“‘Yoga raksati raksitah,’ meaning Yoga protects those who practice and live dynamically in it.” -B.K.S. Iyengar, Core of the Yoga Sutras  In these uncertain times we can lean into the teachings and the practice of the teachings of Yoga for support and stability.  Backward extensions are strengthening to the nervous system- they teach us how strong we […]

My asana practice this morning is dedicated to my students, whose devotion to practice, to the study of all the limbs of Yoga and to the Iyengar’s teachings astonishes me regularly. Friday practices are usually chock full of fun and fabulous backbends with a group of practitioners who also assist at the Iyengar Yoga Center […]

For more than 10 years now, I have been teaching Iyengar yoga, the method of hatha yoga developed by world-renowned yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar. Affectionately known as Guruji to his pupils, Iyengar was renowned for [continue reading … ]  

This is the time of year I call “bummer”–it’s not quite fall and not quite summer, either. My heart aches as my hands pass over the shorts and sandals in the closet and reach instead for pants and shoes that cover my yoga toes [continue reading …]  

Dear Male Yogis, I am a female yoga practitioner and teacher, and I confess that for a very long time, I didn’t understand the challenges you face, particularly with forward bends. As my teaching skills developed, I began to observe the keen differences between the form and function of the male and female bodies and […]

Dear Male Yogis, Last month, in Yoga for Men, Part I: Forward Bends, we learned a sequence that shines some light on poses that are both challenging and necessary for men’s bodies to practice. We started the process of stretching the muscle groups around the hips, low back, and backs of the thighs. I hope you […]

There are some things in life that we cannot change and others that we can. I recently moved to a new state and learned that if I want to register my car in said new state I HAVE to get a new driver’s license. This feels like a pain in the butt since I just […]

Do you know that saying, “Don’t tempt the fates”? Well, in my last blog I asserted that a dedicated yoga practice had seated me in gratitude, which leads to contentment. I’d already planned my next assignment, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, to explore the concept of thankfulness. And the fates were about to hold my grateful, […]

Published on March 14, 2013 on Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen. From years of daily yoga practice I have learned to be at home within myself, no matter where in the world I may be located. Specifically, yoga has taught me how, as my teacher Patricia Walden often says, to “bring the mind of the brain […]

When I was asked to write on this topic, the first thought I had was, “How can I write a blog about bad days when I don’t have them anymore?” It had been so long since I was unable to be seated in gratitude (which leads to contentment) that I wasn’t sure that I would […]