Introduction to Yoga - Dance 103 - UWM

08/19/2026

08/18/2026

08/11/2026

Make your voice heard in the Wisconsin Partisan Primary Election on Aug. 11! You can still register to vote at the polls. Find your polling place, see what's on your ballot and discover additional resources at the link in the comments ⬇️

08/08/2026

UWM students Calista Albert and Abril Duarte walk through the UWM Biological Sciences Greenhouse, which is on the roof of UWM's Northwest Quadrant complex. The 9,625-square-foot greenhouse is used for research and botanical instruction, and is home to more than 670 species of plants. Normally closed to the public, the greenhouse will be open for tours on Sept. 26, as part of Doors Open Milwaukee.

07/28/2026

07/20/2026

Same fold.
Different breath.

Uttānāsana and Paschimottānāsana both carry the word Uttāna — an intense extension, an intense stretch.

Both fold the body forward.
Both lengthen the back body.
Both invite the mind to become quiet.

But gravity does not teach them in the same way.

In Uttānāsana, you are standing.

The spine releases downward.
The head softens.
The back of the legs receives the weight of the torso.

The breath begins to spread into the back body.

Deep.
Even.
Listening.

In Paschimottānāsana, you are sitting.

Gravity no longer carries the torso forward in the same way.

The spine must lengthen first.
The movement must come from the hip joints.
The exhale guides the torso forward.

This is not about which pose is harder.
It is about what the breath reveals.

One teaches release.
The other teaches direction.

Same forward fold.
Same body.
Same day.

Two completely different conversations with the same breath.

At BKS Iyengar Yogashala, the breath is not background music.
It is the teacher.

💬 Which forward fold taught you more — Uttānāsana or Paschimottānāsana?

Comment “standing” or “seated.” We read every one.

06/26/2026

Most of us were taught that health means not being sick.

No fever.
No pain.
No diagnosis.

But B.K.S. Iyengar saw health differently:
“Health is not only the absence of disease; it is a state of vibrant well-being.”

This is a very different way to understand yoga practice.

Health is not only the body being free from illness.
It is also the feeling of being steady in the body.
Clear in the breath.
Present in the mind.
Alive in our own being.

In Iyengar Yoga, this well-being is not forced.
It is uncovered slowly through practice.

When the feet learn to stand with awareness, the body becomes more stable.
When the spine learns to lift, the breath has more space.
When the breath becomes steady, the mind begins to quieten.

This is why practice is not only about doing poses.
It is about learning how to live more fully inside the body.

Not a dramatic before-and-after.
Not a quick transformation.

A slow return to yourself.

💬 What does “vibrant well-being” mean to you today?

Share one word in the comments.