About eight years ago, one of my best friends was carrying promotional materials around in her pocket for her new business. Everywhere she went, she handed out coasters advertising a new spot in Brentwood where you could get your hair blown out but not cut or colored. The coasters were literally scattered around the dance […]
Why We Need Restorative Yoga
Eight years ago, I took my husband to a Yin and Restorative Yoga class. He was angry with me later for boring him for an hour. We were twenty-five, physically healthy, and were pretty stress free. He rarely stayed past five at work, I was home every night to cook dinner, and our rent hadn’t gone […]
Satya: Living Truly Aligned
Truth is a slippery concept, never as objective as we’d like it to be. Our truth depends just as much on our experiences and point of view as it does on observable fact (much to the disappointment of climate scientists and vaccine developers). In yoga, the word for truth is satya. And, as we work […]
You Don’t Have to Settle for Spaghetti
At our old home, Reid and I had the pleasure of forming a friendship with our neighbors of an older generation. In our four years on Oakwood Street in Pasadena, we felt comfort in knowing Marge and Guppy were just down the street. Their house was a throw back to my youth, reminding me of my own […]
Back to (Yoga) School
Been taking a little break to enjoy the sunshine this summer? It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been off your mat for. All that matters is you hop back on. Preferably today. To encourage your journey back to your practice, we’ve got a great reward. The Rules Practice with us 12 times during the month […]
Using Meditation to End Racism
Just before my grandfather passed away last month, he told me he wanted to live 8 more years, to be 100 and see what came of the world. He said it was a dynamic and exciting time, but at the same time he expressed his fear for me and my future children. He said, “I […]
What is a “Good” Yoga Class?
Asking people to define a “good” yoga class is like asking them to define a “good” meal. Personal taste, our history of experiences, our culture, our age, our mood, everything, can affect what we find subjectively “good.” But, there are some things we can all agree on. Good food is balanced, incorporating more than one of the […]
Happiness is an Outside Job
Modern day self-helpers – of which I consider myself one – face a difficult Catch 22. On the one hand, we tell people happiness is an inside job, not at all dependent on circumstances or possessions. On the other, we tell people they’ll be happier if they’re more grateful for what they have. Which is it? […]
When yoga doesn’t ‘feel good’
We hear the line repeatedly in modern, Western yoga classes, “Let it feel good. Let it feel juicy. Let it feel yummy. Doesn’t this feel blissful?” I’ll start with a simple promise: You’ll never hear me say juicy or yummy in a yoga class. Similarly, you’ll never hear me say “brekkie” when referring to breakfast, […]
Let go
We hear it: “Inhale the good shit, exhale the bullshit.” And we all laugh. It’s on coffee mugs, it’s in self-help books, it bookends yoga classes. This notion that ”letting go” means releasing negativity and holding on to love and light is at best silly and at worst damaging. As humans, we have a tendency to […]