The Many Shapes of Gratitude

“You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.” -Cormac McCarthy It’s nearly impossible to go a day these days without hearing about the benefits of practicing gratitude. Whether it’s expressing thankfulness out loud or keeping a gratitude journal, there are numerous ways to focus on the good that life constantly offers to us. Yet, while

Read More

“I haven’t been to yoga in soooo long…!”

Sometimes things come up in our lives – personal stressors, work schedules, family pressures, or just a need to take a break – and we find that we don’t go to yoga class for a while.  Sometimes it’s a week, sometimes it stretches into a month, and sometimes we fall out of practice for several months or years. Then, one day we

Read More

Shadows

When I first started practicing yoga, I had hopes of becoming a zen princess…that all of my struggles would just fall away effortlessly, and I could become one with my truth, one downward-facing dog at a time. However, my relatively brief experience with yoga has showed me that the process looks more like this: Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love yoga

Read More

When It’s Not So Easy To “Let Go”

If you’ve been to a yoga class – or if you know a child who loves “Frozen” – chances are, you’ve heard the term “let go” or “let it go” a few times. It’s usually said to us with good intentions – perhaps a loved one sees that we’re struggling with a dilemma, and after listening to us verbally rehash the

Read More

Practicing the Pause

There is no doubt that we are living in some weird times. When people are deeply divided over issues that affect large groups of people, conversations can adopt the tone of “us vs. them” rather quickly. Add social media to the mix and it gets even more volatile, since social media is many people’s primary form of engagement with the

Read More

The Power of the “Little Things”

My guess is that January is a time when goal-setting is at an all-year high.  While many of us have dropped off the resolution train at this time of the month, we still have high hopes and excellent intentions for the rest of the year. Here’s where we (unintentionally) shoot ourselves in the foot: We set huge goals that are

Read More

Why It Matters to be Specific with Our Goals

Tis the season!  Of setting resolutions for the new year, that is! We all joke about how the gym is packed during the month of January, but is empty by comparison once April rolls around. There are all sorts of reasons why we don’t stick to goals for the new year.  Sometimes we bite off more than we can realistically chew.  It’s always OK to modify your plans

Read More

Great Reads for the Yogi (and Anyone, Really)

Happy holidays, friends!  Are you traveling this holiday season?  Regardless of your plans, if you find yourself with a bit of extra time this holiday season (cue the skeptical laughter) and are looking for some good books to read, consider giving these books a chance. There’s a good possibility that they will appeal to that part of you that wants to take your

Read More

Crowd It Out at Your Next Holiday Party

The holiday season is now in full swing!  Let the joy, merriment, and parties begin!  Let the drinks and party appetizers flow!  Let the music play! (4 hours later…)  Oh man, why did I have so much friggin’ (beer/chocolate/dessert/insert vice-of-choice here)?? Ah, welcome to holiday-indulgence-remorse, the holiday season equivalent of buyer’s remorse. There are lots of things experts recommend avoid

Read More

Yoga Philosophy with Greg Nardi

Do you ever wonder what your yoga practice is really about?  Of course, we know that we’re instructed to go into a series of poses, but why?  What do the poses do?  How does yoga actually affect the body and the mind, as it purports to do? It turns out that there is a long history of yoga philosophy that

Read More