Not sleeping but actually relaxing? Are you constantly compelled to go, go, go? Are you stressed upon waking? Midday? Evening? Although I have no desire to go through it again my period with Chronic Fatigue taught me many things. There are far too many to list but one of the most compelling lessons was …
Category Archives: Yoga
Why be still?
Stillness is an action. It requires effort. It requires focus. It requires a willingness to be present in order to remember to be still. Stillness is important to many aspects of the practice. In postures stillness can generate strength in the more active poses and aid relaxation in the more quieted ones. If stillness …
Learn to breathe through discomfort
This past year I feel like I have been seated in a sea of discomfort in many of the facets that make up my life. Nothing is horrible but it is uncomfortable. I feel wiggly inside and often I want to run away. If you start to feel uncomfortable or hurt, sad, tired, depressed, or …
I am aware that I am breathing in. I am aware that I am breathing out.
When I first started with Yoga I was so uncomfortable with myself that being present was a very difficult thing. For that reason I hated to hold stillness and observe my breath. Even when guided to by a teacher I didn’t do it and sometimes to be entirely honest I just left. The breaking of …
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Announcing the Healing House Retreat: November 9th – 11th
Healing House Retreat (Spruce Head, Maine) My parents and I invite you to our seaside home for three days of practice, healing, contemplation, and renewal. The Healing House Retreat is based on the lifestyle that I adopted in order to heal myself from chronic fatigue. During that time of healing I interwove a number of …
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Chakra Yoga: Lam. Vam. Ram. Yam. Ham. Om. Om.
Over the many years that I have been teaching I have spent the majority of my time instructing beginners. I love the challenge inherent to teaching people new to the practice but even more than that I love their openness. Beginners have yet to define what Yoga means to them so they are flexible. If …
Continue reading “Chakra Yoga: Lam. Vam. Ram. Yam. Ham. Om. Om.”
“Efforting”
First and foremost, I know that “efforting” is not a word. Lately though, I have found myself using it when I teach. At first I used air quotes to acknowledge its made-up status but I even dropped that. Full disclosure, when I read books and there are typos or grammatical errors I find a pen …
In Yoga there is really no beginner class or advanced class there is only practice and the willingness to work your own edge.
Sustaining stillness in postures requires strength, concentration, and will. During an extended period of holding, proper alignment becomes a necessity. After all, stacking your bones correctly affords a lot of extra strength. It also safeguards you from injury, trains the muscles, and teaches you how to breathe through uncomfortable and difficult positions. I have found …
It is not about perfection that is why it is called practice.
Not to be snotty but I have maintained a daily practice for over a decade. It became my touchstone during a very difficult time and has remained so ever since. Through my practice, I breathe myself into a place of action rather than reaction. Allowing my postures and meditative practices to become a reflection of …
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Yoga at The Baltimore Museum of Art
During college, I took yoga as my gym credit. The practice transformed me, as it does, deepening my ability to be present. Ultimately, that awareness rippled off the mat, making me better at ferreting out the subtler aspects of composition, technique, and story in my art historical studies. Back then, I spent a lot of …