It ain't all roses all the time, is it? In writing copy for my new website in the fall of 2015, I decided to share a brief glimpse of my 'dark ages'. My long term clients knew me then, some of them aware of the circumstances and others oblivious - only realizing when my name changed a year later when the divorce was final. Many of them didn't know I was pregnant, and somehow I worked through the fabulous first trimester all-day-sickness and found hope. It was a hell of a year losing a pregnancy I wanted, regretted, prayed over, learned to love again and then lost. All while separated from the relationship that made it came to be. Wanting to understand. Wanting him. Not wanting him. Hating him, and yes, forgiving him. Teaching my clients gave me a reason to get out of bed. To … [Read more...]
Vagal Tone
"It’s very clear that the human is one entity: mind and body are one. It sounds logical but it’s not how we looked at it before. We didn’t have the science to agree with what may seem intuitive. Now we have new data and new insights." How can we use this information? Meditation, vigorous exercise, and emotional resilience all relate to vagal tone, heart rate variability and deep internal health. Vagal tone might be a hot ticket item right now for teachers and neuro-geeks, but it doesn't help our students if we don't know how it applies to how we practice and live life, right? Basically, we can't do what we've always done the way we've always done it and expect to be healthy, people. Change it up. Take a risk. Get outside more. And move your body, mind, and life in NEW … [Read more...]
Insights for Teachers: Cues To Reconsider
Although at face value the article (that inspired me to write this post) is easy to read and the tips are concise, I actually disagree with the author on several points. Please let me clarify that I'm not merely going to share my opinion, but instead use biomechanics to back this up. Anatomy requires our attention, and if we are teaching yoga, we're teaching movement. Which means a shift from the right-wrong duality of how to cue and thinking into deeper discernment. Many teacher training programs teach you how to teach what and how to do it - I like to educate my students to understand why they're paying attention in a certain way, how their body moves and functions, and help them experience their power to influence outcomes. For example, you might ask yourself, "How, as a … [Read more...]
My Approach to Teaching Yoga
I had a conversation recently with a colleague. They asked me what I thought about 'stretching' and hatha yoga...and they wanted to know how my approach might be different. Here's an attempt to put a sensory, visceral, lived experience into words: "When I teach Yoga it's about movement, and my students end up moving through multiple repetitions of gradually fuller-range movements, with encouragement to keep it active, dynamic, supported - it's more about moving through space than 'seeking stretch sensation' or 'going as deep as possible'. I'm interested in integrity. Sustainability. And if we're using movement as a tool to train the mind and embodiment, let's see how subtle and supple we can get. They {my students} end up possibly doing a whole lot more transferring of weight, … [Read more...]
Breathing – Becoming – Embodied
"Now and again, it is necessary to seclude yourself among deep mountains and hidden valleys to restore your link to the source of life. Breathe in and let yourself soar to the ends of the universe; breathe out and bring the cosmos back inside. Next, breathe up all fecundity and vibrancy of the earth. Finally, blend the breath of heaven and the breath of earth with your own, becoming the Breath of Life itself." - Morihei Ueshiba When I contemplate breathing and eating and intimacy it's a conversation between beings, a communion of self with the external world, bringing parts of our environment and nourishment and lover into ourselves and a part of us being released back out into the atmosphere as we exhale, eliminate, separate from other and reconnect with Self. Reuniting. … [Read more...]
Unitasking: A New Approach to Productivity
"My coffee is cold again." "I burned dinner!" "I don't remember the drive home, I somehow just got here." "When I'm at a stoplight it's ok to text or email. I'm just sitting here stalled in traffic, right?" "I have 10 browsers open on my computer and can't seem to focus..." Let's all agree to wake up from the misperception that being productive means doing more, and doing everything all at once. It doesn't work. We know this, and some of us can even feel the stress in our bodies, yet somehow we have become addicted to the frantic, scattered, immediate gratification mindset of our modern society. Slow down. Your Focus needs Focus. Instead of multi-tasking, I talk with my clients and students about unitasking. Do. One. Thing. Well. Start to finish. Satisfied? … [Read more...]
The Great Mystery – Getting To Know Your Pelvic Floor
So many women (and men, hey, guys – welcome) I've worked with over the past decade have had some form of pelvic floor challenge. Yet many of them couldn't – or wouldn't – name it and make it known. A different issue brings them to their first private session, and over time we unravel the story and clues in their body – and often end up right back at the center, the core. We end up discovering that the pelvic floor may be a causal piece in their puzzle. I'm happy to share my passion and expertise – and bring much needed lightness and humor to this area of our anatomy, health and lives. My certification and studies in The Franklin Method dramatically increased my own embodiment and performance, and has served me well in helping my clients with similar areas of concern. The pelvic … [Read more...]
6 Lessons I’ve Learned in 2016: Part 2
To read Part One, go here. Lesson #4: We're Divinely Made for Connection During my Dissection Course with Gil Hedley last month (yes, I'm talking about cadavers), I intimately saw, touched, and explored the layers and systems that make up our human form, at least in the physical sense after passing. Everything is connected. Perhaps this feels cliche and we've heard it before - but I invite you now, in this moment to consider its truth. When I approached the 3 gurneys that first morning, each with a donor body covered by sheets of gauze, alongside my new community of 20 students and teachers - I hesitated. My senses became overwhelmed, but my spirit felt so completely still. I knew once we intervened, this form would never be the same. We were about to separate that … [Read more...]