I spent last weekend catching up with old friends, one who lives in Arkansas and one who lives in San Francisco. At one point, my friend from San Francisco shared that she couldn’t live in Arkansas because the people there were too closed-minded and likely all voted for Trump. My other friend noted that this […]
Category: Torrance
Is yoga enough to keep me “fit?”
One of our students recently replaced her gym membership with a yoga membership. She naturally asked the question, “Is it enough?” From a sales perspective, I should of course say, “Yes! Spend all your money and time here!” But, there is a lot more to the story. A big part of the answer depends on […]
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 […]
Wanna win? Buy a Ticket
A man prayed to God every morning, “Please, let me win the lottery!” And every night, the winner was announced, and it wasn’t him. Day in and day out he prayed ardently, “Let me win the lottery! I’ll use the money for good!” And every night, the same story; no win. Finally, one night he […]
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 […]
What’s your summer goal?
We named our studio “The Yoga Harbor” for this simple idea: “A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” (William G. T. Shedd) We want all who enter our doors to know this is a space to take shelter and to recharge. But, while safety is necessary, it is not more than […]
Do you feel like you fit in?
Dear friends and students, I grew up in a refined suburb of Pittsburgh: Upper St. Clair. I spent Sundays at church followed by the Country Club, surrounded by my sisters, grandparents, and oh-so-many cousins. In many ways, it was an idyllic childhood. But the thing is: I never quite fit in. I was always “too” something. As a child, […]
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 […]
Abandon Perfection
My dear friend and neighbor gifted me this rock from her travels to healing places of the country. I knew I wanted to use it in our studio design, and the inspiration struck one day after a long afternoon of physical labor. I would write “Leave your shoes and your ego here,” like so many […]