I Am My Own Problem

A few years ago, while still in yoga training, my son found me buried under a pile of books, pouring over my notes and typing away on my computer. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Homework,” I told him. “Homework!?” he asked. “Now what for?” “Yoga training,” I told him. He watched me for a […]

Laugh and the World Laughs With You

Most of us are well-acquainted with the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And of course, this is an excellent rule to follow, as it offers us sound advice as we navigate our way through life. But how many of us are familiar with Rule Number Six? If […]

The Practice

{Sthira sukham asanam}  : Strength and ease within the pose Sthira:  This word translates as firm, stable, resolute, changeless. Sthira speaks not only of challenge, strength, endurance and fortitude, but also vigilance, the ability to pay attention, and to be present. It is the opposite of agitation and refers to both physical and mental stillness: […]

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

As the old adage goes, “You can’t make a square peg fit in a round hole.”  Most of us know exactly what this saying means:  You cannot force something (or most often, someone) to be something that it is not.  We cannot make a square peg  fit any better into a round hole by thinking […]

Pause

Consider this passage from the book, “Radical Acceptance” by Tara Brach. “In the 1950s a few highly trained pilots in the U.S Air Force were given the task of flying at altitudes higher than ever attempted. Going beyond the earth’s denser atmosphere, they found, much to their horror, that the ordinary laws of aerodynamics no […]

  {YAM} Heart-Openers and Back-Bending: These poses, hence their name, involve the opening and blossoming of the heart. Which inevitably exposes the most intimate and vulnerable parts of our internal and external self. And not surprsingly, this can feel scary, uncomfortable.  Yet, it can also feel beautifully and incredibly naked and raw, as these poses […]

You Will See It When You Believe It

  A belief, as defined by the dictionary, is the psychological state in which an individual holds a premise to be true. 98-367 To have beliefs, or a belief system, is very human. Our beliefs, in part, help us conceptualize the world, and make sense of our experiences. Beliefs may be based on evidence, personal […]

The Silver Lining

2015 was a tough year for many.   We each in our own way have struggled with adversity.  We have experienced pain, suffering, and hardship in one way or another. We have been put to the test, we have questioned our beliefs, and have challenged our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.  We […]

Grrrr

I once read that some of the most valuable lessons we learn in life are taught to us by difficult people. You know the type of people I am referring to. People that seem to embody cynicism, judgment, and pessimism. Those that take delight in the misfortune of others or seem satisfied by having a […]

Regretfully Speaking…

  I have often read that we, as live-ers of life, should have no regrets. That we should, in some sense of the word, forget about the finer details of our past and instead be grateful for the opportunities and the gifts that have been bestowed upon us through the process of living. That we […]