Tip of the day:

Your practice should be tailored to meet the needs of your body (and heart).

I have big boobs.

Whew, now that I have that off my chest! Ha ha! Sorry, but in America we seem to be kind of silly and goofy where breasts are concerned.

The fact is, while I firmly believe yoga is for every-body, every body has different strengths, weaknesses and needs. Someone who is sedentary much of the time would benefit from extra work with hip opening postures. Runners may benefit from postures that help with core strength. Your practice should be the practice that you need—in and out of class. To me, the mark of a great teacher is one who is both hands-on and non-judgmental with his or her adjustments and can speak intelligently about the purpose of different asanas.

If you have larger breasts, they can take their toll on your back and also can lead to tightened pectoral muscles and over-stretched rhomboids, since many of us will round our shoulders forward instead of pulling them back and keeping our chest open and forward. This is also true for anyone (male or female) who spends a lot of time working on a laptop or any other type of work that encourages a “head forward” posture.

If this is you, make sure you are including some wonderful chest opening asanas in your practice on a regular basis. I love dhanurasana (bow pose) for the way it opens my chest and shoulders. Ustrasana, or camel pose, is another great chest opener (and heart opener as well). Many teachers will plan to focus on certain areas in a particular class sequence, so if you’ve found a studio and teacher you love, ask if there is a class that will be a great fit for your needs.

In other news, it’s really ridiculously hard to take pictures of your yoga practice with the Mac photo booth. Reee-dick-u-lous.

I discovered there is no way I could make it into a handstand in the three seconds after hitting the button to take the picture without falling to an untimely death. Almost, but not quite.

So, since I often do my home practice on my own, my asana portraiture will be limited to when I’m either at a class (with folks I don’t mind bugging to take my picture like a dork), home practice with a friend or more attempts at Photoboothasana, with hopes that I do not fall and break anything in the process.

What was your practice like today? Are you doing #yogaeverydamnday this month? Check back for my updates and follow along on Twitter @kate_bartolotta and Pinterest.

Like elephant yoga on Facebook.