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
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,
Registration is now open for this adventure to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica! The Caribbean coast of Costa Rica is a beautiful region that is generally less developed and touristy than the Pacific side. Unlike the Pacific coast, September and October are the finest months to visit. This is the first time I will
What do you do when you first wake up in the morning? My guess is many of you start checking your phone for the news, swipe through all your social media accounts, and then go to email. And your mind might immediately get caught up in obsessive, ruminative thinking about something that’s not going well.
Have you noticed that habits are difficult to change? You keep doing the same thing repeatedly and don’t know why? Maybe there are things you wish you would stop doing–eating right before going to bed, eating snacks when you’re not hungry, drinking more than one glass of wine or drinking at all, buying clothes you
My dharma talk before yoga class last week reiterated one of the tenets of Kripalu yoga philosophy which is about “the sacredness of the moment.” Of course, we hear about living in the present moment from many different spiritual traditions because it is the most profound way to live. In fact, it is the only
