Swedish death cleaning: döstädning: cleaning and de-cluttering before you die My friend was moving across the country. In preparation for her move, she was sorting her possession into two piles: what would be moved, and what would be sacrificed to the Salvation Army gods. She sighed and blew her hair out of her face as […]
First of all, I rarely teach shoulderstand in a public class. Rarely. Let’s say, once a year. Maybe. Here’s why: in most public class settings, I don’t have enough time or props to set everyone up safely. And by safely, I mean so that the students have enough support to protect their neck and access […]
A few months ago, I was diagnosed with vocal nodes. Nodes are callouses that grow on your vocal cords from imperfect use, just like you get callouses on your feet from walking funny. Nodes cause the speaking voice to become raspy and rather sexy, and you can often hear this “vocal fry” in fitness instructors […]
Sirsasana, king of the asana! Sirsasana and Sarvangasana (shoulderstand) have gotten a bad rap in the past few years. Teachers have become worried about placing pressure on the head and neck – and with good reason! The neck is not meant to bear the weight of the entire body, and certainly not when it’s crooked […]
I pray before meals. I was raised a dutiful Protestant in the great, puritanical state of New Hampshire. I went to church, participated in singing and bell choirs, and crushed on the boys in my youth group (ah, Derek!). However, my family was more spiritually oriented than strictly Christian. My dad used to joke, “I’d […]
Yoga is good for the hips! Yoga gives us a unique opportunity to take our femur on a complete circumnavigation of the hip socket. In the yoga practice, we take the femur into extension, flexion, external rotation, internal rotation, abduction and adduction; in other words, we get to explore the full range of motion of […]
Every training has a few students who love to talk. These students will be the first to raise their hands to answer questions, dominate discussion groups, and talk at length about their experiences. Students can be big talkers for different reasons: They process information by verbalizing it They like the validation of being in the […]
I’ve been playing with this delicious hip opening sequence this week. This sequence is a well-rounded flow yoga class for all levels that take an “around the world” tour of the hips: opening the front, sides, and back of the hip joint. Rather than sequencing to a peak pose, this anatomical intention of this sequence […]
I love teaching anatomy in yoga teacher trainings. LOVE IT. Sharing the mystery and miracle of the human body is incredibly inspiring and satisfying. However, teaching anatomy in a yoga teacher training course can be difficult, and it’s easy to fall into traps that can turn anatomy into a drag! Top mistakes I see? Cramming […]
“Get over it.” “Let go.” “Move on.” Sound familiar? I love hard. When I fall in love with someone, I give them an apartment in my soul and can’t evict them. Even the most challenging of tenants keeps a toe hold. Cliche phrases like “let go” imply that kicking someone out of your heart is […]
Stopping a class to demonstrate a complex pose is an excellent tool to teach key alignment points, inspire your students, and convey important information. While providing a visual guide to your students can be very useful, there is an art to creating an effective demo. Check out these five tips to rock your demonstrations and […]
The Force Awakens cost $245 million dollars to make. And it cost between $100-150 million dollars to advertise. More than one-third of their total expenditure on that movie was in advertising. Surprised? Even though The Force Awakens seems like a no-brainer for success, Disney invested more than $100 million in promotion. And this percentage is […]
Leslie Kaminoff was once asked if 200 hours was enough time to learn to teach yoga. “No. You can lead a yoga class after 200 hours,” he said, “but not teach.” What did he mean? Leading vs. teaching Someone who “leads” a class is a guide. Imagine that you are going on a trip through […]
You send out your Mailchimp campaign. Without fail, within the hour, the unsubscribes start coming in. As ET says to Elliot, “Ouuuuuuuuuuch.” Whether it’s a Mailchimp subscriber, Instagram follower, or Facebook liker, losing a fan can feel like a hit to the heart. The negative voices start chiming in: what did I do wrong? why […]
I was on the phone with a client this morning, who was considering revamping her course format. “Everyone is running their 200 hour teacher trainings in two weeks,” she said. “I don’t know how they do it.” “Oy. Thirteen hour days, and no days off,” I said. “Now, that thirteen hours of training, which means that […]
Some mornings are okay. If I can get out of bed quickly enough and start moving, I can often jump start my day through assertive action and coffee. I almost always wake up with some anxiety, but I can usually douse it by getting productive. Other mornings are not okay. I wake up from my […]
When you’re learning to teach yoga and you begin to understand the principles of alignment, a whole new world opens up. All of a sudden, the hidden actions of the yoga practice are exposed like Illuminati secrets in a Dan Brown novel. The code is suddenly everywhere! When this happens, it can be very tempting […]
You’re teaching warrior two. Your student, let’s call him Joe, decides to work on his press handstand instead. Then you’re teaching crow and Joe decides that this is a great time to do some supine hip openers. On the day that you decide to do a prop heavy wall class, Joe tells you with some […]
We don’t get mad because of what people do. We get mad because of what we make it mean. Let’s say you and your bestie have planned a coffee date, but she’s twenty minutes late. You’re working through your second latte and – not only are you now highly caffeinated – you’re fuming as well. Chances […]
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