Autumn, when the sun is hot and the air is crisp. The third season of the year, when crops and fruit are gathered, and leaves blow in the wind. A spectacle of vibrant colors set the foliage ablaze as summer transitions into winter. Crunch! Delight beneath my feet.
After nine days of avoiding meat, eggs, dairy, sugar, alcohol, food out of season, and “unclean” hygiene products, I was curious to find out how adding them all back would feel.
For roughly the first decade of my yoga practice, my approach to blocks was, “I don’t need no stinkin’ blocks.” I muscled my way through off-balance and out-of-integrity postures, but I’d be damned if I'd use a block. Until I did.
Your skin is your body’s largest organ, protecting your internal organs from the toxins of the outside world. Providing it with enough water to flush out those toxins is key to its health.
Over 2,500 people flocked to Tidewater, OR in mid-August to share a weekend, daring to dream a different dream of community, belonging, and being. This was not only my first Beloved, but it was my first festival ever. I learned about it from a friend who had attended in the past and my curiosity was piqued.
Ever wonder why yoga classes often include ambient nature sounds in the background? The auditory experience is healing indoors and even more magical when combined with actual nature.
As an experienced yoga teacher, I’m asked often for book recommendations. One of my “you gotta read” books is A Life Worth Breathing: A Yoga Master's Handbook of Strength, Grace, and Healing by Max Strom.
Eve of Day 1: I soaked mung beans for the next day’s kitchari, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and did a coconut oil pull. Then I settled in to journal about how I was feeling at the time: excited, a bit hesitant, hopeful. Day 1: I am proof that it is possible to gag on a metal tongue scraper, regardless of what the packaging says.
If you like lying around your house on pillows of various sizes, then you will absolutely love a bolster. Bolsters are wonderful additions to your practice not only because they’re big and soft, but more importantly because they can be used to enhance nearly any pose.
The word sangha is Sanskrit for community or affiliation. I refer to it as my “yoga home.” It is where I go to feel seen and connected and a place I can be fully myself. Finding a yoga sangha can feel a bit like playing Goldilocks.
How many times have you arrived home from work or were simply frazzled after a long day and wished you had an instant stress relief button? Anxiety can show up in ways like pressure in the chest, tension in the stomach, tightness in the shoulders, insomnia, or headaches. And it often appears when we feel disconnected from the present moment.
Our human reality operates entirely through thought. Everything we feel is a result of our thinking. If we feel anxious, it’s because we are experiencing anxious thinking. If we feel happy, it’s because we are experiencing happy thinking. How we view our reality, therefore, really does come from within! We have the power to choose our thoughts and therefore, we have the power to create our feelings.
