“HABITS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF INATTENTION” Benjamin Franklin. Yoga postures are often done with the same tone that one would be driving, sitting, reading, or working. That is they are practiced habitually. Your practice is a moment-to-moment source of refreshing awareness, which when met with deep breathing, shapes the body from the inside as new spaces expand while moving and…
YOGA WITHOUT BORDERS
Malibu Beach Yoga.
No yoga mat needed only the earth beneath my feet.
No walls around me just endless space to breathe.
Yoga is freedom.
No Props, no mats, no walls, just the rhythm of nature around me.
Breathing it all in, breathing it all out
CHASING AWAY THE BLUES
Living in a modern world we need to remember that we are not modern organisms. We are Human BEINGS. We try to fit into the speed, constant input and abrasive afflictions from the outside without realizing how this is shaping us rather than being shaped by an inner guidance. Yoga works magic. When I feel sad, I can find a posture…
SLOW AND STEADY: a successful yoga practice
I’ve been studying with Shelley for 6 years and am amazed at the profound changes in my body. Layers of deeply held tensions and postural patterns have been slowly peeled away. I have one of those short, tight and strong body types which I have jokingly referred to as good for digging potatoes from the earth…but not exactly “ballerina” material! Shelley has encouraged…
Why We Do YOGA
I was thinking about a question from a student who was struggling with a back injury and doing Yoga. She asked me if I thought whether doing yoga might be making her problem worse. I have had many challenges in the last 15 years with my body; sometimes from doing a pose, but mostly just from life. Teachers have given…
HIP OPENERS; PREPARATION FOR FULL LOTUS
Hips!!! Hips!!!? Basically let me begin by reminding you that yoga begins in your home by simply sitting on the floor. We did this as children. We all sat easily in a cross-legged Indian sitting position, but other positions such as virasana, wide angle pose are common for children; but as adults we have lost this ability. With Hip openers…
YOU ARE MORE THAN THAT
You are not the sum total of your pain or injury. You are not your shoulder; you are not your knee, or just your hip or your neck. Even though when we have pain it does feel as though there is not a spot that is not without hurting. Doing Yoga can be a very therapeutic practice and…
HIP OPENERS: OPENING THE DOOR OF STANDING POSTURES
I have noticed, as I sometimes will catch a yoga class while I’m traveling, that the trend in teaching standing poses is to avoid addressing the tightness that shows up in the hip flexors. Rather then finding what needs to open and stretch and how to get there, it is taught as though the weakness and lack of flexibility determines the…
WHEN YOGA WAS JUST YOGA
I came upon the writings of Theos Bernard while I was living and teaching at Dai Bosatsu Budhist monostery in 1992-93. I always love the older texts of Yoga and Yogis. Recently I came across this bio on Theos again. I was so inspired by what the ancient teachers taught that I have now increased my own practice of headstand…
A MIDLIFE YOGA REVELATION
The level of difficulty I have expressing myself in writing is directly related to the degree to which the topic is personal. Because of the profound nature of the way yoga has touched my life, it’s one of the most personal of subjects for me. As a result, I’ve spent weeks thinking about how to express my deep appreciation for yoga…