Intermediate Yoga

Teachers often advise students to start their practice by setting an intention. Here's how to find the right intention to carry you through your practice.

Eddie Modestini, a longtime student of K. Pattabhi Jois and B.K.S. Iyengar, who will lead Yoga Journal’s upcoming online course, Vinyasa 101: The Fundamentals of Flow, reveals how often you should roll out your mat if you want to become a "serious" yogi.

These 9 poses will help you say goodbye to summer and transition into fall with grace.

These three mudras will bring you back home to your source, connect you with your heart, and plug you back into your deeper power.

Alexandria Crows teaches Bow Pose in her "new, backwards way," to target all the tight and weak places that might be holding you back.

Ever try a yoga pose and feel like your body just doesn’t make that shape? Erin Motz (a.k.a. the Bad Yogi) has 3 ideas to help you rock Crow Pose.

The Dharma Yoga creator shows off his latest innovation—a wheel-shaped prop to assist you in backbends and inversions. See how to use it.

A yoga practice 
can be an important recovery tool 
for tennis in order to stretch tight muscles and encourage tissue resiliency.

Learn to balance as you move step by step into Pincha Mayurasana.

Increase your shoulder flexibility and develop greater strength with these prep poses 
for Pincha Mayurasana, forearm balance.

Modify Dolphin if needed to find safe alignment for your body.

Open and strengthen the shoulders, open the hamstrings, and prepare the body and mind to go upside down in Dolphin Pose. Learn how to get the most out of this pose.

A feeling of youth, even as you age, requires a flexible spine. In order to stay agile, practice forward bends, backbends, and twists regularly.

Maintaining a feeling of youth, even as you age, requires a flexible spine. Try this sequence to open your back and shoulders.

In order to stay agile as you age, make forward bends, backbends, and twists a regular part of your practice. Start here.

This sequence emphasizes moving safely into backbends that open the heart and shoulders and challenge balance.

How do you know if you've been in a pose too long? When you start to "sag," says Eddie Modestini, who will lead Yoga Journal's upcoming Vinyasa 101 course.

The following five poses root down into the ground, allowing you to expand and create more space within your body and mind.

When it comes to injury prevention, what 
you do between poses may be as important as the poses themselves. Here’s how 
to flow safely through tricky transitions.

Tame anxiety with this short meditation and seated sequence.

Struggling with arm balances? The secret lies in the hands and forearms. Learn how to support your weight throughout your inversion practice.

Every yogi, it seems, has a tale of a bum knee, shoulder, or hip. But getting injured in practice often means something is out of alignment.

Feeling discontent, dissatisfied or down? Heart-opening yoga poses, such as Wheel (Upward Bow) Pose, are the perfect Rx.

One of the biggest changes in yoga since 1975? The sheer number of poses. Here, we look at how social media and creativity spurs asana innovation.

YJ's “Master Class” column, featuring intelligent sequences leading to challenging peak poses taught by influential teachers, ran for about a decade. Here, six of our favorites.

The Dharma Yoga Wheel helps newbies and veterans backbend safely and fearlessly.

Lauren Imparato's detoxifying poses will cleanse, strengthen, and inspire you from the inside out and outside in.

Tight or open, your hips need to be strong for injury-free movement. Learn how to build stability in common yoga poses.

The hunch in your shoulders and knots in your neck aren’t just uncomfortable, they carry an orthopedic risk. Amy Ippoliti created this practice to counteract "tech neck."

These 3 hand mudras will help you keep yoga, learning, and inspiration at the top of your list. Try them with the following mantra: "Magic takes guts."

Camatkarasana, or Wild Thing, is a pose Bryant Park Yoga teacher Sara Clark can't get enough of. It's both a celebration and representation of the dynamic ways our body can move.

Kathryn Budig wants to introduce you to her new love: Karate. Here, two kicks to get you started, paired with the perfect poses for the flexibility and strength required.

NASA rocket scientist/yoga teacher Scott Lewicki balances a highly technical day job with creativity on the mat. Use this innovative practice to find new space in often forgotten muscles.

Just in time for summer, here are Two Fit Moms' top 8 yoga poses to work the core.

Alison McCue, who led the Tuesday class at Bryant Park Yoga this week, offers four poses to build confidence (and your sense of humor).

Begin with 10 minutes of foundational poses to remember why you are perfect exactly as you are.

Begin with 10 minutes of foundational poses, then add complexity to each posture in the 20 minute sequence, allowing yourself to honor your current practice.

Try this 30-minute sequence to allow yourself to honor the perfection of your practice and expand into more-advanced forms.

Try this 10-, 20-, or 30-minute yoga sequence to find deeper personal fulfillment in everyday life.

In part two of this three-part series on The Science of Breathing, learn how to take advantage of the power of the breath on the mat in various types of poses and with five different pranayama techniques.

Using an aerial silk or hammock allows gravity to help the back leg relax and the spine to curve naturally. You’ll stop fighting gravity, and allow the support 
of the hammock to help you lengthen.

The way you position your hands on the ground is important. Alexandria Crow breaks down what this commonly used cue misses about doing it safely and how you can do better.

Find energetic and physical balance 
as you deepen your twist and move 
step by step into Noose Pose (Pasasana).

Ground your legs and open your shoulders and chest to prepare you for Rope Pose.

Modify Parivrtta Utkatasana, Revolved Chair Pose, if needed to find safe alignment for your body.

Strengthen and ground your legs and hips, bring length and lightness to your spine and expand your chest in revolved chair pose.

Arm balances are only partially about the arms. Learn how to really take flight in Bakasana and beyond with Kino MacGregor's core-activating sequence.

Check out YJ Editors's author page.

Think you don't have time for yoga? Add this vinyasa right into your next workout, between sets of any exercise, to keep things interesting.

“Soft,” “relaxed” glutes never had an inspiring ring to Alexandria Crow till she understood the anatomy behind the alignment cue.

Colleen Saidman Yee offers poses from her new memoir, Yoga for Life, to release anxiety and trauma from body parts that commonly hold it.

Bryant Park Yoga is back for its 12th season in New York City, featuring instructors curated by Yoga Journal. This week: Bethany Lyons.

Master teacher Sianna Sherman created this short sunrise sequence integrating the physical and spiritual to take your practice to another level.

Turn to this pranayama practice in times of transformation to invoke Kali and free yourself from anything that's holding you back.

Masumi Goldman reveals the trick to mastering the overhand grip in Dancer and One-Legged King Pigeon Poses is often in (surprise!) the psoas.

For stability when your feet leave the ground, Kathryn Budig steals tricks from martial arts.

Use these five practices invoking Lakshmi to ignite your inner spark, find your radiant power of grace, and feel the ocean of abundance within you.

Try these three pre-and post-workout yoga practices from Sage Rountree’s new book to balance strength and fitness daily.

Use this post-workout sequence from Sage Rountree’s new book to build core strength that balances the abs and back muscles.

Only have 10, 20 or 30 minutes? Try this at home practice to recharge during your busy day with yoga teacher Chelsea Jackson.

Seated meditative poses support you as you drink in and recharge, and Warrior Poses, inversions, and backbends help you find strength as you pour out offerings to the world.

This balancing, restorative sequence encourages you to “drink” as you “pour.” Seated meditative poses support you as you drink in and recharge.

Refresh on the basics with Upward Salute, a pose that teaches extension from the ground up, lengthens the side waist, strengthens arms and shoulders.

Lengthen the hamstrings, hone midline awareness, and cultivate balance with these prep poses for Adho Mukha Vrksasana.

Spinning and outdoor cycling are high-octane cardio workouts that require powerful legs and knees, and a strong back and core. Use yoga to regain balance.

In honor of Mother's Day, practice yoga with a special mom in your life. Two Fit Moms created a shareable sequence suitable for all levels.

Use the following four poses to safely warm up and engage your core and hips for Side Plank.

Master this deep hip opener and backbend to help stretch and release tension. Use these five poses to safely warm up for One-Legged King Pigeon Pose.

Try these variation-mixes of Sun Salute A, B, and C to spice up your yoga practice.

Sianna Sherman introduces you to Durga and teaches you how to summon her strength in practice and in life.

Ever try a yoga pose and feel like your body just doesn’t make that shape? Erin Motz (a.k.a. the Bad Yogi) has three ideas to help you rock Fire Log Pose (Agnistambhasana).

Yoga teacher Alexandria Crow delves into what your teacher really wants you to do when you hear this cue—and it’s “not navel to spine.”

Kathryn Budig demonstrates how to use a blanket to tap the core strength needed to soar into Parsva Bakasana.

Release tension and pain by working with your tissue. Bo Forbes shows you how to target hotspots in the shoulders and lower back.

Connect with the earth and then defy its gravity with this grounding and exhilarating sequence.

Prana Vinyasa founder Shiva Rea has an Earth Day eco-challenge for you: 10 body mudras and eco-actions to help you connect to the Earth.

Are you struggling with your lift off into Bakasana? Kathryn Budig uses a blanket to unlock the secret source of strength (hint: core) you need to soar.

Chad Dennis, yoga instructor to Maroon 5, created this soothing practice playlist to help bring you back to center anywhere.

Traveling? Take a cue from these experts at practicing in transit with 11 poses to center you anywhere.

For serious arm balance inspiration, look no further than this video from Equinox's Dylan Werner. Expect stunning poses and breathtaking transitions. Plus, 5 tips to advance your practice.