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In the early days, I hustled hard teaching yoga to make ends meet.
One day, arriving early to teach, I tossed my bag in my car and decided to go on a walk.
2 minutes later, I changed my mind and returned.
Too late.
My car window was smashed: no more bag, no more wallet, no more iPod.
Read moreWhat was your first car?
Mine was a 1981 Chevy Malibu “Classic,” V6 station wagon that I shared with my twin brother. The paint that remained on the vehicle hinted that at one time it was baby blue. We called it Boo Radley or Boo for short.
One day after school on one infernally hot August afternoon, 4–5 us high schoolers were circled around Boo, doors opened, paused in the ritual of airing out the car before we drove home. This rite served both to cool the molten-hot-baby-blue-faux-leather seats as to avoid melting the flesh off the backs of our pencil-y legs and, if I’m being honest here, also to exorcize the interior of the car from the unmistakable and unctuous stench of teenage boy. You know that smell.
Read moreCan I ask you a question? If you had a chance to offer a singular message to the world, what would it be This is mine: I love and celebrate everything that you are. I believe in the ability for you, me, and all of us to wake up to the truth that we are all One. I believe that...
Read moreWhat’s a meal that you will never forget? It could have been something very simple or very extravagant, something very exotic or very ordinary. My guess is that one of the reasons you remember it so well is because of the state of mind you were in while you ate it. Did the meal help you feel alive, grateful, and present enough to savor it?
Read moreMany years ago, I stayed for 6 weeks in an Ayurvedic ashram in India so I could perform panchakarma.
Panchakarma is an ancient Ayurvedic cleansing, healing, and rebuilding program that uses five main therapies to help a person arrive into their optimal state of well being, body, mind and spirit.
Read moreMy next Yoga Nidra training is coming up and I want to tell you all about it. I believe it’s the best online Yoga Nidra training because it mixes both live and pre-recorded elements which allows you both the privilege of learning the core principles on your own timeline as well as the power of a personalized attention to ask questions along with your small cohort.
Read moreI decided to take advantage of the walk and chose a slightly longer but decidedly more beautiful route home, along the Promenade Anglais, the walkway that skirts the bay here in Nice. Not to weather brag, here, but man, was it choice! The sun was shining, temp was...
Read moreAs teachers and leaders, we have a sacred responsibility to hold a vision for our students and clients and invite them to stretch and reach for what they may not even be able to see for themselves. We also encourage them that they can do it and help them to see that they already hold inside of them the seeds necessary for their own transformation.
Read more20 years ago, I was struggling to be a yoga teacher. I thought, “It’s time to give this up and get a ‘REAL’ job.” One night, I informed my class that I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to be able to keep this up. After class, one woman, Cristy, approached me and with tears in her eyes, she informed me...
Read moreOne thing I teach in my online Yoga Nidra training is the value of starting over. Tell me if you relate to this story.
I attended college back in the era of “floppy disks” and one day I got a hard lesson on just how "floppy" these disks were.
One evening, after a grueling day of wrestling with an essay I'd been writing for weeks, what was to be my pièce de la résistance, my magnum opus, and intended to be both my senior thesis AND my entry into a prestigious essay contest, I sat down at my desk to print off my essay so I could submit it the following day and as I clicked the floppy disk into my computer and looked at the contents to find the file to print … nothing. Nada. Rien.
Floppy.
Everything on that disk had been mysteriously obliterated.
So, what did I do? What could I do?
Sitting there at my desk, I simply started over.
The words were fresh; I’d practically memorized the thing.
But this time instead of wrestling with the words and ideas, they tumbled out of my brain and danced through my fingers onto the keyboard fast and fluid. This time it formed more clearly with ideas I hadn’t even thought of the first time. This time, it had soul.
I finished the essay (again).
I graduated with my degree.
I took 1st place in the essay contest.
Starting over can be a gift.
Regardless of how many times you have to come back to your presence in meditation, it doesn't matter, starting over is a gift.
Even if you've let your meditation or yoga practice go, it doesn't matter, starting over is a gift.
No matter whatever we've lost, tried, and failed at, no matter what didn’t take the first time (or several times), starting over is a gift.
May we all celebrate the opportunity to come back to presence and start over again and again and again.
This time could make all the difference.
I’m absolutely passionate about Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra has taught me more about myself, the Universe, and my purpose in the world than any other practice and I can’t wait to share what I’ve learned with you.
If you’ve ever thought about teaching Yoga Nidra, now is the time—the world needs it more than ever. Also, the world needs more qualified Yoga Nidra teachers, and this course is designed to teach you to become a Yoga Nidra expert, delivering this healing practice in the power of your own voice— because there’s no one who can teach like you can.
One of the things I’ve learned about Yoga Nidra is that even though practicing it is very easy and can lead to profound transformation, being an effective Yoga Nidra facilitator can be very difficult. This is why I’ve created Facilitating Transformation with the Yoga of Sleep, an enlightening, engaging, and enjoyable online Yoga Nidra teacher training where you will learn the art and science of teaching Yoga Nidra using the power of your own voice. You’ll also learn how to apply your expertise to acquire and create excellent teaching opportunities through live or online group classes, workshops, courses, private sessions, and even how to lead yoga retreats and other paid events. I’ll even teach you how to create digital products to sell and share your teaching gifts with the world. In short, you’ll learn how to make a massive impact while making a great living doing what you love.
a chorus of every human as we voice the fundamental and shared truth that nobody is an island unto themselves, that we all need saving, and most importantly, that we are all … saving.…each other.
Read moreToxic masculinity is so pervasive, so a part of our every-day culture, that sometimes it’s difficult to recognize. Sometimes, it’s difficult to remember what is positive masculinity. As a male yoga instructor and practitioner of 20 years, I can tell you first hand that toxic masculinity even poisons the hallowed halls of the yoga studio.
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It’s almost the 2-year anniversary of my mom’s death. About 10 days after she passed, she came back to me in a dream.
She looked radiant, so happy and vibrant and only wanted to say one thing:
“I’m just so grateful!”
“I’m just so grateful!”
“I’m just so grateful!”
Then she burst into flames.
Totally serious.
It was her moment of transformation into the great beyond and this vision seared the message of her gratitude deeply into my heart and mind.
What do you think you’d say if you could come back from the dead and say one thing?
Gratitude is one of the most important things we can cultivate in our life.
Instead of waiting for things to happen in our lives to be grateful for, we must make a point of choosing to find things to be grateful for no matter our circumstances. Practicing gratitude in this way will soon help see that your life is non-stop blessings.
Maybe this is what my mom was saying.
Thanksgiving is this week in the US and regardless of where you are in the world, I invite you to practice gratitude with me this (Saturday Nov. 26th 9–11 am MT; 5–7 pm CET) at my special Gratitude Workshop where we will practice some all-levels poses, expansive breathwork, journaling, and of course Yoga Nidra.
Join live via Zoom and/or catch the replay.
You’ll float away from this practice feeling alive in your body, calm in your mind, and your heart brimming with the truth that your life is an incredible gift.
I hope you'll join me on Saturday.
In the meantime, here’s a poem to brighten your day and which hits home with the message of gratitude, despite whatever visits us in life.
The Guest House
By Rumi Translated by Coleman Barks
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
It’s not a stretch to say that just like Master Yoda was the essential teacher to unlock the power of Luke Skywalker, there are students who need your mastery to discover the Source within them. It’s absolutely true. Join my Yoga Nidra training and make a massive and positive impact with the gentle but transformational practice of Yoga Nidra
Read moreI want to discuss how yoga, and mindfulness practices like Yoga Nidra can help us appreciate our own beautiful brokenness. I have a really weird quirk: I Love Mannequins. More precisely, I love broken mannequins. I love to window shop (interestingly, the French word for window shopping translates as “window licking", how delightful!). Why this fetish for broken mannequins? It’s because...
Read moreI wanted to write today, on October 4th, because today is the day devoted to St. Francis of Assisi. He is the Catholic saint who renounced his wealth, devoted himself to poverty and service, and found incredible spiritual connection to the natural world, animals and especially the birds. Instead of searching for the Divine, he vowed…
Read moreOctober Tuscany Yoga Retreat. October 8-15, 2022: Register for this Tuscany, Italy Yoga, Yoga Nidra retreat to experience the following: carefully curated, daily all-levels yoga classes with meditation and Yoga Nidra, mouthwatering, home-cooked Italian meals, sit outside while drinking morning cappuccino, scheduled down time, wine tastings, excursions and …
Read moreDo you worry? I do— like existential worry. I worry about the environment. I worry about human rights. I worry about racial equality, and women's rights. I worry about our broken political system in the US and around the world. I worry about the massive wealth discrepancy in the world economy…
Read moreI’m always talking about Yoga Nidra cuz it’s a complete life-changer—it’s incredibly easy to do, available to anyone, very relaxing but at the same time, immensely transformational. If you don’t know already, Yoga Nidra like a guided meditation that uses layered awareness and systematized relaxation to help you enter the Nidra state, an in-between waking/dreaming state that helps you...
Read moreIn addition to teaching online yoga and Yoga Nidra classes, live workshops, teacher trainings, and retreats, and offering what has been rated one of the best online Yoga Nidra teacher training in the world, one of the things I’ve become very passionate about is...
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