I've just returned home from the wonderful Northwest Yoga Conference in Seattle. As a member of the panel discussion, I was asked a classic question about Ahimsa: "Does one have to be a vegetarian to be a Yogi?" As you know, Ahimsa (a- not, -himsa violent) is the first of the Yamas (ethical principles) in [...]
What's your story? One of the great gifts of a Yoga Teacher Training is the sharing of the life stories of each of the students. The SmartFLOW Yoga Trainings are held in 11-day Intensives--and boy are they!! In each intensive, the whole group morphs into a sweet Tribe becoming a collective of souls who dare [...]
Just as the cat makes her way to the sunny windowsill to offset the morning chill (and to see what is happening in the hood), we too splash water on our faces, make a morningcuppa and kiss our beloveds good day. These simple acts, elevated with the element of self-awareness, give our lives meaning, a gratifying sense of [...]
Spring...Out on a limb I watched a young squirrel amble out on a limb this morning. It was the old, browning limb that reaches out beyond her sister branches of my beloved redwood. As the squirrel lingered in the warm rays and surveyed his lucky station, he unwittingly dispelled my growing concerns about this [...]
Have you ever heard Annie say "and if you're new to yoga, so you've only been practicing for 10 years or so..."? I remember the first few times I heard that and a packed room of sweaty yogis, pushing themselves in some way, suddenly softened and smiled. There is a comfort in knowing you are [...]
There's this stand of trees outside the window where I sit in the morning. Led by a huge redwood, whose branches are favored by many of the neighborhood birds, especially the red-shouldered hawk who graces my world from time to time. John Steinbeck says of the mighty redwood trees, "...From them comes silence and awe. [...]
Savasana (final relaxation) is such an essential and yummy practice it is surprising how often we, or our students, skip it or only give it a short amount of time. Sava translates as corpse in Sanskrit, and asana is pose or seat. Savasana creates a sweet state of relaxation, a sense of peace and a [...]
