One Saturday morning in a yoga class, I rose into a crescent lunge and prepared to bend back, possibly far enough to peek at the wall behind me. “Sink into your hips, and build the pose,” my teacher instructed.  She explained how important it is to ground down in order to feel the energy rise up.  She stressed strength in the core as she told us to grow taller on the inhale and open our hearts as we exhaled.  (in yoga, as in life, “Inhale:  grow taller.  Exhale:  go deeper.)  “Don’t just jack your back,” she cautioned.  “You’ll hurt yourself.” […]