Aug Schedule

Teaching Schedule

Just a reminder to anyone looking to join me for practice...
Come visit me at New York Yoga  and New York Yoga Hot! 

Mondays 4pm Hot Vinyasa @ New York Yoga Hot

Tuesdays 7:35pm Vinyasa Basics @ New York Yoga

Wednesdays 4pm Hot Vinyasa @ New York Yoga Hot

Back to Being Right Here Now

I just read this fun and inspiring piece "10 Reasons to Do a Headstand Every Day"... and I'm sold. It was just what I needed to get me going again. Lets just say that since the wedding - which was the very best day - I have been in recovery mode. I let a lot of things go when the wedding craze kicked in. Do not get me wrong, I loved planing my wedding. Every piece was exciting and totally our own. But now it is time to get back to some of the routines I let fall away. One in particular is my morning yoga practice, which, well... certainly hasn't been happening every morning for some time now.

You'd think that since it has been over a month since our wedding day, that I would be back to the morning practice and other things (like writing) already. To that, all I can really say is it has been difficult to go from using every free moment to plan and create, to having all those moments free again. It is not that I wasn't ready to let it go; just more that I didn't know what to do with myself or how to handle moving back into the regular routine after. This may sound silly. It should be wonderful to have free time again, right?

I think this speaks to how we all tend to run our day-to-day in general, especially in New York City. It can feel like everyone is here with a goal, pushing themselves (too) hard, and stressing for a cause. As soon as I became my bad-ass married self I started looking for the next big thing. You see, there is always "the next big thing". Think about it... high school -> college -> grad school / job / creative genius... complete project find next project... (book / teacher training / edit / teach teach teach.) Repeat. Often a different choice in the grad school / job / creative genius category is made. Or maybe you get to plan a wedding, have a big move, a baby on the way, or some other life altering event.

The point is we all have passions that keep us driven. When we find ourselves at the finish line after a long race towards the goal, we begin to instantly crave what is next. Drive, passion, etc are not bad things. They do however keep us moving rapidly forward instead of simply enjoy the present moment. When was the last time you took a step back and let yourself enjoy how good life is in the right now? 

I am trying to get back to this important yoga teaching. Santosha, contentment. I want to be comfortable in the now, present in the moment, enjoy and appreciate the life I have created through all those passionate endeavors. Sounds easy right? Of course in the true spirit of all yoga philosophy (haha) it actually feels like a lot of work just to let go. My hope is that it will not always. This is why yoga is a practice - every limb of it. My daily practice - even if some days that is just a daily headstand - feels like a great place to restart. 

Classes at New York Yoga Hot!

I am so excited to share that I have two new Hot Vinyasa classes starting this month at New York Yoga Hot!

You can now join me Mondays & Wednesdays from 4:00pm - 5:00pm for some sweaty, stretchy, strengthening Vinyasa flow. 

Seeing my name on the schedule for the first time left me feeling very grateful and lucky for this opportunity. (And also nervous, giddy, emotional, energized, etc. etc.) Once I sort through these feelings and can start to turn my mental shrieks of joy into actual words I will share. 

Until then, first class is Monday, March 5th ...

See you there?! 

To Be Brave...

As February approaches (January where have you gone?)it is an excellent time to take a peek back at the New Year's Resolutions you were so excited about at the beginning of this month... 

I wrote this on January 1st: "2011, I bid you adieu - you were a stressful year, a whirlwind-of-ups-and-downs year. But I forgive you. I will choose to remember you in your very best light - my engagement, earning my 200hr certification, the accomplishments and joys of my friends and family. I also choose to be motivated by your upsets. I will not be afraid to make changes or take chances this year." 

Instead of posting my resolutions for you all to share, I decided to save them and check in again in a few weeks. I wanted to give myself goals I could stick to this year. Really, more than a list of goals, I wanted to give myself an intention. Setting an intention implies that first you need to recognize the way in which you would like to change. To do so we need to look inward, form a bit of a plan to weed out what is not serving our intention - to see if we are holding ourselves back in any way. Then you can move forward and create real change. The word for this in Sanskrit is 'sankalpa' or: resolve, determination, good intention.

After a good hard look at myself, I decided that my number one resolution this year is to be brave. Sometimes, in order to do what is best for you, you have to face fears and give in to the unknown. You have to surrender. You need to make room and accept that change may take time(versus whatever instantaneous result we crave). This idea can be daunting enough that we decide, instead, to stay exactly where we are - even if it means we are not as happy as we know we could be. Doesn't that just have a need for sankalpa written all over it? 

It seems to me that this lack of drive is fear causing us to pause on our path, so I resolve to (gulp) be brave. I cannot say that I want to teach more yoga, but not go out and audition. I cannot say I want to publish my writing, but never submit my work.  I would like to push myself to achieve more this year and can only do that by taking more risks. So cheers, 2012, your first month nearly at an end, I welcome the adventure.