“We’re in the middle of a sea change,” said Jason. “Most yoga teachers now are erring on the side of not giving manual adjustments, and for good reason.” It was the second day of our two-week module (the first part of a 300-hour training), and the conversation had shifted from “How to give hands-on assists” […]
We expect that our mind should conjure up new ideas, solve problems, and provide deep insights. Unfortunately, our minds and our senses are often misused, overworked, and overstimulated. Our mind can only function to the degree in which we understand its internal workings and our lives are a reflection of our awareness. All day long, […]
I have heard my teacher, a lifelong monastic, compare engaging in yoga practice with constructing a house. In both instances, the importance of developing a deep, solid and structurally sound foundation is paramount, as it provides support for everything else. If the foundation is not developed with love, care and attention, the building, or, in […]
According to Bernie Clark, yin yoga teacher, anatomy enthusiast, and author of Your Body, Your Yoga, yoga is a self-selecting practice. In other words, yoga attracts and keeps those students who can perform the poses that are commonly taught. In more depressing words, yoga repels and alienates those who cannot perform these poses. I am […]
“Body like a mountain, Heart like an ocean, Mind like the sky” –Dogen I switched my headlamp off as the first light of dawn exposed my otherworldly orientation with the sea of clouds below me and the mysterious snow covered formations looming above. The cold wind chilled the exposed skin on my face. The secure […]
Greetings Yoga Heroes, Spring. In Portland. Spring in Portland!!! I never knew the power of daffodil yellow until I spent a few winters under the low grey skies of the Pacific Northwest. I hope this email finds you in a sea of it – a sea of daffodil technicolor beneath a tulip rainbow. I’m writing […]
Children possess a natural curiosity and sense of wonder. Stories are one of the first ways children expand their awareness beyond their immediate world. For both children and adults, stories can open doors in our imaginations to what we did not know existed or was possible. In Storytime Yoga, these ideas are combined to give […]
We had been staring at each other for three minutes. And in case you’ve never held sustained eye contact with someone for three minutes, let me assure you: it’s a lot longer than it sounds. We had started out smiling, faded to comfortable recognition, then spent a few seconds blinking and moving from left eye […]
After class at TPY NE a few weeks ago, a student visiting from Germany asked me to fill out a survey that was part of her work for an educational exhibit in Berlin. She and another photographer are asking Americans and Canadians about “What makes it so special to live in their respective countries.” My answer was […]
My journey with yoga and scoliosis began when I was a teenager living in a small town in Wisconsin. I starting having some discomfort and pain in my back and was soon diagnosed with a significant curvature in my spine. The options for treatment sounded bleak – bracing and the possibility of having surgery for a […]
When I first stepped into a yoga class I was incredibly scared of my body and the idea of embodiment. My body felt incredibly vulnerable and foreign to me. During that time of my life, I thought that if I was in control of my body than I would be loved, I would fit in […]
Last week, I received a Facebook message from a friend inquiring about my Yoga for Athletes workshop. He said he had seen the flier, was interested in attending, but he had a few concerns. Not only was he worried that he wasn’t accomplished enough to be considered an “athlete,” but he felt anxious that he […]
Yoga and rock climbing are a natural match, both combining mindful movement and bringing focus to the present moment. I began my own journey into rock climbing eight years ago, when my sister took me to the Portland Rock Gym while visiting from New York. I had always been afraid of heights, and I thought […]
As we practice it today, Yoga can be understood as the process of breathing into movement. Whatever first drew us to Yoga class, many people find themselves returning for the experience of plugging into an elusive but ineffable something, something we find at the core of ourselves, and yet instinctively understand to be more than […]
I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself, as some of you may be unfamiliar with my work at The People’s Yoga. I am the creator and teacher of Yoga for Bigger Bodies. This yoga class was created when I noticed the absence of support for people living in larger bodies. It was created […]
We have countless ways to dismiss our experience. Endless strategies to shirk from, abandon, and resist the moment – in particular, the experience we are having in the moment. Picture a mother consistently dismissing her child. Imagine the effect that this has on the child. We learn to assume that our experience isn’t valid. We […]
Lately I find myself one or two finger typing, I am not a fan. So when I have time, one way I meditate is through remembering how to use cursive. I believe that my sitting meditation tools help me remember; remember my inherent wakefulness, the beauty that we already are. I would like to share […]
Tension is one of the ways we feel safe and held and assured that little is going to change. While easy to identify neck and low back tension, the grip in the ears is more complex. Not listening is a key skill of maintaining the status quo (abhinvesha). Through a simple investigation of how the ears work, we […]
It seems like the attention can only be held by what she does not yet understand. So key to the yogi skill of dharana (steady attention) is the willingness to consider that one might yet know it all. There can be no curiosity or wonderment if we are bored. The yogis have long suggested to […]
