Hello! I'm just coming down from a very high weekend of teaching the chakras to the teacher trainees and yoga therapists-in-training at My Vinyasa Practice. They were a bright and engaging group, and I believe we all came away with a new understanding of ourselves in relation to our energy, life story, inhibitions, and gifts.  But since I had never taught for 10 hours over a weekend before, I had to think a lot about preparing myself and conserving my energy for the long haul.  My personal routine was paramount to my preparation. That routine starts first thing in the morning. 

I believe that how we enter the day can set the tone for how the rest of the day will flow. So we best be mindful about it!

I was recently looking through some poetry in my personal library and came across a Mary Oliver poem that I think inspires a beautiful start to the day.  We often practice Sun Salutations in yoga class, so a salute to the sun is a long standing practice...

I don’t know how much you think about your energy, but when you’re in my line of work it comes up a lot.  Every Yoga Therapy session intake asks about it, every class considers it at the beginning, and engaging with the chakra system brings it into full focus.  This past weekend was no exception–and it was SO FUN!

At the monthly Chakra Savvy Yoga Practice at Castle Hill Fitness we went through every chakra, charging, releasing, and energizing our way up to finally a very quiet, balanced mind.  Quiet enough to listen to our inner wisdom.  One woman even remarked it was the first time she had ever experienced true stillness in her mind.  To me, that’s a HUGE win.  I mean, that’s what it's all about, really! So fun.

During the Chakra 3 (power center) portion of the class we stopped and did some partner work that so beautifully demonstrated charging and releasing energy that I wanted to share it with you here, and...

After teaching yoga for 18 years and chakra yoga for much of that time, there is still one question that people ask me that gets me a little stymied:

What's a chakra?

You'd think I'd have a stock response by now, but I really don't. I might be so entrenched in the depth of that question that the simplicity evades me.  I know the beauty and the complexity of the chakra system.  But complexity is not useful to anyone who hasn't experienced this work or studied it in their own life. 

Simply put, chakra (pronounced chaa - kruh) is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel or disc.  These wheels or discs are vortexes of energy in your body. In the modern context, there are seven of them.

How's that for a clear and concise answer? 

If you're like me, it leads to more questions, so if you'll allow me, I'll continue...

Chakras are part of your subtle body system, which is what controls your physical body. Your subtle body is what senses the...

How long do we get to wish each other happy new year? I know there are some strong opinions out there about this (just ask Seinfeld).  Personally, I think we get to say it all month.  If we can't think of the year as new for four weeks, I think we have a problem trying to move on too quickly! 

And speaking of moving too quickly...a conversation I had recently made me think about New Year's Resolutions/Intentions/Words in a new and interesting way.  I now believe there is an argument to be made for holding off on big New Years intentions and themes for a little longer than we even wish each other happy new year.

I wonder if we need to let the tinsel and confetti settle down before our grand ideas emerge.

Don't get me wrong--I'm a HUGE fan of yearly intentions and themes. I have already chosen a word that will be a guide for me this year, and I usually prompt my classes to do the same.  You might recall I typically ponder them here in my...

I hope you are well, snuggled up warm and cozy. This is an auspicious week for sure!  We are in the middle of Hannukah, the Winter Solstice is Wednesday, and Christmas arrives on Sunday. (It's also Crossoword Puzzle Day and Humbug Day, so if none of the others suit you there's still something to celebrate!) 

As I write here in my comfy overstuffed chair, I am feeling the brightness of these holidays a little extra this year.  I took a few minutes to turn back the pages of my calendar to remember where 2022 began and what yoga we have done since it’s beginning. 

Ya'll--we did a lot. 

• We kicked off the New Year with a Reboot workshop, getting our energy flowing and chakras spinning with plans for 2022.
• A second cohort of Chakra Savvy: Reset Your Life Game Plan yogis dove into their mind-body connection, changed patterns, and healed old wounds. 
• We had fun with our Gal/Pal/Valentines at a Partner Yoga Workshop at Castle Hill Fitness.
• Two ...

Something unexpected happened in this week's Monday Morning Yoga class, and it still has me thinking. Because we are an intimate group, we have time to share our name at the start of every class. I also usually ask a question, like favorite color or vacation place. Inevitably the answers weave themselves into the theme of our class, so it really is a custom made, one-of-a-kind experience. This week I suggested we share first names and whatever else you like! Our first yogini set us up for a great share and others quickly followed.

Her name is Rebecca, but her whole life, until age 38, everyone called her Becky. At 38 she decided she liked the name Rebecca much better, and made the switch. From there, we heard so many stories about names! Stephanie legally changed her middle name when she was 13. Sara still has problems traveling because a pesky "h" made it onto her birth certificate, but nowhere else. Agness as a middle name was the dismay of childhood but perfect in...

As I lay awake last night from 3am-6am I thought of you. (Is that weird?)  I'm normally pretty blessed with decent sleep, but every now and then it just doesn't happen. So as I sat with my mug of warm milk at 5am, I thought of a couple things that that might help us all.

Let's talk about vata.

In Ayurveda, the sister science to yoga, there are three main energies at play within us and in our surroundings.  Like the humors, they are related to the elements and explain the experience and behavior of our body and mind. We are all made up of various amounts of these substances: wind and ether, fire, earth and water.  You might have come across the terms

 pitta (fire and water),

 kapha (water and earth),

 vata (wind and ether).

Now there is A LOT to learn about all this, and I can't go into everything right now.  For our purposes, we're going to focus on the wind element and time.

Vata blows through our...

I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was delightful and fun, with a healthy dose of yum! Ours was lovely–a good balance of family, friends, and good conversation while eating the feast Nick prepared.  (I’m the prep cook and decorator/table setter, which suits me just fine.)  

Lucky for me I’m fairly extroverted, which gives me a broad bandwidth for chit chat and the high volume that comes with a room full of people. But I have to admit, my bandwidth has decreased post-Covid. I find myself daydreaming of my jammies way earlier than I did three years ago, and I know it’s not just a natural aging progression.  It’s a nervous system that’s out of shape for marathons of social engagement. 

Thankfully, we have tools for this.  I believe we can get back to pre-Covid party tolerance, if that is indeed what we want to do. Either way, I think these three things will help the most in navigating our way back to balance...

Happy Thanksgiving week!  My favorite holiday of the year is finally here.  In Online Yoga Membership (OYM) we have been practicing gratitude all month in a way I wanted to share with you today.

What does gratitude look like through the lens of the chakras?  Maybe you can take a moment and consider these for yourself, or share them with someone you celebrate with.

Looking over the last year, what are you thankful for in regards to:

Abundance.  How have you been blessed in your material world?

Release.  What is something you let go of this year that has been a relief to you?

Power. Is there a power or strength within you that you woke up to this year?

Relationships. Who has come into your life that you are so happy to have? 

Voice.  What meaningful conversations did you have this year that you hope to remember for years to come?

Connection: What is a connection you made this year, with someone else or within...

Every now and then it seems like there is a trend of sorts. Not the fun kind that create an excuse to buy some new shoes, but one where several unrelated people have similar physical issues.  It's like when I used to bartend and everyone was ordering the same unusual drink on a Saturday night. There was no discernible reason, no commonality between the groups, no obvious connection across the bar, but every now and then it was Long Island Iced Teas for everyone! (And things often got messy on those nights!)

But I digress...

Lately I've been hearing a lot about hip flexors, psoas, and inner thigh pain.  Whether it comes and goes, is sharp or dull, often the culprit isn't the front body, but the back. Weak bums can make for tense hip flexors.  This naturally occurs with our sitting lifestyle, stress, and aging.  

So what can you do about it? 

Here are my 3 favorite antidotes to tired glutes:

1) On all fours, rear leg lifts.

2)...