We had a baby! He came a full two weeks late, almost down to the minute. Elliot Michael was born during a lightning storm on September 2, 2023, making his arrival just before midnight. Waiting for him those two weeks was quite possibly harder than......
25 September, 2023
Touching your toes Do you want to know what I most often hear when I tell people I teach yoga? They say “I can’t do yoga. I can’t touch my toes.” It’s kind of like saying “I can’t drive because I can’t race in Formula......
07 August, 2023
What is the difference between Yin and Restorative yoga? In the last blog post I wrote I promised I’d address the common question: What is the difference between Yin and Restorative yoga? Aren’t they the same? Answer: No, they are not the same. While they are......
24 July, 2023
Not this. Not that. There’s a mantra in Sanskrit that goes nadi nadi. It means “Not this. Not that.” The idea is that suffering is caused by identifying with transient things, by an ego that is grasping being something, instead of just being. Nadi nadi, we repeat. I am not this. I......
12 June, 2023
Inspired by the start of the year, I’d like to share with you the beginning of the chapter on practice, Sadhana Pada, of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. What are the Yoga Sutras? As a brief introduction, the Yoga Sutras are a Sanskrit text dating back about 1,500 years......
02 January, 2023
Bringing the year to a close Together in these December week newsletters we are working towards consciously bringing 2022 to a close. We are taking time to be mindful and intentional about wrapping up the year so we can start with as clean a slate......
12 December, 2022
TL;DR There’s a yoga practice called pratipaksa bhavana from Sutra 2.33:Upon being harassed with negative thoughts, one should cultivate counteracting thoughts. Maybe that’s all you need for today. Or maybe, you want to know why… The long explanation… Metaphysics, as defined by Oxford Languages, is “the branch of philosophy that deals......
21 November, 2022
Some Yoga advice for high emotion environments With the holiday season upon us, and with it the high emotions of reconnecting with family and friends while navigating obligations, expectations, and the weird way we seem to revert into family roles we thought we’d long since......
14 November, 2022Jiddu Krishnamurti I picked a book off my bookshelf this morning, a collection of writings and talks by J. Krishnamurti, a late 19th, early 20th century philosopher/mystic/teacher. Interestingly, Krishnamurti’s origins are in theosophy, a western occultist religious movement that he, as a boy, was groomed as......
24 October, 2022Get updates on class times, special events, and other news.
First, a story A couple Fridays ago I was talking to a friend and fellow yoga teacher about integration. You know, bringing the pieces together, making them talk. Finding the connection points. As our conversation unfolded, I recognized something in myself. I had been keeping......
13 June, 2022
This week I want to highlight Yin Yoga poses for beginners. On Wednesdays we practice together for 45 minutes on Zoom, but I know not everyone can make class live and besides, some of you might be wondering what Yin Yoga is in the first......
21 June, 2021
Wondering if Yin Yoga builds strength? The short answer is yes – just not in the way you might be thinking. Yin Yoga is an exercise for your connective tissues, not muscles. When you build muscular strength, you’re exercising in familiar ways: working up a sweat,......
28 December, 2020
Brains! You have a brain! You’re carrying around 2.5 to 3 pounds of it in your head at all times, no wonder your neck gets sore. Not only are you carrying this weight in your head, you’re carrying the evolutionary development of our species. According......
31 October, 2022January I tried something different with online OAY classes and went with the theme of “Anatomy Month.” Over the last three weeks, we split the body into three parts – hips on week one, shoulders week two, and spine week three. This week, we put......
25 January, 2021
Stress and Relaxation When teaching people about their stress and relaxation responses I try to be careful not to demonize the stress side of things. It seems to me that in the “wellness world,” we overemphasize the rest/digest response without touching into the importance of......
11 April, 2022What parts of you lie beneath your consciousness? Do you think about breathing every time you breathe? Probably not. Breathing happens unconsciously. Same with movement. You don’t have to explain to your hips and legs how to walk each time you take a step. If......
22 February, 2021
Polyvagal Theory Last time I posted I wrote about your autonomic nervous system – your fight/flight and rest/digest response. In this post I want to introduce you to a bit more nuance in understanding how we as humans deal with threat and trauma, using Polyvagal......
25 April, 2022
Think of the thermostat in your home or on a space heater. You set a certain temperature and when the sensor senses the room reach that temp, the heat cuts off. What if something was wrong with the sensor and the heat didn’t turn off?......
08 February, 2021
Did you know that yoga is much more than a physical practice? The asana, or postures, we practice in a typical yoga class is the third of a total of eight limbs of yoga. The first two limbs of yoga are yama and niyama, or......
29 December, 2018
The yamas can be understood as ways in which we interact with the world around us. Things we must observe to be good, solid people. It’s no surprise that telling the truth makes the list. We now arrive at our second core discipline, satya. Satya:......
28 December, 2018
There are five yamas and five niyamas, for a total of ten moral and ethical precepts to help guide one’s life. Here is the third yama, asteya. Asteya: Non-Stealing Resisting desire for that which does not belong to us. This one, like the others,......
27 December, 2018
The eight limbs of yoga, including the yamas and niyamas that we are working through, are not meant to be completed in a linear fashion. It’s not that you master all five yamas, then move on to all five niyamas, and only after that you’re......
26 December, 2018
The language of yoga is Sanskrit, and Sanskrit words mean so much more than a simple and direct translation can do justice. We do our best to express the concepts in English. The next and final yama is one that feels to me to go......
25 December, 2018
The yamas are external observances, ways we strive to show up in our community and our household. Conversely, the niyamas are internal disciplines, ways to aim to be on the inside, personal rules to follow for a spiritual life. The first niyama is sauca. Sauca: Cleanliness, Purity Recognizing the......
24 December, 2018
Yogas citta vrtti nirodhah (Sutra 1.2) states that yoga is the calming of the fluctuations of the mind. It’s a move away from the myriad distractions of knowledge, misconception, imagination, memory, and even sleep into a place of centered presence unaffected by these states of......
23 December, 2018
Yoga is both the goal and the steps you take to get there. That is, one practices yoga in an effort to achieve yoga. The word yoga has many definitions. It means to yoke or to unify, to become one with the object of concentration.......
22 December, 2018
Yoga is a robust philosophy full of advice and practices based on thousands of years of experience. Yoga has evolved with its master practitioners, who are themselves connected to a lineage of teachers through the history of time, to suit the changing needs of the......
21 December, 2018
Yoga is not a hard and fast dogma. It’s flexible. It’s open. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali themselves recommend six techniques for concentration before simply saying “or practice anything that is uplifting.” (1.32-39) Even as a non-yogi who has no interest in the practice, you’ll......
20 December, 2018