Satya, Truth: I stole most of that title from Peg Mulqueen.
So a week ago, I returned from an intensive yoga session with David Garrigues in Philly. I’d been looking forward to it for months. READ MORE
Category Archives: Yoga
How I found My Tribe (or, reason number 8,796 why I love yoga)
WARNING, THIS WILL BE REALLY CHEESY AND WLL NOT ACCURATELY MAKE MY POINT! Read at your own risk.
I interrupt this regularly scheduled radio silence to talk about something dear to my heart that is extremely difficult to describe (and by the way, thanks for your patience while I’ve been having sort of a tough and busy time, I’m back and I’ll give you a great recipe one day soon).
I have just returned from the Ashtanga Yoga Confluence. This was a gathering of many senior teachers plus about 300 devoted practitioners in San Diego for four days of practice and talking tradition, philosophy, history and love of Guruji. READ MORE
Emergency Delectable Measures: Tip 2
Happy Wednesday everyone! Are you being nice to yourself yet? If you have no idea what I’m talking about, see Tip #1 from Sunday.
So now that you’re acknowledging you’re having a hard/stressful/busy time, and starting to be compassionate to yourself, it’s time to take some action. Specifically: GET MOVING. That’s right, I’m telling you to shake your booty.
Back to “Real” Life
Well, I’m a week and a half outside my OBX experience. And I’m glad to be home with more control over my day to day experience, climate, food, routines. But wow I miss the yoga!
While at the Outer Banks, my normal morning practice, before any of the “extras,” was taking about 3 hours. I don’t even quite know what I was doing for so long, but wow, it felt pretty great! Every day was one of those blissed out experiences I remember from the beginning of my ashtanga practice when everything was new and exciting, and change happened in big leaps. I think it’s common, as the practice goes on, for the change to happen in smaller steps, the day to day to feel a little less revelatory, but still, it’s nice to have those exciting moments.
When Life Hands You Lemons-My Lemonade Recipe
Hello delectable friends! Sorry for the long radio silence. I took the time for a yoga retreat recently, and it became a longer break than I anticipated! Life can be…unexpected.
I haven’t really taken a workshop break, turned off my internet access and settled in for a long, deep dive into the yoga in a long time, years really. Though I practice every day, that kind of time away was just inaccessible. And I didn’t feel like I had the time this month either, but it was planned for, paid for, agonized over and on the books, so off I went.
It was just as amazing as I’d hoped, and more on the yoga another time, but things got really interesting right at the end. Just as I settled in, it felt like it was time to leave. My thoughts turned to “re-entry” and what was next, with a bit of trepidation. And what happened? Wham! I got struck from behind, literally, out of nowhere. Was it fate, karma, Ganesh you ask? Nope, it was a car. But it could have been any of those things as well. The car accident brought me straight into the present moment and showed me more clearly than any sutra that I am not in control and that life is crazy and will throw you a curve, when you least expect it.
Why I’m (Still) in Love with Yoga
Yoga was easy at first. I was infatuated. I got up each morning, flew into class early enough to get the perfect spot, got on the mat and got sweaty and happy. Simple. This went on for quite some time. Of course, then followed the inevitable middle stage. I was still addicted, but it took a little more effort. It required lifestyle changes. Scheduling challenges with friends and family (!) cropped up. The honeymoon phase was over. I would often roll into the studio at the last minute and think as I began “I’m not sure this is really going to happen.” I clearly remember one teacher telling me, “You have got to have a little more fun with your yoga!” I was mortified. Yoga was the love of my life, so I thought. What did she mean I wasn’t having fun?
So why do I still practice yoga? Even without enlightenment, even without that initial perpetual bliss, even with aches, pains, and your average busy work life?
