22nd September 2023
Releaving Stress
This week, I'm doing something new. I'm teaching a pranayama workshop with a special focus. The focus is to help people establish a consistent pranayama practice and to understand how it can improve both asana practice and life. I've become passionate about pranayama in recent years and that wasn't always the case. I want to share what has helped me and hopefully help others enjoy its benefits.
15th September 2023
Burning
What a week it's been. Here in Berlin, we've been having some needed late summer weather, and in other parts of the world, natural disasters have struck, devastating lives. In my community, I've been hearing from people about burnout and how it's affecting them. The term, burnout, was coined in the 1970s by an American psychologist, to describe the consequences of severe stress and high ideals in “helping professions.”
8th September 2023
The Dizzy Wake Up Call
I've been writing to you about my recovery from Covid. Partly because I think it's important to be honest about what we're going through. I loved when I began Iyengar yoga how my teachers asked “do you have any injuries or health concerns?” This was a call to be honest. To ask myself what's going on and practice acknowledging and sharing it.
1st September 2023
Going With Nature
Happy September to you. This month marks the beginning of a change of seasons. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it is the end of summer and the start of autumn. Growing up, the end of summer freedom and the start of a new school year were full of possibilities and changes.
25th August 2023
Free to Choose
You're free. Free to read my emails or delete them. Free to stay on this email list or unsubscribe at any time. It's your choice. We're all free to make countless daily choices about what information crosses our consciousness, be it negative, positive, or everything in between. The peace of mind that yoga can bring comes with our curation of the world around us and how we process it.
18th August 2023
New Adventures
I've missed writing to you. It's been an eventful month filled with the highs of traveling, visiting old friends and family, and the lows of getting ill with Covid shortly after my return. Luckily, yoga practice has helped me learn to navigate the quick turns of life with as much sensitivity and presence as I can muster.
7th July 2023
By the Body
The time when relaxation should've come, during savasana at a yoga retreat, and it didn't happen. Surrounded by woods and hills, with nothing to do but practice yoga and eat, my body and mind just couldn't completely relax.
After nearly 40 years of yoga practice, it's a cosmic laugh (does such a thing exists?!) that I still have a hard time relaxing!
30th June 2023
Safe Spaces
This week the issue of safety came up in yoga class and it got me thinking about yoga spaces virtual and in-person.
In Iyengar yoga, we strive to practice in a way that is safe and suitable for each person, regardless of their age, background, or ability. The use of yoga props and variations of classic asanas “democratizes” practice, making it accessible to everyone.
23rd June 2023
FoMO
FoMO is relatively new. Not the feeling (at all!) but the unique term. Just hearing it can cause stress! It was introduced into the world in 2004 and became widely used around 2010 from social networking sites. In yoga practice and in yoga class, FoMO can rear it's head.