The things I wish everyone knew about yoga.

As a teacher of all different types of yoga classes with over ten years of experience I have seen many trends in yoga come and go. Through it all, I have found that the questions and misconceptions about a yoga asana (posture) class have been fairly consistent. So here it goes! The things I would like people to know about a yoga posture class. 

First an operational definition for the purpose of this article. A yoga class is defined as a set period of time where people practice various types of exercises meant to enhance strength, flexibility, and agility. Popular types of yoga that would fall under this category include: ashtanga, vinyasa, hatha, Iyengar, power yoga, yin yoga, and our style High Energy Fusion Yoga. I am completely aware that there are many aspects of yoga that do not involve physical exercise, but this article deals with the vast majority of exercise classes offered to people worldwide under the title of "yoga". 

1. A yoga asana (posture) class is hard work. It is exercise and was always meant to be. I don't think this type of class was thought about 3000 years ago, but the moment yogis started to incorporate this type of physical discipline into their lives, it became exercise. The broader philosophy and science of yoga has many facets from meditation, to serving the community, to introspection and modest living. However, make no mistake, the type of yoga class that you take in a studio is an exercise class. You will sweat, you will be sore and you might even pull or tweak something occasionally. The reason for including this type of class into the fabric of yoga science as a whole is that the mind rests more easily when the body is healthy.  Additionally,  a person may be of service to one's community when they are stronger and more able physically. Some people may not want to face it, but a yoga posture class is taxing on the body. But guess what? The body adapts. In a few weeks you will start feeling stronger and more agile as you move through the posture sequence(s)  of the style you have chosen. I would say that eight to twelve weeks of attending class at least once a week will have you feeling stronger and more fit. Don't let the physicality of yoga intimidate you, but don't let it surprise you either. 

2. A yoga posture class may not be appropriate for you if you are injured, recovering from surgery,  ill, or pregnant. I know that this is not the wisest thing for me to say as a studio owner, but its true! People often tell me that a doctor has recommended yoga for them as a therapeutic exercise routine. The assumption that yoga is gentle and easily accessible for people with injuries is erroneous. Physical therapy is appropriate therapeutic exercise for people with injuries or conditions. Yoga should be added cautiously for people with special needs. If you wonder if yoga is right for you, ask your doctor if you can take a gymnastics class. If they balk at that idea then the majority of yoga classes offered in your community are probably not right for you. Work on your strengthening routine with a certified and licensed physical therapist and build the strength you need to join a group yoga class. If you are pregnant and have never done yoga or any other form of exercise, you should go to a pre-natal class. Leave the regular classes for after you deliver. There is no need to pick up a rigorous yoga routine for the first time in your life 6 months into being pregnant! 

3. You do not have to be flexible to practice yoga. That is a huge misconception. As with learning any new pattern of movements, your body needs time to adjust neurologically and physiologically to your routine. Most of what you will gain in the beginning is strength. Many people do not realize how weak their muscles are in certain directions. This leads them to believe that they are "just" inflexible. That misconception holds them back from trying a yoga class, but they are more willing to try a weight training class. The goals and outcomes are similar. You build strength side by side with mobility in a yoga class. BUILD is a key word. If you are not willing to build, then no fitness class is right for you. 

4. Not all yoga classes are equal when it comes to intensity. Some styles hold poses for long periods of time, some use the same sequence over and over again, and some are very movement intense. Do your research and try a variety of styles. If you have recently had knee reconstruction, stay away from a movement intense class and opt for a slower one.. As you get stronger, you may want to give other styles a chance. One major complaint from people who try a slower style is "it was too slow for me". At that point you have to decide if you want to build your practice in a faster paced class where you might feel challenged and have to sit out part of the time, or build strength in a slower paced class where you can complete all the exercises but have to deal with potential boredom. Both are strategies that require patience and humility.  The deciding factor is you. 

5. A yoga posture class is not a solitary practice. Meditation, reflection, and working on your relationship to the world around you are all solitary practices. Yoga studios should build community! Expect to interact with people, assist them, and learn their names. Expect to smile at people and become invested in growing the circle of yogis you practice with. If you love your yoga studio or teacher, help make their classes a warm and welcoming environment. Leave anger and negativity at the door and participate in making your yoga class a safe space. You are all in the struggle together! Impressed by the yogi in the front of the room holding a solid handstand? Go up and tell him or her that their practice is amazing and ask for some tips. Are you an advanced practitioner who remembers the struggles of being a beginner in a new studio? Offer to help someone in your class. Do something nice and put your neighbor's blocks away for them, or grab them a set at the beginning of class. It might be the nicest gesture they experience all day. I am not sure when a yoga posture class became such a solitary and unfriendly environment. Lets change that perception. After all, If you really wanted to be surly and unfriendly you could do postures by yourself at home. 

6. Advanced postures are not the goal. Feeling alive and enjoying the journey is the point of every style of yoga. Long holds, short holds, classes done to hip hop, and classes done with only the music of the breath all have this in common.  Each yoga class is a celebration of life and our abilities as human beings with immense potential. Enjoy the bounty that the numerous styles of yoga available today can offer. See you on your mat!

Radiating Love in Widening Circles

Happy New Year!  I know, I know, 2016 was a rough year on some levels. So many of us lost loved ones, friends, heroes, and idols. I was no exception to feeling the sting of loss in 2016. I had to hold more than one person in my arms as they grieved this year. The thing about grief and loss is that, no matter what the year, we cannot control the events that cause it. Loss, in my humble opinion, is an opportunity to appreciate abundance with more clarity. After this year, I appreciate the time I have with my family and friends that much more. To me 2016 was my opportunity to send love out in widening circles without hesitation. Saying “I love you” to people has never been easier. It doesn’t matter how long I have known the person, and it doesn’t matter what they do with it. 2016 has taught me that life is too short to be stingy with how much love you spread around. 

Here is the kicker, the more I opened myself up to love, the more came back to me. It came back to me in the form of my high school students telling me about trying different meditations on their own. It came back to me in the form of trust my students showed me when I packed them up to Costa Rica and flipped plans. It came back to me in the random acts of kindness my students at the Co-op show to one another. It came back to me in the support my closest friends lent me when I was at my weakest. (You know who you are) I think the lesson here is clear, what you put out into the universe comes back to you ten fold. 

I would like to thank 2015 for tearing me apart. From that ruin, I re-built. I would like to thank 2016 for the loss. I now hug a little tighter, let go a little easier, and live my life with more balance. 2017 is not here yet, but intentions are powerful and here are mine for the New Year. 

1. I will embrace my talents and allow them to shine without hesitation and without fear. 
2. I will honor my body and rest unapologetically when I need to. 
3. I will facilitate growth. Growth in my students, my business, and my personal life. 

Three is an auspicious number in yogic philosophy. Here is to a 2017 filled with opportunity! What you do with those opportunities is up to you. 

The growth you see in your practice is a reflection of the growth within. 

"Faith starts as an experiment and ends as an experience." ~W.Inge

Well, it's over. One month spent in beautiful Costa Rica doing two things I love: teaching yoga and surfing. This month long leap of faith definitely began as an experiment and ended as a wonderful experience. It wound up taking two or three (dozen) different turns, but finally I ended up exactly where I needed to be and with a small group of yogis who were willing to learn and dedicate themselves to this practice. Now that it's over, I can honestly say I have learned some things about myself. I start out my teacher trainings by telling my students to expect to have epiphanies. I am no exception to this process,  and so I am writing some of mine down with hopes that they might inspire others but mostly so that when I forget them and start freaking out over the next time I need to have faith,  I can re-learn. 

The List:

1. Let go of comparisons and expectations and embrace the process. While you're letting things go, let go of toxic relationships and environments too. 

2. It will all work out exactly like it should.

3. There is no down side to trying something outside of your comfort zone. Human beings excel and grow through discomfort. If you aren't working your tail off, you are probably not getting anywhere. 

4. You are 100% as capable as anyone else of achieving your goals. That being said, you may have to work harder than other people to achieve your dreams. So what?! See number three.

5. Patience the most underrated of virtues. Just like with surfing, you may have to wait and paddle one more time before catching the perfect wave. Patience often awards you the element of surprise. Be patient with your reactions, your responses, and your endeavors. Think about quality over quantity. Saying yes and figuring everything else out later will only get you so far, for so long. 

6. That being said, sometimes you have to say yes and figure it out later. =p

And so, I finish teaching my first international intensive certification program with a sense of appreciation for all the support I have received along the way. THANK YOU! There are even bigger waves on the horizon. Let's go get them!

Special Congratulations to the Summer 2016 Graduates! You ladies have made me proud. 

Another year older and what do you get?

Another year older and what do you get? If you’re lucky, I believe you gain wisdom.  What a year this has been! My 39th turn around the sun was a spectacular blend of amazing and painful. I taught hundreds of hours of yoga, built and developed this website, began my goal of publishing online classes, started my own yoga certification program, wrote a new manual, dissolved one business and started another. I got seriously injured, literally fell on my face (I have the scar to prove it), and battled internal and external demons for the freedom to be myself. I laughed, cried, stood on my own two feet, and learned to lean on others. I traveled farther and more often than I have in any other year on this earth. I worked…boy did I work! I broke down…boy did I break down! If I had to sum up the last year in a tag line it would be:  when the student is ready, the teacher appears. 

Those teachers came in so many forms! My close friends, my family, my husband have all given me amazing advice and support. They endured incessant phone calls, text messages, brainstorming, hand -wringing and freak outs. I would like to take a moment to thank them. I would be nowhere without my Tribe. 

Injuries have also been a great teacher. They have shown me that I have an amazing power to deny reality. (feel free to stop nodding your head in agreement). They have also shown me that I am not as attached to this body as I had previously believed. There is a saying in Spanish "joven eres, y viejo serás". I came face to face with the fact that my yoga practice needed to develop past the physical. My meditation practice has become one of of the greatest gifts of this past year. I look forward to developing it in the years to come. 

In the end I am reminded of this quote from Elizabeth Gilbert: 

“…I’ve come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call “The Physics of The Quest” – a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws gravity or momentum. And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this: “If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself….then truth will not be withheld from you.” Or so I’ve come to believe.”    Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love.

First, you have to be brave enough to dream. Then, you have to be confident enough to believe, and humble enough to ask for help when you need it. My last bit of insight about this last year is that you have to be unapologetically authentic. The minute you become so, the universe will show you the way. 

I can’t wait to see what this next year brings!

Manifesting...

It's interesting the bargains we make with ourselves to get us through the tough times. Have you ever had to make a deal with the all mighty to give you the resolve to continue forward? I have....and more than once.  To me, 2015 was five years lived in one. I traveled, taught, surfed, studied, held down my day job, held down my marriage, started this website, and decided to strike out on my own. In the final hours of 2015 I realized that if I wanted to manifest success (and this means different things for each of us) I needed to begin to verbalize it. If you want to do a handstand, try screaming "HANDSTAND!" while you attempt it. I guarantee a greater degree of success. If you want inner peace. Say it out loud to yourself several times a day. I guarantee, you you will feel more peace. Scared to try? Do you feel silly? Why? Maybe you are unsure of what your really want. Maybe you are scared of asking the universe for exactly what your heart desires. Maybe you feel, unworthy? Let me reassure you that you are worthy.  Let me be the first to say that you deserve EVERYTHING that you want in this life. You are the almighty. Divinity dwells within you as you. Pluck up your courage and become clear with WHAT YOU WANT. This important first step on the road to manifesting your dreams cannot be skipped. Allow yourself to crystalize the thing that will make you happy. Be specific. Be brave. Let 2016 be the year that the inclinations you had last year, became realities this year. I say this as much for you as for me. Get out of your own way and manifest your dreams. Happy New Year!