Embracing a new year, a new month, or a new day even, is an opportunity to “begin anew,” to have a fresh start unencumbered by what might have held you back in the past, and propelled forward by events in our past which support positive change. As we turn toward the next decade, we can consider setting intentions, large and small, to embrace evolving in short-term, accessible steps while preparing for the “big picture” of where we anticipate our greater long-term journeying steps.

Merry Christmas! For today’s holiday blog, we thought a tribute to the “King of Oils” would be most fitting

In this “corner of the year,” we have many “Holy”days and celebrations which contribute to a shift of energy, each in their own way. How great that we enter the season with Thanksgiving and then turn to nature’s gift to this season, the Winter Solstice.  So then, this week we experience the winter solstice, the shortest day, and the longest night, of the year, celebrated by many cultures around the world for centuries. This auspicious date arrives on or around December 21st in the Northern Hemisphere, and then 6 months later in the Southern Hemisphere.

Join us in the coming weeks as we pair hand mudras to the weekly themes of the Advent wreath in the Christian tradition of this season. The Advent wreath uses a weekly candle lighting along with a theme. This year we are suggesting adding specific mudras which align with the theme of each week in the Advent season. We will shed light on Love, Hope, Peace and Joy. In the coming weeks, join us as we incorporate the following mudras into our daily meditation practice. The beauty of what might unfold from the positive energy of these hand gestures can be understood with study of mudras, chakras, marmas, pranayama, and of course, your own practice. 

Last week’s post was focused on how to start your day, according to Ayurveda and how that brings us back to gratitude and recognizing that yoga and life are a practice of seva, service. This week we follow with what to do then at the end of your day, in reflecting on how your day unfolded.

Welcome to November where we will explore how the practice of yoga is for the sake of seva, or service. This is very thought-provoking and the ideals of this notion are rooted in the spiritual side of the practice. When we think of how to prioritize our daily tasks, we can see the bigger picture which points us to asking “why am I here?”

Our ability to choose is what ultimately creates our lives. Small choices fill moments, moments fill hours, hours fill days, days fill weeks, weeks fill months, months fill years and so on. And interestingly, you can also look at the results you are currently experiencing in your life and trace those back to individual choices you've made in the past.

Sometimes in life, where we need to grow, we must first shrink back before expanding. That can look like many different things – after all, we are each unique beings. That shrinking back might translate to “doing our homework,” researching options, and taking time to understand the parameters.  Growth can be scary. Navigating new territory feels like  risk taking. We want some solid ground underneath us, something familiar that reminds us of sure footage. If we do not grow, we do not evolve, our diamond selves won’t get polished, our capacity to shine stays undiscovered and we feel stuck.

Any time we make a decision, there are 3 levels we can process from: 1. The mind, 2. The heart, 3. Personal inspiration / intuition. This is quite a profound concept. We can actually process the same situation and come up with 3 distinct outcomes, depending on the avenue of approach.

So far this month we’ve talked about boosting our kids’ immune systems, helping our kids sleep well during the night and increase their ability to focus and concentrate during the day, and some simple tips and strategies for handling the everyday pressures of life. As we wrap up our ‘Back to School’ series, let’s talk about encouraging and teaching good communication on three levels: with parents, with teachers, and with peers.

It’s time to infuse some peace, calm and ability to handle life stress by teaching our children some basic yoga poses and breathing techniques that can help them all their lives.

As we prepare our kids to go back to school, let's talk about boosting and supporting the immune system. It's no surprise when kids (and by extension, their families) get sick a week or two within the first day of school due to all the germ- sharing that happens. 

August brings varied responses from parents and children! Children tend to bemoan the end of summer break when it seems it barely began, while parents may have a more bittersweet reaction: it’s wonderful to have the downtime of summer with fewer pressures, perhaps, but it’s also good to get back into a routine and know that your children are focused on something that will serve them (at least at some future point!)

So as we start preparing for school-time, we have a few tips to help make the transition a seamless one. Today, we are focusing on the brain, and some techniques that will help you promote a great night’s sleep and good concentration.

What does freedom mean to you?  In Sanskrit, freedom is “moksha,” and is achieved from overcoming ignorance and desire. Focusing on freedom redirects us to gratitude over the myriad of ways that we in the west live with the luxury of freedoms.  Yoga gives us tools to rediscovering personal freedoms as well. With consistent practice, yoga helps us connect the two and recognize the freedoms of everyday living that we sometimes take for granted. Here are three ways that yoga practice guides us to freedom:

July is such a monumental month in remembering the freedoms and personal liberties that we enjoy! Sometimes, however, we don’t feel so free on the inside because of painful past experiences or beliefs we’ve acquired that don’t serve our highest good. Sometimes we feel trapped, stuck, and might even experience sad or anxious feelings. When we haven’t learned how to process and release these lower-vibration emotions, they can become stuck in the body and can actually cause physical symptoms.

As yogis, we are attune to the fact that we are spiritual beings, and most of us are open to using our yoga for finding new ways to improve ourselves. When a challenge arises, we seek to learn from it so we can grow and evolve to do better next time. But, often, what is hidden underneath are old habits that do not serve us, called samscaras, in Sanskrit, which linger and keep us from making progress or replacing the old, limiting habits with the new. It is too easy to let our old habits lead the way and it is rather challenging to be mindful to embrace new ways of doing things.

This is indeed a thought provoking question, and can mean many things to each of us. First of all I want to acknowledge that we live in the greatest country and as my neighbor so thoughtfully added, “at the greatest time on earth” (with regard to abundance of our blessings). Yes, the myriad of freedoms we enjoy in the US come from our founding fathers (and mothers), folks who work in the judicial system and law enforcement, the men and women who have served and currently serve to ensure these freedoms, and the list can go on an on. We can and should include the teachers who empower us, health care providers and researchers who keep us as healthy as possible so that we can lend our efforts, artists who inspire us, religious leaders who lead us toward spiritual growth so that we better understand our place in serving our world,… Your list might be similar and more detailed too.

In 2015 the United Nations declared the Summer Solstice as the “International Yoga Day” and many celebrations began worldwide. Keep an eye out for learning and practice opportunities in your community and consider using your daily home practice to send some positive energy out into the world.

The “Summer Solstice,” June 21, the longest day of the year, is approaching. This auspicious day and the weeks leading up to it, have been celebrated throughout time among yogis and in many cultures. On this day, we have 12 hours of sun in our area of the world. Furthermore, we are encouraged to meditate and focus on “light.” Ancient cultures recognized that the sun, which provided energy for our existence here on earth, was in fact Divine light, put there by a Higher Source, and thus much reverence is built around giving attention to the Sun. Yogis practice Sun Salutations, in Sanskrit, Surya Namaskar, at the summer solstice. In some lineages the idea is to use the auspicious number 108 and repeat a sun salute any increments of 3 or 9 repetitions, building up to 108 rounds. Remember that each round is actually one repetition with the right side leading followed with another repetition of the left side of the body leading. It is only good that we build up our practice of many repetitions, remembering “ahimsa,” doing no harm or nonviolence, so that we do not overdo while building tolerance, gradually increasing the number of repetitions we can do in a practice session. There are many variations on the Surya Namaskar and you can see/follow from the Morning and the Strengthening Sequences in our book and DVD, Essential Yoga Practice.