Ommmmmmm
How I Started Teaching Let me just say that I love to OM. This was not always the case; in fact I never closed yoga practice with an OM as a new teacher. When I first started teaching, I honestly didn’t know a lot about the tradition of the practice. I started […]
Your Karma ran over my Dogma
Updogs, Downdogs, No Dogma Thought it appropriate to revisit our tagline as the new year and a new chapter of O2 begins. Some of it might seem obvious. We do a lot of updogs and downdogs in O2’s unique style of yoga based on the Astanga system. There is also my clear love of dogs […]
December 2010 Padmasana (Lotus)
Padmasana, or Lotus pose, is in many ways the quintesential yoga posture. It is the one most non-yoga practitioners think of when they imagine a yoga practice (that and ommmmmmmm). It seems appropriate to focus on padmasana at the end of the year because it represents consolidation of energy, balanced energy, and expanded energy. You […]
Life is Yoga: December 2010: A Note On OM
How I started teaching Let me just say that I love to OM. This was not always the case; in fact I never closed yoga practice with an OM as a new teacher. When I first started teaching, I honestly didn’t know a lot about the tradition of the practice. I started teaching because my […]
November 2010 Hanumanasana (Splits)
Hanumanasana, or split pose, is one of the most difficult postures both to access and to teach properly. There are a million “cheats,” but doing it with alignment in mind will help you in everything you do in yoga. Anatomically, hanumanasana hip flexion in the front and hip extension on the back leg. Believe it […]
Life is Yoga: November 2010: Gratitude
I have been thinking a lot about the concept of gratitude. I think that many of us believe that the state of gratitude involves feeling happy all the time. Nothing could be further from the truth. I believe it is possible to practice gratitude while still slipping into frustration, sadness, and overstimulation. Gratitude is really […]
October 2010 Backbends
Backbends are in many ways the opposite of much of what we do all day. In yoga there is the concept of balance of opposites. Sukha/Stira (hard/soft), ying/yang, warming/cooling, strength/flexibility. We are constantly being pulled on by gravity, so most of the time we are getting pulled forward and down. Backbending is the opposite of […]
September 2010 Handstand (Adho mukha vrkasana)
This posture represents many of the aspects of yoga that I cherish, as well as the aspects that challenge me. Handstands are playful, scary, teetery (is that a word?), unpredictable, elating, challenging, strengthening, and perspective-changing. We have all heard the phrase, “stand on your own two feet.” What about, “Stand on your own two hands”? […]
Life is Yoga: September 2010: The Unofficial Learning Month
Do we ever stop learning new things? Or maybe the question should be: should we stop learning? September seems to be the unofficial learning month. Most of us went back to school in September when we were kids and young adults. As some of you know, my kids are home-schooled, but it still feels like […]
August 2010 Stillness
In yoga you often hear the word stillness associated with the practice. “Moving into stillness,” “find the stillness in the pose.” What does that mean exactly? Being still allows for more awareness of what is happening right in that very moment. It is a way of being present. Think about what many animals do when […]
