Blogs

You've had a tough day, everything seemed to go wrong.  To top it off your relationship hasn't been going so great lately, you're out of groceries and the laundry is way behind, too. However, you're able to get out of work just in time to make the last yoga class of the day. Thank God. You sign in at the front desk; the lobby is bustling with students.  You manage to get changed out of your work clothes and unroll your mat with a few moments to spare to take in some quiet and breathe and relax. Noble Silence?  Not exactly. It seems tonight it feels more like Starbucks! As if no one saw...

The POD arrived on a cold, blustery day in Michigan.  It was good to have a month in between packing it and receiving it.  It was quite emotional to go through the stages of this family asana.  A break was appreciated. I went outside to begin the unpacking and I couldn't get the door to open.  It seemed as if some heavier items had shifted in the transporting and had jammed into the door. After getting the door up a few inches I was able to pry a shovel under it and push my Dad's old heavy tool boxes a bit. With a little more elbow grease I was able to free the door and open up again to that...

BY LYNN MEDOW As Nelson Mandela is being memorialized around the world, we in the yoga community must add him to our list of true teachers. While not a traditional "yogi" in our familiar usage of the word, he is nonetheless a guru of illustrious distinction. Ahimsa, the practice of nonviolence, the first yama of the eight limbs of yoga, is something Mandela took very seriously. He overthrew an old and racist government after spending 27 years in prison…all the while forgiving those that imprisoned him.  Nelson Mandela - a great, humble, passionate, inspiring, generous man. Listening...

In yoga a few mornings ago, we held each pose for what seemed like an eternity. Breathe, said the instructor (Katherine Austin, of Karma Yoga!). Muscling through isn't going to take you as far as breathing deeply into the pose.  My mind started to wander. And wonder. What the heck was I doing there? Why didn't I just leap out of it and head to work? This wasn't fun. It was more fun to flow through pose after pose and work up a drippy sweat and move fast, move hard, so that the time just zips on by without noticing. And that's when it hit me: it's harder to slow down than it is to rush through. Which...

You enter a yoga class, the room is warm and inviting, students are mingling and you're just so happy to be on your mat finally, ready to relax. Then the teacher starts to play some beautiful music...in another language. And you have know idea what the words mean. The yoga begins, you start to flow through familiar poses then BAM, the instructor asks you to chant out loud a strange word or phrase during a yoga pose or meditation. Are you comfortable still? You worry that it could conflict with your religious beliefs or your intellect just doesn't like foreign words if it doesn't know them so...

"It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving."ʉۥ Mother Teresa In today's world, we often feel pressured to give a material gift for a certain occasion, whether it's a birthday, anniversary, or holiday. While the discussions on that particular topic could tangent out far and wide, at the moment, the focus will remain with the intention of giving a gift and the giver. Giving a gift, truly giving a gift, means having no expectation from the receiver to reciprocate in any way. According to some radical theorists, the receiver shouldn't say "thank you" as it demeans the...

This mornings yoga class at Karma Yoga was hot and passionate; the "fun factor" was high and the music was right on cue. "Change" by Natalie Merchant was a particular favorite today - we played it three times! Following a sequence of fiery core strengthening exercises all beings were able and ready to move from a place of steady power and grace. Through a blazing and very sweaty flow, meant to light up Manipura chakra (3rd chakra); everyone powered-up and purified their souls. Hallelujah, they were amazing! The 3rd chakra is located between the navel and solar plexus; when healthy and balanced,...

BY DR. JOEL KAHN Clint Eastwood In the last few decades, men have been schooled by male icons like Clint Eastwood to act tough, know all the answers, and never reveal weakness. That expectation of a strong veneer is cracking lately and acknowledging vulnerability, the susceptibility to emotional or physical injury, is a rather hot topic in personal and business settings. In fact, vulnerability is now being celebrated as strength and a sign of courage. Brene Brown, PhD Perhaps this topic has been best studied by Dr. Brene Brown, who in an uber-successful TED talk and in her book Daring Greatly,...

By Joel Kahn, M.D. On a visit to a cardiologist's office with your elderly aunt just released from the hospital for heart issues, you carefully take notes.  You record the recommendations to avoid smoking, to walk daily, and to eat a Mediterranean style diet.  You write down the prescription medications that she is supposed to take each day. As the visit is coming to an end, however, you are taken aback when a strong recommendation is made to meditate 20 minutes twice a day. Do you write this one down? Your aunt receives a handout explaining 2 methods of meditation practice "scientifically...

By Kate K. Smith How many times have we made up our minds that this holiday season "we are going to be good?" We begin to plot and plan and make up a thousand different scenarios in our minds about what we will and won't allow ourselves to eat, only to find ourselves abandoning our best plans in the blink of an eye. We find ourselves the "day after" suffering from a dull headache, indigestion, guilt, shame, and what I like to call the "Holiday Food Hangover." The holidays can be a difficult time for many of us. We are continually bombarded with multi-sensory overload from Halloween to New...