Yesterday, our teacher training group was discussing contentment. What do you do to be more content? The question caught us all a little off guard, as we realized an active contentment practice is something we should have but mostly don’t. One student asked, “Does being grateful help? How about thinking about people less fortunate than you […]
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Don’t Let Go of the Story
If one more yoga teacher tells me to let go of what is no longer serving me, I may just have to let go of yoga itself. This phrase, though it sounds good, doesn’t carry the integrity of yoga nor valuable advice for any of us. It is in part based on the idea of […]
Sleep, Creep and Leap: Our goals for 2018
Shortly after we opened our doors, Lisa Menard Schmahl gave me a simple piece of advice. She told me her grandmother was a gardener and kept to the motto: “The first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, the third year it leaps.” I learned this phrase is commonly applied to everything from ivy to perennials. I […]
My home at The Yoga Harbor
I can’t remember ever feeling this much warmth and fuzziness in my life. I’m generally a prickly person – just ask anyone who has ever lived with me. It’s coming as a shock. I’m the proverbial Grinch whose heart was too small and has suddenly grown ten sizes. I’m so unused to this feeling I’m nearly lost […]
Do I Have to Sit to Meditate?
You know all those guided meditations that are so popular these days? I think they’re lying to you. I don’t think those lies are harmful; most people tell me those recorded meditations are helpful. But, to me, they are lies in that they aren’t really meditations. They’re listening exercises. In my (never claim to be humble) opinion, there’s […]
What are you devoted to?
At the end of my teacher training, I sat in the center of a circle while the people around me “bombed” me with love. One friend said, “You are a very dedicated person, and I respect that.” She was right. Since childhood, I’ve been good at dedicating myself to whatever holds my attention. You could […]
How I Found Faith in the Season
In December of 2015, I’d bought a book called, Let Me Be Weak: What People in Pain Wish They Could Tell You. I didn’t know it was a Christian book, or I’m certain I’d have disregarded it before the prologue. I didn’t need anyone else telling me about “God’s timing,” “God’s plan,” or that “everything […]
Does Yoga Tell Us to be Non Judgmental?
Shiva Rea is not new to dealing with haters. In 2011, she received a huge amount of critique for her “trance dance” at an Indian yoga festival, partly for the way she was moving and partly for the way she was dressed. In a deeply conservative culture, Shiva seemed to flaunt Western sexuality. In searching for […]
How I Learned to Meditate
Deciding to meditate is like deciding to “go on a diet.” It will take a tremendous amount of willpower, you’ll probably fall off the wagon, and you’ll likely reach a point when you call it quits. I’ve done a number of 10 day, 30 day, or even 12 week meditation commitments. I’ve made it through with […]
Why I Meditate
“I am thoroughly convinced the reason you married me is because I’m one person you think is right as often as you think you are.” That’s what my husband said to me yesterday after one of our sparring matches; we get into it, not necessarily fighting, but certainly arguing, at times to the point where […]