Yoga is so much more of an inner experience rather than an outward expression. This inner transformation can be difficult to convey to folks, especially people unfamiliar with a full, rich yoga practice that goes beyond stretching your hamstrings. The practice is sacred—a communion among body, mind, and breath. A way to touch into and connect with something deeper—sometimes I like to call it Life with a capital L. For all of these reasons and more, I no longer take photographs of people during yoga.
Read moreThings I no longer do in yoga class, Part 2
I no longer say, “Namaste.” Why would this be? For the first thirteen and a half years of teaching, I would almost always close class with this Sanskrit term, sometimes followed by Gandhi's interpretation: "I honor the place in you where the entire Universe resides. A place of light, of love, of truth, of peace, of wisdom. I honor the place in you where when you are in that place, and I am in that place, there is only One of us."
Read moreThings I no longer do in yoga class, Part 1
I no longer say, "the fullest expression of the pose." In my teacher training over 15 years ago, this was common lingo (AKA the most "advanced" version of the pose). Oh wait, advanced is another word I have removed from my yoga teacher vocabulary for the most part.
Read moreAdvocating for innercise
Yoga: It's innercise, not exercise. At least, that's how I approach it in my teaching. (And a bow of gratitude to my teacher Kristine Weber for coining this term and driving this differentiation home.) When yoga first became mainstream in the United States, it was on the heels of the aerobics movement. Yoga then became lumped into the "fitness" realm, rather than the health and wellness space. Am I anti-fitness? Not at all.
Read moreQuick-fix yoga isn't a thing
Some yoga is going to make your back pain worse. There, I said it. The problem with quick-fix, Instagram, sound-byte yoga is that there is no nuance to it. And often no real thought to sequencing or body diversity.
Read moreThe Beliefs behind the Face
Here’s a few things I want to share about the approach I take to my teachings, so you can know a little more about what to expect when you study with me, whether that’s in a weekly yoga class, a workshop, retreat or private session.
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