Abundance: Season of Light

A friend recently mentioned Jesus as “the reason for the season;” but these days, I see December in a whole new light. Yes, Christmas is obviously the most widely observed, celebrated and marketed holiday of the month. But as a yogini who thrives on the concept of unity, I choose to set my sights on…

Focus: Abundance – Love & Light

I have long believed that people are beautiful beings, inside and out. Our humanness, our perfect imperfection, our state of constant growth gives me faith in the beauty of life as a whole. Tonight a street drunk and I watched a meteor fireball together. I was walking to yoga class when a huge white comet-looking…

December Focus: Abundance

Snowflakes are falling on the homepage of WordPress. I’m listening to Arcade Fire’s “Neighborhood #1” in which young lovers dig a tunnel from house to house after the neighborhood is buried in snow. And outside, for real, it’s finally Winter cold. I’m fasting today. Liquids only.* There’s nothing like an empty body for writing about…

A Jewish Yogini at Midnight Mass

24 December, 2009, 1pm I have Christmas fever!  The spiritual kind, not the shopping kind.  I mean, this is big.  What a beautiful ritual to acknowledge the birth of Jesus – or as Isaiah says, “the wonderful, the counselor, the prince of peace.”  An all around GOOD guy. To me, Jesus represents the ultimate human…

God Rest Ye

…Merry Yogis and Yoginis! So, we’re winding down our November and December class focus of “Rest.”  We’ve spent two months exploring yoga’s balance of effort and ease.  We fine-tuned our Asanam to the “nth” degree, soothed our nervous systems with Pranayama and rested flat on our backs to some pretty Yoga Nidra songs. In addition,…

Comfort Songs for a Restful Holiday Season

Sorry, my dears, you’ll find neither Christmas Carols nor Hanukkah Songs on this list. These are the Comfort Songs.  The songs that say, “Everything’s gonna be OK,” “I understand” and “I’ll be there for you.”  The songs that paint rich pictures, give you permission to slow down, warm a snowy day and complement clouds, mist…

…and Joy

“The gloom of this world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within reach, is joy. There is a radiance and glory in the darkness, could we but see, and to see, we have only to look. I beseech you to look! “Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by their…

Comfort…

Again, a yoga class moved me to tears. Tonight’s closing “OMMMMMMM” had the sweetness and harmony of a lullaby.  It hummed out to the universe to join the OMs I’ve heard in other teachers’ classes lately (thanks, Jenn).  Perhaps there’s something about a mid-holiday season yoga class that releases the peace from students’ souls.  It…