Abhinivesha, sometimes translated as “clinging to life” or “fear of death”, is a concept that quite easily rattles me. You see, I like think of myself as a person who is ok with the fragility of life. With some serious life-threatening health issues in my past I felt as though I had come to terms...

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Ayurvedic perspective helps us see through new eyes.Why are some people intense and others laid back? Some want to shine in the spotlight and others are happy to work quietly behind-the-scenes. And why is one person perfectly content with routine and constancy while another craves change and...

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What do you think of when you hear the word deference? Does it have positive or negative connotations to you? The noun deference is simply defined as “humble submission and respect”. Personally, I’ve been battling with this word my entire life.I have three siblings, one younger than me and two...

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Today in my karma yoga class for new yogis with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) we worked around finding freedom in discomfort. As always, being mindful of the breath and staying with the breath – all by itself – took us through the class and allowed us to dive into the concept that we were exploring.In...

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I have been craving some change in my life lately and I have noticed that the only way for me to change the things that are not working is through fiery discipline, also known in yoga philosophy as, tapas. Tapas truly is the main catalyst for change on and off the yoga mat. Tapas is the practice...

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Recently I read a great quote by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen that reads “The mind is like the wind and the body is like the sand: if you want to know how the wind is blowing, you can look at the sand.” In other words, the ways a body moves are manifestations of the state of its mind.You might already...

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There is a practice in Tibetan Buddhism called Lojong where the practitioner uses slogans to train the mind and to provide a point of focus. The slogans are designed as a set of tools to eliminate undesired mental habits that cause suffering. Some of these slogans are “Maintain an awareness of...

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Have you ever woken up and thought: “I don’t want to practice yoga today,”? Have you ever woken up and thought “I’m so bored of yoga, I really don’t want to do it,”? If your answer was “yes” – welcome! I have also felt this way – most recently, for what felt like a very long time.The practice of...

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A backbend in Yoga is a type of asana or pose that incorporates backwards movement of the body through space and might entail some degree of spinal extension. Spinal extension is when the primary curve of the thoracic spine or mid-back decreases corresponding to an increase in the secondary...

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Let’s face it, if every parent received a manual for parenting like our Asana Manual from yoga teacher training, we would all be professional parents. I became a new mom 18 months ago and although I was given lots of tips and read many articles, nothing really prepares you for what it means to...

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