Hau’Oli Makahiki Hou! Happy New Year! If you’ve read much of this blog or follow me on social media, you probably know I have an affinity for all things Hawaiian. So this is the third year in a row, I’ve selected my #oneword from the Hawaiian language. #oneword2020 was mohala, a beautiful word meaning to …
Tag Archives: beautiful
Goodbye, Summer
I said goodbye to summer under the gray skies of mourning with my last two hummingbirds buzzing around the feeders, chirping, drinking and dueling as they prepare for their journey. The air is still and damp. The creek ripples. A cricket sings as fall arrives on a slightly cooler breeze, encouraging the clouds to release …
Reflection on the journey
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 …
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 …
Three words
Sometimes less is more. I recently read the book, Teaching beyond the poses. As a teacher, I love a good theme and this book had great ideas for theming classes and a convenient framework for planning themed classes. But, I think the most valuable aspect of the book was the journaling prompts. This was my …
Shine
In my purpose, I immerse. A piece of the puzzle of universe. I leave an empty place Without my unique shape in the space. Being the best me I can be. Encouraging others to reach their dreams Because it seems My accomplishments do not take from others, nor theirs from mine. There’s room for all …
Forget-Me-Not
If you’ve read my bio, you know that I am a widow. I don’t write specifically about it much anymore, but the experience of loss and living with loss shades my perspective of everything I experience. Valentine’s Day. It can be a difficult day when you’re “alone.” There used to be flowers and fancy dinners …
Eye of the Storm
Shades of gray drift over the sun like a heavy eyelid. The scent of rain wafts like a lullaby. Less light. More dark. The rays of the sun shine like eyelashes. Fighting sleep. Heaviness closes the eye. The tears of the sky wash the earth releasing the spring.
Just monkeying around…
Today I celebrate my 500th class at Kom Hot Yoga. My 500th class was actually a few days ago, but who’s counting? Well, I am! I chose my “90% Monkey Pose” to commemorate the occasion. Why? Because it represents important things I’ve learned: *It’s yoga practice, not yoga perfect. This is my monkey pose today, …
The Essence and the Flow
“…both essence and flow can exist in the same breath.” – D. Arguetty. (2009). Nourishing the teacher. Yoga is balance. Yoga is paradox. Darkness and light. Movement and stillness. Grounding and flight. Today I consider “essence” and “flow” as it pertains to the study of yoga, inspired by a selection in one of the books …
Let Go
Life is an interesting dance. To live it is to take a chance. The whole world lives within the heart. Accept juxtaposition, balance can start. There must be black, the darkest night, To pierce the eyes with blinding light. It is when silence does abound, Entering the ears is resounding sound. In the vast expanse …
Chucks and Pearls
Chucks and pearls For all the girls Whose eyes are wide With dreams inside With hearts a fire And intense desire. You go, girls! Sporting chucks and pearls. Your road may be tough, But, you are enough. Sometimes it’s a fight, But winners take flight. You’ve got this, girls Running in chucks, wearing pearls. How …
Inspire
inspire [in-spahyur] : to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence. Sometimes people tell me, “You inspire me.” This statement arouses different feelings in me depending upon the day. Sometimes I feel honored and proud that something I’ve done and shared causes another to find inspiration. In my sharing heart, I know that even …
What could you “bee” if…
What could you “bee” if you weren’t afraid? What if you didn’t doubt yourself? What if no one said to you, “You’re too …” or “You’re only …” or “You’re just …” or “You’ll never …”? Or “That’s impossible.” What if you didn’t say these things to yourself? “Your wings are too thin.” “Your body …
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 …
I came to do the yoga
I came to do the yoga. I didn’t come to do the poses. I did the poses most of the time. But, sometimes I didn’t. Sometimes I flew. Sometimes I fell. But, isn’t that life? In the flights, And in the falls, Let your light shine.
I am Santosa (contentment)
I am Santosa. I am that beautiful, wonderful self that resides in my very being. I am not my body. I am not my mind. I am not my abilities. I am not my mistakes. I am not my accomplishments. I am not my roles. I nurture my self with kindness, using words of ahimsa …
The Elephant in the Room
About a mile of paved trail in Elephant Rocks State Park leads through a field of giant pink granite boulders that are approximately 1.5 billion years old. Some stand over 20 feet tall and weigh 600 tons. They were formed from molten rock as it bubbled up from the earth and cooled. The row 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 …
Beyond Hana to the end of the rainbow
After a quite eventful lunch break, we continued our adventure with our first afternoon stop at Wai’anapanapa State Park just outside of Hana. The waves were rough as they crashed into the lava rocks and washed across the black sand beach. There is a small lava tube and an uphill hike to explore. The view …
Retired Girl in a Beautiful World 