This summer, at age 54, I’ve embarked on a new(er) past-time, hiking half (240 miles) of the Colorado Trail, in 2-4 day installments. Superficially, the hike may seem distinct from formal yoga practice. But, as I sometimes share with students: “you can take yoga with you anywhere you breathe, think or move.” Breath regulation synchronized […]
I write these pieces from scratch. I bring years of study and a bit of self reflection to the page and try to compose something meaningful in about 200 characters. There is no limit to knowledge and inspiration, though it seems to have its own pulse and timing, much like everything else in the creation. […]
Amidst the many uncertainties in life I often remind myself to come back to the basics. And it does not get much more basic than breathing, or so it seems. Breath is vital to our life-process, and often overlooked – essential nourishment, hidden in plain sight, and presumed to always be there for us. Holding […]
Several decades ago, when I first went to yoga classes, the practice was closely associated with “discipline.” People talked about “discipline” the same way we talk about “flow” or “trauma sensitivity” now. It was in the air of practice. Discipline is an essential aspect of what the yogis call “Tapas.” Tapas are the creative friction […]
Oftentimes we may enter yoga with the hope of gaining something, such as greater range of motion or peace of mind, often with success. It is a sensible motivation. On a deeper level, the yoga process reveals a deeper capacity to accept life as it is, independent of our predeterminations–the ability to sit in loss, […]
What is your go-to yogic teaching “off the mat”? A few come to mind: “patience”, “acceptance”–that’s a big one–or “giving of oneself”, all of which read nice on paper and can be much more difficult to put into practice. Genuine yoga practice is something we live into rather than something to “do.” Layer by layer […]
Perhaps you’ve heard Patañjali’s quintessential definition of yoga? It’s quite simple, and simultaneously vast; two signature features of wisdom. “Yoga is the stilling of all thought.” This definition probably conjures more questions than answers and invites us to reconsider our mental space…. what are thoughts anyway? On a practical level, I invite us to consider […]
Blessings of the spring season. As the grass ripens, and the days breathe with greater length, I reflect upon the spirit of yoga through the seasons. From one perspective, the state of yoga (union) is a perennial constant, utterly merged with the essence of life-itself; an unbridled instrument of infinite consciousness. Sounds kind of nice, […]
Namaste May, Like a swollen river that winds its way through mountains, and across deserts, before emptying into the primal ocean, yoga unfolds over time–leading to our essential origin. This month, in our weekly Master Class, we turn our attention to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a definitive treatise on the aim and path of […]
It’s been an eventful April at DYU. And I wanted to recap a few lessons and experiences…. We hosted the spring cleanse and were met with many repeat members; a growing bi-annual tribe dedicated to cleansing mind-body-soul. Their final shares at the closing potluck, glowed with warm sparks of humor and honesty. Jeremy Wolf joined […]