Teacher trainings are so much more than Sanskrit, anatomy, philosophy and asana courses. In the hands of good trainers, they are programs for personal development. Especially if the training is longer, say a year, the trainees learn better ways of relating to themselves and others.
The compulsion to write My friend and colleague, Rachel Zinman, came to visit us and deliver a workshop on Yoga Mudras this last weekend. She and I had time to practice together and we chatted away, as you do. One topic that came up related to writing,...
I’m excited to announce that YSH has a fresh incarnation, one that is simpler to navigate. There’s a new design that lets you easily access all the wealth of my writing in ‘The Vault’ archives. As well, the brand-new site is where you can find all manner of Eve resources in one place: books, videos, practice cards and posters. There’s even a shop.
The Writer’s Inner Critic
I’ve been thinking about what to write on ‘Yoga Suits Her’ this week and come up blank. In fact, in the last month I’ve skipped my weekly posting twice. Another of the weeks, my friend Angelika did a lovely guest post on The Beauty of Yoga Practice for me.
My Inner Critic has been wagging her finger at me. ‘Slack,’ she says.
A new post is like a blank Word document or a fresh sheet of paper – a tabla rasa. It’s a page that can be exciting for its clean spaciousness. […]
I’m excited to present to you a new iteration of my popular blog ‘Yoga Suits Her’. Six years old now, she needed a makeover, and fortunately I found the perfect web designer to do it.
A new year, a new focus. In anticipation of the launch of my new ‘Yoga Suits Her’, I’d like to hear from you about what content you’d like to see.
Beginnings and Another Birthday
This blog, ‘Yoga Suits Her’, has a birthday and it’s New Year’s Eve 2009. That makes her five years old.
I think you’ll agree that the expression ‘time flies’ is a truism. But as a septuagenarian, I have to say time gallops. With age, I feel slower, but the tempo of time beats faster. You’ll see!
One thousand eighty posts into ‘Yoga Suits Her’, I can still remember sitting down to write my first one. That old post seems so tentative, almost shy, compared to what I write now. […]
As a writer, I’ve attempted to follow the advice of Mark Twain: When you catch adjectives in your writing, kill them…. Well, not all, but most, so that any you use will be valuable.
But what’s a writer to do when she’s been part of a most remarkable and memorable week. I must remark and memorialize, and I fear I must even adopt a hyperbolic style. And so, here goes my account, no modifying words barred.
This last week I observed and participated in my niece Christa’s wedding. […]
I really, really, really dislike the kinds of lists that tell us: 50 ways to be a better lover; 3 airtight arguments against eating meat; 5 most liberating yoga poses….
It’s too easy to write an article or post in this reductionist fashion, and maybe it contributes to black-or-white, right-or-wrong thinking. Such lists often represent just one person’s opinions anyway.
Nevertheless (you knew that was coming), I like the list below so much that I’ve decided to throw my prejudices to the wind. […]
More than 25 years ago, I saw a movie that crystallised a deep longing I’d held perhaps all my life. You might remember the film – Witness? If you don’t remember the film, you might remember a relatively young Harrison Ford playing a cop who has to hide out in an Amish community. He’s deemed an outsider but the community takes him in anyway and protects him.
One particular scene did me in. The Harrison Ford character participates with the Amish people in a ‘barn raising’. […]
The other night we were sitting around having a discussion about what it takes to be vulnerable. The guys had been at their men’s group meeting and vulnerability had been the theme of the night. We continued exploring the topic when they came home. I loved it. I felt close to these men who I know so well, as they explored the defences that keep them stitched up behind their public images.
In case you haven’t noticed, being honest and open, being intimate, being yourself, showing up warts and all, have become thrusts of the New Yoga. […]
via Pinterest
A writer sitting before a blank page is like a swimmer poised on the edge of a diving board.
With any luck, there ensues the clicking of keys, and words start to tumble onto the screen. […]
Dear Subscriber,
From tomorrow’s post, I will be writing for ‘Yoga Suits Her’ once a week, instead of almost daily.
This is a big change for me. […]
Photo by Julie Slavin
On January 1st of 2010, I launched the “Yoga Suits Her” blog. That was 999 posts ago and lots of writing practice under the bridge.
Writing has parallels with yoga practice. Do enough of it and something changes. It may that your technique improves, or you will get more life experience which gets poured back onto the page or into what you do on your mat. Writing or practising yoga over a long time will change you, you can be sure. […]
The global community of writers is growing by leaps and bounds because of the Internet and its darling child, social media. Everyone has a book in ’em, as they say, or an article, or at least a post.
I declared myself a writer in 1996 when I received an advance from Simon and Schuster Publishers to write Teach Yourself Yoga. I’d been journal writing from when I was a mere sprout, but with the launch of the book, I became a Published Author. […]
Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check it’s watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. […]
Yesterday a post that I wrote titled ‘Families of Yoga Poses: Seated Poses’ disappeared from my site, who knows why. I’d nothing differently. I’d performed each of the steps I usually do, as in saving my draft writing, and then clicking on ‘publish’.
An odd thing happened next. Even though the post was showing up as unpublished, it had in fact been mailed out to subscribers. Then, in an attempt to fix this pesky ‘Yoga Suits Her’ bug, my husband accidentally broke the site. […]
photo by leena holmstrom via pinterest
I’ve been having a bad day. ‘Bad’ is such a puny little word to have to act as a bog umbrella over so many kinds of things: physical, emotional, spiritual, mental.
What do I mean by ‘bad’? Cold symptoms, a twinge of an old rotator cuff injury, feeling low in myself and out of relationship with my husband, and an extremely slow blog connection right at this moment. […]
Kathy Cooper Yoga Mats via Pinterest
I’ve uncovered a new offence that I’m capable of. I’m calling it creation-envy. What occurs for me when I hear of a great idea or turn of phrase is that I find myself wishing I’d thought of it or said it first.
Occasionally, I’ll hear another yoga teacher say something in class that is so perfectly verbalised that I just have to ‘borrow’ it. […]
A couple of years ago, in writing about difficulties of creating a post almost daily, I said, ‘A new post is like a blank Word document or a fresh sheet of paper – a tabula rasa – exciting for its very spaciousness.’ But the vacant page is also intimidating because of its very emptiness.
I’ve learned from 7 years of blogging that, when the Muse smiles on me, there is a happy co-incidence of interesting ideas and great writing technique. […]
Being Anti-vax Doesn’t Mean What It Used To
In the past I haven't shown up here as a political commentato...
Yoga: Yes or No After Cataract Surgery?
The Eyes Have It!
A couple of years ago my optometrist discovere...
Maria Kirsten: A Yoga Star Gone Out
Maria Kirsten's credentials included the whole breadth of yoga ta...
Swami Satyadharma Saraswati RIP
I was privileged to meet Swami Satyadharma Saraswati while attend...
What Are the Principles and Foundations of Yoga?
Why bother with principles and foundations?
This week, I'm te...
Five Minute Poses: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana: Low Back First Aid
I find Setu Ba...
Five Minute Yoga Poses: Mountain Brook Pose
This restorative pose has a name like a flowing Tai Chi movement...