linda's yoga journey

moving day

2011-08-01T13:59:00.003-05:00

I've moved to Wordpress...click the Vajrayogini to continue reading the ramblings of a yoga subversive. If you have LYJ blogrolled, please change your link to http://lindasyoga.com Thanking all my readers since 2005...see you there!

yoga miscellaneous: healing

2011-07-19T23:55:00.001-05:00

A letter from Sri.K. Pattabhi Jois to Yoga Journal, Nov. 1995 "It is unfortunate that students who have not yet matured in their own practice have changed the method and have cut out teh [sic] essence of an ancient lineage to accommodate their own limitations." "Spiritual Madness and Compassionate Presence" -- healing of mental suffering through the philosophy and practice of Yoga ‎"One of

Trauma Sensitive Yoga: breathing the walking wounded, part 3

2011-07-01T16:10:00.001-05:00

breath + movement = roots Psychologist Babette Rothschild has said: "Breath is a reminder of trauma. Sensory messages from muscle and connective tissue that remember a specific position, action, or intention can be sources of triggers. Accelerated heart rate and increased respiration can be implicit reminders of that same reaction that accompanied the trauma." As we talked about the breath

Trauma Sensitive Yoga: the walking wounded, part 2

2011-06-28T16:37:00.004-05:00

A trauma survivor can be an adult survivor of childhood abuse, a domestic violence survivor, a survivor of sexual assault, someone who was in a horrible car wreck or natural disaster, or a returning soldier with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.) Basically, anyone who walks into your class. As teachers, we never know what a student's story is, either physically or psychologically. A “

Trauma Sensitive Yoga: the walking wounded, part 1

2011-06-28T08:11:00.000-05:00

"The body keeps the score." - Dr. Bessel van der Kolk According to the teachers at my recent Trauma Sensitive Yoga training, 70-80% of the population have experienced some type of trauma, whether being in a war or a catastrophic car accident. This statistic comes from a collection of the clinical literature currently out there. Keeping that statistic in mind, think of your yoga class. In

wisdom from my teacher: "Statics and Dynamics of Asana"

2011-06-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

Another newsletter from Srivatsa Ramaswami....enjoy When I was a student I had to study a course in Mathematics (or was it Physics or Engineering?) titled, “Statics and Dynamics.” That was the time Mathematics left me but I liked the name of the course which I am using as the title of the article. When I was young I used to be called “Soni Ramaswami” by many relatives, friends and

we are not the Yogis, we are the Yoga

2011-05-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

Read this. And be awed. addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

what is your yoga truth?

2011-05-24T14:06:00.002-05:00

Hanumanasana is Overrated "From a standpoint where the purpose of Hatha yoga is to facilitate and maintain a healthy functioning body, there is no reason why a person would ever need to be able to do Hanumanasana. However unattached we may be in working towards it, the goal belies our better purpose. Touting images of flashy classical asana demonstrations as examples of “mastery” has led to a

the dharma of doo-doo

2011-05-23T14:00:00.001-05:00

It always does my heart good when I hear a student talk about how yoga has helped them in their life. Most of the realizations I've heard are more about the non-physical than the physical, things on a deeper level than achieving an arm balance or handstand. I sit back and say to myself (or sometimes out loud), yes, they get it, someone has been paying attention! I've always said that yoga

it bears repeating

2011-05-16T10:50:00.000-05:00

late July gardens, 2010 Last week on my birthday I listened to Mark Whitwell's talk on the new website Yoga Teacher Telesummit. I have to admit that I did not finish listening to his talk because my birthday arrived with gorgeous weather and I was compelled to practice my other yoga -- gardening. A beautiful day is wasted sitting in front of the computer even if it is spent listening to

"Houston, We Have a Problem"

2011-05-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

(thanks to the genius of Diane Arbus) Why doesn't awakening happen just like that? [visualize a finger snap.] Because then you would never know the pain and the joy of it. ####### "Houston, we have a problem. What’s that? you say. I listen to these advaita newbies who have suddenly awakened and think, “What part am I missing here?” I know my teacher would fall down laughing if it weren’t

wisdom from my teacher

2011-05-02T17:00:00.002-05:00

Yes, even my yoga guru shuts up to do his practice: "...[the] English translation of my Guru Sri Krishnamacharya's Yoga Makaranda (I have the Tamil translation of the book for over 45 years and refer to it even today whenever I want to just shut up and listen to my Guru, Sri Krishnamacharya.)" Note: that's called humility...one of the aspects of a true yogi. Click here if you want to

the B.I.T.C.H. is back

2011-04-27T22:35:00.002-05:00

B = Brave I = Intelligent T = Tenacious C = Creative H = Honest "Embracing your inner bitch...means that you're being strong and honest with yourself and those around you, and I think that's a good thing." Thanks to Tabatha for that! Yeah, you heard me. I'm back. But on a very limited basis. Since I stopped writing in February I can't tell you how many readers left comments on Facebook or

dropping the curtain

2011-02-13T12:00:00.008-06:00

original art Karin Bartimole "When you are truly genuine, there will invariably be people who do not accept you. And in that case, you must be your own badass self, without apology." (Katie Goodman) "Yoga is not for people who are interested in staying the same." (David Life) My decision to stop writing this blog came to me in India. I returned from India just last Thursday and my

The Call

2010-12-28T10:57:00.002-06:00

upon first seeing Gangakondacholapuram, 2008 My first OM was in 1973 with Beat Poet and Buddhist, Allen Ginsberg, and I drifted in and out of yoga during the ‘70s. It was only when I returned to a serious yoga practice in the mid-‘90s that everything clicked. I began yoga teacher training in 2002 at a traditional yoga studio in Chicago. I was a sponge soaking everything in, I could not

reflections on 2010 and ruminations on the future

2010-12-27T22:00:00.001-06:00

My oh my, what a blessed year 2010 was...no apologies, no regrets, and always moving on. I started out in South India at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, flew to Kolkata where Kali Ma knocked me down, traveled to Bhubaneswar to meet the 64 Yoginis, and then spent 9 days at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Hardiwar where I jumped into the Ganges on Mahashivratri and met a swami of the highest order.

here we go again, part 2

2010-12-02T19:24:00.011-06:00

yogis I want to say from the onset that my writing is not meant to be a scholarly history of Hinduism and I won't get into any debates about what Hinduism is, who is a Hindu, etc. I am more than cognizant of the various Hindu gods and goddesses and know the difference between a Shaivite and a Vaishnavite (I'm partial to Murugan who is also known in Mahayana Buddhism as Skanda.) But all that

here we go again, part 1

2010-12-01T22:18:00.008-06:00

Hindu blessing of cow, Rameswaram beach, 2006 Getting on the yoga merry-go-round again of the old debate on "who owns yoga?" and whether yoga springs from Hinduism. There's lots of stuff going on in the world but it must be a slow news day when the New York Times publishes another article with a dramatic title on the Hindu group that is stirring up the debate over yoga's soul. Then there

yoga and the evolutionary process

2010-11-04T23:20:00.005-05:00

No, not yoga and evolution. Yoga and YOUR evolution. Change. I've been thinking a lot about what my student said in class the other night, about what she thinks "real yoga" is. It was her belief that mainstream yoga caters to this culture rather than trying to change this culture. To this student "real yoga" is about change on the micro- and macro- level. Or as I've heard Desikachar say,

just an old-fashioned girl

2010-11-03T11:30:00.004-05:00

Last night in class I only had two students. Believe it or not, this no longer bothers me -- I show up and I teach. Despite how "mainstream" yoga people love to believe yoga is nowadays -- and I would really like someone to explain to me what mainstream is -- the number of students in class is diminishing. I'm not the only teacher in my area who finds this to be true. More on that later.

save Tibet, free Tibet

2010-10-22T22:26:00.000-05:00

"In saving Tibet we prove the existence and power of the human spirit." Play this video forward on October 23. OM MANI PADME HUM addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

stick a fork in it....

2010-10-18T00:14:00.003-05:00

...I'm done. For now. The Yoga Ink Saga. Not as important as writing about the current state of yoga, but I'm tired....turning inward and slowly checking out. addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

2010-10-01T09:46:00.003-05:00

I am a survivor.That is why my seva is at my local domestic violence shelter for almost 10 years now. It is my favorite class to teach because my students are also my teachers. Someone you know is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or both.Consider these facts --Domestic Violence:Half of all married women in the United States are physically abused at some time in their

listen. and then listen again.

2010-09-27T12:59:00.001-05:00

"(The Atma) is not even in name different (from the Brahm.) It is not hidden in the high words (of the Vedas.) O Friend! How can I call it uniform or varied? I am by nature Eternal Freedom beyond all ills." Avadhuta Gita, 4.13"Know me to be free from one and all. For me there is neither the Maya nor its opposite. How can I be said to have anything to do with the Sandhya and other

because yoga cooks us

2010-09-26T23:26:00.001-05:00

Chickpea to Cook~Jalaluddin Rumi(translated by Coleman Barks)A chickpea leaps almost over the rim of the potwhere it's being boiled."Why are you doing this to me?"The cook knocks him down with the ladle."Don't you try to jump out.You think I'm torturing you.I'm giving you flavor,so you can mix with spices and riceand be the lovely vitality of a human being."Remember when you drank rain in the

a question of semantics?

2010-09-19T14:42:00.008-05:00

Carol Horton's post on Tara Stiles' book still has legs so I thought I would add my two rupees here as a post.I'm a jazz freak and usually listen to what is considered "real jazz" (as a Sirius XM satellite radio station is entitled) as opposed to "lite jazz" (as a former Chicago radio station billed itself.) Although I learned the piano as a child, I am not a jazz musician so I don't know what

good news Friday -- yoga scholarships!

2010-09-17T09:56:00.000-05:00

meditation hall, Spirit Rock Many of you know that I was in the first Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. The 18 month program ran from 2007 to 2009. It consisted of three 10 day retreats held for the most part in silence. There are readings, homework, and telephone conferences in between the retreats. There is a core group of

Krishnamarcharya and those British gymnastics

2010-09-07T14:48:00.011-05:00

"Sir" and his father, KYM, 20052010 has been the year of scholarly yoga books such as Mark Singleton's Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture and Stefanie Syman's The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America. Both authors have written that Krishnamacharya's yoga was derived in part from British gymnastics and military training exercises.Even the eminent yoga scholar Georg Feurstein recently

upon further reflection on the yoga noise

2010-08-31T13:00:00.001-05:00

This is me after my head exploded over the latest furor about the way yoga is advertised in America.OK, not really, but after the requisite three days all things pass and we move on, right? Wrong.Once again an advertisement for a yoga book created a firestorm in the yoga blogosphere. Maybe the fire was not as widespread as was created by the Judith Lasater letter to Yoga Journal or the naked

burn your blubber and fry your fat

2010-08-30T12:33:00.006-05:00

....after you eat those Dunkin' Donuts.I almost blew my chai out my nose all over my keyboard when I saw that. Irony rules. YogaDawg once told me that some things are too ridiculous to satirize, but check out his link. No further comments are necessary although I'm SO disappointed -- not one mention of bra fat. I'll go sage myself now.addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

seva is sexy

2010-08-29T12:22:00.008-05:00

"Yoga is about GIVING. Not taking. That’s how I get my calm and my sexy. I don’t need no special book and unrealistic promises to deliver that."Those words are from Svasti's great blog "Body image issues, yoga & Tara Stiles is a sell-out" that was in response to Stiles' atrocious ad for her new book (I am loathe to give it any more publicity.) The amazing and heart-felt comments from readers on

you're too fat and not sexy -- so buy my book!

2010-08-28T07:27:00.017-05:00

Do you want to be slim, calm, and sexy in just 15 minutes a day? Get rid of your "bra fat" and go from size 8 to a size 00 IN JUST 15 MINUTES A DAY?"Bra fat"? What a loser you are to have BRA FAT!Click here for full marketing piece.I don't care if Tara Stiles is nice person. I don't care if she has done legitimate yoga videos in the past. This is a complete sell out for the almighty dollar.

The Magazine of Yoga interviews

2010-08-25T09:00:00.002-05:00

It was my supreme pleasure to interview with Susan Maier-Moul, the editor of the fabulous Magazine of Yoga. I can't remember exactly how we connected, maybe it was via a comment I wrote on her site, but I was honored and humbled (and also excited!) that she asked for an interview. Talking with Susan was like talking with a sister or an old friend so I hope we can meet in person one day! I

and it begins again

2010-08-21T14:38:00.001-05:00

Have to get a new visa and back in Ma India's arms at the end of December. Two weeks at KYM then 5 weeks until I land in Mumbai (where I have never been) for a month-long yoga therapy training in Nasik. My longest trip yet.My gut is telling me this is the icing on the cake before I move on to getting a masters in transpersonal psychology. Somehow I know that in the future my teaching and this

the last word on Eat Pray Love....

2010-08-21T00:49:00.002-05:00

...I hope. The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cBack in Black - Eat Pray Lovewww.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical HumorTea Party I heart Lewis Black. addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

irony rules

2010-08-18T16:14:00.007-05:00

Ahimsa aside, if you do not see the irony in this you need one tight slap and told to snap out of it.A yoga teacher friend sent me this basically asking "what the what?!?" This was in an email she received from Yoga Journal Online."Find personal yoga teachers expensive?" Say what? Uh, thanks, Yoga Journal (and yes, I know it's not Yoga Journal specifically but the advertiser), but does it

a marriage of Yoga and Buddhism

2010-08-17T22:11:00.003-05:00

I have written before about Michael Stone here and here so I was happy to receive his upcoming book to preview, Freeing The Body, Freeing The Mind: Connecting Yoga & Buddhism. It is coming out in September with a Forward written by Robert Thurman:"Those deep into Buddhism can find a lot to help their understanding and meditation practice in the wisdom and embodying practicality of the Yoga

things white people do

2010-08-14T21:57:00.007-05:00

one interpretation of KaliGiven all the recent uproar about yoga advertising, I want to ask this question again:why is American yoga such a white thing?This post is from 2007 and three years later I am still asking the same question.The Color of YogaI am white (but have been told "you're not all that white"), so why does this question bother me so much? Maybe because I grew up on the south side

my Eat Pray Love Tour of India

2010-08-13T10:34:00.003-05:00

“Eat. Pray. Fall in Love with [our] Inspirational India Tour. Starts at $19,795 per person, based on double occupancy.” I have an idea. I've done four trips to India so who better to lead you to the land of yoga, spirituality, and chillums incense? extra rupees for medicinal plants Have you always dreamed of traveling to exotic India? a lot of incense needed here "I Loved indian

in review, the personal is still political

2010-08-09T13:47:00.017-05:00

original upload by BAM's BlogUnless you've been in yoga nidra for a week, then you know that Judith Lasater's letter to Yoga Journal about how she felt about nudity in yoga advertising set the yoga blogosphere on fire. In case you missed her letter, here it is:"Yoga Journal was born in my living room in Berkeley in 1975, where I was one of five yoga practitioner-teachers who gathered to create

guest blogger Barry Wadsworth on "Yoga as Mindfulness Practice - A Buddhist Perspective"

2010-08-02T18:22:00.005-05:00

Many of you know that my yoga practice is informed by Buddhism. I am unable to treat my physical yoga practice as anything other than a moving meditation or mindfulness practice. I have studied the buddhadharma for so long with various teachers in both the Mahayana and Theravada traditions that I think it's ingrained in my DNA by now! Yoga is my meditation and vice versa. In some of my

award time Friday

2010-07-30T09:37:00.000-05:00

Guess what, readers! This Ageless Hippie Chick Yogini will NOT be writing about the Yoga Rock Star who shall remain nameless mentioned in the New York Times. Why? Because everything that can possibly be said about it, him, them, has been said, and frankly, because the entire brou-ha-ha bores me. And boredom does not become me. So this post will be in gratitude to Brooks the Yogic Muse and

gratitude is better late than never

2010-07-27T09:59:00.002-05:00

Guru Purnima...I missed writing about it on THE day, but I am grateful every day for my teachers, whether past, present, or future. "This day we acknowledge the light of the Eternal having found voice and form through a living teacher. We give thanks for the guidance, wisdom, and love that our teacher has shared with us and we recommit ourselves to becoming our own teacher--a bright light to all

what is tantra?

2010-07-26T15:15:00.001-05:00

"Tantra" is a word that gets thrown around a lot in yoga circles. It's a word that many American yogis have become familiar with via Sting who claims that he can get it on for hours because of tantric sex (see the comments that follow in YogaDork's post.)I don't think there is anyone who has done as great a disservice to tantric yoga as Sting because of his comments. The whole sex thang is

top Buddhist blog?

2010-07-23T13:42:00.006-05:00

Imagine my shock when I read Precious Metal's post about the "Top 50 Buddhist Blogs" and saw The Journey mentioned. WHAT?!? SNARKY ME?!? Nominated as a Buddhist blog and not in the yoga category? Here is a list of "award winners" in the yoga category from which this blog is conspicuously absent. While it's nice to "win" an award and I posted about this on my Facebook pages, after I stopped

a classic yoga text...but not the one you think

2010-07-20T11:44:00.001-05:00

AUM in TamilSanskrit is the language we are all familiar with in yoga classes, but the Indian government declared Tamil an "official classical language" in 2004, the year before they declared Sanskrit to be the same.As yoga students we are familiar with Patanjali's Sutra-s, the Bhagavad-Gita, and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, but how many are familiar with classic yoga texts that are outside the

bad yoga?

2010-07-19T11:15:00.001-05:00

"Expand. Evolve. Grow. Forget not the goal.Awake. Achieve the goal."Swami SivanandaLet's see....in a "modern" yoga class Swamiji would be told his yoga is "wrong".....Oh my! His legs aren't straight in locust! He has a rounded back in his forward fold! Look at his hand position in shoulderstand! He must not know what he's doing! Shame on his yoga teacher for allowing him to do that!

the best writing about yoga in a long time

2010-07-13T19:09:00.002-05:00

I've been writing this blog since 2005 and I've come across many yoga blogs over the years -- some great, some not so much, some to which I am indifferent, i.e., those I read once and never return. We all have our tastes and I know that this blog is too snarky for some, maybe not foo-foo-peace-love-dove enough about yoga for others, and that's fine. I've been criticized for not sugar-coating my

feeding my soul

2010-06-30T12:09:00.004-05:00

Over the weekend I went to a talk on yoga psychology by Uma Krishnamurthy. She is a psychiatrist, a yogi, and an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer. One of my favorite things that she said was not about yoga but about dance: if you are angry, dance. To help dissolve your ego, direct your anger to God, and dance. Then you will forget what you are angry about. Uma quoted from the Gita, the

yoga whores* for the corporate dollar

2010-06-28T16:20:00.006-05:00

Oh my."Yoga" and "whore" in the same sentence. That's a jolt to the manomayi kosha. Sometimes strong language is needed to get people to sit up and take notice. What can I say? When I was a young hippie chick I looked up to strong-talking women like Angela Davis and Germaine Greer.No, I'm not dissing any working girls. In fact, I have a lot more respect for a woman who has to make her living

when yoga bloggers meet

2010-06-27T10:35:00.002-05:00

Another successful yin-yang yoga workshop at the Chicago Yoga Center yesterday made even more special by finally meeting two cyber-yogis from the yoga blogosphere....Bob and Brooks. Always good to finally put faces to the online voices!Yoga obviously makes us happy!A big thanks to Brooks and Bob for your support of the yin-yang yoga dharma.addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

DANA

2010-06-24T19:05:00.001-05:00

Buddhists believe that giving without seeking anything in return leads to greater spiritual wealth. Dana is a concept in Buddhism that means generosity or giving. It is also the practice of cultivating generosity. Ultimately, the practice culminates in one of the perfections (pāramitā): the perfection of giving. It is characterized by unattached and unconditional generosity, giving and letting

the truth of my unknowing

2010-06-23T09:40:00.001-05:00

more on this later...."This aliveness is nothing being everything. It’s just life happening. It’s not happening to anyone. There’s a whole set of experiences happening here and they’re happening in emptiness … they’re happening in free fall. They’re just what’s happening. All there is is life. All there is is beingness. There isn’t anyone that ever has or does not have it. There’s nobody that has

ongoing saga: yoga ink!

2010-06-22T07:23:00.001-05:00

You can read about the start of this new ink here.Tattoos are like India -- ya either love 'em or hate 'em, I don't think there is any in-between. While Serena was setting up yesterday she told me about a dreamcatcher she was going to tattoo on the back of a guy's head (obviously he's bald.) The tattoo was also going to include a set of antlers coming up onto his scalp that would "hold" the

feel good friday

2010-06-18T10:24:00.011-05:00

It's been a long time since I've been able to listen to Macy Gray. Up until very recently her music reminded me of an extremely painful time I went through a few years ago, an incident that manifested PTSD. So I look at my posting of her new video as a small victory. And I liked the title.I taught my favorite class last night, my karma yoga at a domestic violence shelter. Despite what y'all

a high level of confusement

2010-06-16T14:05:00.002-05:00

The warehouse manager at my husband's company once told The Hubs that he (the manager) had a high level of confusement. ;) :)I'm throwing the question out there: as a yoga student, do you get confused when you experience a style of yoga you are not familiar with? Or do you just go with flow and if it resonates with you that's fine, and if not, that's fine too?The reason I ask is that a yoga

where's the money?

2010-06-13T15:04:00.025-05:00

YogaDork blogged that Lulu-NO THICK GIRLS ALLOWED-lemon had their best ever financial quarter. The company "plans to open 30 new showrooms and up to 15 new stores this year" Lulu-NO FAT BOTTOM GIRLS HERE-lemon said that "net revenues for the quarter ended May 2 were $138.3 million..." and "ended the quarter with $173.6 million in cash and cash equivalents compared with $59.3 million at the end

Mark Whitwell, part 2: enlightenment, head yoga, and all that other stuff

2010-06-09T06:59:00.002-05:00

"There is nothing to attain! There is no such thing as enlightenment, only Life in you as you. No need to realize God when God has realized you. It is intimacy we want and it is freely given. It is the search that is the problem. Looking for something presumes its absence. As long as we strive for a higher reality, the looking implies this life is a lower reality."Those words are from Mark

where the ordinary meets the extraordinary

2010-06-08T14:00:00.006-05:00

My regular readers know that I attended the Kumbh Mela in Hardiwar in February for 9 days. I bathed in the Ganges on Mahashivaratri. While I was not at the Mela towards the end in March and April when there were millions more people than in February, I certainly don't feel as if I missed anything. I was there on a very auspicious day and it was wondrous and indeed, extraordinary. I hope that

things that make you want to say "namaste, bitches"

2010-06-06T19:34:00.009-05:00

The New York Times article about etiquette in yoga studios is making the rounds of the yoga blogs.YogaDork is quoted about people barging into class:"'You are Zenned out,' said the blogger YogaDork, who asked to remain incognito, describing the splendor of Savasana, resting pose. 'And people are fumbling for bags and rolling up the mats.'" Let's see...what are my pet peeves?Men in yoga classes

"Transformative Fire"

2010-06-06T12:20:00.000-05:00

(photo credit: omtapas) "There is a great fire that longs to burn you --Don't let fear imagine a separation.It is only yourself, burning for the truth,The truth burning for itself.Knowing this, give yourself, without reservation:In ecstacy the fire burns." "Having deeply opened to the annihilating aspect of the path, and having alllowed it to act on us, we may find that now and then it acts

Mark Whitwell: sex, peace, and all that other stuff

2010-06-05T21:24:00.005-05:00

I had stopped attending the Midwest Yoga Conference but I went last year for the first time in a long time just to experience Mark Whitwell. I attended every one of his workshops and I drank the Whitwell kool-aid in a huge way -- I decided that if I could only study with one person the rest of my life it would be Mark. This year I registered on the spur of the moment for the pre-conference one

Srivatsa Ramaswami: chitta vritti

2010-06-01T07:05:00.003-05:00

One of my primary teachers is Srivatsa Ramaswami, who studied with Krishnamacharya for over 30 years, longer than anyone in Krishnamacharya's immediate family. Ramaswamiji was one of the original trustees of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai, the yoga school where I have studied every year for five years.I first met Ramaswamiji in 2003 and he inspired me to travel to the heart of yoga

simple but not easy

2010-05-31T07:56:00.006-05:00

"Learn a little bit, then think, then meditate and acknowledge your conclusions.Through that you can heal yourself."Gelek RimpocheWisdom from one of my favorite teachers.addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

today is a good day to die

2010-05-27T18:00:00.013-05:00

Before the Battle of Little Bighorn, Lakota warrior Crazy Horse purportedly said, "today is a good day to die."Today was a good day for Sweet Sox to die, on Buddha Day, the day that honors The Awakened One's birth, enlightenment, and death. It is a full moon and the weather could not have been any more beautiful.It was interesting how my mind worked back to the first spirituality I began to

dharma teaching from my cat on Buddha's birthday

2010-05-26T16:31:00.014-05:00

Life and Death are but an illusion.Happy and Sad are just a state of mind.Love and Compassion alleviates the sufferingOf All sentient Beings – those who have beenour Mothers and our Fathers.To recognize the interconnectedness of all beingsIs to know peace! ~ a Buddhist Homage.One of the most significant celebrations in the Buddhist tradition happens every May on the night of the first full moon

the yogini cult -- JAI MA!

2010-05-20T12:15:00.008-05:00

The other day I read a misinformed comment on another blog about ancient yoga in India. The commenter said, in essence, that classical yoga would not have been taught to women because of India's patriarchal society, that yoga in ancient times was for men only. I shook my head. For one thing, I don't think it's a good thing to make such sweeping statements about Indian culture unless you've

shi*t a crazy old yogini says 2

2010-05-19T07:41:00.008-05:00

"All the google searches for "chakra underwear" fascinate me...and then they end up here. I never knew so many people were so interested in wearing underwear with chakra images. Must be a new social dynamic, like people who tweet.Hey, is that a chakra in your pants or are you just happy to see me?"Show Biz Gurus and Chakra Underwearaddthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

show up and shut up

2010-05-13T10:58:00.006-05:00

The yoga/Hindu wars started in the articles by Deepak Chopra and Aseem Shuklah that YogaDork posted here and here. I think the comments are longer than the articles themselves.Now the fracas has spilled over to here and here over at elephantjournal even getting into the Aryan Invasion of India theory which is a whole 'nother kettle of fish. Yawn.I'm here to bring it back.I'm here to keep it

metta to you all

2010-05-11T08:31:00.001-05:00

addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

life is a vinyasa

2010-05-10T12:59:00.003-05:00

1. I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.The forever changing images that I see in the mirror each morning remind me of the first of Buddha’s Five Remembrances. Today this soul’s present incarnation has been on this planet for over 55 years. My photographs are also constant reminders of my mortality. Every birthday reminds me that I now have less time ahead of me

"Yoga For A World Out Of Balance"

2010-05-04T10:03:00.007-05:00

Many thanks to Michael Stone for sending me this passage from his book Yoga For A World Out Of Balance: Teachings on Ethics and Social Action and allowing me to use it for a blog post. This excerpt resonated with me on such a deep level that it gave me pause, especially the sentence: "Yoga teaches us that everything is connected to everything else in the ongoing flux and flow of reality,

holding feet to the fire

2010-04-29T17:29:00.001-05:00

I received an email today from Yoga Journal asking my permission to publish my email to them as a letter. This is what I had to say about their ad choices:"On page 53 of the latest Yoga Journal there's an ad for Slim Quick Ultra Calorie Burner to lose weight. In the same issue there is a story that the healing power of yoga will cure what ails America without pills or surgery.Some magazines

dharma talk: Michael Stone

2010-04-29T08:24:00.010-05:00

What a surprise it was to receive an email from Michael Stone, author of Yoga for a World Out of Balance: Teachings on Ethics and Social Action.Michael told me that he likes this blog (and it always does this old English major's heart good when published authors tell me they like my writing - he thinks LYJ is "not simply the repetition of familiar yoga cliches") and asked whether I wanted to

if only

2010-04-28T17:43:00.003-05:00

©Linda-Sama, 2010, Kolkata Botanical Garden“If only it were all so simple. If only there were evil people somewhere else insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being, and who among us is willing to destroy a piece of their own heart?” --

river of love

2010-04-25T17:28:00.005-05:00

Photo by omtapas, 2010, Krishna River, the Lord of Love. from Piduguralla to Malkangiri (Orissa)in om's words: "I start at 6:30am and after maybe one hour I reach the Krishna River. There is no bridge so I have to wait for the little ferry to reach my side and then the other side. My energy level on those first two days is incredible, I feel as if I am in complete love and that I will see my

shanti

2010-04-25T10:29:00.006-05:00

Photo by omtapas, 2010. Taken at Malkangiri Lake in Orissa, India.The photo says peace and serenity. In om's words: "the picture is a nice reflection of Peace to meditate on."A picture of shanti for Sunday.addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

devotion

2010-04-25T00:06:00.001-05:00

Photo by omtapas, 2010. taken in Andhra Pradesh, Indiaaddthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

hand me that Anusara and a chicken wing

2010-04-24T00:10:00.027-05:00

When a product with a well-known brand name is seen in a movie or television show, that's called "product placement": "product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time

yoga ink redux

2010-04-22T23:41:00.005-05:00

There are three things that I spend most of my yoga earnings on: more yoga, India, and tattoos. This is (dare I say it?) the completion of a tattoo project that started in the late 1970s, an era before AIDS when tattoo artists used the same needles on everyone after sterilization in an autoclave. My first artist was named Snake. Snake tattooed that little flower that is to the left of the

foreign astanga students: INDIAN VISA ALERT

2010-04-21T13:32:00.012-05:00

Over the years I've known more than a few people who have gone to Mysore, India to study at Pattabhi Jois' Ashtanga Yoga Institute, many more than once.For those of you who want to study yoga in Mysore, be advised that foreign yoga students must now obtain a "yoga" visa instead of a tourist visa:"From March 2010, all students coming to study at KPJAYI must enter India on a yoga visa, as required

change is good

2010-04-21T10:21:00.004-05:00

It was high time for a change and the original blog designer was nowhere to be found.Thanks to Blisschick I learned that Blogger had new templates (where have I been?), and Svasti offered her design expertise. Eventually I figured it all out.Yes, some of the words are a bit hard to read when they are on top of a bird image, but that is my way of focusing your awareness and concentration.

yin-yang yoga and meditation immersion weekend in Brazil

2010-04-19T09:42:00.005-05:00

Join me in Sao Paulo, Brazil at YOGA FLOW STUDIO over Memorial Day weekend. I'm doing the same teaching I did in Arusha, Tanzania. If you'd rather experience yin-yang yoga and mindfulness meditation instead of drinking beer and eating hot dogs over Memorial Day weekend, come on down to Brazil! YIN-YANG YOGA & MEDITATION WEEKENDFRIDAY, MAY 28 THROUGH SUNDAY MAY 30, 2010We will explore both

you are what you are seeking

2010-04-18T09:15:00.003-05:00

I needed to hear this today at this moment. And I think you do, too.addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

the fundies are everywhere

2010-04-11T10:57:00.012-05:00

Yes, even in the yoga and meditation worlds. After my last post about not being allowed to attend a vipassana retreat in the strict Goenka style, one of my long-time readers and supporters, Kevin, sent me this email. I loved what he had to say and he gave me permission to to reprint it. "I was sorry to hear about your recent encounter with Goenka fundamentalist fervor. I appreciate the

I've been kicked out of better places than this

2010-04-09T13:28:00.021-05:00

OK, I really wasn't kicked out. I just wasn't let in.In 2006 I did my first 10 day silent vipassana retreat here that is in the strict Goenka tradition. A requirement of the Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training that I did at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California was that one had to sit a 5 day or longer vipassana retreat.The vipassana retreat was my first long silent retreat and it

join the fan club!

2010-04-08T07:45:00.000-05:00

Check out this blog's new fan page on Facebook and post your favorite yoga rants and musings from the last five years. See you there! addthis_pub = 'yogagal60510';

the surrealistic version of Eat Pray Love

2010-04-05T17:00:00.003-05:00

I've always received messages in my meditations. Some might call them visions although that is too strong a word for me because I certainly don't consider myself any type of psychic. I do get flashes of peoples' lives when I do energy healing -- I usually don't tell them what I see but when I do it is always confirmed. But for the longest time a picture came into my head of an older me, with

from sadhus to zebras, part 2

2010-04-03T14:07:00.002-05:00

After spending five nights on Zanzibar -- no internet, no phones, just lots of sun and beach and alone time and daily power cuts and one day of the Zanzibar version of Delhi Belly -- I flew to Arusha via Dar es Salaam to lead my yin-yang yoga retreat. Years ago an akashic record reader told me that something so potent would occur during one of my trips to India (this was before the Kumbh Mela

really?

2010-03-29T10:19:00.005-05:00

On page 53 of the latest Yoga Journal there's an ad for Slim Quick Ultra Calorie Burner to lose weight. In the same issue there is a story that the healing power of yoga will cure what ails America without pills or surgery.Some magazines don't accept advertising for products that are anathema to their magazine's philosophy.Apparently Yoga Journal does not have those same advertising ethics.It

from sadhus to zebras, part 1

2010-03-19T14:24:00.013-05:00

Shiva was certainly testing me as I made my way to India this time, and as I later found out, also as I made my way to Africa. It literally took 80 hours for my feet to hit the ground in Chennai. Due to plane problems, instead of flying American to Brussels, then Jet Airways (an Indian airline that partners with American) to Chennai, I was put on the direct flight from Chicago to Delhi.

oneness, suchness

2010-03-07T13:27:00.007-06:00

"We are not separate;we cannot be separate from Nature,which sustains us in a vast interdependence with everything.The universe comes perfectlyand is awesome in its integration and infinite existence.It is our natural state." (Mark Whitwell)There are certain images in my head from my trip that are still affecting me. It was such an amazing adventure that words are much too puny a mechanism to

pilgrimage

2010-01-06T09:59:00.007-06:00

"The obligation to go to "the place which the Lord your God will choose" (Deut. 16:16)""In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance.""Journey to a shrine or other sacred place undertaken to gain divine aid, as an act of thanksgiving or penance, or to demonstrate devotion."Five years ago the seeds of my teaching in Africa were planted when a

T-shirts to help you remember, moment to moment

2010-01-05T00:57:00.014-06:00

The Yoga Journey Boutique"We only use clothing from North America, produced to be washed and worn for years. With regard to print quality, we use flex and flock leading technology and water-based ink. You will not wearing a low quality printed T-shirt!Wordans uses only trusted brands such as American Apparel, Hanes and Bella. Our main priority is your satisfaction. If you have any questions or

donation update and until we meet again

2009-12-31T16:21:00.010-06:00

I mailed a check today to the Seva Foundation in the amount of $200 asking it to be used specifically for the Kilimanjaro Center for Community Ophthalmology. You can read about the eye clinic here.A big hug and thanks to:ShelleyBoband Svastifor their donations!If anyone else wants to donate, please DO NOT send the money to my Paypal account, send it diretly to Seva as per the instructions in my

handbook for life, 2010

2009-12-29T10:27:00.008-06:00

Lots of good advice here, but my three favorites are nos. 21, 33, and 37.HEALTH:1. Drink plenty of water.2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like beggar.3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. 4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.5. Make time to meditate.7. Read more books than