How the air we breathe can teach us about our environment During a workshop, I heard a woman say, “Breath is exciting.” She spoke with the delight a person would reserve for talking about a delicious and slightly dangerous love affair. Victoria (not her real name) continued, “Ever since I was a little girl, I [...]
Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy by David Emerson — Bringing the Body into Treatment A systematic process for addressing trauma in a clinical setting has been outlined in the book, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy. Author David Emerson is director of The Trauma Center Yoga Program. Trauma-Sensitive Yoga has been shown to be a useful adjunct to traditional psychotherapy. [...]
The Yamas & Niyamas of Owning Your Own Yoga Studio At the end of March, I will close my beloved U Studio Yoga. For nearly a decade we were perched on the fifth floor of an art deco building in LA with views of the Hollywood sign and a wonderful devoted tribe who practiced together [...]
Chapter of the Forest, a tranquil musical exploration of respite for the soul. (Vanguard Records) There comes a time in every musician’s life when retreating is not only crucial for one’s creativity, but essential for survival. Some of the things that can arise from this much-needed respite for the soul include: a sincerity that can’t be [...]
Koreatown welcomes Yoga Whale, a yoga studio for everyone and everymind. When Chigusa Saga was teaching at Chakra Yoga in Koreatown, she had no idea that one day the space would eventually become where she would open her own yoga studio. Yoga Whale, which is located in the heart of LA’s Koreatown on [...]
Dean Sluyter offers a skilled meditation guide in Natural Meditation Dean Sluyter is in the grand tradition of authors who interpret traditional enlightenment teachings and apply them to modern Western life. In his latest book, Natural Meditation, he certainly accomplishes that task with a rare combination of insight, clarity, wit, and pragmatic common sense. Can [...]
Cultivating Balance through Mindful Eating One component of cultivating balance in our lives is by how we pay attention to our nutritional balance. This can be achieved by practicing Mindful Eating. Mindful Eating includes choosing our food wisely, eating slowly, being present and focused at each meal, and concentrating on the five senses as we [...]
Harry Hamlin discusses finding the grounding influence of meditation through his role in feature film, The Fourth Noble Truth. Meditation is increasingly a topic of news stories and a part of popular culture. Meditation is even part of the subject of an entertaining feature film, The Fourth Noble Truth. The film’s star Harry Hamlin inspires on [...]
Tom Valencia practicing yoga. Photo by Robert Sturman (robertsturmanstudio.com) 6 ways to create yoga classes for people of all abilities and body types It was 1995. It was the second yoga class I ever taught. I remember it vividly because it was terrifying; it was a beginning level class, and in walked a [...]
Element Presents: Daily Yoga With Mia Togo - A daily practice for morning and night (Dragonfly Productions, Inc.) A dedicated daily yoga practice has profound energetic effects on both the physical and subtle or energetic bodies. In the DVD, Element Presents: Daily Yoga, taught by beloved LA-based YogaWorks teacher Mia Togo, two 40-minute practices are expertly [...]