This monthly newsletter, published by writer and yogi Monica Paredes, is created to provide resources to nourish your practice and inspire your spirit. Please contact me for comments or suggestions.

I've decided to change my name from Exhale Yoga to Heart Practice Yoga. With the launch of my new publishing company, Heart Practice Publishing, LLP, it seems like a good time to connect all. Web site changes are soon to follow. I thank you for your support throughout the years and continue to be inspired by you.

I found Ashtanga's Lino Miele's insistence on a gaze point, whether it's the tip of your nose, the breath or the thumb in every movement. Deepening the breath and sending all your focus to one point can feel fluid.

The hand mudras incorporated into various sun salutations as practiced in Kali Ray's TriYoga are so graceful that the sequences feel more like a dance as the hands create expressions. The body seems more flexible.

Anusara's John Friend says if you dedicate your practice to someone who needs a prayer or someone you love, it gives you the juice to continue, when you want to come out of a posture. I find this especially true when we are in triangle and our hearts open wide and our hand extends up to touch our loved one. These are some gems to calm a busy mind.

A Yoga Workshop for Runners (fast-walkers, included)

This workshop will explore yoga postures and breath control to foster healthy, relaxed, muscles that run more efficiently and provide better "shock absorbers" than rigid ones.

After a dynamic yoga warm up, bringing oxygen to the large muscle groups, you'll practice postures with specific focus on the strengthening, alignment, and deep stretching of areas that often undergo trauma in running: The arches of the feet, ankles, Achilles tendons, knees, hamstrings, quads, hips, and lower back.

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I am pleased to announce that Mad Agnes, my favorite Connecticut group, is coming to our little studio in San Antonio. If you're a fan of accomplished instrumentalism and intricate harmonies, this is the band to see. Join us!

"Mad Agnes isn't really mad at all," says Pete Fornatale (of WFUV in New York), unless mad also means quirky, intelligent, warm, insightful, and humorous. Mad Agnes' music - created by Margo Hennebach, Adrienne Jones, and Mark Saunders - delights, incites, and heals. They do it with rich, heart-rending three-part harmonies, synergistic musicianship, and clever songwriting that is at once familiar and completely unique. " $15 by March 13, $18 at the door. Reserve early, space is limited.

More details here... »

Breathe deeply and stay present. Thich Nhat Hanh says: "Beathing in I calm my body. Breathing out I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment."