The Magic of Sun Salutations, or what I learned on my summer vacation
I had three months off teaching this summer, mostly because I spent June in India, studying at the Iyengar yoga institute in Pune. Anyone who has studied at RIMYI knows that a month there doesn’t really qualify as a holiday. Not with a two-hour class and a three-hour practice six days a week, along with […]
Lessons in letting go from B.K.S. Iyengar
In the week and a bit since B.K.S. Iyengar died, this has become my new favorite quote. And as each day passes, I am more grateful to him for setting such a good example of a happy life and a majestic death. Yes, he could glower. Yes, he yelled in class. But he was not […]
Headstand at 70? Why not?
JoAnn came to her private yoga class last week with a copy of “Father William,” Lewis Carroll’s poem in which an obnoxious young man attempts to guide his father in age-appropriate behavior. “Do you know it?” she asked. Do I know it? My mother loved it, and often quoted the first lines. I’ve used it […]
Supta Virasana: sometimes even super heroes need to lie down
A yoga practice is a friend for life, and like any lifelong friend, it’s bound to change. In some ways, that can look like doing less. I’d like to argue that there are powerful poses, reclining hero for one, that can deepen as we age. Perhaps, in your 90s, or possibly your 60s, you will […]
Why is yoga so hard to do?
caption= “Well it’s certainly something to think about, isn’t it? I was idly checking Google analytics on Tuesday morning, and on a whim decided to look at the “organic” search terms. Those are the words that people type into the vast waves of the Internet hoping for answers from just about any source. So what […]
Give me strength: a tale of three headstands
Those are some biceps. One of the best things about yoga practice is the way it brings up emotions and lets us examine them, the events that evoked them, and the thinking behind them. But there are times when emotions well up so strongly that we’re knocked off our feet, and don’t get to hear […]