This past week, I had the wonderful opportunity to teach in a yoga teacher training program. This meant I had the chance to teach teachers - which is pure pleasure! Teacher trainees are so eager to learn. They're brimming with interest and passion. We practiced together and then broke down certain postures; how to teach them, benefits of the pose, modifications, and limitations people may have in those positions. It was the limitations that got people really talking. Some of the trainees ...Read More

I have a confession to make. I can’t keep it in any longer. It’s a secret that needs to be told; I am a yoga teacher, and I lift weights. Phew! Feels good to get it out there. Even in the face of this weird, unwritten rule that if you teach yoga, then yoga is all you’re supposed to be doing, right? Wrong. You see the truth is, I’ve lifted weights since I was 16 years old. When I started rowing back in high school, lifting was mandatory. If you wanted to get stronger, squats and curls or ...Read More

This past weekend, I wasn’t feeling so hot. I was having a sad, lonely day and wanted to do anything but feel sad and lonely. I tried going to the gym for a workout, followed that with a yoga practice filled with handstands and fancy moves. I then proceeded to run errands all around town, called my family and cleaned my apartment.  I was keeping busy - all in an attempt to not feel what I was feeling. Finally, the end of the day arrived. Everything I spent the day running from was sitting on my ...Read More

Ever since I made the commitment to post a new blog entry every Wednesday, I’ve been searching for inspiration. I’ve gobbled up books and writings that talk about the creative process - “how to” resources that keep the proverbial juices flowing. I devoured Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic” a must read for anyone who feels the impulse and desire to create. I’ve been gleaning through “Write On” a glib yet helpful guide for writers. I even have a book entitled “Word Nerd” resting beside my bed. ...Read More

….I hated it with the fire of a thousand suns. Mainly because that was how hot the room was. My first, official, in a studio, with a live person leading you yoga class was in Kansas. I went to a Bikram yoga studio, back in 2006. I was at the University of Kansas on a rowing scholarship. My days consisted mainly of training, studying, eating, sleeping and repeating until exhausted. It had started to take a bit of a stressful toll. One of the swimmers, a friend and fellow student athlete ...Read More

Dear Teaching, I woke up today sore and tired. But a good tired. You know that tired you get after a full day of intense work? The kind where you fall into bed and bed feels so damn good because every last ounce of life was used? That kind of tired. It's all because of you. When we hung out yesterday the laughter wouldn’t stop. Remember all the smiling faces, warm hugs and bright eyes? The thing is, you know how hard that can be for me to receive, and yet you insist on sending it my way. Why ...Read More

I spend my days gently coaxing people out of the stupor of sivasana. Their groggy, softened faces and bodies reluctantly rolling back into the rush of the world after class.  Sivasana is a pretty incredible experience….once you get used to it. Just like every part of yoga, it can take some practice. Some days sivasana is still and filled with peace. Other days it might be swarming with thoughts and emotions that are looking for a place to land. In the silence of sivasana things can come to ...Read More