Make space. Clear the way. Widen the paths. And in this liberation…heal. The theme of my July classes was FREEDOM; and we kicked off our month of focused practices with a special “Declaration of Independence” workshop. I teach this July 4th workshop annually; and each year, I’ve approached the session with a hint of motivational speaker…
Category: Health
Yoga Class Focus: Foundations for Freedom
During June, my class focus was “Foundations.” I told students that I felt like I was starting over as a teacher, after a 7-month absence from the Washington, DC yoga community. So together, we started from scratch. Each practice, we arrived together. With the Eight Limbs as our guide, we observed and then shaped our…
Love: The Privilege of Teaching Yoga
LOVE: Brief (and maybe not so brief) explorations for our February class focus. * * * It is a privilege to teach yoga. It is a great responsibility to hold space for others. For those who so courageously walk through the door, enter the room, step onto on the mat. Who surrender themselves to be…
Back to Basics: Real Yoga Doesn’t Hurt (Revisited)
“Tadaasana, Pranayama, Sankalpa.” There is a reason I repeat these three words each time we regroup at the top of the mat between Sun Salutations. For me, these three elements – The Pose, The Breath and The Intention – are the basics of yoga. Although mentioned as three unique parts of yoga’s eight-limbed system, in…
Peace Tools: Morning Routine
I thank you, ever-living sovereign, for restoring my soul to me in mercy. How great is your trust! – Traditional Jewish Prayer for the Morning * * * Like all of my days, as soon as I opened my eyes this morning, I said the above prayer. Then, in the period of time between splashing…
Back to Basics: Real Yoga Doesn’t Hurt
OK, I confess. I’ve created a sensational title for a simple blog about our January class focus, “Back to Basics.” “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body” was the sensational headline for a recent New York Times article (link below) that tells a simple story. That headline – and the article’s content – generated more media…
My Mother is My Guru
Mom’s been on my mind a lot lately. And y’know, it makes sense. I’ve been singing a lot (my mother taught me to sing). It’s Autumn (October 2nd would have been her 81st birthday). Thanksgiving is approaching (my family celebrated our last holiday season with Mom 10 years ago). And I recently celebrated my 9th…
Gratitude!
We do not write in order to be understood; we write in order to understand. – C. Day Lewis, The Poetic Image Over the past few months, a number of new people have subscribed to the blog, have “Liked” certain posts, commented on posts, and/or, have “Liked” the Urban Yoga Den page on Facebook. I…
The Happy Heart Project: The Halfway Mark
“Hey, I’m trying to hard to see the light, to see the light – to see it burn thru.” – Abigail Washburn When it comes to maintaining and manifesting an intention over 100 days – and that intention is to overcome a nagging internal darkness and move deliberately toward joy – it is imperative to…
The Happy Heart Project: Days 1-31
I’ve read that we replace 1% of our cells daily. Every 100 days we have a new body. What that new body consists of is the food we eat, air we breathe, water we drink, exercise we take and thoughts we think. – A friend Three-plus boxes of incense and 31 days ago, I launched…
The Urban Yoga Den 