I assert that pranayama is the single most accessible, practical, and effective tool available to reduce stress, energize, bring about calm, and improve our overall well-being. Period. We can go without food for weeks, without water for one to two weeks. We start to hallucinate three to four days without sleep, yet the lack of breath becomes fatal after only a few short minutes.
Read MoreGrief arrives for many reasons. We often identify the death of a partner, spouse, friend, child, parent, or colleague as the deepest form of grief – and rightfully so. We’ve witnessed the pain of this kind of grief etched on survivors’ faces.
Read MoreAt the appointed time, I wobbled up to the podium, took a deep breath, and opened my mouth. Gack. Nothing came out. I tried again and emitted a feeble squawk followed closely by an impressive dry-mouthed cluck.
Read MoreIn the days when we teachers taught face-to-face in the studios, the bond with students was close, in distance and in energy; the ability to see each other and learn how bodies step into poses, breath, and meditation apparent with immediacy; and feedback written on students’ faces and in teachers’ words. With the emergence of virtual classes, caused for the most-unbelievable of reasons, a pandemic, much has been lost in this bond. Without being able to see each other in person, or at all with so many at-home computers muting the video, both student and teacher reach for each other in a halting way, similar to the childhood game when we blindfolded one player who had to haltingly find the others.
Read MoreHaloTherapy, also known as Dry Salt Therapy, is a treatment of finely ground, medical-grade salt that is distributed in a room or chamber from a specialized machine – a halogenerator – in small puffs of air.
Read MoreI asked myself this question: What is the truth of this shared generational trauma? What is the role of truth-telling, or satya, as we understand it from the 8-limbed path of yoga? How am I to recognize truth? What am I to do with it?
Read MoreThai yoga bodywork and massage focuses on improving and balancing the flow of energy throughout the body and combines dynamic-assisted stretching influenced by yoga with physical pressure applied along energy lines influenced by Chinese acupuncture and Ayurveda.
Read MoreThis recipe comes courtesy of Sumaya Sol Café Cookbook. We feasted on this and other delicious melas at the Green Lotus Guatemala retreat.
Read MoreOn virtually every retreat Green Lotus leads, we arrange a cooking lesson. Cooking together in distant lands or other parts of this country creates bonds and breaks down barriers. People who chop together say together! This recipe - from Chef Mario at Xinalani, a spectacular, tucked-away paradise north of Puerto Vallarta, GL retreat to Mexico - pleased everyone.
Read MoreNothing warms the belly and the soul like a nice bowl of soup. This is a family favorite that is quick, easy, and easily scaled for large gatherings. Use an already cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, leftovers, or leave out the chicken altogether and enjoy the flavors vegetarian-style.
Read MoreTai yang is one of the points along an energy meridian. Self-massage that includes this point increases blood flow to the eyes and can help reduce the pain of headaches. It is easy, without side effects, and safe to do.
Read MoreCats slink. Cats connive. Cats ponder, purr, pretend. They meow their way into our hearts and play with our emotions. These are the reasons we love them (and sometimes why we do not).
Gracie, my cat, found herself to be two pounds overweight late last fall. In consultation with her veterinarian, we cut her portions and mixed her yummier food with another kind – called metabolic and really meaning diet. Oh, the shame of it.
Read MoreToo often 'creativity' is assigned only to artists, musicians, or writers – professionals who do things well. But here is the truth: Creativity is our very nature from our first breath to our last. We create our lives daily. Creativity is within each of us in one form or another but far too often is quashed or suppressed to our detriment.
Read MoreMost often, chakras are described as spinning vortexes. The word “chakra” actually means “wheel”. How are these spinning vortexes created? What makes them spin?
Read More2:1 Breathing is a relaxing and cleansing practice. We begin by bringing balance to the breath, inhaling and exhaling equally. With each breath cycle we extend the exhale a little longer until the exhale is twice as long as the inhale.
Read MoreIn yoga philosophy and pranayama study we explore the concepts of sukha and dukkha. Sukha is light space. Dukha is dark space. To reap the benefits of the new things (sukha), we first make room for them by removing some of the old things (dukkha). The more space we make, the more room we have to fill with sukha.
Read MoreOur culture is constantly creating and re-creating what the ideal image of beauty is at any given time.
Read MoreThe symbols in the tarot help me to bring forward what I already know, deep in the seat of my soul, knowledge that may be hidden or veiled at the moment. The Eight of Swords depicts a woman, blindfolded and with arms bound, standing with eight swords surrounding her, seeming to trap her in place.
Read MoreHow often has someone said to you since Covid hit the land, “I miss the simple things”? Often a story spills out about what is missed: enjoying rich coffees and robust conversations at iron tables outside the brewhouse; piling onto the pontoon without measuring distances between human bodies; sitting shoulder-to-shoulder at the movies or in the opera house, hugging. And most especially that – hugging (much less kissing). The stories bind us.
Read MoreOut of darkness and confusion, we walk toward light and clarity, filled with resolve, mature intelligence, and hope. We will see you again – in person no matter how slowly – and soon.
And this ability of we humans to begin again and find new ways of being reminds us of these old lyrics: “Bye, bye, blackbird; blackbird, bye, bye.”
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