When the floor falls out from under me, I tend to lose my poise: I become anxious, contracted, and my mind starts to “hamster wheel” about worst case scenarios. I experienced this when my marriage disintegrated from alcoholism, when I agonized over trying to get pregnant (on my ow at 42), and again with the […]
Can’t meet face to face? If you’ve never used tech to go online before, it can seem intimidating. Here are some tips and my favorite tools to get you started easily. In this post, we’re looking at “live” aka “streaming” options, which put you online in the moment. Also, for more info on how to […]
If you’re like me, the idea of marketing gives me an anxiety attack. Facebook Ads, Instagram posts, Webinars, SEO, and email marketing…it all starts to feel overwhelming and, well, inauthentic. But at the same time, we must navigate this jungle of self-promotion in order to thrive in our yoga businesses. Yogis, it’s time to demystify […]
Here’s the news, yoga teachers: your career doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. We often think that our yoga career must look a certain way in order to be “successful.” Shouldn’t we be like Rachel Brathen or Shiva Rea, and have 100,000 followers, be labelled an influencer, produce online classes, and jetset the world? […]
It’s easy to get grumpy. We live in a culture of “get more!” and “look good” and “get more likes on Instagram!” When we’re in a hustle-hustle life, we can often feel like we’re constantly falling short. Our culture’s cult of celebrity and the shininess of social media makes it harder than to stay grounded […]
Greetings from Berlin! Week 4 of our 52 weeks of health: no sugar. You can take this as strictly as you want: anything from “I won’t eat the cool whip directly from the container,” to “no sugars at all, including simple carbs like sugar, pasta, wheat…” Choose your spectrum of health! Too much simple sugar […]
Meditation.We’re gonna make this really accessible. At least two minutes a day. Meditation has shown to be incredibly beneficial for your mental state and for stress. Getting into the practice of mindfulness is a relatively low hanging fruit in the health world. We just have to shut off the monkey mind (“one more thing to […]
I really like control. As in…really like it. When the world starts to slide, my impulse is to batten down the hatches. I make lists, design spreadsheets, and straight jacket anything that feels shaky. With steely-eyed determination, I impose order on chaos and bring entropy to its knees! Naturally, this doesn’t always turn out very […]
Here’s our challenge for this week. Chew your food. Now, I am a human hoover. I can suck down a salad like it’s a lukewarm milkshake. I think my need to rush through eating comes from some sense that life must be constantly in a hurry. I have an underlying anxiety that I must constantly […]
Here’s the idea: every week in 2020, we choose something that we want to do better. Something small. You know, probably one of those things that we’ve been “meaning” to do for a long time, but somehow didn’t manage to quite make a habit out of it. I have a whole bunch of them. For […]
Do you want to get better at living your values in 2020? I do. So here’s my idea. Every week in 2020, we choose something that we want to do better. Something small. You know, probably one of those things that we’ve been “meaning” to do for a long time, but somehow didn’t manage to […]
I understand the desire to be creative with sequencing, I really do. But sometimes we really get in our own way. If you’re someone who agonizes about creating a new sequence for every class, then take comfort in my offering: you only need four yoga sequences. Here’s what you need: That’s it. Once you have […]
You know this moment. You’re teaching a class. It’s a sequence that you’ve taught many times. You suddenly stop and think, “Wait, did I just say the same thing twice?” You’re spacing out. It’s a normal phenomenon for a yoga teacher. Although we speak continually of being mindful and present, we are human and subject […]
So many of us feel disconnected, sad, or stuck in our lives (I certainly have). Over the last twenty years, I’ve participated in a variety of processes – therapy, self-development courses, even cults (yes, cults!) – in my ongoing search to reconnect “home.” My work as both and actor and yoga teacher has been part […]
Do you feel the pressure to create a new sequence for every class? When you tromp into your eighth class of the week and teach the same sequence that you did yesterday (heaven forfend!), do you hear any of these voices in your head? “My students are getting bored.” “I need to keep them interested.” […]
Camel pose (ustrasana) is one of the few backbends that encourages a strong engagement of the front line of the body. Because you are moving backwards into the pose (imagine gravity like a heavy blanket trying to push you further into the pose), your abdominals (rectus abdominis) need to work eccentrically (engaged and lengthening) to […]
Twelve tips for self-care during times of transition. The uncertainty that is involved in a big life change – death, divorce, moving, illness, job loss, marriage, kids, to name a few – doesn’t get settled all at once. And stress, though it may feel like it’s all in your head, can have profound effects on […]
In my recent dissection experience, I spent some time handling a human heart. To literally hold someone’s heart in your hands is a humbling and awe-inspiring experience. Even though its owner had passed and the life force had left, the heart retained a poignant and palpable vibration. Your heart is your lifelong companion. The medical […]
Last week, I went into the lab with Gil Hedley. I experienced my previous 6-day human dissection course with Gil back in 2012, so it’s been awhile since I shared space with the dead. The dead are magical teachers. Back in 2012, my steely-eyed intent was to “get” anatomy. I wanted to see the insertions […]
I have uprooted my life in Vancouver, BC to follow my heart on a grand adventure. YAY! Fun, excitement and grand romance! And….terrifying. In taking this wild ride, I kicked out the support struts from under my own foundation. I’ve uprooted my job, access to friends, familiar surroundings, material possessions, and my happy routines. Despite […]
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