In popular culture, yoga is typically portrayed as an exercise routine for limber, attractive women. In reality, though, dedicated students of yoga are impossible to pigeonhole, and yoga is something far beyond an exercise routine. Everybody — all ages, body types, races, genders — can tap into the subtle currents of existence that keep us coming back to our practices, day after day, month after month, and year after year. 

The physical benefits of yoga are trite (and true) and well-documented in Yoga Journal and clickbait advertisements:

• Better posture
• Daily exercise
• Improved mobility and flexibility
• Enjoyment of movement and flow
• Excellent Instagram material

But what I see as the most interesting benefits of yoga are much more subtle, and much harder to market.

It's easy to bang our way through decades of life ignoring how we feel, how we think, how we operate. Despite the incredible contradiction of using our physical bodies to transcend our...

As much as I love summer, I have also love the energy of fall. Personally, I’ve never quite been able to get myself off the academic calendar, and September always feels to me like the right time to start something new.

This seems to ring true on the yoga scene, too. We all seem to return to a more normal routine come September — summer vacation is over, kids are back in school, travel dies down, temperatures start to cool and the pace of living gets back into its usual rhythm. All of this makes it the perfect time to double down on your yoga practice.

That’s why I think September is the perfect time to consider starting a Mysore style practice. I know how intimidating starting something new can be, and starting Mysore can be especially scary. I so vividly remember the first time I went to a Mysore class. I was in grad school and already familiar with Primary Series, though I hadn’t committed it to memory, and I dragged my sleepy butt to the Metro at five in...

One thing I think about a lot, both for my own practice and for the practices of my students, is how to really make sure the practice is as sustainable as it can be. Sustainability is one of the hardest and most important things in Ashtanga. And when we look closely, the things that keep a practice sustainable are also the things that strengthen and deepen it.

For me personally, the past year has been a big lesson in sustainability. With one injury after another, I have watched a lot of poses I worked very hard for disappear. I constantly remind myself that yoga is an internal practice, and there are still many ways I can practice.

Here are some of my thoughts on sustainability.

Dedicate One Day a Week to Primary. A piece of practical advice for keeping a practice sustainable is to dedicate one day a week exclusively to Primary Series. This helps to keep your practice sustainable for a number of reasons. To begin with, it’s a great way to keep yourself returning to the...

For the last year and a half or so, I’ve been feeling weighed down by the constant news about abuses of power - in the world, in spiritual practice communities generally, and in yoga specifically. Realizing the scale of how often students find themselves feeling pressured or abused by their teachers has been truly heartbreaking.

For me it’s been like a slow-boiling pot. In the last few years, the revelations within the yoga world, coupled with our country’s leadership, have been almost too much to bear. It feels like we have reached (or are nearing) a tipping point, and it’s past time to push back, shift how things are done, and try to create healthier environments. We are in the midst of an extreme situation in the Ashtanga community, broadly speaking, but what does this look like in our own lives? For me, it’s a generalized anger and a very deep drive to do a better job as a teacher in our community.

There’s a culture of silence in Ashtanga...

It's hard to believe the summer solstice is upon us. We’re also getting to the point in the season when all the changes in our routines are starting to settle in. Among countless other things, kids are out of school, summer trips are planned, and the sun is in the sky well into the evening. Which is just to say that our day-to-day lives and routines all get kind of out of whack in the summertime. But the quality of our lives (and the quality of our practices!) is deeply tied to our routines, and these changes can present unique challenges to our yoga journeys.

With good habits anything is possible. I often tell students that all they have to do for a good practice is unroll their mats and stand in samasthihi. That counts. If more happens? Awesome. If not? You’re still in the routine of your practice, and that is one of the very most important things. Having good habits isn’t about being perfect at those habits - it’s about letting yourself sacrifice your old...

Lately, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about what it really means to hold space for others. I think about how my understanding of that concept has evolved over my years as a teacher, and how glad I am for that evolution.

As I watch what Tim has done every day for decades, and continues to do, I have such a great appreciation and admiration for it. While I’m moving away from thinking in terms of the word “guru,” I continue to learn from Tim every day.

We talk a lot about holding space in the Mysore community. I believe that cultivating the capacity to hold space is the single most important thing we do as teachers - more than the adjustments, more than the teaching, even. Without being able to hold space, we lose the opportunity to truly meet others where they’re at in their practice and growth, and we miss the chance to see how we can be most genuinely helpful as we spend some time with them on their journey.

As a teacher, the idea of holding space...

This is a very special guest post from my good friend, Sandy. I think Sandy is completely incredible – not only does she balance an Ashtanga practice with a full-time job, husband, two busy teenagers, and four dogs, but she has continued to do so after enduring a breast cancer diagnosis. On top of that, she’s managed to find some balance in the midst of it all. I think Sandy’s experience is an inspiration for all of us – not only women, not only people who’ve faced devastating illnesses and injuries, not even only yogis; all of us. We can come back from anything, and we can come back stronger – sometimes life just presents us a new definition of strength.

In June of 2016, I traveled to New York with friends to practice with Sharath – the current holder of the Ashtanga lineage. It’s hard to describe the experience of coming together with fellow practitioners from around the world, moving and breathing as one, while Sharath...

We can all lose our mojo sometimes. Whatever the cause, sometimes we just find that we’ve gotten out of our rhythm, we’ve lost our stride. But fear not, because we are in control of our lives and in control of finding our own ways back into positive habits and helpful attitudes. 

1. Decide it’s important to you! Think about your priorities, think of how much you’ve already learned and grown and accomplished, and recognize that you have that energy within you to do whatever it is you’re trying to do. Once you’ve made your decision, focus on the outcome  – think of how you'll feel once you're back in your mojo - physically, mentally and emotionally. I suggest journaling or visualization. When I’m doing this, I like to put it in writing in a journal – for me, putting what I want down on paper makes it feel more real, and having it down on paper makes it more tangible as I move forward. Knowledge is power, including the...

Tips for dry brushing your face with Dr Christine Peterson.

It is possible to avoid low back pain in backbends, but it does require strength through to back side of the body.

* use a block to keep the legs engaged

* isometrically contract the hamstrings

* activate gluteus medius

* make space for shoulders

* breathe into the chest

Does this work for you? Let me know!

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