An Unbelievably Simple Tool to Make Your Holidays even Happier
My mom and I used to host a Christmas Eve celebration at her house. With two brothers and a sister and a mom who was a social butterfly, our house was often a social hub. The fare was finger foods, fun refreshments that invited people to gather round the table and chat while sampling mini hot dogs in crescent rolls or...
Yoga for Mind and Mood
Yoga postures have many physical benefits. Students report these benefits regularly (I never tire of hearing it, btw). Yoga is also a wonderful antidote to the forward leaning posture so many adopt from working or playing at their computers, driving, reading, using their phones. It counters the effects of repetitive motion activities, strengthens intrinsic musculature, cultivates flexibility and teaches you to...
A Yoga Teacher’s Take on the Benefits of Mindfulness
As a yoga teacher, I have seen and experienced firsthand the many benefits that mindfulness brings to people's lives. Mindfulness is the practice of being present and fully engaged in the moment, without weaving stories or making judgments. It is a way to cultivate awareness and focus, as well as compassion for oneself and others. From my perspective, there are...
Want to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution This Year?
As the year draws to a close I find myself thinking about resolutions. It’s been quite a while since I’ve set one. Still, the turning of the year is a natural time to reflect on what’s past and consider what the future might hold as well as how I might direct it toward what I desire. And honestly, 2022 and...
My take on the 5 Main Types of Yoga
Ever been asked what style of yoga you practice and found yourself at a loss for words? I get it. It IS complicated. There are so many styles, many to which teachers attach their names and ways Sanskrit terms have been co-opted in our modern world to mean something different from their original intent. There is also overlap in the styles. In IOY...
Is Seattle Freeze Real – a burden or a blessing
My dad was something of a public figure when I was growing up. I should preface this by saying that we lived in very small towns in Pennsylvania - he was alternately a college basketball coach and a high school principal. That just reminds me of a charming story . . . In one of these small towns, my brothers and...
Traumatized by . . . a SQUIRREL!
It’s 4am. I’m awakened by a scritch, scritch, scritch sound on my bedroom window screen. I look up to see the silhouette of a squirrel against the window shade. I say this little silent prayer, “Please God, let that squirrel be on the outside of my window and not the inside”. I decide, in my petrified state, that the best...
Weathering the Summer Heat, Yoga Style
We've been relatively lucky here in the Pacific Northwest, compared to the rest of the United States, with respect to scorching heat. The fact remains though, that those of us who are in the northern hemisphere are in Pitta season. Ayurveda asserts that just as the doshas(Kapha, Pitta, Vata) of our bodies align with the 5 elements(earth, water, fire, air, ether)...
Reflections on Resilience and Reopening
Finding the resilience to resume regular life When Governor Inslee announced King County's entry into Phase 2 of the Safe Start Plan, which included yoga studios opening at 30% capacity, I felt immediate pressure to open the studio for classes asap! After all, I had spent weeks preparing for this day . . . cleaning props and the studio environment, and developing protocols for a safe class experience. Yet...
What comes in the aftermath of stay home stay safe
What comes next. Well, it is clear, we are making forays toward normalcy. Maybe that makes you feel like pronking . . . Or The Washington Post offered this article about three families that chose to quarantine together for the more cautious among us. No matter how you look at it, we have some ground to cover before things approach anything close to pre-Covid lifestyle. According to a recent Kaiser...