Know Your Mind, Know Yourself: The Case for Meditation Know Your Mind, Know Yourself: The Case for Meditation When I first started studying Eastern Philosophy, I signed up for an 800 Hour 3-year study program with Georg Feuerstein (a German Indologist and scholar specializing in the philosophy of Yoga). I'll never forget how calm and peaceful he was while listening to his audio lessons. He seemed genuinely happy and relaxed, as many zen masters do. There was something so graceful about his presence that I couldn't get enough of his voice. However, I was still skeptical about the idea o ..read more

  The Transformative Power of Being Kind to Yourself I first learned about self-compassion from a Buddhist meditation teacher in India. I was going through a tough time and wanted to leave my soul-sucking job and become a Yoga teacher. However, I felt a lot of shame and self-judgment about leaving a high-paying job to pursue Yoga when my kids were still in high school. The teacher leading the group talked about the importance of compassion not only for others but also for ourselves. He said it is essential to include ourselves in the circle of compassion and treat ourselves with the same ..read more

  How to unlock the habit of being stressed When I'm teaching students in my Yoga school, few people realize anxiety itself can be habit-forming. People associate habits with something they engage in externally but seldom stop to consider that thought patterns are habit-forming.  When those habit forming thoughts continue over long periods, they can form a “habit loop” that is difficult to break unless we become aware of it in the first place. I am going to share an easy method passed down from the Yoga tradition that will help you break the habit of stress. How Anxiety Grew Out Of ..read more

  The other day a University student stopped to chat with me after meditation practice. She told me she is graduating this Spring and has to tell her parents that she is not going into graduate school for an MBA. Instead, she has decided to follow her Soul's calling and go to Europe to study naturopathic medicine. She has always been drawn to healing but never dared to follow her desires until now.   More than any other time in the twelve years since I opened the Shanti Studios, my students are having conversations about living in a way that fills them up and makes them feel connecte ..read more

Current day international, political and social justice issues can feel daunting. At times, listening to the radio brings me to the brink of tears as I hear of the unfortunate events occurring daily worldwide. I fantasize about giving it all up to run around the world as a rogue activist. That may come one day, but for now, I’m left with the question, what can I do? And then I step onto my mat. Lately, unrolling my purple mat and sitting quietly with how I feel in that moment means a lot to me. For someone who often tried to accomplish everything in one breath, it’s just so nice to peacefully ..read more

We live in a crazy time for Yoga. It’s caught on and spread like wildfire through North America and across the globe. Teacher Trainings can be found by the dozens in most cities, teachers are being trained and turned out by the thousands every year, studios are found on every corner. Like all things, there are two sides to this very valuable coin. Before the 1960’s-70’s, practicing Yoga was not for the average person. Taking on the practice probably meant you were all in: Philosophy, Ayurveda, Sanskrit grammar, diet, poses…Yoga, as it was intended to be, was lived as a complete lifestyle. Simi ..read more

Perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. ~ Angelique Arnauld I had the pleasure of attending my first yoga class at the new Shanti Hot Yoga studio in Bedford. It was a little strange at first walking into the office-like building. Didn’t seem quite right for a yoga studio to be there. But one must never judge a book by it’s cover right? I opened the door to the studio and was overwhelmed. I mean it is b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. Picture a yoga studio that gets pregnant with a baby spa and the dad is a hip coffee shop. THAT is Shanti Hot Y ..read more

I have been hanging in Vancouver the last few days and soaking up as much practice and learning as I can. One Yoga For The People has been my home away from home during my stay and I wouldn’t have it any other way. So much to learn. Something that has wrapped its grip around me tightly and profoundly, is the notion of perceiving the practice of yoga as one of devotion. The great teacher T. Krishnamacharya would say “My practice is devoted to the Divine. The postures are done in service of the being that blesses me.” I believe as yogis, there is a place for divinity inside all of us. This ..read more

Pregnancy can sometimes be a devil in an angel’s disguise. It’s not always comfortable and it’s definitely not always roses and butterflies. It can be tiring, and sore, and downright frustrating. There’s hormonal changes, physical changes, and even our state of mind can be altered. I’m being nice here, let’s face it…sometimes we can be downright insane. (Note to men…never, under any circumstances, EVER mention any of this to any pregnant lady you know or come in contact with. You’ve been warned.) Our bodies ache, we get weird pains we never had before, we make weird noises we never made ..read more

I jumped way outside of my comfort zone today and attended a Powerflow Workshop at Shanti Hot Yoga.  I am terrified of the word “Power”, it seems very intimidating and hard, probably way above my level of yoga skills. I avoid those classes for fear of looking like a wimp. Trying to head into it with an open mind was a little challenging, I was definitely having doubts about why I even signed up. While I waited for class to start, the lady I was sitting beside said she was very unsure of her ability to make it through the workshop. Then another lady said the same thing. Then came a guy wh ..read more