Schedule Changes...

* NEW CLASS * 

Thursday 5:15pm Hot Vinyasa All Levels 

@ New York Yoga HOT

*NEW CLASS* 

Tuesday 4:35pm Vinyasa All Levels 

@ New York Yoga

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. 

New Class!

I am very excited to announce that for the month of November I will be teaching at The Giving Tree Yoga Studio, in Astoria! I am so pleased to be a part of their fabulous community and encourage you to come check out The Giving Tree.

Join me Mondays, 10:00am-11:30, for a rocking Vinyasa flow class. Class is by donation - so you can pay what you like to get your yoga groove on! Each month this 'Yoga for a Cause' class is dedicated to a different fabulous charity. (Look for more on that soon!) Feeling very excited and honored!

New Glasses ... for Love Your Body Day!

In honor of Love Your Body Day, I will share that today I picked up my first pair of glasses. Glasses were so not a part of my identity... until now. 

Love your body - all your changes, gains, loses, breaks, bumps, good/bad hair days. 

Embrace it. Love it for all that it is and can do. 

A few other things on my body list: 

-degenerative discs 

-a nose that has been broken 

-two tattoos 

-five ear piercings (used to be six) 

-huge hair

-chicken pox scars

-t-nail shot through my thumb scar 

I have a yogi, nerdy, trips-over-her-own-feet, sexy body! 

What makes your body list?

Take Another Look: See

Sometimes you just need to get away. I apologize for my blogging break, but trust that at least some of the time was much needed re-coop time. Re-cooperation from what, you may ask? I am not sure I can pin point it exactly. But lets call it busy-season-changing, months-that-feel-week-long-only, wedding-planning-writing-scrambling... stress. Yes, lets call it stress.

I don't know about you, but when I am stressed I let myself push, push, push to get the to-do list done. I aim to accomplish more than any one person could possibly hope to do in 24 hours - yet never give myself credit for doing enough. And most days I add more to the list than I check off because it feels like the tasks are never-ending. Sounds familiar? Then after all the work I discredit, when I may finally have a moment to rest and restore, instead, I crash. I turn the TV on and zombie-out or, as I like to call it, have turn-my-brain-off time.

The thing is, even though this is down time (and I do think that occasionally it is what a person may need for their down time) it is not what my body and mind needs most. I find, that stress causes me to do do do and really what I need is to just be. To take a moment and enjoy a really deep breath and sigh, to take in how smart and funny my friends are, to hug my fiance, to take my time cooking a meal, or to get away and leave the busy city behind for a bit.

Last weekend I got the chance to escape the bustling city life and head to one of my favorite places, Ithaca, NY. If you have never been I highly recommend it. I went to college there and try to get back at least once a year - usually for the Apple Harvest Festival. This year, I did yoga at Lucifer Falls, ate and drank aplenty, spent some time with dear friends, and some remembering how it feels to make time to sit still and just be.

I also learned a very good lesson in a funny situation. While sitting in the Commons (a beautiful little pedestrian downtown area full of shops and apple goodness) I noticed a guy wandering and trying to hand out fliers. He appeared to be a local - what Ithaca or Cornell students would call a "towny" - in hippy garb, perhaps purchased at the local hemp store, and dreadlocks. We made eye contact as he worked his way through the crowd, I smiled, he looked me up and down and sort of made a face. Eventually he made his way to me and gave me a postcard and a wink.

I said thanks, turned the postcard to the back, and immediately began to laugh as I declared, "Dude, I can totally chant this with you!" before noticing he had already slipped back into the crowd. The card read:

"Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare


Suggested Donation for this piece $1"


All I could think was that I must not look like a yoga teacher today and how nice that he wanted to share the great mantra with me - without asking for a donation even. Then I wondered if he was judging me, trying to save me, and what or who he had summed me up to be. The self judging thought was followed by a much more beautiful one.  It is not about what we see or how we appear to someone else. You cannot look and know all that a person is.

During these few days following that moment I have come to realize that as stressed out, do do do, as I ever become I am always a yogi and a being that ultimately knows what my body and mind needs. I do not need to be a super woman who gets everything on the list done. I do not need to impress, stress or express exactly who or what I am or prove myself to another person. I need to breathe, practice, enjoy, be.

Pain: Battle or Breathe

I have been working with an injured shoulder for months now - my left, behind the shoulder blade, shooting pains up into my neck. Pain is not unusual in my yoga practice, though that sounds terrible to admit... but I have had degenerative discs since I was thirteen, from a car accident my family was in. It is this accident that really brought me to body awareness and yoga in the first place, though I did not like it at the time and could not understand what it was doing to help me. I felt that instead it was making me focus on my injury when I just wanted to move on from it. In fact, when people ask how I discovered yoga I often forget that it was ever part of my recovery therapy. My first thought is often of a class I was dragged to during college because that is where I had my eureka, oh-this-is-yoga, moment.

We store tension in the body. We hold on to accidents or stress or memories we are still working through. This is not always a conscious act, so we blame the injury for the pain, when really, it is tension caused by something completely different and perhaps not the injury at all. In this case, I really did hurt my shoulder, but I am also sure that there is a lot more going on there. Through this particular pain, I have been going through stages of rest (oh I am going to take it easy in class today, my shoulder...) vs practicing harder (maybe I can just work through the knots). Of course neither has worked. I was pushing too hard and true change, in my personal experience, never occurs by force.

Last week, Jenny Gammello (my teacher, friend, and Thai massage master) worked on my shoulder. She helped me stretch in ways my yoga practice could not achieve and encouraged me to just let go. She got me to surrender the weight of my arm into her hands, so that she could do the work and help me find ease. It may seems simple but letting go, even just the weight of your own arm, is tricky to do. Eventually she got me to give and together we started to work out the knots.

I did not push. I breathed. At one point the position Jenny held my shoulder in, and the breath I sent to it, created such a force that my muscle started to spasm and had no choice but to let go of the tension it was carrying. Jenny told me that I did that work, that I released it all on my own. I laughed and without really thinking said, "It was a battle or breathe moment."  Meaning, I could either fight surrendering to the stretch because it was uncomfortable or just take a deep breath and give in to the experience. Give in. Let go. Breathe. Experience. I have written about all these things before. But sometimes it takes a physical experience to make a concept a reality. Jai.

Yogis in the Outfield

I went to Coney Island on Saturday to see a Brooklyn Cyclones game. Perfect day, great game, and even some yoga during the visiting team's warm ups - go Lowell Spinners! Must share...

Out of Control...

... and it feels so good. Well, that might be pushing it but I'm learning that you cannot control everything and that is okay. You're shocked right? In the purest yoga sense, you should not want to or try to control anything. Let it be. Be in the moment. Let go of attachment. I have written these things in this very blog. However, it still seems to be the most difficult lesson for me. And I am sure it is a lesson that I will learn again and again. (Forgive my ever pitta ways.) Through wedding planning I am being put in situations where in order to enjoy the process I need to truly practice surrender.

Last week we celebrated our engagement with our wedding party and family. I had planned said party, made the invitations myself, knew the food, every person, who was bringing children, etc. I had the details down, but still felt like there was always more to do. Then I ran out of projects. I could barely sleep the week before and was having extreme nightmares all to do with not being in control of whatever situation I found myself in night to night.

The message was clear - let go, do not attempt to control, stop worrying about the future, the universe will handle it! Why was I so worried? There are many reasons. Everyone has family stress, right? And here are two families coming together to meet and it's all mine to organize. Stress.

It turns out that it was stress for no reason. The party was wonderful. I slept like a baby after. Had I simply trusted in what I already knew I could have been sleeping much sooner. The yogi me knows the universe provides. The yogi me knows that I can only be in the moment. The yogi me knows to breathe, to be content, to put love out into the world and trust that love will be returned. This was a lesson in practicing what I already know to be true. As the rest of these wedding milestones occur, I hope to trust better next time and practice the awareness my inner teacher is happy to provide.

Cheers to living in the moment, and letting this crazy ride be about our love and joy every step of the way!

Santosa...

Santosa, or contentment, can take many shapes in our daily lives but most commonly it is thought of as being satisfied with what we have been given. Santosa reminds us of Aparigraha, in the sense that we already have everything we need to be happy and content, but takes it a step further. I find that this is often the way with the Niyamas. They are personal disciplines and force us to look inward in ways we may not naturally be drawn to do with the Yamas.

Santosa is more than being satisfied with what we have in material things, though that's a start. It is being content with where we are on our path in life. It is recognizing that where we are right now is where we are meant to be. However, it does not mean take a seat on the side of the road and get stuck there. Contentment is not complacency, but acceptance. It is knowing that each step on the path is bringing us to the next lesson or experience.

This niyama is really whole in theory; every time I read a different definition of santosa I think, yes, this is the key. The key... to happiness, enlightenment, the way to becoming a better person, etc.  Oop! And there it is - the snare - a 'better' person. This idea of always needing to be bigger and better is etched into the fabric of our society. We are raised to want success and are given a very limited understand of what that means: to be richer, more popular, more famous, climb the corporate ladder to the top. (If I could only lose five pounds he would fall madly in love with me and we'd live happily ever after.) We push and push to be other than we are right now. Do not get me wrong, not all ambition is bad - it can be a driving force that leads us where we are going. But it can also be destructive and cause us to miss the beauty of where we are right now.

Santosa teaches compassion. This week, try letting go of okay-what's-next. Try to be still, and love who you are and where you are at this moment. Be content. Turn off the judging, ambitious mind and just observe how far you have journeyed already.

Hey Mr.(Ms) DJ...

Looking for some new tunes to compliment your practice? Interested in what I play during my home practice and my classes? Then check out the latest post from New York Yoga's Blog - Sounds Like Yoga Volume 4.

Each volume of 'Sounds Like Yoga' features a playlist from a New York Yoga teacher. I am very excited to share my playlist this time - I think great music in a yoga class can help keep you moving, breathing, smiling, experiencing, etc.

I create mine based around the sequencing of the class to help you go with the flow. One favorite of mine off this list is: 'Sons & Daughters' by the Decemberists - so perfect for Sun Salutations. Enjoy!

Let's pretend this is my DJ face.

Ready, Set, Go! (Teach)

Last Monday I did something crazy. I jumped in and subbed a class - and not one of the donation classes where students are aware I am still a new teacher - a 'real' class. In fact, my Teacher Training Director Jenny's class! It was not really on purpose - this was not a scheduled situation. But it was certainly one of those times to just jump (don't look down it will be fine) and then pray your parachute opens.

There is a scene in the Wizard of Oz that goes like this...

Cowardly Lion: All right, I'll go in there for Dorothy. Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch, guards or no guards, I'll tear them apart. I may not come out alive, but I'm going in there. There's only one thing I want you fellows to do. 
Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow: What's that? 
Cowardly Lion: Talk me out of it! 

This pretty much sums up how I felt. Here's what happened...

I was sitting at my desk at the York Ave studio, signing in the 4:35pm class, and keeping an eye out for the scheduled sub. I was not worried; this is a reliable, wonderful teacher we're talking about here. But then ten minutes before class I started to worry... I call... no answer. Still thinking she will walk in at any moment. (But of course things happen and do not always run as smoothly as we would like.) So I start to call other local teachers... no answer. I am dialing and leaving messages about as quickly as is humanly possible trying to find a teacher for this class when suddenly it dawns on me - I could just teach it. Then thought, wait, can I teach it? And the battle of courage vs fear began.

I called our general manager who assured me that I should indeed jump in and just do it. At this point it is about three minutes after the regular class start time. I walked into the room and thanked everyone for their patience, explained that their sub was no longer available and that I would be their teacher today... I just had to lock up and grab pants. I did this fairly calmly. Then exited the room, ran to the back to pull yoga pants from the boutique, changed quickly, ran back to the front to lock the door, dropping my skirt and shoes and the sales tag from pants I did not know the size of at/around the front desk (yes, my coworker who came in after me had a moment of pondering my disappearance via rapture rising) and then one, two, three, jump.




The class itself is a bit of a blur. I started by putting everyone in child's pose and asking them to let the first chaotic five minutes of their class go. Saying that sometimes this is our yoga. (Secretly hoping that they wouldn't still be upset by the time the class was over. And giving myself a moment to realize that this was my yoga today too.) I had one fellow trainee in class - right up front near me - she was my rock! All through Sun Salutations I kept looking at Susan and thinking 'it's fine, it's just like training.' My hands were shaking, my ipod was on its last bar of battery, etc...  but somehow words were still coming out of my mouth. By the time I got to Surya B I knew that I could do it.

After a few deep breaths (mostly mine) we started on my sequence. As I began to focus, everyone became students instead of seventeen clients I was afraid of displeasing. (Manager brain off - teacher brain on.) Once this happened, I was able to enjoy teaching such a fabulous group of people. I even threw in a few poses or instructions that were particularly Jenny. Honestly, it could not have been a better class to jump into last minute. This was my teacher's class - I know her, the class, and am teaching because of her.  Afterward I felt honored to have been there and really like it might have been meant to be. Heck, I was even wearing a Batman T-shirt for the occasion. (Thank you laundry day.)

It is not easy to face our fears, to have courage or jump in. But sometimes life pushes us to do just that. The universe is not out to get us - instead, I believe, it is looking to show us what we are made of.

Wedding Planning Yogi Style...

Quick sneak peek at where Mike and I will be getting married next year! I know, I know - what do you care about my wedding plans right? What does that have to do with yoga? Well, actually, so far my experience has had a lot to do with yoga - one particular school of it especially...  Bhakti Yoga means to move about your life making everything an act of devotion and love. This is becoming a very big part of me, but one I am just starting to be able to share. (So much more on that to come.)

Basically it is surfacing in my wedding planning because I am trying to make all of my choices using my heart and my gut - from picking the ladies I want to stand by my side, to the location. I have found there is really no other way. I have tried the websites and the checklists, listening to a plethora of advice from loved ones (keep it coming of course) but, in the end, its all about what feels best to Mikey and me.

So, when my godparents so generously agreed to let us get married on their beautiful land it just felt right. I could absolutely picture us there. (Which I could not really do looking at all the places I was exploring online.) But I knew it would only be the right spot if Mike thought it was a beautiful, meaningful place as well. I got to bring him there this weekend and am happy to report that he loves it too.

So without further ado...

A little mowing and this is a gorgeous view of the lake!

Or there is always the married in the gazebo option...



Which would you pick? There is also a GIANT tennis court that we will be fixing up as our reception area - it will probably get half covered by a tent and will have all of the tables, the bar and be the dance floor!



Saucha...

Saucha (which I discovered today has a ton of different spellings...) is the first of the Niyamas or 'observances' in the sacred texts. Saucha means purity. Though it is sometimes seen translated as cleanliness. The Niyamas are meant to help us build a better relationship with our self. They go hand in hand with the Yamas (which help us build a better relationship with society) by getting us to explore those ideas a little more deeply.

Saucha gets a bad rap because it seems so simple. Purity/cleanliness... hmm, OK, so take a shower every morning, brush my teeth, eat well etc. It seems so easy right?  But yoga, the Yamas, and the Niyamas are not about body alone - they are about balancing the body, mind and spirit. Each Niyama needs to be considered from all angles. So what about purity in thoughts or words or actions? How about in relationships or our work? How do we make choices that can bring more purity into our everyday lives?

We can begin to do this by treating our body like our temple (I know, I know, stop me if you heard this one before...) Some people do this by cleansing the body. You can check out one cleanse here or some great cleansing morning rituals here. Others meditate to clear and purify the mind. You can even help your body clean out the old to make room for the new by incorporating twists into your practice.



Ardha Matsyendrasana anyone?



I think Saucha needs to begin at the deepest root of purity - self love. There is a reason why Ahimsa is our first Yama after all. And nonviolence needs to begin with the self - we cannot grow and give love, love, love to others if we are not first our own biggest fan. Saucha allows us to explore this idea with perfect specificity.

So this week try to give yourself a little more support... honor yourself, smile at your faults, laugh at your own jokes, be kind in your practice, challenge yourself and be proud of the results, etc etc. Then maybe take a nice long bath to ponder that cleanliness can be pampering and self love too. I mean, come on, a bath full of bubbles and some essential oils for that beautiful bod after? Seems like purity to me.

The First of Many...

On Friday, I taught my first class at New York Yoga!  In most regards this was my 'first real class' - first time at a real studio, first time having a strict start and end time, etc.  I have been teaching a weekly class and privates at my apartment for the last couple months and, though I knew this would be a different experience, the things that caught me off guard were not what I expected them to be - which was totally nerve wracking and exciting.

For one, the room is huge; there is a real sound system and a fan running. So lesson one - volume.  Not too tough, raise my voice. Check. Bottle of water inhaled over an hour because I haven't had to project this much since theatre in high school... Check.

 

The second obstacle was time. When I teach from home we set a time for everyone to arrive but we all settle in and begin the actual class at our leisure. I have a sequence prepared and a playlist that both go for a little over an hour - so that has been my time keeper. Class on Friday was 8:25-9:25am. At first I forgot about keeping time - oops - so remembering is a challenge in itself.  Then when I looked up at the clock I had 25 minutes left to class and it felt like eternity. I actually threw in a few extra poses because I thought I hadn't prepared enough. Incorrect because then I had to take poses out because twenty-five minutes flies by. 

At the top of class I got three requests... 

1. Do not talk through savasana.

Easy one - I agree that savasana is a time to soak in the results of the practice. Dharma talks are lovely and can have the first minute or two of settling in to this pose, but ultimately I like to leave the student space to just experience and be present.

2. Do not tell us 'ok just do it on your own'.

Not leaving students to flow on their own was a new thought to me - I think this depends on the class and the difficulty of said flow. This particular student was afraid of getting lost or forgetting the sequence. As the teacher it is up to me not to let this happen ever and to create a supportive environment for all students - so number two was my pleasure to oblige.

3. Keep the air on.

Check, check and double check.

Overall, I believe class was a success. My students laughed, smiled, took a pose or two more deeply than they usually do... and taught me a thing or two about teaching. I am already looking forward to the next class at New York Yoga Hot. If you would like to join me you can check out the schedule page for all the Donation Classes I am signed up to teach. These classes are pay-what-you-can and you can drop in the day of. No stress. 
Just yoga. Jai! 

Jenny Gammello's Yogini

Recently I had the honor of working with one of my amazing teachers - Jenny Gammello - on her fabulous project Yogini. Jenny, and producer Matt Jared, are making yoga accessible to all via these yoga tutorial videos.

Each Yogini episode takes you through a ten minute series with detailed instructions and three lovely yoginis to guide you. What's really lovely and original about these episodes, is that they show variety in the poses - unlike many yoga videos that often demo the peak of each pose without the krama or steps along the way. With Yogini Jenny Gammello successfully shows that yoga is for everyone.

Check out Episode Three starring Erin Fogel and me as the lovely assistant yoginis. (Erin will also be teaching donation classes at New York Yoga soon - don't miss out!) For more great yoga sequences to practice at home or sneak at work ;) check out the video section of Jenny's website.

"End, begin, all the same. Big change.

... Sometimes good. Sometimes bad." Dark Crystal anyone? 

The end is here. Or the beginning. Both really. I have completed my 200 hours of yoga Teacher Training! From here it is on to teaching community classes at New York Yoga. I feel so blessed to have come so far. This training has been triumph after triumph for me, at a time when I really needed them. The lessons learned have already so greatly impacted who I am - mentally, physically and spiritually - and I look forward to sharing these teachings as they sink in a little deeper.

The teachers who have led me on this journey are so dear to me. To think that I can now call myself a teacher too is a bit surreal. When I got up to teach my sequence during our final I was nervous, afraid I would choke and forget what to do. Then looking out on my peers waiting to do yoga, I just got to work. Teaching them felt natural, even though I was being observed for a test, and I hope that stepping in front of an actual class will feel the same way. I am okay with getting the jitters as long as once I begin teaching I can turn them off. :) 

I have to admit I am sad training is over. I will miss the amazing people I shared my weekends with, the constant encouragement and the learning environment. I am so proud of everyone and their accomplishments, and let me tell you, this is one amazing batch of yoga teachers hitting the scene! The classes we will all be teaching at New York Yoga are Yogi's Choice, Donation Classes - meaning you can come in and pay whatever you like to take them. I highly recommend taking advantage of this opportunity and coming out to meet these amazing teachers. (Then you can say you knew them when...) 

I went in to each weekend of this training excited to learn something new and was never let down. Yoga is ever evolving but has the deepest roots you can seek out. There is so much information, so many opinions and practices, that people dedicate their lives to studying text about it. Which is okay by me because that means there will always be new knowledge. I think one trick to finishing this training (and not go right into shock) will be to continue my studies of this amazing subject. Happily sharing what I discover with you. 

Of course I will still be doing plenty of yoga and evolving my practice at home and in classes. The difference now is, come June, I will also be teaching! More on that to come. Namaste. 

Engaged...

As in: to be married, ring on the finger, purposed to, on my way to Mrs!

Mala + Engagement Ring

I am so happy right now it is difficult to put into words. I know, me, speechless?! I was when he asked me too - all I could think to say was 'yes yes yes yes yes'. I have been thinking of how to write about this in a yoga way all week - since thats really what this blog is all about. Then I realized that since I am day to day a yogi, that this has everything to do with yoga. And since yoga means union - well marriage just doesn't get more yoga, right?

We in the West are householder yogis. Meaning that we cannot drop everything and just do yoga or meditate or read sacred books around the clock. We have to find our enlightenment and keep our Ahimsa mind while holding a job, paying taxes - living out in the world. This is no excuse to not be as good a yogi as you can be and actually I think it comes with many, many benefits. Householders have marriages or not, have kids or not, have jobs, create art, make a mess of their live and bounce back etc.  There is more choice and many more paths to the divine. As householders with basic needs and social requirements we live and learn  - and love.

It is the choices we make that set us on our path. I have made many to put me right where I am today and I would not want to be anywhere else. Just a few that brought me to Mike... I did theatre in high school, because of this I decided to double major in theatre (and writing) in college, I went to Ithaca (a school I hated on the campus tour and now adore), because I wasn't sure about it Lee Byron (head of the program) helped me pick classes, I ended up in a theatre class I may not have gotten into otherwise, I was assigned to work on The Mysteries of Edwin Drood my freshman year, I met Mike on that crew. We became friends pretty instantly and closer friends after a steel rack of chairs was rolled over my toe backstage and he basically carried me to the dining hall for dinner and back to my dorm after. From that moment on he was the man to depend on... I just didn't get it yet.

Ithaca College - freshmen!

Okay, so it took me about eight years to figure out he was Mr Right. Well, not exactly. About three and a half years ago I had to make a choice. Mike and I were starting to see what was between us but neither wanted to be the first to talk about it - while at the same time someone from my past came back into my life suddenly. Suddenly enough to declare us a couple after a day as if things could go back to the way they were spontaneously. I was happy but confused. On a car ride to Ithaca the next day I thought about both paths. Only one seemed like the one I was meant to be on and it was moving forward, with the person I am now set to marry.

We make big choices, take leaps of faith, go for it, jump in with both feet... and hopefully, if we are in the moment and true to ourselves, we reap big benefits because we are choosing love every single time.