My Feet
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I never really gave my feet a passing thought.
I have just taken them for granted, even with my father as a practicing podiatrist for nearly 40 years.
But yoga has changed that.
Read MoreYoga Speak is a written manifestation of my practice. When I move, what comes to life on the inside begs for air on the outside, and my words are the breath that make that happen.
Movement
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From one day to the next, I look forward to yoga.
It has been more than a year since I first stepped into the studio, and I never tire of it.
I like preparing to go. I like being there. I like the workout.
And, in turn, I like whatever it is I am doing afterwards.
The after effects of each class stay with me until the next class, and so I go as often as I can.
It is a good place, and it puts me in a good space.
Read MoreSatisfaction
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Scrambled eggs, toast and butter and a cup of coffee.
For me, this is a meal of satisfaction.
Simple tastes, I know, but this is truly my most satisfying meal, and often it is my breakfast, lunch or dinner.
The other night, this was the meal on my mind as I landed in my first Downward Facing Dog at my six o’clock yoga class.
In my inverted “V”, I was looking at the back of my mat, staring at my toes and realizing I had not eaten enough that day for the 90 minute practice.
Far from being in a state of satisfaction, I was in what I call a state of “shaky hungry”, and I get in trouble with those who know me for being so.
Read MoreInto the Heart
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I attended a yoga class yesterday evening, even though I had practiced that morning.
Everything about entering the room and setting up helped me to step out of the day and into the moment.
It was a quick and welcome transition.
Read MoreYin Yang
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As a little girl, my goal in life was to grow up to be a hippie.
When I was little, I had a pair of denim colored Keds.
They were too cool for words, and I made them even cooler with ink drawings all over.
Peace and love signs. Flower power. Kilroy was here. And the Yin/Yang symbol.
I never really knew what the Yin/Yang symbol meant, but I would draw it all the same.
When I was younger, I thought it had something to do with infinity and, as I grew older, I realized it had to do with opposites.
But it was not until yoga that I came to understand that Yin and Yang are really about duality, and its meaning was impressed upon me the other day in the studio.
Read MoreOpen
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One of the surprising things that yoga has taught me is that physical exertion has effects that go beyond my body.
It seems to offer an unexpected openness and peacefulness. It puts me in a place where I can really hear things.
Recently, I had a lesson on Backbends.
My goal is to dip into a Backbend from a standing position. With hands at heart center, I want to be able to lean back and, oh so slowly, land my hands on the mat behind me.
I am not sure why. I cannot explain this!
Read MoreAnger
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I had been in great spirits as of late, and I credited this with my almost daily yoga practice.
I loved my studio, my class, my fellow yogis, my instructor and my mat.
I was seeing the bright side of most things, most days. It was as if an angel was riding on my shoulder.
I was on a yoga high even on Thursdays, my off day.
So imagine my surprise when my instructor told me I was holding anger in my quads.
But, I’m not angry, I said, to which he replied that the anger was in my quads.
But, what am I angry about? I asked, to which he answered that he could not say but that it was in my quads.
Well, what am I supposed to do with it? I followed up, to which he answered, Just do the poses and release it.
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