So, I’ve been teaching yoga for six months, more or less. More if you count the classes I created and taught online; less if you count teaching in studio. The other day I turned to one of the first pages of the journal where I plan my yoga classes and read a version of my …
Category Archives: zen
Becoming more of who I am…
I am a teacher. I used to teach kindergarten. I used to be a principal, teaching whatever needed taught to whomever was learning at the moment. Now I teach yoga. Actually this isn’t true. I don’t teach a subject or a discipline or a practice. I never have. I teach students. People who wish to …
A visit to the Valley of the Sun
The plane touched down at Phoenix-Mesa Airport right on schedule and we headed to the rental car counter to pick up our chariot that would take us on our planned scenic adventure through the Arizona desert to our destination in Sedona. My new friend and I were headed to a yoga retreat. Our friendship born …
The Monkey and the Latkes
As an assignment in my YTT, for one week we were to keep a log of our daily activities and record whether they were energizing or an energy drain. This was a self-study of brahmacharya, or “right use of energy.” “Entering this realm of more pervasive exploration, we must still bear in mind that anything …
This is how I roll…
Today when Wheel Pose was offered during my practice, the Yoga Voice from within encouraged, “Do it.” My body resisted initially. It wasn’t that I couldn’t do the pose, but when I’d done it before, it was a struggle, with my arms fighting to lift my head and chest. Sometimes I’d get part way up …
I am Enough
“Let go of the frustration and the judgment and work with your unruly mind as you would with a child or a puppy.” – Gates & Kenison I’m grateful to have found my “yoga voice.” When I speak it to myself it is much kinder and gentler than my critical voice that internally spoke of …
Living and Learning
“You can’t step into the same river twice.”* Each breath is new. Isn’t that nice? This is your moment to seize and explore. When it fades, it returns no more. The past is over; the future lies ahead. But, grounded in this moment, find your peace instead. Inhale. Exhale. Feel and let go. In the …
Wisdom in the Dance (Parts 1 and 2)
“While performing asana, the student’s body assumes numerous forms of life found in creation, and he learns that in all of these breathes the same universal spirit, the spirit of God.” -B.K.S. Iyengar Part 1 While many of us equate yoga and asana (postures) as one and the same, asana is only a part of …
Happy Yogaversary!
Today is my two-year “yogaversary.” It’s been two years since the day I decided to use the extra 15 minutes I had each morning during summer school to start a yoga practice. I figured I could build a habit during the month of June, continue in July during my vacation and then it would be …
I am a Tree
I am a tree. I am strong. I am grounded. I am flexible with branches waving. I extend from all directions accepting what I need from the universe. I am a shelter. I am a protector. I am beauty. I am dormant and resting. A shadowy figure on a backdrop of grays. Learning to appreciate …
Goats and Yoga
I went to a small educational farm in Rogersville, Mo. that holds fun animal interactions including goat yoga and bunny meditation. Their tag line is accurate: where joy and zen meet. Goats and Yoga is a wonderful experience with simple yoga poses and goats frolicking about. They naturally want to jump on flat surfaces, so …
Retired Girl in a Beautiful World 