Fall is in the air today in Massachusetts. I’m spending this week at the Kripalu Yoga Center as part of my 300 hour yoga teacher training on Meditation as Transformational Practice and Advanced Asana (postures). Suffice it to say, I am paying a LOT of attention to my body as I move through the yoga
I went to see the movie Bridget Runs a Marathon this past weekend. It is a movie that is distinctly flawed–lacking a “health at every size” perspective and falling prey to healthism and fat phobia. (for more on that read here https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a28787943/overcoming-obstacles-brittany-runs-a-marathon/. But, it did result in reflection about the role of mindful intentions in our
This week I got REALLY angry. Anger is not one of those emotions that I am all that comfortable with. In fact, it is something I usually try to avoid; and I manage my surroundings and people so that I don’t touch it very often. But, this week there was no turning back. I was
Many people have become disconnected from their bodies from the neck down, choosing instead to reside only in the top floor—namely their heads. This situation is problematic on many levels. Problems are rarely solved and emotions are rarely quelled through dwelling in the unrelenting thoughts that torture you. However, by dropping down into the rest of your body and placing your attention on the sensations below the neck, you reduce the attentional capacity available to focus on the thoughts that are creating the despair.
Living a cling-free life is not about giving up, being discouraged, or being apathetic. It does not mean that change doesn't hurt, sometimes deeply. Letting go of clinging to life staying the same when, in fact, it is always changing is the only sane solution. Be open to the life that is actually happening and live in a world of unlimited possibility. This is the path to freedom.
Before I taught mindful eating, I had been teaching mindfulness in both the tradition of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Theravadan Buddhism since 1999. I clearly understood the importance of mindfulness in relieving the suffering that all human beings experience just because they are alive in this world. However, teaching mindful eating since 2007 and being
Inspired by the trip I’m on, I woke up this morning wanting to explore how to get along with people of different backgrounds, beliefs, opinions, cultures, gender, etc. There are plenty of examples in our daily news feed and nightly news shows of how we don’t get along. While some of this information is important,
I’m in Edinburgh, Scotland this week and enjoying “the beautiful sunny weather”—as the gentlemen exclaimed at the airport as he greeted us. That is a joke, of course, as it has rained every day. But, it has also been extremely beautiful—lots of lush green, friendly people, and wonderful sites of ancient architecture, as well as
While everyone else was deeply relaxing into savasana (the corpse pose) at the end of the yoga class I taught, I was sitting on my cushion feeling angry. It had been a fully balanced and relaxing posture practice so my body felt pretty awesome. But, there was definitely a shit storm going on in my
Home has mostly positive connotations for people. It might not be the home that you grew up in but the home that you have created for yourself. Either way, we seek to create a home that gives us a sense of peace, comfort, and familiarity. We like to have something that we can count on.
