Do You Do Yoga?

My friend Clare asked a simple question in an email today - “how’s yoga?” I wrote back a ’short’ response the ended up being much longer than I planned. As a result, I worked through some stuff that has been bubbling up. She is awesome that way - knowing the right questions […]

In a survey I took yesterday, I was asked what the goal of my yoga practice is. I had to stop and think. I remember when I first started, I used to have goals of doing certain strong postures. I would go to classes and do some things at home to make […]

My practice has changed dramatically in the past three months. What I haven’t mentioned yet on this site is that I am 12 weeks pregnant!
As a result, my approach to my yoga practice has changed dramatically. Actually, with the fatigue in the first trimester, I backed off of any strong asana […]

Mantra Japa is a practice where one recites a mantra repeatedly as a tool to help focus the mind. I have been using it lately in my meditation practice, and have found that it’s a useful way to keep the mind from wandering.
This past week, I have been having sleeping problems. I sleep […]

One of the eight limbs of yoga, according to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is Yama or how you treat your environment. One of the Yamas is Staya or truth. The sutra describing this quality (II-36) says that one who speaks the truth will have the correct/desired results from their actions or words. […]

I tried a new kind of fasting this weekend - a computer fast. I work remotely from home, which means I am tied into my work through my computer. I spend most of my day sitting in front of it (with occasional breaks for my back and my sanity). In the evening, […]

During the last session of my 500 hour and two years of training with Gary and AVI, we delved into meditation. I have never really had a meditation practice in all of my years of asana and pranayama (breathing practices). The closest I came were moments of inner silence brought on by the […]

Ever since I can remember, there has been a sound track playing to my life. Songs have gotten stuck in my mind since I was a child. I usually wake up to one without even realizing it. Sometimes, the songs are persistent and stay in my head for days at a time. […]

I had a lesson in aparigraha today! aparigraha is one of the Yamas, and Yama is one of the eight limbs of the path to Yoga listed in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Sutra II-28 lists the eight limbs, and Sutra II-30 lists the Yamas for those interested).
Yama is your attitude toward others, and […]

I am back in Austin, TX finishing up my teaching certification with the American Viniyoga Institute. It has been a long journey since I first started the training in 2005. The knowledge that I will be periodically returning to the training (and the Sangha)has helped keep my practice strong, but now it is […]