Yoga Diary

• Yoga Under a Big Blue Sky
  Photo: J.T. Liss (Photography for Social Change) Sun Salutations in the late-afternoon sun. Hawks soaring high above. A light breeze cooling down the day while gentle drumming keeps the tempo. Around me, 60 yogis, woman and men, arch into...
  
  
• Where Yoga and Zen Meet
  Yoga and Buddhism stem from the same Indian lineage yet remain distinct spiritual paths. Still, there's natural crossover between the two disciplines, and mutual respect among practitioners of each. This relationship is beautifully celebrated at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center--an oasis...
  
  
• Naked Truths
  Opinions run hot about nudity in advertising and Yoga Journal's role in contemporary yoga culture.In the September issue, we published a letter written by the esteemed yoga teacher and Yoga Journal co-founder Judith Hanson Lasater, which expressed her disapproval of...
  
  
• Hugging in--and saying No
  I was out at lunch with a friend in Brooklyn the other day. She's Israeli, and she enjoys teaching me Yiddish words that seem random. (Like the word for suspenders, or shleykes.) I was telling her about my decision to...
  
  
• Saying Yes
  Yesterday morning, sitting at my desk, hard at work, I would have never predicted that by late afternoon I'd be sitting on a boat with Yogic Arts creator Duncan Wong, eating watermelon and floating down the Hudson River. But that's...
  
  
• It's a Small World
  Last week while on a trip to Japan with my husband, yoga teacher Jason Crandell, I got to witness the true meaning of yoga, or union: On a sunny Saturday morning, more than 700 yogis gathered together in a grassy...
  
  
• Embrace the Unexpected
  I'm back from Sedona after shooting my new DVDs, resting up from the wild ride that was last week. And when I say "wild," I mean it. To be transplanted from the concrete jungle that is Manhattan--where the closest I...
  
  
• The Animal Within
  I'm in Sedona this week filming my next two DVDs. I'd heard that this area is ideal for spiritual quests and uniting with your source energy, which is why I wanted to shoot here.  In addition to completing the videos,...
  
  
• A Better Balance
  This weekend, I'm leading a three-day Core Strength Immersion in New York City. After writing my post about respecting limitations while still seeking transformation, I decided to make a public statement, not only to the 60 students in the room,...
  
  
• Thanking All Your Teachers
  Last weekend at the Yoga Journal Conference was a whirlwind, and a whole lot of fun. Since I wasn't teaching until Sunday, I had the opportunity to take some classes. I studied with Gary Kraftsow, Desirée Rumbaugh, Seane Corn, and...