Feeling pretty good about your lotus? Maybe it's time to take it up a notch, literally. Scale pose - tolasana turns lotus into an arm balance. I will say that scale pose is much easier once you are comfortable in full lotus: it's harder to life the legs when they aren't nicely contained.

The holiday travel season is about to kick into high gear. It's no secret that travel is stressful and airplane seats are tiny. Though you can't do much when you're squashed into the middle seat, there are a few little stretches (let's call it airplane yoga) that can help relieve your cramped muscles and reduce your stress without getting into your neighbor's personal space.

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week! To me, this really marks the beginning of the holiday season, although retailers would have you believe you should start gearing up for Christmas in October. Ideally, the holidays are a time to relax, indulge a little bit, and reconnect with family and friends, but there are a lot of things that can conspire to stress you out during this time: travel, overeating, shopping on a budget, family tensions. Lucky for you, your yoga practice can help you find the tools to deal with stress whatever the season.

Some meditation practices include the recitation of a mantra, a phrase repeated over and over as the mind relaxes into a trance-like state. Om mani padme hum is a Buddhist mantra meaning the jewel is in the lotus. This phrase is interpreted many ways, but the one I like references the rewards of coming to sit and meditate in the lotus position. Of course, the position itself is secondary to the intention to meditate, so if lotus is not comfortable for you, take another position that is (half lotus or hero pose, for instance).