I'm so excited to get back in the yoga studio for the first time since my brief series last summer.  I'm going to teach LIVE bodies in REAL time, IN PERSON!  And I'm super psyched it will be an opportunity for some yummy fun partner yoga. 

Here's what's great about having a teammate on the mat:

1.  CONNECTION. Yoga is usually a solitary endeavor, even if you are surrounded by people. This is an opportunity for touch that so many of us are starving for these days.  Human touch is integral to health and happiness.  I consider touch the antidote to loneliness and the avenue to joy.  And we know it works in measurable ways! "Touch strengthens your immune system, improves sleep, reduces stress, and ramps up the body’s production of its natural painkillers." -- Shape.com 

2.  RELEASE.  We carry around so much.  We have burdens on our shoulders, tension in our jaw, our...

Several months ago I met someone at a little gathering and she just got on my nerves.  I feel like I've already met her many times in my life in other versions, and I'm just not interested in having this person in my circle.  And this might be a totally valid response, or I might be preventing myself from engaging with, or even enjoying, someone new.   So I believe this deserves some inquiry, since that's what we do when we're in the self awareness game.

Interestingly, the word "resistance" keeps coming up in conversation these days, so I thought it was time to take a look at this issue from the angle of resistance. The kind of resistance I'm talking about is a sense of pushing back against what you know you should do, what you actually want to do, or to what you have to do.  For example,

• you have to make a big change in your life because something just isn't working out the way you had hoped.
• you know you want...

I'm sitting at my little desk in my home yoga studio, and I'm thinking about the mind-body connection.  Nick and I just talked for a couple hours about what chakras are and why I work with them, etc.  And it's not because I was explaining things to him.  He was doing most of the talking, and it's everything I needed to hear.  

You see, I have been learning and thinking about the chakras for so long, I see the complicated interplay, I know the history, I know they're not something to "fix," and you can't poke them with a stick.  And yet there they are.  A beautiful map of...of what? I was having trouble getting to the basic idea of what's going on here and why it works.

Nick said it: mind-body connection.  

BAM.

If you've reached adulthood and have any amount of personal reflection and self awareness, you know you have patterns.  You know you keep doing something that isn't helpful, and is possibly...

Are you feeling that forward motion energy out there?  The New Year brings such new hope and bright ideas to the surface. There's something about flipping that virtual calendar to a new year that feels like a clean slate.  

And yet, we never really are clean slates, no matter what the calendar says.

Our patterns, memories, identities, and ego structures follow us from calendar year to calendar year. This is only a problem, however, if it's a problem. Some of our patterns are really good!  You might have a pattern of stopping and thinking before you respond to someone.  Your pattern might be early bedtimes and rising at dawn to meditate and journal.  You might see yourself for what you truly are (which is perfect, whole, and complete).  You might show up right away when a friend is in distress or there's a pet that needs adopting.  Heck, hopefully you at least have the pattern of brushing your teeth every day.  

...

Last week's Christmas holidays meant there was a lot of family, fun, games, gifts and gluttony over at the Goulding house, I must admit. I hope your holiday time is also charged with the beauty of the season.  And if this time of year is hard for you, I'm sending you love and courage.  You are not alone, regardless of what it seems like out there.  And if you're missing someone special, extra hugs to you as well.  

Frankly, we could probably all use some extra hugs. As we all know, these last couple of years have been a DOOZY, and there’s stuff we could all release from that time in order to move forward better. 

To me, moving forward doesn’t mean running away.  It simply means continuing on with courage, wisdom, and hope.

I think we also realize there’s no “going back” to the way things were, and yet a “new normal” still doesn’t seem quite possible.  This is when yoga is...

Happy Winter Solstice!  

I like to think of this day as the end of Earth's very long (6 months!) exhale. You know that point where there's a brief pause before the inhale begins?  That's what today is.  The longest night of the year.  The least amount of sun, or the least amount of breath in the lungs.  

It's a beautiful time to get quiet and be present with what is.  It's a beautiful time to experience rest and get in the groove of what Mother Nature is doing in winter. 

Try this pranayama involving khumbaka, or breath retention:

• Take a slow, deep inhale.
• Let it slowly dissolve into an exhale. 
• Follow your breath with your mind.
• At the end of the exhale, pause.
• Rest in the empty stillness.
• After a few beats let the inhale return. 
• Repeat several times and notice how you feel.

Here's the thing: the inhale will always return.  So does the sun. So will the light. This too...

Do you sometimes struggle with making decisions?  I know I do, and there seem to be more and more decisions to make every day.  Sure, we still have the simple ones like what to wear and where to go out to eat. But then there's the bigger ones, like will it be safe?  Do I need to wear a mask?  Should I travel right now?  Is this still the job I want?  What should I tell my loved ones about x, y, z, and will they understand? 

I went to a Hanukkah party recently that made it clear to me we're all still deciding things.  The party was indoor and outdoor.  Some people wore masks, some did not.  Some chose not to come.  Some said "hi" but kept their distance.  And you know what?  All of those decisions were fine and acceptable.  The host family made it clear that all personal decisions were valid and welcome.  They even provided a basket of masks for those who wanted one but didn't have one.  So...

2021 has been so rich with...experience...that it's hard to believe it's coming to an end. And in this Season of Light, whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or simply love being surrounded by twinkle lights or connecting to Source, we can think about the image of light during these Holy-days as radiant illumination, guiding us on our path of enlightenment.

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that this season of light is also a season of busyness. Your to-do list might be longer and your social calendar more full than usual. Yet I encourage you to build in some pauses every day to take a breath and tune in to your Light.

What does this mean? It can mean something different to everyone. For me, it's my soul. I check in with my truest essence, which lives in the darkness of my heart center and shines light throughout. It's a steady glow of Life within me that connects me to you, to Divine, to nature, to my family, to humanity. It's always there, but I don't always...