Heart stopping yoga

I thought I was going to have a (thankfully metaphorical) heart attack in class the other night. Not because I was pushing myself too far, certainly not because the teacher was driving us hard, and not because I'd stepped up to face my inner demons and taken myself (and the demons) along to the weekly advanced class,... Continue Reading →

January 20, 2017 0

Podcast Practice

People often recommend particular online classes or youtube videos to me -- well-meaning suggestions for my home practice. Although I know these sorts of resources are very popular I've never used them. How is it even possible to practice while watching a screen? Anyway I find the value of home practice is in having to... Continue Reading →

June 29, 2016 1

Dying for the yoga class to finish

Hot tears leak unwanted from my eyes. They trickle down the side of my face and into my ears making the teacher's voice a little distorted. I'm lying in savasana, corpse pose. Some say it's their favourite yoga pose. How can that be? What do they find there that eludes me? Some say it's the... Continue Reading →

September 12, 2015 6

atha yoga anusasanam? now my yoga starts?

So I completed the 3 day immersion I was fretting about so much. And I've been trying to figure out how to write about it in a reasonable sized blog post... but I can't! It was just too much of an experience to boil down to anything sensible. Plus my heart, mind, and body are... Continue Reading →

July 7, 2015 5

Practicing honesty

I see a lot of dishonesty going on in yoga. I don't mean this as a big name and shame piece. So not cool, and certainly not my place. I simply mean the petty dishonesties we all entertain in asana, in yoga (in life too, perhaps, but that's a way bigger topic). In last night's... Continue Reading →

May 6, 2015 4

Last night’s music and yoga

Yesterday evening I was way too excited and jittery feeling. I was not at all in the right headspace for yoga class. Music helped to calm my mind a little. I listened to something intense and sobering on my walk to the studio: Pergolesi's Stabat Mater. Too beautiful. Such passion (in our current sense of... Continue Reading →

April 15, 2015 4

Reader, I married a carnivore

I talked about good dietary choices last night over dinner out (yes, I ate veggie) with a runner girlfriend. And we thought about it simply in terms of fuel -- purer fuel burns more cleanly in your body and makes for a better physical experience. She said she could feel the difference if she was eating healthily or if... Continue Reading →