back off. It allows you to go deeper. It frees up tension, stress, and anxiety. And it allows you to release your thinking mind – to let go of all the distractions surrounding you. It allows you to let go. What an awesome tool, right? Heck yea, it is! But like anything, you need to actually practice using the tool to master it.

Here’s your chance to practice, yogis.

Yoga, an ancient but perfect science,
deals with the evolution of humanity.
This evolution includes all aspects of one’s being,
from bodily health to self-realization.
Yoga means union – the union of body with consciousness
and consciousness with the soul.
Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude
in day-to-day life and endows skill in the performance of one’s actions.
~B.K.S. Iyengar

~Tess

Photo Credit: Image via www.antaratma.photoshelter.com

As Jeanne will point out in this asana teardown, most of us don’t like this pose (myself included.) After watching this demo, I now have a better understanding of why this pose tends to get on my nerves.

The thing is, a lot of people have the wrong idea when they approach Locust. They try to rely on the external muscles when actually, the internal muscles must be accessed. Also, the breath is super important in Locust. You must learn how to breathe into the pose to discover its sweetness.

First, Jeanne will show you how most of us incorrectly do Salabhasana (the classical version). Sure, it looks okay, but it’s not very expansive in the heart and thoracic region (mid back). You can see that the student is dumping everything into the lumbar region of the spine. This annoys the spine and makes you cranky. No good.

Next, Jeanne will show you how to correctly set up the pose by first engaging the core, scooping the pelvis off the floor and creating a hallowing in the belly. Learn to get long. Learn to create more space and expansion in the pose. Sure, this will make the pose more difficult. Yet, it will also allow you to work the diaphragm more, so you can breathe more.

Try it out…

Let this pose be more about receiving an inhale. If approached in this way, this pose will eventually begin to feel good and expansive and you will be able to receive its many delicious benefits.

~Tess

Photo Credit: Locust Pose via www.yogaxtc.com

Does shoulder stand freak you out? Does it feel so unpleasant that you shun it away entirely? Don’t worry. You’re not crazy. You’re not any less of a yogi. Freak-outs are normal in the yoga practice, especially when it comes to this mild inversion.

Shoulder stand aversion is a pretty common condition. Eventually, however, your distaste for this inversion will dissipate. Eventually, through lots of trial and error and play with modifications and variations, you will find a comfortable place to work in this pose so you may soak up all of its awesome benefits.

Don’t believe me? Just ask Gigi Yogini…

When I first started yoga I would often suffocate in shoulder stand (sarvangasana). Not only was it uncomfortable, it was incredibly confronting. For a long time I had to stop practicing because I didn’t know my options.

Sometimes, taking the time to get into a pose properly can really help us feel better. Other times we might need to use a prop to find a modification that can help us. If the pose really isn’t right for you, there are always other variations or substitutions that can be used to get similar effects.

So if you have a hard time with shoulder stand, use this online yoga video to show you how to properly prepare and get into this beneficial inversion without injuring yourself. If it really isn’t working for you, practice the variations and modifications using props like blankets, a block, and/or a strap. Let me know how it goes.

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Don’t get bent out of shape if the shoulder standing is not progressing as you would like. Just keep practicing it. Keep exploring pose modifications and variations. Keep your spirits high. Release frustration. Release impatience. Release your attachment to outcome. And breathe. Always keep breathing.

~Tess

Photo Credit: Shoulder Stand variation via www.yogaposeoftheday.com

If you are stuck in a rut, here are some ideas to get ya back on your yogic track:

1. Go upside down.  
   Exhilarating and liberating, inversions are awesome opportunities to shift your perspective, release the thinking mind, and have some fun. What’s more, inversions are incredibly beneficial to your mental and physical bodies. Practice Shoulder Stand, Headstand or Viparita Karani once per day to restore vitality and blow away the cobwebs.
2. Use all the resources at hand.
   We are so happy to be building this online yoga community. We have partnered with so many stellar, nationally recognized yoga studios and teachers to offer you an awesome mixture of free online yoga videos and full-length online yoga classes. There is something here for you regardless of your age, shape, and level. Use our class search feature to find exactly what online yoga experience you require.
3. Reserve time for stillness. 
   There’s more to yoga than asana (the poses). It seems as though the physical, heat-generating element of yoga tends to draw people in more than the other forms, such as pranayama (breathing exercises) and dhyana (meditation). While there is a time and place for asana, there is also a time and place for stillness and surrender. Set aside time to meditate, even if it’s just for 5 minutes a day. Practice a few rounds of breathing exercises before or after your home practice. No need to get crazy about it to start. Just invite it in regularly.
4. Go back to the basics.
   Sometimes when I’m in a practice rut, I like to revisit the basics. Even if you don’t consider yourself a yoga newbie, try out some beginner yoga videos. The stronger your base, the stronger your over-all practice.
5. Restore.
   Block out time for one weekly restorative practice to reset and renew.
6. Prioritize and plan.
   If you can’t seem to find time to practice yoga at home, it might be that you need to ditch one or more things. Is there an activity (or activities) in your life that you could do without? Is there stress in your life that you need to release? Assess your situation. Then, devise a plan. Put your practice schedule on a calendar. Hold yourself accountable.
7. Set up a support network.
   Ask friends and family to hop on the yoga train with you. Maybe create and commit to a yoga challenge with your peeps. Capture your daily practice on Instagram or Facebook to really unite the community. Make it fun!
8. Sanctify your space.
   Devote a space to your practice. Spruce up the space with an alter, candles, incense, a mandala, plants, a Buddha statue, or anything else that holds meaning for you. You want your space to be simple, with few distractions, and to evoke peace.
9. Set the timer.
   Be realistic and clear on how long you intend to practice. If you only have 15 or 30 minutes, you want to be sure that you make the most of it and find an online yoga class that fits your time criteria. Pick a time. Choose a class. Commit to its completion.
10. Listen up.
    Some days you just won’t be feeling it. That’s okay. If fatigued, don’t overdo it. Take an online restorative or yin yoga class. Try Dharma Mittra’s Yoga Nidra class. On the flip side, if you’re experiencing a surge of energy (or a bad case of lethargy), you might want to work that out with a more intense, dynamic yoga at home experience i.e. Vinyasa or Ashtanga. Ask your mind and body what’s up. Be real with yourself on what you need.

~Tess

 Photo Credit: Handstand via www.artofbeinghealthy.tumblr.com