There’s abundant room for all of us in the struggle for gender justice and liberation. If trans people are respected and included and get to live and thrive on their own terms, it doesn’t mean there’s not room for empowerment about vaginas or cis women spaces to process patriarchy. Trans people having access to healthcare and youth sports and housing and work etc does not mean we can’t have a wide-open affirming gender culture that celebrates masculine women, feminine men, gender nonconforming people of all genders, non binary folks, and trans people who decide not to medically transition. We can have a critical analysis of hypersexualized femininity without scapegoating transmasculine youth. To everyone who holds any sort of privilege, especially cis privilege - can we please ditch this scarcity and be open to learn and heal together?
Uplifting Queer and Trans Folks in our Yoga Spaces
I recently was asked to write a short piece for Yoga Samachar, the US Iyengar Yoga Magazine published by IYNAUS, which recently moved from print to be an online publication. The original piece was more rambling, so this reflects a lot of editing... but here it is: the final article. In the tender glow of … Continue reading Uplifting Queer and Trans Folks in our Yoga Spaces
When Familiar Self Care Stuff Isn’t Working, and What To Do About It.
We now have a fresh reset, a new door opening to discover what brings us inside, to the experiential peace, clarity, resilience that is rooted within our own being.
IYNAUS Student Spotlight Interview
Dear friends, I recently had the honor and privilege of being interviewed by Anne Marie Schultz for the IYNAUS (Iyengar Yoga National Association of the US) Newsletter 'Student Spotlight' section. I enjoyed working on these questions during my annual week of study with Patricia Walden this summer. The interview eventually went through an editing process, … Continue reading IYNAUS Student Spotlight Interview
Riding the Wave: Adidas, Assessment, Mexico, the Iyengar Centenary Intensive, and Geetaji.
"Yoga should not be taken lightly, as if it were a hobby. It should be approached with faith, enthusiasm, determination, keenness, courage, will, and dedication." -Geeta S. Iyengar Nothing but Divine hands could have sculpted the incredible unfolding of my life the last few months. Leaps of faith, clarity, fear and the going beyond fear … Continue reading Riding the Wave: Adidas, Assessment, Mexico, the Iyengar Centenary Intensive, and Geetaji.
Sequence from Yoga for Neck and Shoulders Workshop
I was amazed -shocked even- to see one of my students, who has come to class regularly with me for years, after Sunday's Neck and Shoulder workshop. She has a very bright and loving spirit, and also like many elders, has a deep thoracic kyphosis, meaning her upper back and shoulders round forward, so she … Continue reading Sequence from Yoga for Neck and Shoulders Workshop
Queerness, Identity Politics, and Patanjali’s Four Fold Remedy
June 2018. Pride Month, which as usual delivered deeply nutritious community connection, witnessing, and remembrance of the roots of gay liberation and vitalization for the work ahead, as well as reminded me of the uncomfortable edges where capitalist commodification of Pride has stolen meaning and purpose and replaced it with beer ads, and consumable plastic … Continue reading Queerness, Identity Politics, and Patanjali’s Four Fold Remedy
Saucha: Purifying Our Minds of Systemic Oppression
The first niyama Patanjali gives, which could be viewed as foundational the other niyamas, is saucha which means purity or cleanliness. Where the first limb of Patanjali’s eight limb system, yama, directs the sadhaka in universal moral principles to interact harmoniously with the external world, niyama relates to the ethics of how we relate to ourselves. … Continue reading Saucha: Purifying Our Minds of Systemic Oppression
Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Decolonizing Yoga
The following is a piece is inspired by the work I'm exploring in both the Albuquerque Waking up to Whiteness course and Denver Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training. In contemplating my embodied experience of the definitions BKS Iyengar lays out in the introduction to Light on Yoga, I am inequal measures reflecting about the marga, or … Continue reading Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Decolonizing Yoga
Simple Prenatal Yoga Sequence for Home Practice
When I was pregnant with my son, my daily yoga and seated meditation practice changed dramatically. I allowed my practice to become increasingly informed by preparing my body and mind for birth, with sound and movement becoming important elements. I researched what was appropriate, in both books and media, as well as my own body. … Continue reading Simple Prenatal Yoga Sequence for Home Practice
Yoga and Your Pelvic Floor
Last summer, I attended Leslie Howard's Yoga for the Pelvic Floor Teacher Training, and though I knew it would be inspiring, I didn't realize how the training would completely change the way I think about the pelvic floor and it's context, the greater body and self. Most current cultural beliefs on pelvic floor --and even the … Continue reading Yoga and Your Pelvic Floor
Farewell, BKS Iyengar, with Gratitude
It's a mellow day, gray overhead in an Oakland sky, where I am visiting to attend an incredibly rich and deep 5-day yoga training on the pelvic floor. For many, another typical day, but for the greater Iyengar yoga community, a heart felt and tender day of parting to the venerable Yogacharya BKS Iyengar. Although I … Continue reading Farewell, BKS Iyengar, with Gratitude
Deepening Alignment: Yoga Workshop with Avery Kalapa in West Virginia!
Most yoga students know alignment is important, but what IS “good alignment,” and how can you use this awareness to get the most out of your practice? In this fun, experiential afternoon workshop, we will explore what is “neutral:” the archetype of key asanas (poses), through the lens of their functional anatomical architecture as well … Continue reading Deepening Alignment: Yoga Workshop with Avery Kalapa in West Virginia!
Six Things I Love About the Pelvic Floor.
In preparing for my upcoming workshop, "Yoga and the Pelvic Floor: Anatomy, Asana, and Energetics," I am once again in a place of digging deeper, and becoming amazed at our incredible, vital, tender, strong pelvic floors... how without certain care, our bodies do become problematic in numerous ways as a result of collapse, aging, repetitive … Continue reading Six Things I Love About the Pelvic Floor.
Femur Grounding: Understanding More About This Key to Stability.
Organizing the femur in the hip socket is foundational to nearly every other action we explore in our yoga practice. Similar to “quieting the mind,” femur grounding is not an action we do, and then it is done, rather it is like a search for a holy grail in that it is a moment to … Continue reading Femur Grounding: Understanding More About This Key to Stability.