Is Your Fitness Program Shaping More Than Just Your Booty?
How AWESOME is this?!
“Hi Samantha! I wanted to share that it’s been a month since I started taking fitness classes with you. I started with once a week, but the last two weeks I did two classes a week. My body has changed SO much!
I noticed the difference in ONE single class – in my muscle tone and posture. In just four weeks, especially the last two, my entire body shape has shifted.
My spine is straighter, I hold myself better, I have much more strength, my energy has easily doubled, the amount of sleep I need has gone down, my body is leaner, my shoulders are sexy, my tush is firming and lifting (my husband asked me where I was hiding the rest of it this morning), and I generally feel like I can greet life with so much more confidence.
I have moved through SO many energetic, emotional and physical edges into new space and awareness in just a few weeks, it’s incredible! Thank you for helping me ground and come into my body in such a powerful and aligned way.” ♥ xoxoxo ♥Cristina (more…)
What Is The Significance Of Spreading Your Yoga Toes?
Now those are some yoga toes! 
Did you know that by spreading your toes you activate your outer shin muscles, enlivening your legs with more strength and and awareness?
Here my foot is “flointed”. Ankle joint pointed, toes flexed and fanned. So, I have refined articulation in my ankle joint and my toes! Oh yeah baby.
But, I am not just doing this to show off my sandy feet. There is a much bigger purpose to working our feet in all yoga poses and exercises too.
Let me break-it-down a wee bit… (more…)
Pincha Mayurasana With Leg Variation And Yoga Toe Inspiration
Same pose, different toes!
Yogatoes infuse your asana with consciousness and liveliness. Just try to do any pose with relaxed feet, especially a forearm-stand like this, and FEEL the difference.
Here I am playing with 3 different expressions on my feet. Honestly, the one that feels best to me here is pointed toes. But in every variation my feet are awake.
Therapeutically there are reasons why we would choose to floint our foot or flex our foot and spread our toes. Our knees benefit greatly by optimally aligning our ankles and toes.
How To Get Your Heels Down In Down Dog Without Compromising Your Back
If you have been trying to root your heels in your down dog, or refine your dog pose, this post is for you!
Not only will this post help you get your heels to the ground sooner and with more understanding in your body, but it will lead you through step by step principles, so you don’t compromise your low back. Yay!
It is quite common to see a practitioner trying so hard to root his/her heels, that they totally lose the alignment of their low back. This is silly. Why compromise the longevity of your low back, just to get the outer form of the pose to “look” a certain way (a.k.a. heels down)?
Psst, just an inside note: You DON’T have to have your heels all the way to the ground to enjoy a rockin’ down dog. Let me explain…
Letting Go With Legs Up The Wall Yoga Pose
“In a society preoccupied with how best to raise a child, I’m finding I need to mesh what’s best for my child with what is necessary for a balanced mother. I am recognizing that ceaseless giving translates into giving yourself away. And, when you give yourself away, you are not a healthy mother, and you are not a healthy self.
So, now I’m learning to be a woman first and a mother second. I am learning to just experience my emotions without robbing my children of their individual dignity by feeling their emotions too. I am learning that a healthy child will have his own set of emotions and characteristics that are his alone. And, very different from mine.
I am learning the importance of honest exchanges and feelings because pretenses don’t fool children. They know their mother better than she knows herself.
I am learning that no one overcame her past unless she confronts it. Otherwise, her children will absorb exactly what she’s attempting to over come.
I am learning that words of wisdom fall on deaf ears if my actions contradict my deeds. Children tend to be better impersonators than listeners. (more…)
Optimal Shoulder Alignment Brings Youthful Posture, Mental Optimism And Joy
I am really looking forward to bringing you guys ALIGNMENT TIPS on my Facebook page because, although there are some really great videos out there, I have recently seen some that make me cringe at what is being shown and instructed as appropriate and even therapeutic.“I can’t thank you enough for your knowledge and your talent and your ability to work with so many different kinds of body issues and make it all feel so good and enlightening! And your “heart” work is awesome as well.” -Patty Brown Allen, former student of Samantha Fox Olson
Movement & Meditation, Beginner/Therapeutic Yoga On Kauai
Come and experience how gooooood it can feel to have a body!
Does your body say YES to more nourishment and LOVE?
Does your mind say YES to more beautifying thoughts and spaciousness?
Is your soul ready to be deeply quenched?
Are you ready to get intimate with your breath?
If every cell in your body is resonating with a YES, then welcome my friend….this happy hour class is especially designed for YOU.
A blend of beginner level yoga stretches, therapeutic alignment principles, and yummy guided meditations is infused into each hour to bring you a new class taught by Samantha titled MOVEMENT AND MEDITATION. (more…)
Yoga Detox Workshop With Samantha Fox Olson
SPRING CLEANSING TIME!
YOGA DETOX WORKSHOP WITH SAMANTHA FOX
This is the perfect time to detox our bodies and we can use our yoga practice to facilitate cleansing on many levels.
During this yoga workshop, certified Anusara yoga instructor, Samantha Fox Olson will guide students through a cleansing and flowing practice. Additionally, I will open the workshop with very helpful instruction regarding alignment principles that will be applied during this practice to facilitate an effective yoga detox. The workshop will close with a meaningful meditation that applies to cleansing our minds, bodies and hearts.
Each student will be able to take what they learn in this workshop and bring it into, and enhance, every other yoga practice, no matter what form of yoga you practice! (more…)
My January Yoga Workshop On Kauai
I am happy to announce a New Year Workshop with Jane Winter and Samantha Fox. ALIGNING WITH OUR RESOLUTE INTENTION TO LIVE FROM THE HEART. Sunday, Jan. 23rd
If you have not attended a workshop with us before, read what others have said…
“I have attended 2 workshops with these fine women, Sam & Jane. I have been privileged to work with them as they explore the body, mind and heart in an environment that is both safe and comfortable. Many new doors will open for you after attending one of their sessions, so if you are not ready for 2011 and all the endless possibilities that it holds then do not attend. But if you wish for your life to transform into a chain of endless possibilities then sign up as quickly as possible!” -Margo (more…)
Yoga Therapy Workshop December 19
I hope you are all still marinating in the gratitude of your hearts as the holidays flow.
I am happy to announce December’s Workshop. This workshop gives you the opportunity to give yourself the GIFT of a DEEPER UNDERSTANDING.
YOGA THERAPY FOR THE FEET UP TO THE LOW BACK with an emphasis on: Deepening Our Understanding of the Balanced Action Between Inner and Outer Spirals of the Legs (more…)
Vinyasa- Power Yoga Flow On Kauai
I am happy to announce that we have another class added to our schedule. Monday mornings, 10 am in Kilauea Farms, is now a Vinyasa Power Yoga class. This puts a little more flavor/variety into my weekly schedule! Vinyasa translates as moving alongside of the breath, or linking the body movement with the breath.
So, in Monday’s practice I will be giving less instruction on alignment principles (which I do in great detail on Satuday’s Anusara yoga class), and more emphasis on letting your breath lead the way through your practice. I will be weaving the Universal Principles of Alignment into the class, but we will not stop to partner or fine tune those principles in this practice. (more…)
Special Rate On Private Yoga or Training Sessions
What are your health and fitness goals for this year? Are you off to a good start in making them happen? Do you have the skill, knowledge, drive to turn those goals into reality? Let me help you achieve more than you believe possible. Working together we can expand your boundaries!
One-on-one training is the perfect way to get the focused attention your own, unique personal practice. I will help you reach your health and fitness goals, along with deepening your understanding of alignment and balanced action.
I am offering a discounted private rate on all yoga, yoga therapy, or personal training sessions with me through February! (more…)
Gratitude From Students: Speaking Life!
What a blessing to speak life over those that have changed our lives and touched our hearts. I am forever in gratitude and appreciation for each and every student.
I am so honored to share my latest testimony from a student who travels the world and has taken a few of my yoga classes on Kauai, and another from a very faithful and consistent local student who brightens up the room each time.
“In the past year, I have taken yoga classes with at least 25 different teachers. Samantha is by far the best. (more…)
Another Fabulous Reason To Love A Good Shoulder Loop!
Prana is the vital life force that radiates in our bodies and minds. It is the most basic unit of energy maintaining life.
Prana moves through the body performing distinct functions. These specific functions consist of 5 vayus which move in a specific way and area in the body.
When practiced with BALANCED ACTION, PROPER ALIGNMENT AND AWARENESS, asana (postures) and pranayama (breathwork) optimize the functioning of these vayus.
On the contrary, if one’s prana is obstructed from flowing properly through the energetic channels – whether physically or mentally – the health of the body breaks down and loses it’s vitality.
Lets look at optimizing prana vayu today…
(more…)
John Friend in Maui Deepens Our Raw Power And Refinement
I had the pleasure of attending John Friend’s workshop this past weekend in Maui. The workshop took place in Haiku, at a very beautiful studio called The Studio Maui.
John Friend, the founder of Anusara® yoga, always has a lovely way of guiding his students directly to their hearts, while encouraging them to life life fully. This weekend was no exception!
I joyously partook in the Intermediate-Advanced portion of the workshop, and assisted John during the all-levels sessions both Saturday and Sunday. We opened each morning with a powerful practice including a potpourri of standing poses, some arm balances and deep backbends. In the late afternoon session we grounded down with seated hip openers, twists and forward bends.
Descriptive words such as “raw power” and “refinement” were used to help guide us to the essence of our hearts and this amazing practice. Sometimes we need to be more powerful, sometimes we need to be softer. Refining our understanding of these 2 principles in our practice helps us create balanced action, and helps to systematically align our bodies, in an orderly fashion, so we can express our freedom and beauty.
Radical Expressions From The Heart
If there is one thing that yoga teaches us, it is to step into the freedom of who we are, and to express ourselves fully.
At the beginning of a yoga journey, it may seem like it takes a lot of energy to awaken the entire body and align with grace, optimally. But never fear, for over time and with consistent practice, moving with a full expression emanating from every cell and every fiber in your body will happen naturally.
A strong foundational practice leads the way to this graceful unfoldment, and the entire process teaches us deeply about our own tendencies. From there, it is like riding a bike. Once you understand these principles in your body, and really feel them, they arise naturally from within us as we live off of our yoga mat too.
I was recently in Grand Rapids, MI visiting family and teaching yoga. An artist friend of mine, Rachel Finan, set up a photography shoot with a local photographer, Terry Johnston. I had such an amazing time during this photo shoot that I have to blog about it here.
Creativity, connection and expression were all part of the play! For this particular shoot I wished to capture the essence of my Bodhi Boot Camp class which is non-traditional and somewhat out-of-the-box. The photos we took were fantastic, and the intention of my overall idea playfully and powerfully jumps off each photo.
(more…)
Steeped In Appreciation For All My Teachers
Tonight is the brightest full moon of the year. The full moon of Guru Purnima is the moon under which we honor our teachers. As I sit and remember all that I have learned and continue to learn from my family, friends, yoga instructors and students, and nature I am steeped in appreciation and love.
My 3 year old daughter who has taught me about unconditional love, my husband who teaches me about being grounded in all circumstances, my mom who teaches me about giving from the heart. My father who teaches me about being calm in all situations, my brother who teaches me about faith and courage, and my sister who teaches me about making the best out of all situations.
My yoga teachers include Behnje Masson, of whom was my first Anusara® yoga instructor, Desiree Rumbaugh, Sianna Sherman and the founder of Anusara® yoga, John Friend. All of these people bring a unique flavor into their teaching style, and I remember their offerings each time I am on the mat. (more…)
What Is Grace?
The first principle of Anusara® yoga is Open To Grace. On a very basic level, in our yoga practice (and in our lives) we can experience this ‘alignment principle’ simply by being breathed. Yes, “being breathed.” Not forcing the breath in or out, but softening and allowing our breath to nurture and nourish all aspects of ourselves.
So when I was recently asked to answer these 3 questions, I was delighted in my process of journaling on them. What Is Grace? What is your role as a teacher/student? How do you remember the “celebration of the heart?”
What great questions to ponder whether you are a yoga student or teacher! I hope you take a moment, or a few, and ponder these questions also. Here I share with you my answers to these 3 questions (and I would love to hear your answers too): (more…)
Samantha Fox is a yoga and fitness instructor on the Garden Island of Kauai in Hawaii. She is a Certified Anusara Yoga Instructor and holds a Diploma in Ayurveda Sciences. Samantha has been practicing yoga for over 17 years and began teaching in 2002. » Find out more about Samantha Fox.
CONNECT WITH SAMANTHA