Working with the notions and neuroscience of peak performance in Yoga.

The assumptions of what a yogi should look like are so ingrained culturally that it's hard not to go there…

We have this wish when we enter into a period of hardship that our life should right itself without any kind of loss or sacrifice — that good times should resume with no scars to show for it. Or if we must have scars, they can, at the very least, have the decency to be resolved with botox. But nature is not like this. So much has to die and decay and desiccate before the floods of spring runoff coax the dormant seedlings to renew.

Crocuses have one important job to do each spring--to break through newly thawed ground with stalwart aliveness. Today, I saw a bud on the side of the road that was purple and dappled like leopard skin. I crouched next to her wondering if she might share of herself.

This week distress has been a heavy burden for so many of us. Different from anxiety or depression, distress is a felt response to present circumstances rather than a specific diagnosis. The concept of distress (vs. eustress or positive stress) originated from the work of endocrinologist Hans Selye in the 1950’s who identified 3 stages of stress known as the general adaptation syndrome (GAS).

When things go wrong in our body it is completely natural to want to know why. Our mind tells us that if we know what is causing the pain we can fix it and move on. But the more clients I work with, the more their bodies reveal the tenuous connection between structure and pain….

Whether deep in private sessions, or in intimate small group classes, healing happens when we are present with one another.