Flow Together Wednesdays

With the ebb and flow of studio openings and closings, I've started off 2021 with live hath-flow classes on my youtube channel every Wednesday morning. Yes, live. The perfectionist in me resisted doing livestreams because I couldn't edit out the mistakes, the technical blips, the stumbling over words. However, I know not to let perfect …

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Yoga at Home: Shoulders & Upper Back

Our shoulder joints and neck (cervical spine) are made for mobility. However, the muscles around theses joints tighten up with stress and repetitive arm/hand motions. Whether we're using our hands at our desks or doing a lot of lifting, the muscles of the shoulder girdle suffer. When anxiety hits us, we tend to shrink in …

Lunar Monday Essential Oil Blend

Over on my youtube channel, I'm working on two series of videos--one vinyasa, one yin--to provide a sequence for each day of the week so that by the end of the week we cover all the areas of the body and the principle poses from the respective type of yoga. The organization of each series takes …

2020 & the Tyranny of Should

Here, in the thick of resolution season, the "shoulds" and "should nots" arise to constrict habits and behavior. By the end of the month many of those resolutions fail. We adhere to the "should", maybe even more strongly than our original standard, then we feel like we "should" stay there or "do better". Then, if we fail to meet the increasingly unsustainable standards, we punish ourselves with guilt. A build up of guilt often flips to defiance and we abandon the resolution completely.

So how do we navigate this?

Letting go the Autumn Leaf of Approval Seeking

As autumn colors the world with leafy vibrance, it’s the perfect time to reflect on surrender. As natural beings, our bodies and minds move eagerly to the rhythm of the seasons. In the natural world, the trees break down the chlorophyll to free up nutrients. Once that's complete, plant hormones send messages each leaf stem …

Autumnal Equinox: Transitioning with Curiosity and Joy

Everything moves to a rhythm. From the revolution of galaxies and stars to the vibration of atoms. The equinoxes and solstices offer us a chance to reflect on the rhythm of the seasons. You might have noticed that yoga instructors tend to bring up these seasonal events, as well as the monthly pulse of the …

Quick Yoga-Break

https://youtu.be/6t1P2dgvzn8  

Physical Exercise beyond Pain/Gain Myth

No Pain, No Gain. You've heard it. Heck, you've probably grown up with it. The steady stream of Nike ads and fashion magazines tells you over and over: "If you don't go hard, go home."  Extremism is built into a capitalist society because it depends on people not ever having or being enough. This is …

The Heart of the Phoenix

There is alchemy in the season, an alchemy we kindle in our hearts, burning away the dross of our own limiting beliefs to let our genuine selves radiate outward.

Five Whirlpools: Yoga Sutra 1.6

Again and again in the literature, the mind is compared to a lake reflecting reality. The smoother the surface is, the more pure the reflection. By analogy, the vritti ruffle the surface with eddies, making it harder to understand ourselves and our place in the universe at any given moment in our brief lives.