How to Choose A Sankalpa for Yoga Nidra
Youβre in a Yoga Nidra class. The teacher invites you to set your sankalpa. And your mind goesβ¦ completely blank. If the only intention you can muster in that moment is βI will remember my shoes when I leave tonightβ β youβre in good company. Setting your sankalpa can feel unexpectedly difficult, not necessarily because itβs complicated, but because weβre not used...
Affirmations for Stress Relief
I first came across affirmations way back in the 1980s (that sounds like centuries ago, doesnβt it!) during a βPositive Thinkingβ weekend workshop. The positive statements (or, affirmations) became an immediate, practical way to relieve work stress and to motivate me; supercharging me with belief in my ability to succeed. Over the years, affirmations have also helped me to consider areas of...
What Is EFT Tapping
Tap, Tap, What? . βEven though I feel the onset of a migraine, and I donβt have my tablets with me, I deeply and completely love and accept myselfβ. I was saying these words out loud while tapping on various parts of my face and my upper body, as my husband drove us to the next stop on our weekend getaway. Heβs used...
Nature as Your Sacred Yoga Studio – Happy Earth Day
What do I do when Iβm homesick for the call of the wild? When my South African roots have me longing for the serenity of the savanna, instead of driving south to the airport, I head west to the Everglades. Within minutes of getting into a kayak, thereβs this mushy thing that happens in my belly as my stomach muscles soften...
Yoga Myth Buster: “Yogis Are Always in a State of Bliss”
Thereβs this perception that yogis are in a perpetual place of peace. Constantly floating on a chakra-colored cloud of consciousness. For the true definition of "yogi", that is true. For the rest of us ...
Yoga Myth Busters : βReal Men Donβt Do Yogaβ
If youβre a guy who wonβt go near a yoga studio because you think itβs full of flexible, fit, slim, young women, thatβs completely understandable. (Although I have male friends who would see that sentence as immediate motivation to rush to yoga quicker than you could say Om). For thousands of years, yoga was taught and practiced mostly by men, in...
Yoga Myth Busters : βIβm Not Flexible Enough To Do Yogaβ
If I had received a secret yoga power for every time Iβve heard that statement, Iβd be enlightened by now. As yoga teachers, we shake our heads in frustration when we hear it, because thatβs as illogical as saying Iβm too dirty to take a shower. Itβs precisely because youβre inflexible that you need yoga. Canβt touch your toes? Perfect!...
Yoga Nidra and the Power of Intention
Youβre in a Yoga Nidra class and youβre asked to set an intention . . . is your mind immediately paralyzed into a blank screen of zero inspiration? If youβre unable to conjure up, at the drop of an Om, a statement any more profound than, βI will remember my shoes when I leave yoga tonightβ, all thatβs needed is some...
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the new buzzword forΒ an old tradition. It's been revamped, repackaged, rebranded and given an extra swipe of lipstick (or dash of aftershave) as we read about how celebrities, successful business execs, and most recently, Olympic athletes, are using the magic of mindfulness, as part of their daily routine. So, what is mindfulness, exactly? Mindfulness is the state we are in...
A Revolt Against The Revoltingness
"Philando Castile, Iβm so sorry we all know your name today." I read this today, in an Elephant JournalΒ post.Β I am sorry, too, and tremendously saddened. We can post memes and # tags and change our FacebookΒ profile picture in some sort of statement of support, sympathy, hope. And thatβs okay, but it leaves me feeling mostly hollow. The world has been a fairly...