Here, you'll find musings about my experiences on and off the mat, questions from students, anatomy tips, Ayurveda, breath practices, philosophy, and lots of other juicy tidbits!
Practice in and of itself is a form of discipline (tapas). It’s effort and work. And with anything that takes as much effort as consistent practice, sometimes the discipline can be or feel binding because of deeply ingrained patterns.
When we practice with consistency and devotion, as Patanjali says is a necessity, we’re able to learn how to control what Patanjali calls the “fluctuations” of our minds. In other words, our yoga practice helps us learn about why we are the way we are. Our practice can help free us from many things: our selves, others, the confines of this world.
In our yoga practice, we learn to deal with these habits of grasping and aversion by noticing our immediate reactions, our clinging and our pushing away. We take a step back to just watch, unattached, observant, still and silent, without judgment. Then we let these feelings go.
2022 Moon Days Why do we honor the moon days? The moon affects the waters of our earth, and our bodies are made up of water, so we too are affected by the cycle of the moon. Therefore in Ashtanga yoga on moon days, we take a different type of practice. We honor the body … Moon Calendar
Lessons in Onion Cutting When I was a kid, I was obsessed with watching my mom work in the kitchen. She made many traditional, Korean dishes from scratch—bulgogi, galbi, kimchi, banchan, etc. She took care in preparing every detail, even down to precisely how the scallions were sliced. For every Korean meal, the scallions have … Tradition
I want to start this post off with a personal story. I’ve been training with a coach for a few years now. Every week, on the same day, at the same time, I train. The workout over the years has largely been unchanged. There have been minor tweaks, but nothing major. To say it bluntly, … Consistency
For many of us, life changed in an instant when the pandemic hit, and at its one-year-anniversary, we’re reflecting on how life was upended. We might be looking back at all we’ve lost—people, time, travel, places, serenity, sanity, individuality, space (mental and physical)—and we might also be taking stock of all we’ve gained—a new perspective, … Spring Clean Your Practice
Meditation invites us to “be.” Rather than “doing,” meditation asks us to observe what it’s like to be in our bodies, to be in this world, and to be a part of something bigger. Meditation: It isn’t what you think… We can’t really talk about meditation without debunking a few myths first. Most of the … Meditation and Breath
What Exactly is ‘Holding Space’? You might think of Holding Space as just the job of the teacher, but in reality, we all play a part in this sacred act. In his podcast episode on Holding Space, J. Brown interviews Heather Plett, the author of The Art of Holding Space: A Practice of love, liberation, … Holding Space
Take Refuge Within Recently, I sat in on a Satsang with my #ExtendedAshtangaFamily of Mysore Yoga Paris from all around the world. You might be wondering: what exactly is a ‘Satsang’? This is a great question because knowing the intention of the space you’re in is helpful in allowing oneself to unfold with trust. A … Inner Shala
Compassion The definition of compassion is: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. But the essence, or the heart of compassion doesn’t live within that dictionary definition of compassion. Instead, real compassion lives within the heart space and is … Compassion
Comfort Recipe for Grounding In the early morning the day before the Super Pink Full Moon inLibra, I woke at 1:30am wide awake with a chest feeling full of anxiety. As I laid in the bed managing my breath, I asked myself “who’s anxiety is this”?. It wasn’t long before I realized that it wasn’t … Comfort Recipe