Feb 7, 2022 - I have a lot going on right now, and my mind is going from thing to thing...so, it's great to find time to be present in the moment. Let's do that together. :-)

Feb. 1, 2022 - "Teachings on Bhakti should be reflected on, practices that awaken it should be undertaken." - Sutra #76, Narada Bhakti Sutra

This sutra is one of my favorites. Bhakti is devotional love, but I like to think of it as straight up love. So, according to this sutra, we should spend...

Jan. 28, 2022 - With the start of school at UVM, there is lots of change. Change not only for me, but everyone at the school. It can be hard to settle in. When experiencing change, it can help to open the hips. In yoga, the hips represent flow and change. The tighter the hips, the less open t...

Jan 25, 2022 - At the University, one of the classes I teach is Yoga & Mindfulness. I was telling students the other day that the yoga part is all about connection, and the mindfulness part is about internal and external awareness. It kind of covers it all, doesn't it.

We focus on that today i...

Jan. 24, 2022 - We got a loud knock on our front door last night at 10pm. We were in bed, and I yelled downstairs, "Just a minute!" as I got out of bed. Our neighbor, Joe, yelled back, "Tawny's basement is flooding!" Well, that's not what you want to hear. We live in a condo, and her basement...

Jan. 21, 2022 - I love the practice of gratitude. It's so helpful, particularly when you are at a loss for seeing things to be grateful for. There is always something to be grateful for. :-)

Jan 20, 2022 - I taught my first classes in the UVM studio yesterday! So exciting...but, the building is still a work in progress. Like with any big project, there are still things that need to be done. I found myself yesterday noticing all those things..."this needs more paint, that piece of w...

Jan. 18, 2022 - About a year ago I took my first cold water swim in Lake Champlain. It was amazing! I tried to keep that going, but it takes time to get to the lake, and it's a bit of a hassle. This year I have started to find the cold water experience by taking cold showers. I originally thou...

Jan. 17, 2022 - "I've decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." MLK

Isn't it wonderful to have Martin Luther King Day each year, so we can be reminded to keep working toward a more beautiful world. The above quote I particularly love, because I have tried out hate now an...

Jan 13, 2022 - I feel a storm coming on. COVID is happening, I am returning to teach next week at the University for the Spring, I have a yoga teacher training session tomorrow, and two yoga retreats coming up. All good, but also...a storm. Something I think about in terms of storms is that you...

Jan. 12, 2022 - It used to be that we weren't exposed to the look of ourselves and others that often...before all this technology. Now, we are constantly shown what others look like, and it's hard to get caught up in that. That is bad enough, but by doing that we can loose track of our amazing ...

Jan. 11, 2022 - Last night I was up from around 2am to 3:30am, worrying. I teach at the University and I have classes that start next week, and I have a 3-day yoga teacher training session that starts on Friday. It feels like this oncoming tsunami.

What I have been trying my best to do is more ...

Jan. 7, 2022 - There is a meme going around that has two people talking. One person is saying to the other how horrible the upcoming year is going to be, with COVID and politics and the climate crisis and everything horrible. He asks the other person, "What do you think is going to happen in 202...

Jan. 6, 2022 - All the sensations we have aren't necessarily pleasant, but if we hide from them they tend to get louder and louder and louder to be heard. Let's listen to all parts of our Self today, welcoming everyone to the table. For today's class we will focus on the wonderful experience o...

Jan. 5, 2022 - This morning I was having a nice experience before I started class sitting on my bed with my dog. I was petting him, and I naturally closed my eyes and started really experiencing my breath. It was really great.

Today we will focus on a visualization with the breath I really enj...

Dec. 31, 2021 - With this being the last day of the year, there is a lot of time spent on analyzing the past and thinking about how to make the future better. The problem with that is right now is lost. We have just finished another COVID year spent with a lot of uncertainty...but, we made it t...

Dec. 30, 2021 - This morning I took a 5 minute COLD shower...it was intense! My whole body was alive, and I noticed the back of my neck is particularly susceptible to the cold. After the cold part, I stayed in the shower another 10 minutes to warm it. What a way to start the day!

The thing a...

Dec. 29, 2021 - Something great about yoga and that we are often reminded to "make it our own practice." The instructor is leading things, but you are in charge. I see how really what that idea is about is that when you practice, you want to be connected to who you are...and, because most of wh...

Dec. 28, 2021 - This is an appropriate moment to look back on 2021 and find the good. Of course, just like every year, there were things that weren't that good...but, I think it's ok to focus on only the good sometimes, to remind yourself there always is good to find. And, maybe you could leav...

Dec. 27, 2021 - We watched a philosophy "Masterclass" last night from Cornel West. A general theme that he was talking about is being humble, and how philosophy, along with other means, can remind you that you aren't that important in the universal sense...so why not leave "a bit of love behind" ...

Dec. 24, 2021 - Today I was thinking back to when I was a kid at Christmas. I have five older brothers, and we grew up in a big house with high ceilings. For Christmas we would have a huge tree, with tinsel and tons of lights or ornaments. It was total magic.

On Christmas morning all of the b...

Dec. 23, 2021 - I finally finished the book I've been reading, "The Extended Mind." The final thing the author said about extending the mind is how groups are really helpful. One particular thing she said, which relates to yoga, is the power of doing synchronous movement at the same time as oth...

Dec. 22, 2021 - For many people that struggle a bit with the darkness of winter (like myself), there is enthusiasm after Winter Solstice because everyone says, "The days are getting longer!!" Well, I hate to break it to you, but really, we are in somewhat of a holding pattern at the moment. The...

Dec. 21, 2021 - Today is Winter Solstice for where I live in Vermont. I'm doing my best to improve my relationship with the winter...well, winter doesn't bother me that much, it's the darkness. So, I found a poem about darkness that the class is based on today:

To Know the Dark by Wendell Berr...