Blog – Wisdom For The Journey
Everything You Do Is Yoga — Or Can Be
Every time I come back to the Yogasūtras, there’s always another ‘aha’ moment, like another puzzle piece magically fitting into place. Except the puzzle is not only a classic Yoga text, it’s also my life and all the relationships that tether me in the world. Yoga is...
How to Face Difficulties Without Becoming Stuck
Life is filled with many difficulties. You get sick, your car runs out of gas on the way to work, you don’t get the promotion you had been hoping for. Or a big one — you grow older and can no longer do the same things you could when you were young. Many difficulties...
Doshas of Āyurveda
Āyurveda, the science of life and longevity, is an ancient medical science from India based on the Five Elements (Space, Wind, Fire, Water and Earth). The Five Elements are grouped into 3 pairs, called doṣa (pronounced dosha) that together describe all bodily...
Lightening Our Path
Out walking this morning, with the sun still low in the sky, I noticed what looked like diamonds shining on the path before me. It was the sun, reflecting on bits of broken glass that littered the trail. It’s interesting how light reflecting on the glass changed my...
The Principles of Āyurveda
Āyurveda is an Indian medical science of ancient origin. In Sanskrit, the word āyus means life or longevity, and veda means science or knowledge. Āyurveda, the science of life and longevity, is able to address myriad health concerns through the use of diet, lifestyle,...
9 Common Obstacles
In the first chapter of the Yogasūtras (sūtra I.30), Patañjali presents a list of 9 life difficulties. The list is extremely interesting and includes different sorts of challenges. For example, there are things that happen to us, like illness (vyādhi), mental fatigue...
What I Learned About Yoga While Multitasking
Today, I took the time to make a healthy breakfast with some gluten-free pancakes, eggs, and veggies. My plate looked awesome. I set out my vitamins and sat down at the table with my iPad. As I was eating, I scanned the morning news, checked a few email messages, and...
Mis-Identification Corrected
Why is it so hard to listen to my soul? I can see I’m over-identifying with an old pattern of denying my secret, inner urging in favor of “taking care of myself.” Recently, I’ve realized how this case of mistaken identity has covered up some important internal...
What is the Connection Between Yoga and Āyurveda?
Yoga has become a household word. But its “sister science”, Āyurveda, is still largely unknown. So what is Āyurveda? And what is the connection between Yoga and Āyurveda? Yoga and Āyurveda are both based on the same philosophical principles. Both traditions trace...
Profile of a Yoga Therapist Training Student
Coming into my Yoga Therapist Training, I was a bit reluctant if I’m honest. With repeated encouragement from my personal teacher and mentor, I applied and was accepted. Here we are over three years later and now my heart is breaking a little because we have only two...
The Difference Between a Yoga Teacher and a Yoga Therapist
Just about everyone in the U.S. has an idea of what Yoga is. So, you probably think of a Yoga Teacher as someone who leads group classes through Yoga postures, breathing exercises and meditation. And these classes usually result in the students feeling relaxed,...
Finding Balance
In the Western 21st century world, there is so much that is out of balance, and that imbalance shows up in our lives and also in us. Our work-life dynamic, our food sources and choices, our health, our emotions. We work ourselves into exhaustion and then catch a cold...
How Meditation Gave Me X-Ray Vision in My Relationships
I generally avoid conflict. In fact, I have a sixth sense for detecting it before it ever arrives, and I make a hasty retreat in order to avoid any face-to-face meetings. I’m an incredibly bendy yogi when it comes to avoidance! So, when I sat down to write about the...
The Difference Between Yoga and Yoga Therapy
There is an increasing interest in Yoga as a healing modality as more and more people experience the transformative power of Yoga. Yoga is not only benefiting their bodies and minds but also their relationships and entire lives. It has already moved beyond the studio...
How to Become a Yoga Therapist
You’ve been a Yoga Teacher for a while and are looking for your next step to go deeper. Or maybe you’ve seen how much better people feel after a Yoga practice and are seeking to improve your one-on-one teaching skills. Maybe you’ve been to a Yoga Therapist and have...
What is Meditation?
Meditation seems to be all the rage these days. Social media is loaded with articles and memes about how to improve your life through meditation. There are even apps to help you do it! But what’s the right meditation practice for you? Although there are so many...
How Can Meditation Help Your Relationships?
Relationships are a dance. With any long-time dance partner, we develop routines. You zig, he zags. He zags, you zig. And on you go, down the dance floor. It’s a beautiful dance, as long as the relationship is working. But if something isn’t working well or when...
The Purpose of the Yoga Well Institute
The past year has been one of growth for the Yoga Well Institute. We've been exploring different ways to achieve our vision and continue to help our community live a purposeful and satisfying life through Yoga. Read a short overview on some of the new programs we've...
How Meditation Helped Me with Health-Related Stress
One of the causes of suffering, defined by the Yogasūtras, is the fear that when our mortal body fails, we will be gone out of existence. The Sanskrit word for these causes of suffering is kleśa. Sometimes, I feel like navigating the world with a chronic medical...
Are You Worthy?
Being Over-Busy Do you know people who make themselves over-busy? They have a busy job, with lots of responsibility, kids that seem to always have activities going and then they volunteer for every project, committee, and fundraiser? Are you one of those people? If...