The Happy Heart Project: 100 Days!

“Whoever is happy will make others happy too.  He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery.”  – Anne Frank My whole body is vibrating. Just now, I lit my 100th stick of “Happy Heart” incense and repeated the words I’ve said each morning since August 28th – “My intention today is to…

Gratitude, Pt. 1: Contentment, or, Samtosha

I’ve gained 10 pounds over the past 3 months. There are some very tangible reasons why.  My summer camp gig – during which, over a period of six weeks, I teach 90 Asana classes and 120 percussion lessons, and, run up and down the school’s stairs 100s of times – ended the first week in…

Be A Yogi

When I graduated from my Yoga Teacher Training at the Integral Yoga Academy, I heard a lot of advice. Make a list of all the potential places you could teach – not just studios, but other spaces. Market your classes in this way or that way. Remember that not all yoga instructors can make a…

Focus Wrap Up: Abundance

You say you want a resolution? What if, instead of making New Year’s resolutions, we simply decided to make space for whatever comes along? *  *  * What’s the 1st thing that comes to mind when I say “Abundance?” A lot. Having. Fullness. And? Less is more. Giving. Spaciousness. Huh? Yup. *  *  * Great…

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…

Focus: Abundance – Growth

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again. – Dorothy Field, 1930s Musical Lyricist When I was around 6 years old, my mom would drive my sisters and I to a farm outside of DC for horseback riding lessons. A few weeks into our series, a horse threw me to the dirt! I…

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…

In the OM Zone

You can hear the OM sound everywhere. It vibrates every cell in your body. It brings such a nice feeling of peace.  – Swami Satchidananda There are times, at the end of a yoga class, when the closing OM is so sweet I have cried.  And there are times when it is so cacophonous that…

Bi-Monthly Focus: September/October – Yoga In Action

September marks the beginning of our new focus for yoga classes. Over July and August, we reflected on “Why Yoga?” and wrapped up by exploring the idea of giving back.  Our quote by Max Strom (see “Focus: Why Yoga? – Giving Back”) reminded us that only by focusing first on our own healing can we…

Focus: Why Yoga? – Giving Back

“When we are in pain, we become self-centered and myopic.  When we heal, we become more empathetic, self-less, and sympathetic to the pain and welfare of others.  It is our gift to others to heal ourselves.”  – Max Strom, writer and yoga instructor The Bi-Monthly Focus in our yoga classes has been “WHY YOGA?” We…