Family Time

I decided to write this post after I’d given myself some time to reflect on what the 5 weeks of the Pilates and Yoga course brought.  I’m now in England, celebrating the holidays with my big, loving, crazy family.  Every morning, I wake up before everyone (except my grandfather, who never sleeps) and do yoga.  [...]

What Comes Next

I feel like I spend lots of time balancing between excitement about what comes next and appreciation of what’s going on right now.  As my parents tell it, I’ve always been a great one for plans: I’m going to do this, then this will happen, then I’ll do this….  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come [...]

Sirsasana: The Infamous Headstand

It seems like everyone has an opinion about Sirsasana.  Either it is one of their favorite, most restorative and calming asanas or they struggle enormously with it.  I fall into the first category.  Ever since I was a child, I loved hanging upside down.  I was always upside down in trees, on monkey bars, on [...]

Chandra Namaskar: Moon Salutation

Since we spend so much of our sequence time doing variations on Surya Namaskar, I thought it might be nice to balance it out with Chandra Namaskar.  My nervous system has been rather sympathetic today, so I think I’ll do a few of these tonight before bed to calm myself.  Since my spine feels tight, [...]

Atha Yoga Anushasanam

“An introduction to yoga in the here and now” or “now, an introduction to the experience of unity.”  I love this sutra.  It is truly applicable every moment of every day.  Right now is the perfect time to open yourself to yoga, whether by practicing asanas, yamas and niyamas, or something as simple as listening [...]

Why eat meat?

I grew up as a vegetarian.  My mom had a strict no-meat-in-the-house policy and we all honored it.  Growing up, I remember eating a lot of beans and rice, broccoli and peanut butter satay, dahl, and tofu.  Because we lived in a small town in northern Michigan, we didn’t have lots of salad in the [...]

Puppy Pose: a great way to relax

I don’t remember my first encounter with puppy pose, but since then, it has definitely become one of my favorite restorative asanas.  It is somewhere between Adho Mukha Svanasana and Balasana: your shins and feet are flat against the floor, knees at a 90 degree angle, and your shoulders to waist are in Downward Facing [...]

Sasankasana: Rabbit Pose

I have a stiff neck, due to a combination of years in the scrum (playing rugby) and heredity.  My grandmother can no longer rotate her neck far enough to look behind her as she is driving.  My mom’s neck is getting tighter and tighter as she ages.  My hope is that by practicing Yoga, treating [...]

Tapas: Austerity

According to Wikipedia, the Sanskrit word tapsaya means heat. Wikipedia goes on to say “In the yogic tradition, tapasya may be translated as “essential energy”, referring to a focused effort leading towards bodily purification and spiritual enlightenment. It is one of the Niyamas (observances of self-control) described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Tapasya implies [...]

NY Times Article: Hindu Group Stirs Debate in Fight for Soul of Yoga

There is an interesting New York Times article about an effort in the US to ensure that Yoga is identified as Hindu.  It’s a pretty interesting, quick read, for anyone who is interested. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/nyregion/28yoga.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage