I've had time to breathe. Funny, considering I have just started a yoga teacher training at Sacred Sounds Studio where the focus is on how to teach other people to link their body and breath and to understand more about pranna and ujaii breathing and all that other good stuff wrapped up within. But I've had time…
Ashtanga
Last night's wine hadn't finished working its way through my system, but I had the wisdom, then, to eat enough and stop when I'd drank enough. Interrupted sleep had me slightly unsteady on my feet, my chest tight with some unidentified emotion that had no weight, yet pulled taught. Breathing, doing, moving hadn't shifted it; the…
It’s About Sharing Something
With the knowledge that I will one day be teaching and leading a class of individuals comes a tightly-wrapped bundle of anxiety. I don't know why: teaching is in my blood, quite literally. My mother is a teacher. My dad's parents were both teachers. Now...I am going to be a teacher, albeit in a slightly different…
Walking and Writing
When I started to be more flexible regarding my writing - I don't have to post every day or stick to a theme - it became more authentic. I write about what I see, what I think and what I am experiencing, which is a range of anything and everything. Clearly, I have a filter because…
I am Astute After Two Margaritas
I had my first philosophical encounter last night – after two, rather paltry margaritas no less. Currently, I am unable to run. I did something weird to my toe and it's making me crazy because I don't know WHAT I did nor do I have any idea whatsoever to make it stop. The MRI, fortunately,…
“If…
...you are going through hell, keep going," said one rather esteemed Winston Churchill. Yes, this appears all over the place today; on mugs, inspirational fitness sites, T-shirts and magnets, but for each person to whom this has significance, is has some pretty big-ass, honking significance. The yoga-induced emotional deluge that hit me this weekend served two…
Buddhism and Doctor Who (Yes, Really.)
I've been reading "Awakening the Buddha Within" as part of an extended attempt to learn more about myself, my world and what's happening with yoga, emotion and everything in between. Disclaimer, I don't view Buddhism as religion or doctrine. It's a philosophy and a way of understanding life and living in a way with which…
Being Present I
If being mindful were easy, we would all walk around like beatific, beaming Buddhas, fully aware and pulsing with energy. In New York, people would operate in a more calm manner, assessing the present situation rather than rushing to the next thing - the next event, email, Instagrammed dinner, date that might have half a…
How to Survive New York in Summer…Without Air-Conditioning
I like holding competitions with myself. I like to see, sometimes, how far I can push something before giving in. I'm not a masochist, by any stretch of the imagination, rather, I see some situations as an endurance experiment. Take my marathon training, for instance. After my friends inspired me to train for and run…
Teaching Yoga to Heal
We all have goals. We all want to be able to achieve something significant in life. We all need help, sometimes. For me, this help has to be financial. I have been struggling in New York City for nearly four years, lost my job, found a new job, used up my savings to exist, moved…