Blog
Draw closer to you
The first 200 hour yoga teacher training module I led was on holding space. I was asked to lead the module due to my work founding and leading Setu, a community for yoga teachers focused on bridging relationships across different identities. One of the main ways I brought Setu to life was by organizing events for NYC yoga teachers. The titles of the events included “See, Be Seen,” “Love, Be Loved,” and “Give, Receive.”
Restorative Yoga Training
I’m excited to be back at Heatwise leading my Show Up with Love restorative yoga teacher training for a second year. I created the training in 2022 and learned a lot from leading it the first time. I’ve incorporated those learnings into the updates for this year’s training! Some of those updates include more time setting up poses, getting to know the props, and experiencing the practice.
Meditation for peacefulness
Breathe in and notice your inhale. Breathe out and notice your exhale. Feel the support of the ground, the earth, underneath you. If it feels safe, close your eyes or lower your gaze. Bring your awareness inside your body. Experience what it feels like to be in your body.
Restorative Yoga: mind & body
Before a restorative yoga class, I walk around the room to say hello and check-in with students one-on-one. For years, I asked folks how their body was feeling during this mini check-in. I asked about their body because the restorative practice begins with the physical body.
Restorative Yoga Pose for Autumn
To ease into Autumn, I am sharing a restorative yoga poses that provides grounding. While it is beneficial to do long restorative practices with a handful of poses, the reality is you can benefit from doing one restorative pose for 5-20 minutes. Restorative yoga supports deep sleep, breathing well, and the cultivation of a spacious mind, by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).
Music + restorative yoga
As a yoga teacher, music has been a big part of my life. Before the pandemic, I was creating weekly playlists for my classes. I currently have over 100 playlists primarily for Vinyasa yoga. Lately, I am making playlists for restorative yoga and am taking a bit of a scientific approach. Restorative yoga is centered on accessing the body’s rest and digest functions. Certain types of music do this.
I am a loving heart
Practices like restorative yoga, meditation, and yoga nidra provide a compassionate space inside to witness who you are without judgement or expectation.
Restorative Yoga: a practice of inner balance
Balance opens the door for healing on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. Establishing balance in the body is something most of us have to commit to over and over again. Through practices like restorative yoga, you can bring your body back to a place of balance every time you practice. Then when you are out in the world and experience unpredictable challenges, you can remember the balance you experienced in your restorative practice and try to integrate it into the present moment.
Growing self compassion through writing
When I started journaling again in 2020, it had been several years since I was in the practice of writing. I journaled my whole life, not consistently (clearly) but with dedication since grade school. Journaling is my therapy, even when I have a therapist. It is a place where I witness myself the most authentically. There are a few things that keep me coming back to my journal writing practice. I’m sharing them in case they are helpful for you too!
What is the lesson I continue to learn?
Tracee Stanley first introduced me to this self inquiry question in 2020. It is a question that supports the clearing of samskaras, mental impressions that can be thought of like a film or residue that clouds our vision. The best way I’ve found to get to know my samskaras is through listening and sensing with the body.
The wind’s message
I watched the pear tree, while it danced in a light breeze this morning. I was reading N. Scott Momady’s book Earth Keeper and felt inspired to wonder about the wind.
Reclaim your center
For many of us, dedicating more than fifteen minutes to meditation or yoga a day is out of the question. We have work, family, and personal obligations that require a lot of attention. Tracee Stanley talks about the “householder practice” being a way to integrate mindfulness practices into daily life. I’ve brought this concept into my own practice and found it reduces the friction I often experience while working or getting through a tough day.