Early Monday morning I gazed at the garage and knew it was time to clean out the recycling that had piled up over the past few weeks. There is only so much clutter I can stand before it starts to drive me crazy. And, since we don’t have pick-up by the city anymore, you need
I’m in the middle of teaching the 21-Day Summer Sunrise Yoga series. Every two days I teach one of the Yamas or Niyamas (basically the yogic directions on how to live your life found in Limbs One and Two of the Eight Limbed Path of Yoga). Each Yama and Niyama have an associated mudra (hand
June 21 is the Summer Solstice, which reminds us to turn inward and find the nourishment needed to grow and evolve. It is a time to pause and wait for the energy planted in the Spring to reach full bloom. After the Solstice, the northern hemisphere begins tilting away from the sun and the days start
My Mom and I headed off for Paris earlier this week while visions of almond croissants danced in our heads. Only one problem, our travels ended in Chicago for a night because our flight was canceled due to “mechanical issues.” My mother is in great shape for a 90-year-old, but this was not going to
How would you like to embark upon a ritual of yoga practice at sunrise for 21 days straight? Or, maybe you’re asking “Why on earth would someone do that?” Answer: Because it could change your life. No joke. After 21 days of getting up and practicing yoga before you start your day, I’m convinced that
Be still; quietly remember the presence of and within yourself, and you will know, without thinking, that while all around you everything changes, within you lives something unchanging. ~Guy Finley This is really the message of yoga, and it is what we cultivate when we come to the mat or the cushion. Within each of
My story with alleyCat Yoga begins before it had a name. I was living in California for a year (2001-2002) doing my internship in psychology when my Buddhist teacher, Ginny Morgan, called me from Columbia and said that she had a couple of yogis living in her basement—namely, Ken McRae and Kathleen Knipp. They had
The word “play” has been popping up in my awareness lately, and I’m wondering if I’m any good at it. I believe I have a good work / play balance—meaning that my days are a combination of getting items done on my work to-do list while not letting those get in the way of exercise,
Stop a moment to consider the importance of energy. Everything is energy. It affects how you think, how you feel, how you interact with others, and how you manage your entire life. When you have more energy and when your body is energetically tuned-up, you are positioned to enjoy your life and tackle any challenges that might
As you may have noticed, I have not been blogging as much this year. The reasons are multi-faceted, and I wanted to share the most important ones with you. The biggest reason is that I have been in transition. While I’ve been in transition, it has been more difficult for me to focus my attention,
