In September I read a seminal book that I found transforming: Waking the Global Heart by Anodea Judith. I could hardly put it down! It spoke to me at a deep spiritual level and validated many ideas that I’ve been contemplating. We’ve chosen it for discussion at our next book club meeting [...]
Trust
July 20, 1969 was an historic day for our country and for the world. It was the day that we landed a man on the moon, and Neil Armstrong uttered his oft-quoted phrase, “One small step for man, one giant step for mankind”.
We take space travel for granted now, [...]
Don’t Put Off Your Joy
The perspective of Tantric philosophy is to use everything in life as a means for awakening. Events in our lives can be catalysts to open us to our True Nature of consciousness and bliss. It is especially useful to view life’s most powerful events through the Tantric lens.
I have [...]
Make Room for Magic
If you want to have a beautiful garden you have to nurture what you want (the flowers) and remove what you don’t want (the weeds). Otherwise we all know the weeds will take over. The mind works the same way. If you want to have joy and appreciation in your life you [...]
Yoga in Stressful Times
We are in challenging times with the most significant economic downturn since the Great Depression, 2 wars, international terrorism, and global climate change. People are worried about their finances, keeping their jobs and homes, and the bleaker future that may face their children and grandchildren. Research has shown that stress is a [...]
No Complaining!
One of the lesser-known benefits of establishing a regular yoga practice is that we complain less. It’s probably a surprising and an unintended result … most students don’t come to yoga to stop complaining! But it happens almost automatically … and surreptitiously.
Complaining is wishing reality to be different than [...]
Turn Inward, Reach Outward
I recently attended the Anusara Certified Teachers Gathering in Denver, CO. A group of 150 certified teachers came together for 5 days of inspiring practices led by Anusara founder John Friend and transformational presentations by Paul Muller, an internationally recognized scholar in the field of Tantric philosophy. One of the major emphases [...]
The Foundations of Yoga
Most people know yoga as a physical exercise system that increases flexibility and teaches them how to relax. However, yoga is a comprehensive discipline that encompasses principles for living in the world and practices to deepen spiritual life, in addition to achieving physical well-being. Yoga is a nourishing practice on all levels!
Yoga means “yoke” in [...]
The Nature of Desire
Desire is not typically a very welcome concept in spiritual circles. In fact, most Eastern spiritual disciplines regard desire as the root cause of all suffering, observing that desire causes mental agitation as we think about what we want that we don’t have. Desire therefore causes people to lose the peacefulness that [...]
Reflecting on Garden of the Heart Yoga Center
Sometimes it’s nice to site back and reflect on where we have been and where we are now…My husband and I moved to Florida from Virginia five and a half years ago, after he retired. Initially I kept my yoga center in Virginia and went back regularly to run it, so I did not start [...]
