Friday, August 30th will be my last Candlelight Yoga class at Zeal Yoga and the last weekly public yoga class I’ll be teaching (for now). To call this bittersweet fails to capture. . .
Read moreDare to Take Up Space
The first time I met Ana Forrest (creatrix of Forrest Yoga) was at an event for her book, Fierce Medicine, where she spoke and signed copies of the book. I nervously waited in line to meet the woman whose teachings had been so powerful in my life. I walked up to the table she was sitting at and stumbled right into it, knocking it in to her. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" I squeaked. Then I knocked her cup over. "Sorry again." I was dying of embarrassment. She was so poised and calm and I was a hot mess. We chatted while she signed my book then she handed it back and I walked away. . .
Read moreCan I Do Yoga/Pilates?
When people find out I teach yoga & Pilates, the most common response I receive is “I’ve heard that would be good for me. Can/Should I do that?” That last question is usually prefaced by “I have a herniated disc/the tightest hamstrings in the world/a torn rotator cuff/a hip replacement . .”
My answer (assuming that injury didn’t happen yesterday) is always “Yes.” More specifically, "Yes, but only in a way that honors what your body needs from you to heal.”
Read moreSelf-Care Lessons From An Unlikely Teacher
My body was trying to do what my mind couldn’t – get me to slow down long enough to be present, to absorb everything I had accomplished and to cultivate compassion for myself, even when I couldn’t make it through more than a single item on my to do list.
My limitations challenged me to up-level my practice by feeling, rather than doing, more.
Read moreSun Salutations and the Rhythm of Life
That’s a Sun Salutation and that’s life. . . a continuous cycle where glorious highs are followed by slides back down. Sometimes then, the biggest step forward means just pausing and breathing – recognizing what’s happening and what we’re capable of doing in that moment and that moment only.
Yoga reminds us it’s not about perfection or arriving at the end destination. It’s about the journey there. We come to our mat to feel and to be – to just be – without the need to explain or apologize or be any different. To show up, to breathe and keep moving. To fall over, to modify, to rest when needed and just stay present.
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