Every year, I look forward to the explosion of blossoming Jasmine that takes over my back porch. When the Jasmine blooms, I move as much of my life as I can to the back patio. I read, meditate, write, eat, do yoga, drink tea – and sometimes I just sit and do nothing at all except bask in the spell of this intoxicating scent. (more…)

I think my dog has the right idea. She always seems content. Her biggest desire each day is to lie in the sun and soak up all the warmth coming off the bricks on the patio. She will be lying there when I run out in the morning to go teach a yoga class. She will be there when I come back and rush around the house to get ready to go and see my therapy clients. She will be there when I come home in the evening exhausted but happy from the activities of my day.
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I was teaching a stress management workshop for kids the other day at a highly competitive private school. Even writing that sentence makes me connect with how extremely stressed so many kids are today. As a therapist, I specialize in working with teens and am constantly reminded of how much pressure is put on adolescents these days to succeed. It seems as if there is very little room just to be a kid. (more…)

It is such a challenge in our modern “go get it” world to actually find the time to stop and rest. We are constantly encouraged to be productive and push our limits. For many people, this ‘type A’ energy influences their yoga practice. It is so easy in a yoga class to let competition get in the way of wisdom. You know that moment when you realize that the person next to you is “working it out” and, even though you’re feeling a little tired, you push it so that you don’t seem like a yoga wimp. (more…)

Is all music spiritual? The reason I ask this today is because I love to play all kinds of different music when I am practicing yoga – everything from Deva Premal to Madonna. I let each style inspire me with the musician’s unique energy. I have shared this love of music with others and most people I teach also enjoy it. (more…)

This weekend I started noticing some of the people in my life who embody the spirit of yoga. Although I teach and practice yoga all the time, I am not talking about the people I see at the studio or on the yoga mat. I am talking about those amazing people I run into, who seem to have found the secret of serenity in their lives. (more…)

Talk about feeling the effects of the spring equinox; I woke up Thursday morning and there was no choice but to clean my house. It was as if someone had set off an air raid siren and cleansing was the only action available to ease off the rush of energy flowing through me. I got a lot done that morning in a very short amount of time and it felt good to relinquish the rubbish that had accumulated in my space.

So what is an equinox? The word equinox actually means “equal night”; so the length of the day is equal to the length of the night, a unique event occurring only twice a year to mark the beginning of Spring and the end of Summer. For many ancient calendars it also marks the beginning of the New Year. (more…)

“Who am I really, and how do I want to be today?”

How many times have you been asked the question “What do you do?” At parties, during first introductions, at a family gathering, people find it easy to define us by asking what we do and placing that answer in their frame of reference. But what happens when we choose to shift that question slightly and examine within ourselves the deeper question of “How am I a part of my life today?” This simple question has the ability to transform our sense of authenticity and inspire a renewed sense of honesty with others and ourselves. (more…)