Five Elements Series: Creating Transformational Breakthroughs
There is a pattern for the process of transformation. There's actually a movement to transformation, and it has one of two directions. One direction is downward. Another goes up. The up…
Yoga
An Approach to Ashtanga that Supports Aging & Fatigue
Below, is an email exchange I had with a friend in the Ashtanga community, someone who is struggling to find a way into her practice such that it supports her fatigue and depression. I…
Five Element Series Part 6: Fire Element
Fire brings heat to the body, mind, and spirit. The range runs from warmth to desire to rage. In its milder forms it shows up as the warmth and generosity we bring to the people we love. In…
Five Element Series Part 8: Earth Element
The Earth Element
Five Element Series Part 7: Water Element
The water element is the deep one. Its emotions are not fire's. Fire is hot: rage, excitement, hunger. Water is subdued: depth, mystery, longing. It's the emotion of dreams and the…
A Living, Breathing Practice
A group of friends and I have started to gather at my house monthly to take a deeper dive into Yoga than the kind we get when we go to the yoga studio or even when we do a teacher training.…
Creating the Space to See What We Do
I've just returned from my first yoga practice back at the yoga studio I co-ran for six years and recently handed over to my partner. It felt great to be back to see my friends and to be…
Ashtanga Mind, Beginner's Mind
Some of the clearest and most open people I come across within the practice of Ashtanga tend to be new students. They're filled with the excitement and possibility that the practice…
The "GET OUT OF JAIL, FREE" Card
In my previous blog post, I described the fact that last Wednesday, I'd completed a project I'd co-run for the last six years, an Ashtanga Yoga program called Mission Ashtanga. I did so in…
Living with Doubt
There's an inner process to change. In the outer sense, all that's required is that we leave a job; start a new relationship; tidy up our resumes; or enroll in a class. But what gets us to…
How do we get to belief: Is it through faith or practice?
Ashtang-ulous!
Earlier this week, I noticed that a bunch of my yoga friends on Facebook were commenting on some notes from a conference led by Sharath Jois . Sharath was giving a talk partly on sirsana…