Happy November! I hope your month is off to a great start.   I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about this month until yesterday when I was doing something really simple and my back went out. I was just leaning over a sink to wash my hands and it seized up and I couldn’t straighten up.  The rest of the morning was spent moving very consciously trying to keep my core engaged while trying to undo the severe forward folding motion and gently ease the intensity of the pain I was feeling.  By afternoon, I was able to stand Read the full article…

I hope you are enjoying your month and the transition into shorter days and longer nights.  As the earth turns towards my ‘darker’ and more challenging cycle, the mantra I’m incorporating is: Choose better thoughts.  Can it really be that simple? Yes.  And so extremely complicated at the same time.   What do you give your attention to?  Thought has form.  It just happens to be very subtle.  But the more we think something, the more gross it becomes.  Over and over we think thoughts.  And over time, they take shape.  They form into the world around us.  Many thoughts Read the full article…

I hope your month is off to a great start.  I just returned from 4 days in Joshua Tree where I was co-leading our 9th annual Chakra Retreat.  The long weekend was incredible in so many ways but the thing that has been resonating the most in my mind is the concept of ‘community as guru’ Guru itself is not a bad word.  Guru means teacher, one who brings light to the darkness, a spiritual guide or leader, a person who mentors or counsels.  All of these are good things.  Finding someone who can help guide us along our path Read the full article…

Hello and happy middle of the month. I hope you are enjoying the transition of the long days of summer towards the longer nights of fall. One of my teachers, TKV Desikachar, says “One of the best indicators that your yoga is working is that your relationships get better”.  As I look back on the past 2 decades of yoga practice and reflect on my relationships throughout the years, I can say without a doubt, according to Desikachar, that my yoga is working. We are in constant relationship, not only with ourselves (in body, breath, mind, etc), but also with Read the full article…

Happy September! I hope you had a great Holiday weekend celebrating this beautifully mysterious and challenging life.  September is Yoga Month which is a great time to introduce those you love to the practice of yoga or to re-commit yourself to your own practice in our annual Yoga Month Challenge. Next year will mark 20 years since I started this incredible practice that literally changed the course of my life.  I can’t even imagine what life would be like today were it not for a friend who casually mentioned that yoga might help me with my low back pain.  And Read the full article…

I hope you are having a beautiful week and are feeling lots of love in your life.  I have been struggling for days with what to write. As some of you may know, and some of you may not,  Marriah who manages the administrative work at Yoga Blend, teaches belly dance, and happens to also be one of my dearest friends, lost her fiancé last week. What to say?  There are no words.  Only feelings.  And lots of them.  Life can be really sad and seem so unfair.  It is in times like these we tend to wake up more fully Read the full article…

Happy August! I hope you are enjoying your summer and that it is filled with lots of love, laughter, celebration and excellent food. We are just past the midway point between Summer and Fall known in earth based traditions as Lammas.  It is the time of reaping the first harvest which is an excellent time to check in, reflect upon and receive the benefits of the intentions, projects and seeds you have planted this year. Life is up to us to create.  Beyond our basic survival needs, circumstances have very little to do with how happy we are.  Instead, our Read the full article…

I hope you are enjoying your summer so far! The following quote is hanging in my bathroom and I see it at least 2 times a day if not more: In the end what matters most is How well did you live? How well did you love? How well did you learn to let go? It has become a mantra for me, causing me to take pause and reflect on a daily basis. Am I living well? Yes, I truly feel that I am. Check. Am I loving well? Definitely. I do my best to show love to all parts Read the full article…

Happy July!  Can you believe we are already halfway through the year? My mom always told me that time moves faster as you get older and I totally agree.  A day goes by and I often think, did I miss anything today? It is so easy to get caught up in all there is to do and the roles we play in life that we can miss the moment that is before us. I will often do something and then realize as I am doing it, that I am thinking of something else.  This is the opposite of mindfulness. Mindfulness Read the full article…