Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

This is a rhyme for your ankles, knees and nose, Your chakras, your hips, your elbows and toes. To begin, praise the brain, our center of illumination With moments of quiet and calming meditation.

It’s pumpkin season! Hooray! Admittedly, I’m not usually much of a soup lover, but this recipe has completely won me over. Bursting with rich flavor and a smooth creaminess, this soup will warm your belly and enliven your taste buds just in time for the crisp fall weather. You might even want to add this to your Thanksgiving menu. It’s sure to impress your guests and they’ll never know it’s good for them!

“Hey knees. I’m really grateful for all the ways you let me move and play. I know we’ve had our disagreements over the years, but I feel like we’re taking care of each other these days. I appreciate you. I love you. I’m sorry about the scrapes and bruises . . . but that was fun, eh?”

I’m not talking about role playing in the bedroom or playing dress up with my kids. I’m talking about getting down and dirty as a yogi. I am obsessed with yoga. I’m hooked on the way it makes me feel mentally, physically and emotionally. It provides a serene high that I’m pretty sure can’t be bottled and sold in any dirty dank alley.

In your lifetime, you will inevitably face adversity. Sometimes you will have limited control over the cards you’ve been dealt, and sometimes you’ll be the joker who shuffled the deck. In any event, even when the chips are down, developing resiliency will keep you ahead in the game. Becoming a more positive, adaptable person isn’t about perfecting your poker face. The strongest, most well-adjusted people don’t hide or deny their feelings. On the contrary, people with resilient spirits experience hardship deeply and wholeheartedly…but they translate those experiences into wisdom they can use to push forward.

I’m definitely dealing with a little Peter Pan syndrome as I face the stigma of turning the big 4-0. I certainly don’t feel old, but when my father turned forty I remember buying old fart pills from Spencer’s at the mall, and giving him a card with a picture of an old man using a walker. I have watched the movie This is Forty many times and deeply identify with Leslie Mann’s character when she says, “I don't wanna shop at old lady stores. I don't wanna go to J. Jill and Chico's and Ann Taylor Loft. I’m not ready yet."

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately – about consciously thanking my body for all that it does. When you’re diagnosed with cancer, it’s easy to feel like your body has betrayed you. Like it’s been sneaking around behind your back, hanging out with rogue cells in alleyways making dirty deals. It’s a horrible feeling, that.

Ever since our last Zeal Dinner I’ve been craving this delicious, vegan, broccoli slaw. It’s the perfect salad for the Fall because it’s grounding, hearty and dense, which I appreciate this time of year. It’s so good that I’ve been eating it almost daily for the last week.

The continued rise of Instagram-influenced yoga has led to a new wave of criticism among East-Indians and academics alike. Accusations of cultural appropriation are being levied just as long-held myths are being debunked. Many earnest practitioners find themselves confused by the discord between what they see and read in the media and the experience they have of Yoga in their lives.

Hey coaches, I’m talking to you. As a yoga instructor who works with sports teams I’ve heard every excuse; we don’t have time, it’s not in the budget, or my favorite “this is not a girls’ soccer team you know.”

Have you noticed that yoga and football are like, the exact same thing? We’re here to throw a flag on the idea that Sunday gameday has to get in the way of your Sunday practice. In celebration of our new Yoga For Football and classes for a Tight End, we found 7 pieces of proof that we’re on one universal Special Team:

Meditation? Seriously? I know what you're thinking, but yes, seriously I am going to talk about meditation for athletes. I consider myself to be a very practical person so my approach to yoga has always been from a real world perspective. Meditation has always seemed like a bunch of new age hokum. OK, so I was wrong, it happens.

“The result of contentment is total happiness. The happiness we get from acquiring possessions is only temporary. We need to find new ones and acquire them to sustain this sort of happiness. There is no end to it. But true contentment, leading to total happiness and bliss, is in a class by itself.” – T.K.V. Desikachar

“Shockingly delicious” is the phrase my “non-health-food-fanatic-husband” uses to describe quinoa.

This series of articles was originally entitled Yoga for Firefighters as it was written for my firefighter specific class, however I have expanded it to other physically demanding jobs since the advice is equally valid and helpful to the construction trades, police officers, super heroes and military personnel. I will to address some of the specific physical challenges that firefighting and other such jobs create.

I have always been one to follow my intuition. Not a strategic plan … an intuitive knowing. And to be honest, it’s drove a lot of people close to me crazy and in some cases, away from me. And that’s fine by me because honestly, I can’t live any other way. I’ve tried and it hurts, it physically hurts to live outside of my intuition.

In honor of the Halloween holiday, I recently recorded a class and meditation “On The Difference Between Fear and Anxiety” for the OUTLAW Yoga Channel.

Ready to get back into a healthy routine. Ready to get back into somewhat of a normal schedule.

Fear can feel painful, overwhelming, even paralyzing. Whether you’re facing a major life change like an illness or a break-up, or a more specific fear like giving a presentation to colleagues or standing in front a group and teaching a yoga class, I hope this post gives you some idea for navigating fear with more ease.

Thank Goddess for this theme! After all the astrological upheaval that began all the way back with Venus Retrograde, followed by a deep dive into the Sun by Venus, followed by a Solar Eclipse, then Mercury in Retrograde, then a Lunar Eclipse, finishing with the finale of Mercury stationing direct, where else can we go but into balance?

The Ajna Chakra is the powerful center located in the middle of the forehead, also referred to as the 3rd eye. It’s an internal place that holds so much wisdom and so much innate intuition. The light and depth that resides in this internal center is so profound, that the ancient yogis as well as sages from other spiritual traditions have revered the 3rd eye as the center point of focus as they practiced long hours of meditation.

It’s Vata season (fall), which means all of Vata’s wonderful qualities become heightened until Spring. As a quick recap, Vata is made up of the elements air and ether (space) and its qualities can include digestive irregularities, feelings of anxiety and overwhelm, creativity, and movement. Think wind, dryness, and cool air – all properties present in autumn.

It’s Fall, y’all – and we’re pumped. Pumped for pumpkin, that is!

To connect with your true nature and the nature of the cosmos – especially as we transition into autumn - be sure to make the following actions a habit:

Once heralded and esteemed, yoga conferences have lost much of their appeal as livelier yoga festivals have come into emergence and birthed new forms of yoga events. Large-scale gatherings and demonstrations, happening under the auspices of group yoga practice, are setting new precedents and are emblematic of ever expanding roles yoga is playing in our culture.