The Y Factor

He may not understand how it works, but Neal Pollack can attest to the powerful experience of activating prana through yoga.

Pattabhi Jois called family life the Seventh Series of Ashtanga Yoga. Over the holidays, Neal Pollack tackles this most challenging practice of all.

"No matter what you do for a living, if you practice yoga, in the long run, you end up caring about people and empathizing with their problems," Neal Pollack writes.

Neal Pollack wants to follow the principle of ahimsa, or non-harming, even in his diet, but he can't seem to give up meat.

When it comes to money matters, yoga hasn't provided Neal Pollack with any answers. But it's proven to be a steady lean-to during both good and bad times.

Yoga teaches us to practice indifference to those things that bother us, but Neal Pollack is struggling with one nemesis to his peace of mind: leafblowers. What disruptor to your yogic calm would you like to make peace with?

In the real life of a householder, sneaking in 30 or 40 minutes of uninterrupted yoga is about all Neal Pollack can hope for. It may not measure up to his former Ashtanga practice, but it's enough.

Do you need to be super flexible to teach yoga? No, writes Neal Pollack. All you need is an open mind, an open heart, and a willingness to dedicate a goodly percent of your life to the practice.

Most yoga students have been approached by a yoga skeptic at one time or another. But preaching to doubters just doesn't work, writes Neal Pollack. Lead by example instead.

Yoga can energize you when you need energy, chill you when you need chilling, heal you when you're hurt, and focus your mind when you're scattered, writes Neal Pollack.

Neal Pollack reinvigorates his practice with the re-discovery of online yoga classes.

Neal Pollack teaches his son yoga nidra, the "yoga of sleep," and witnesses it's sure results.

Despite his regular yoga practice, Neal Pollack, like many of us, experiences occasional back issues. Yoga helps, and also keeps him aware that his body, though functional, isn't perfect.

Yoga creates near-ideal conditions for public arousal, writes Neal Pollack. Read his sage advice to men new to the practice on how to deal with unexpected desire during class.

When a beloved yoga teacher moves on, students get a first-hand lesson in impermanence.

In the wake of last week's anxiety producing news, Neal Pollack was reminded that while suffering is part of our human condition, yoga is there to help alleviate it.

It's easy to practice non-attachment when things aren't going well, Neal Pollack writes, but what about when they are?

Yoga isn't limited to asana, says Neal Pollack. The longer he practices, the more he realizes just how complex and deep this path is.

When antidepressants stopped working, Neal Pollack's yoga practice helped him manage his depression--minus the negative side effects.

When he first started a band, Neal Pollack was full of expectations. Today, his music just brings him a lot of joy, in the moment.