When it comes to building strength, the first place in the body people often think of is the muscles. After all, these are the main tissues involved in coping with loads of all kinds, and it’s … [Read more...] about Brains or Brawn? Both! How Strength Expands Your Life
5 Advantages to Teaching Shorter Online Classes
Teaching online has called into question many of the structures and formulas we thought were required for sharing movement practice together. We’ve learned that we don’t need to be in the same room—or … [Read more...] about 5 Advantages to Teaching Shorter Online Classes
3 Advantages to Live Online Classes vs. Pre-Recorded Classes
The pandemic has opened up several new avenues for practicing and teaching movement online. I polled my audience on Instagram and 60% of the 88 people who responded said they practiced yoga online in … [Read more...] about 3 Advantages to Live Online Classes vs. Pre-Recorded Classes
4 Reasons Why You Should Demo Your Live Classes
Have you expanded your teaching beyond your usual repertoire over the past couple of years—maybe even more so during this time teaching online? Perhaps you’re even teaching group classes independently … [Read more...] about 4 Reasons Why You Should Demo Your Live Classes
4 Advantages to Students Being Able to Turn Their Cameras Off
Moving our classes online opened up many cans of worms, but perhaps the biggest one was the fact that suddenly we couldn’t see our students—as well or at all—when we were teaching. If you were taught … [Read more...] about 4 Advantages to Students Being Able to Turn Their Cameras Off
4 Advantages to Teaching Online You Haven’t Considered
Or: A guide to cutting everyone a lot of slack and recognizing there are many more ways to teach and learn than the ones that have been more narrowly defined for us in the mainstream When I first … [Read more...] about 4 Advantages to Teaching Online You Haven’t Considered
4 Hacks for Teaching Left & Right Online with Props
Teaching live classes online presents new challenges to teachers. These include being able to see students clearly and provide feedback, ensuring they can see you clearly within the limits … [Read more...] about 4 Hacks for Teaching Left & Right Online with Props
Alignment Beyond Aesthetics
For many in the yoga world, alignment really means aesthetics. In other words, whether or not your knee is over your ankle in Warrior 2, or your shin is parallel to the front of your mat in Pigeon, … [Read more...] about Alignment Beyond Aesthetics
Fix or Focus? 4 Ways to Wear a Strap Jacket
The strap jacket isn’t a prop that fixes anything. I’ve abolished the posture police. In my virtual studio, it’s safe to show up as you are, in the shape that you come, and wear your strap anyway you … [Read more...] about Fix or Focus? 4 Ways to Wear a Strap Jacket
Using Bands to Assist and Resist in Primal Movements
When you hear the phrase “primal” movements, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s something like crawling, or getting up off the floor—some of the first things babies learn how to do but that adults can … [Read more...] about Using Bands to Assist and Resist in Primal Movements
A Different Kind of Chair Yoga
You may have heard a phrase from a classic yogic text, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, that “asanas,” or our yoga postures, are meant to be “steady, comfortable seats.” There’s lots of ways to interpret … [Read more...] about A Different Kind of Chair Yoga
The Story of a Sequence—Banded Dancer Pose
I moved to NYC in 2003 to pursue acting. That career path didn’t last long for me, but the thespian in me loves to think about how my current work as a movement teacher can be like telling a story the … [Read more...] about The Story of a Sequence—Banded Dancer Pose
Tactile Cueing—Teach from the Inside-In
In yoga, we tend to rely a lot on two ways of offering instruction: verbal cues (aka talking) and visual cues (aka demoing). I remember leading entire sessions in teacher trainings on these subjects, … [Read more...] about Tactile Cueing—Teach from the Inside-In
MULTIDISCIPLINARY MOVEMENT WITH LAUREL BEVERSDORF | TEACHING YOGA PODCAST
Teaching Yoga Podcast EPISODE 65 - MULTIDISCIPLINARY MOVEMENT WITH LAUREL BEVERSDORF This episode of the podcast is brought to you by… YOU! After several requests from you, the listeners, this … [Read more...] about MULTIDISCIPLINARY MOVEMENT WITH LAUREL BEVERSDORF | TEACHING YOGA PODCAST
A New Attitude on Alignment
I’ve observed 3 general attitudes toward alignment-based teaching among yoga teachers and students. I’ve held these same attitudes along the way. Here is what I’ve observed. ATTITUDE #1 — … [Read more...] about A New Attitude on Alignment
Should I Feel This In My Neck?
A common question I get from students about poses like low boat (ardha navasana), where you lift your head up while lying supine, is "should I be feeling this in my neck?" My teaching thrives on … [Read more...] about Should I Feel This In My Neck?
3 Reasons I Had Persistent Pain as a Yoga Teacher
Teaching yoga asana is a tough job. A newer teacher, I learned this the hard way. Three big shifts lead me to experience persistent pain. 1. My practice was no longer entirely my own. Once I became … [Read more...] about 3 Reasons I Had Persistent Pain as a Yoga Teacher
How to Choose What Kettlebells to Get
So you’ve decided on going the kettlebell route for your home gym, and you’re ready to invest in a set of weights that will be appropriate for your strength needs and budget. But type “kettlebells” … [Read more...] about How to Choose What Kettlebells to Get
How to Choose What Size Weights to Get
I often get asked by womxn new to strength training about what weights they should buy to get started. (If I had a quarter for every time I get asked this question, I could probably buy another … [Read more...] about How to Choose What Size Weights to Get
Is Yoga Strengthening?
Strength is your ability to produce force. More broadly, it's the gift that keeps on giving. Its benefits for athletes are well known, but there are many reasons non-athletes and average Janes … [Read more...] about Is Yoga Strengthening?
Pigeon Pose and Tight Hips—A Remake of a Classic Tale
For every time I get a question about shoulder pain in chaturanga, I get two for what students describe as “tight hips.” “How can I stretch my hip flexors?” they ask, pointing to the front of their … [Read more...] about Pigeon Pose and Tight Hips—A Remake of a Classic Tale
Alignment Might Not Be the Reason for Your Shoulder Pain
Look in any of the traditional yoga asana books, including the Yoga Teacher Training manuals I taught from for years, and you’ll see a whole lot of drawings and/or photographs of the poses the typical … [Read more...] about Alignment Might Not Be the Reason for Your Shoulder Pain
Move Creatively Through Life – On and Off the Yoga Mat
In a previous post about the topic of constraint, I talked all about how using props as a form of feedback, or constraint can make for some pretty interesting movement explorations. Using … [Read more...] about Move Creatively Through Life – On and Off the Yoga Mat
Props: Creating Movement with Constraint
I’ve recently started hearing yoga teachers use the word “constraint” in their classes. After learning about this concept a few years back in the Feldenkrais method, where I felt it mostly through the … [Read more...] about Props: Creating Movement with Constraint
Supple Strength—How Self-Massage and Strength Support Me, and Each Other
My journey as a mover and movement educator has taken many twists and turns. Along the way I’ve picked up many different tools that I now incorporate freely in my virtual studio. I discovered each of … [Read more...] about Supple Strength—How Self-Massage and Strength Support Me, and Each Other
Laurel Beversdorf – Teacher of Yoga Teachers – On Building An Online Studio
Join my conversation with Frances Taylor of TaylorFit Wellness as we discuss building an online studio and teaching Yoga teachers. Listen In … [Read more...] about Laurel Beversdorf – Teacher of Yoga Teachers – On Building An Online Studio
Why I Didn’t Cancel Asana Because of Pain
A few years after I started teaching yoga, I had an existential crisis (of sorts). The practice I’d loved and found so much joy in for over a decade had done an about-face. Instead of making me feel … [Read more...] about Why I Didn’t Cancel Asana Because of Pain
Laurel Beversdorf | Titanium Blonde Talks
In this episode, I talk about movement, enjoying moving rather feeling like you have to do something because of what you look like or what you did during your day. Moving for the joy of moving your … [Read more...] about Laurel Beversdorf | Titanium Blonde Talks
Tune Up Fitness: 4 Steps to Turn Your Weakness Into an Area of Specialty with Laurel Beversdorf
“You can learn something that you’ve known again for the first time. You can see things in brand new ways if you approach them with the mindset of wanting to understand instead of thinking that you … [Read more...] about Tune Up Fitness: 4 Steps to Turn Your Weakness Into an Area of Specialty with Laurel Beversdorf
Tune Up Fitness: On Becoming an Empowered Educator
I know I say it a lot, but the Yoga Tune Up® Level 1 changed my teaching. I think it’s important to add that I was ready for my teaching to change. It was 2013, and I had been teaching classes for … [Read more...] about Tune Up Fitness: On Becoming an Empowered Educator
The Role of Movement In Our Lives | The Create Shift Podcast
In this podcast, host Ellen Carr and I discussed: How to live a purpose-driven life. Why stepping outside your movement community teaches you more about your movement community than staying in it … [Read more...] about The Role of Movement In Our Lives | The Create Shift Podcast
Yoga, Bands, and Baby | The Yoga | Birth | Babies Podcast
I got to talk with doula and childbirth educator, Deb Flashenberg, founder and director of NYC’s famous Prenatal Yoga Center about my shift from movement imitator to movement innovator as well as how … [Read more...] about Yoga, Bands, and Baby | The Yoga | Birth | Babies Podcast
Should Yoga Teachers Unionize? | The Beginner’s Mind Podcast
YogaWorks teachers and teacher trainers are coming together to form the first-ever yoga teacher union at YogaWorks studios in New York City. In this episode, Sarah interviewed a couple of my … [Read more...] about Should Yoga Teachers Unionize? | The Beginner’s Mind Podcast
Asana Against Resistance | Mindful Strength Podcast
I’m happy to share my latest podcast interview with Kathryn Bruni-Young on her excellent podcast, Mindful Strength. I am a subscriber and regular listener, so needless to say I was pretty stoked when … [Read more...] about Asana Against Resistance | Mindful Strength Podcast
Fluent in the Language of Kinesiology | Practice Human Podcast
It was my total pleasure to talk with my friend and colleague Caitlin Casella again on her podcast Practice Human. In this episode, I talk about what open-mindedness means for movement and the study … [Read more...] about Fluent in the Language of Kinesiology | Practice Human Podcast
Pedagogy, Critical Thinking, and Yoga Evolution | Embodiment Time Podcast
We are at an intersection between old and new pedagogical approaches in yoga educational spaces. As teachers, we have some fascinating choices to make with regards to how we lead classes and … [Read more...] about Pedagogy, Critical Thinking, and Yoga Evolution | Embodiment Time Podcast
Resistance Bands + Yoga | The Mentor Sessions Support + Strategy for Yoga Teachers
I’m happy to share this podcast I recently did with Francesca Cervero and Giulia Pline all about incorporating resistance bands into a yoga practice! Giulia and I nerd out in the best possible way all … [Read more...] about Resistance Bands + Yoga | The Mentor Sessions Support + Strategy for Yoga Teachers
Observing the Process That’s Unflolding | Nurture Your Nature Podcast
I had a great conversation with Dina Crosta on her podcast, Nurture Your Nature. We had a lovely meandering (and educational) conversation that winds around my journey from yoga student, to teacher, … [Read more...] about Observing the Process That’s Unflolding | Nurture Your Nature Podcast
Yoga Journal | Are You Hypermobile? This Sequence Will Help You Build Awareness and Avoid Injury
Ask anyone who doesn’t practice yoga why they don’t give it a try and odds are you’ll hear some version of this: “I can’t do yoga because I can’t even touch my toes.” While yogis and yoga teachers can … [Read more...] about Yoga Journal | Are You Hypermobile? This Sequence Will Help You Build Awareness and Avoid Injury
Shut Up and Yoga | But is that Even Yoga?
As a yoga teacher, I share a wide variety of movements in my classes: self-massage using therapy balls, interdisciplinary movement inspired by systems like Pilates, Feldenkrais, and weight-training, … [Read more...] about Shut Up and Yoga | But is that Even Yoga?