Happy Yoga Day!

Tomorrow, January 24, hundreds of yoga teachers around the country are coming together to help improves lives through the practice of yoga. The Yoga Day Celebration was created by The Yoga Alliance and includes free or discounted yoga classes. If you're lucky enough to live in a warmer climate, you may even be able to find an outdoor practice. For more information on Yoga Day and to find a participating studio/teacher, check out the Yoga Day USA website. If you can't find a class near you, consider inviting a friend who's never tried yoga to your favorite studio for a practice - your treat! What a great way to usher in this new era in our country and around the world!

It's not clear what a teacher's teaching except a sequence.

What a great quote from Beth Lapides!

I agree that finding your authentic voice is crucial for a teacher who really wants to stand out in the growing pool of 21st century yoga teachers. Doing so not only helps you stand apart from other teachers which could ultimately lead to an abundance of work but it also allows you to connect with your students on a level most teachers never reach. We are taught that yoga teachers must teach from their own practice, meaning we must use our own experiences as a spring board for our classes and workshops. While it's easy to only apply this to the physical asana practice I believe the best yoga teachers take it a step further by incorporating meditation, pranayama and self-work practices that help them maintain a yogic state of being. As I begin to develop my own style and create sequences for my community classes, I try to constantly remind myself that the human condition is universal and that no matter the color, creed, age or gender, we can all find a common ground. When I sit down to do my affirmation meditation (which is not nearly as often as it should be), I remind myself that I am a creative, honest, intuitive teacher who respects the practice and wisdom behind it, but most importantly, respects my students by being authentic and teaching from a place of truth.

Check out the entire video with Beth Lapides and Greg Miller below.

Happy New Year

"I resolve to not make any resolutions." The words of more than a few close friends this year. It seems like new year's resolutions have become passe, or at the very least unnecessary. As someone who welcomes the new year with open arms because of it's significance as a new beginning, I feel an inescapable desire to re-evaluate the last 365 days and move forward with a renewed energy. I can only assume those who choose to abandon the resolution do so because of the 20lb curse. "I resolve to loose 20lbs this year or else!" Or else... we feel like a failure. That is why this year I'm focusing less energy on achieving goals and more on setting intentions. Don't get me wrong, I have goals for this year, most of them are related to my business ventures and travel plans (Paris anyone?), but when it comes to those things that are most important to me, my health, my heart, my family, my purpose, instead of setting concrete goals, I've created a list of intentions. This new approach grew from the seeds of uncertainty that were planted in mid 2008. This was around the time when the world seemed to shift on it's axis. When things were getting serious. In just a matter of months I found myself caught in the eye of a storm, with everything I had help build swirling around me at record breaking speed. Making it the eye was not easy, not by a long shot. I was pummeled by the debris of my past, drenched in a downpour of tears and blown around by the winds of fear and doubt before I was finally able see the sun. But I made it and here I stand blissfully in the quiet of the center, intoxicated by a powerful cocktail of prayer, meditation, yoga and introspection. I know that eventually the other side of the storm must pass, and I intend to welcome whatever it brings. I will duck my baggage as it aims for my head. I will release the grip on my heart and allow the wind to carry it where it might. I will bend, twist, and invert my temple, remaining flexible while forever staying rooted in the fertile soil of purpose. This year I intend to surrender to the winds of change.

Hold on to your hats boys and girls, we're in for one heck of a ride!!