The other day Greg and I were stuck in some mood-ruining slow-and-go traffic. Instead of picking a fight we picked a mantra (sacred syllable) and started chanting. Somewhere between the opening om and the closing swaha, the air cleared and we were in it together again. And that’s when I remembered the billboard. [...]
One day, mid-flow, I noticed the rest of the class was already down-dogging it while I was still pulling my heart through my arms in bhujangasana (cobra). Which surprised me. I’ve always avoided bhujangasana. Teachers bust me for rushing through it. And when I have managed to stay in the pose for the requisite number [...]
Animal Spirit Representations of Kundalini Energy Kundalini is a very powerful and transformational energy located at the base of the spine at a space within the last three vertebrae of the tailbone or coccyx that extends to the perineum. Kundalini is a natural birthright for all people and can be sought and nurtured with a [...]
My Other Car Is A Yoga Mat I’ve always been kind of embarrassed by how much I need my yoga teachers to tell me what a great job I’m doing. It’s not a job after all, it’s yoga. Not that I don’t love to be challenged, corrected, adjusted, egged on, pushed or even [...]
A few days before my first yoga New Year, my teacher asked us to make yoga New Year’s resolutions. Instantly, and uncharacteristically not even taking the three dark days till New Year’s to mull it over, I resolved to get good at jump ups. And I have been resolving to get good at jump ups [...]
Elements of Jyotish, The Science of Light. At difficult times the universe feels alive with signs and symbols pointing to our good discernment or poor judgment surrounding a decision or event: driving home after ending an unhealthy, draining relationship and feeling as though a luminous rainbow in the sky and remarkably clear traffic mirror a [...]
I was settling into my end-of-class lotus, feeling so grateful for my yoga practice, ready for a little oming. But no. The teacher asked us to mentally list three things we were grateful for. And I panicked. Because I’ve quit gratitude lists. It's not that I’m an ingrate. I thank people all the [...]
Yoga is like a gateway drug. At least it was for me. One day I was opening my hips and the next thing I knew I was opening my mind. Downward-facing dog led to chakra meditations, led to psychic flashes, led to pendulums, remote energy healing, DNA activation and now I find myself a full-blown [...]
Don’t Think of it as Pain Don’t think of it as pain,” my first yoga teacher used to say. “Think of it as sensation.” Yes, painful sensation. But I did start to think of it as sensation. And it helped. So I shifted my attitude off the mat too. For instance, I didn’t [...]
Someone’s in the Kitchen With Ahimsa In yoga class I caught myself beating myself up about beating myself up. I took it as a sign to start focusing on ahimsa (nonviolence). In classical yoga, ahimsa is generally given as the first yama (ethical precept), and defined as the non-harming of others by thought, [...]