Did your family ever just get in the car and just take a drive to take a drive? Just piling into the car with no particular destination in mind, just driving for the sheer enjoyment of the scenery and time together.
Nowadays we all drive fast to arrive at a destination and never seem to have enough time to even get where we are going, let alone enjoy the ride. Joy rides seem to be a thing of the past when people were grateful to have a car and grateful to have spare time to just drive and be with family.

From what I have observed on social media it seems as though the idea of a yoga practice has suffered from this same intensity. So-called influencers encourage a practice geared towards attaining a goal, whether it is a tricky flow series or handstand or perfect triangle. Having a goal certainly is fine and often necessary to keep us interested. But do we really want our yoga practice to be as fraught as our time on the road?
We did an experiment last week which was to internally express gratitude for each of the movements that we did during a flow class. Kind of like you might do when driving through a beautiful landscape. We were encouraged to not push our asana, and just flow through — as though we were watching the landscape pass — then express thanks for our ability to be in the asana without striving to have it different. Even if the tree pose you were in wobbled to the ground.

You may think, "Isn't that how you are supposed to practice yoga asana?" Well, yes. But consider the messages we tell ourselves during class that reflect and are augmented by the media portrayal of yoga and by our culture’s contemporary way of being.

Being grateful for what is present is one of the highest yoga practices. The ashtanga path of the Yoga Sutras is given to yoga students who desire higher consciousness: We are told to follow ahimsa, to act without violence; to move forward with aparigraha, non-grasping; and to look for santosha, contentment in all things. The ability to appreciate the wealth of what is here in the moment is an aspect of the Goddess Lakshmi that adds a richness to life that cannot be obtained by "getting there.”

This month, as we investigate gratitude, perhaps we can start to look for this contentment in aspects of our life rather than always wondering how fast we can get there. It's a sweet challenge don't you think? Let me know how it goes. I will be doing the same.
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I hope that those who are coming to asana class are enjoying the quotes from Pema Chodron that have been shared these past 2 months.  Her writing is always so spot on, people often feel like she is speaking directly to them and addressing their personal neurosis and suffering.  We spoke at the book club this past Thursday about how she creates such a safe space for her students (and for those of us reading her words years later) because she speaks of her own struggles and she assures us that it is ok to be just who we are. In fact, she points out how us wanting to improve and to be "better" is really an aggression against ourselves.  She challenges us to consider, and eventually believe, that we are fine the way we are already. She stressed that our practice is not so we can "be better", it is about being at peace with who we are, right now.  

Consider how contrary that is to the western way of life, which is about doing better, being bigger and faster, and then being even better at it all once you got good. You might see that this ideal has leaked into yoga practice here as well- do better poses, become stronger, more flexible, do more, take more classes, get more certificates, become MORE PEACEFUL. The real teaching of "be here now" gets lost in all that "doing" and "becoming".  Ahimsa (non-harm) is the first teaching of a yoga practice. If we are continuously striving to be a better ME, we are continuing that aggression that Pema pointed to.  Aggression and ahimsa are just not able to share the same space.  Santosah (contentment) is another important tenant of yoga. Can we be content with who we are right now, without constantly trying to be a better person?  Anyway, how long have you tried to be a "better person" and how is that going? When will we become a good enough person?  The teaching says never! Can we ever be  a good enough, strong enough or rich enough person? Will you ever be popular or successful enough? Most likely just as you reach one goal someone moves the post further away from you. Gandhi said “The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed.” Greed of course can be directed at more than just money. 

There is a thin line that is difficult to tread (my teacher calls it the razor's edge) between attending to things, like our body and mind, and not getting caught in the trap of doing these things so we can "be better".  We still need to do asana so our body remains healthy. A meditation practice is here to help us find the path of contentment, peace, and ahimsa. A full yoga practice which incorporates movement, meditation, self study and surrender, is designed for the purpose of helping us reach contentment. It is not to give a great beach body- although it might do that.  There are a lot of things yoga can do for us, but if we keep our sights at the pinnacle of the practice- peace and the inherent joy of being- it will work! And then we can be kind to ourselves and give up the aggression of trying to be better. We all can agree that this world needs more kindness, and like everything else, it starts at home, in this case in your own body. It is hard to not get distracted by all of the other trappings of yoga, and the being betterness of the world around us, this is true.  But that is why we have practice, books to instruct us, and teachers to guide us. And we have our own hearts to remind us why we started in the first place. 
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Labor Day usually signals the end of summer fun.  The lifeguards disappear, kids go back to school, commuter traffic gets heavier and college students merge back into their study halls.
 
The end of the summer season is a big shift for many of us. For me it means my schedule will get heavier and there will be new workshops to set up.  It​ also​ means I lose my partner in television watching, thrift store shopping, silly dancing and pasta making as my daughter will leave very soon to go back to school.
 
I used to have a ritual with my kids when we would come back from ​summer ​traveling, or ​when ​I would pick them up from school. I would ask "What did you learn?"​ ​It didn't have to be a life lesson or anything groundbreaking. "I learned that I liked the blueberry muffins at the hotel breakfast better than the cinnamon rolls" was a valid response. I still ask this question when have a chance. Picking my son up from college became ​increasingly ​harder for me because when​ he told me what he learned I ​usually didn't understand what he was talking about. ​To show I was listening ​I would ask "What class did you learn that in?" and​ usually he would answer “I watched a YouTube video".  I asked him the same question when he came back from a business trip and I got a combo answer which was about food (that I understood!) and techy stuff (which, no, I didn't understand), The ride to get my daughter is longer​ and I usually have a few months to catch up on. Her answers revolve around how she learned to throw a frisbee into the wind, that the vegetarian soup in the cafeteria sometimes has chunks of chicken in it, and​ what​ the etymology ​is ​for the word "stepfather". I also get caught up on the current use of pronouns and gender equality, which is a big part of my learning. 
 
This summer was the most un-restricted one we have had since the pandemic​ lockdowns started in March 2020​, ​and that is a pretty big deal.This has inspired me to ask​ everyone ​"What did you​ learn this summer?​"​
 
Here is my quick list:
Pandemic-wise I have learned I don't miss going to bars or crowded restaurants or music venues. I tried- I left.
I don't miss being with huge amounts of people and that my family is really good company!
I learned what it feels like to be stared at for the way you look and the choices you make a​t the times ​I am the only one in a store​ or restaurant​ wearing a mask.(Actually, that was something learned when I was young child walking just about anywhere with my disabled parents.What I really learned now as an adult is that it doesn't hurt anymore.)
 
Practice wise I learned more about what it is like doing yoga asana in an aging body. (This of course is ongoing). 
I learned so much from the meditation intensive that we had this summer. One big thing I learned was how to witness (and not try to change) the many different ways the evolution of the practice can look. (A big thank you to everyone who participated​​!​ Thank you for teaching me all that you did.​) 
I learned the benefit of rest and doing nothing, whether it is during meditation or sitting and watching the beauty of the world unfold. And I learned how hard it is to do just that.
 
Business wise I learned that I am increasingly uncomfortable ​with the western marketing​ and branding of​ ​yoga​ practice​. This summer I really saw what has been happening with yoga as a business model and this has made me much more careful and thoughtful about what messages I am putting out and why I am putting them out there. 
In preparing for the opening of Eco Loka I learned what it was like working with a team​ which is a great experience and a great relief after having worked as a sole proprietor for the last 30 years. And I am also learning to let go of my old ways and habits of beginning something new.  
 
I also learned how to sit on the beach and not get sunburned, hang out in the waves without getting pummeled and how to properly express when I am going to Asbury Park ("I am going down the shore" rather than "I am going to the shore".  After more than 25 years of being a NJ resident, I think I finally got it!
 
On a more serious ​note​ I learned from a variety of experiences this summer that I have a lot more work to do in understanding humility​, ​patience, and surrender. This too, I am sure, will be ongoing.  
 
These are the first things that come to mind- how about you all?  What did you learn this summer? Share what you can!  Writing it out, or just thinking about it in your head will help to solidify the experience. And it will be fun to see how what you learned this summer will shepherd you into the fall and winter for many years to come.

I am so very happy and excited to announce that Yoga Loka has a sister! Eco Loka is a refill store that will be opening in the front boutique section at 23 Race Street. What is a refill store? Click here and here for some good articles about refill stores. Yoga will still be happening as it always has in the back room. 

​Why open a refill store? Whenever it came time to toss my shampoo or cleaning product bottles into the recycling bin I would say outoud, or to myself, " I wish there was a refill store around here". I said it a lot, and nothing happened, so I decided to step in to fill the void. 

For many years I was would look at our garbage dumpster with satisfaction because it is a small container and was rarely full. I was proud of the fact that we were composting just about all of our food scraps and recycling like crazy. Then the little voice in my head began to ask this question much louder until I could no longer ignore it; "What really happens to all of this stuff I put in the recycling"? 

While our garbage was mostly empty, our recycling was full to overflowing. I recently heard the term "Wish Cycling" and realized that is what I have been doing!  (Wishful Recycling, or Wish Cycling is the act of tossing something in your recycling bin with the hope that it is recyclable). My yoga practice has taught me to look for truth in an action and to constantly observe if the action fulfills the truth of the intention.  Wish Cycling, and even recycling does not fully satisfy my desire to be a steward for the environment and cause as little violence to the ecosystem as possible. Converting recycled materials into new products still consumes energy and impacts the environment in not so great ways. And no matter how hard we hope and wish that something can be reused or recycled, it wont always be so. 

The  phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle "  can be traced back to the growing environmental movement in the 1970’s . I used to think the phrase was "recycle, reduce, reuse."  Now I hear it correctly, and the message is getting harder to ignore, especially with the evidence of global warming all around us. I am no longer comfortable relying on the recycling industry and big corporations to reduce packaging and pollution, mostly because that plan doesn't seem to be working. It is time to take things into our own hands as individuals, and see what we can reuse and how we can reduce. This will also let large companies and corporations know we do care and we do have a choice how to spend our money and our future. One of my favorite phrases comes from a refridgerator magnet a friend sent me after I blogged about my frustration about something many years ago, and I have used it over and over again to balance apathy with overwork, and frustration with accomplishment- "No one can do everything, but everyone can do something". 

Our annual clothing swap and occasional mending circles have been fun ways of reducing waste and repurposing things that would otherwise end up in landfills. Now with Eco Loka right in the studio you will have access to more ways of reducing the burden we place on the environment.

In addition to a refilling station we will be selling sustainable self-care and cleaning items, and offering fun things we think will delight you. Yoga will still be happening just as it has been for the past 19 years. Our schedule remains the same and your practice space also remains the same. There might be some shuffling around of where things are stored, but everything will be clear, convenient and comfortable. And now when you come to the studio you can also do a bit of shopping to help fulfill whatever personal promise you might make to the environment, whether it is to buy less single use plastic, give up large detergent bottles, or attempt to go zero waste. Remember, everyone can do something, and every little bit will help. 

Eco Loka will open early in the fall. We will selling some products at Frenchtown's RiverFest on September 4th.  Come on down to Sunbeam Park and see what we have!  We will also be introducing some of the fall yoga workshops and selling off some current boutique items.  Until then you can visit the website at Ecoloka.shop
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I saw a woman in a store ​wearing​ a t-shirt on that said "forgive me for when I said when I was hungry." I really loved that shirt because there are many times I act in ways that I regret when my blood sugar is low. When I am hangry, I am not peaceful.
 
Of course as a yoga instructor I'm going to tout the importance of self-care when it comes to maintaining our ability to project a peaceful environment.
We can't ignore that what we're putting in our body at every level has an effect on this environment.  For example, ​the​ kind of TV and movies are we watching, what are we reading, how much grim news are we taking in, what kind of company are we keeping​ all have an impact.​ The sources of the food we are ingesting is going to make a difference as well. For example the commercial meat industry is more violent than small farm raised meat and so will hold a different vibration. Highly processed foods or food that is created or harvested by immoral measures will also hold a negative vibration, all of which is will have an impact on our ability to remain peaceful.

A few weeks ago I read a story about a coach of a under 13-year-old baseball league who ​was ​ejected from the game by the umpire for using foul language. The coach decided to punch him in the face before he left the feild and broke the umpires jaw in 2 places in front of all the spectators. Just as horrifying is that some of the parents of the kids in that coach's team yelled "he deserved it" as the umpire was being attended to by the EMTs. It's no surprise that between the pandemic and the many other tensions in the world people are not behaving as calmly as they once were. The evidence is all over the place as we witness mass shootings, war, increased gun deaths and violent crimes all across the world. 

It is difficult to not become part of the collective consciousness of violence and unrest. We know mob mentality is a real and powerful thing.  A negative collective energy can influence the individual who is not grounded in their sense of self.  Perhaps even the most doubtful can acknowledge that these "energies" influence us by recognizing that when in a peaceful place ​we ​feel peaceful, and when not in a peaceful place​, we​ don't feel peaceful. Pretty simple.

What can we do to counteract, or to pull against the effects of a negative, violent collective consciousness? Just like in tug of war, if you want to win the game you have to pull back as hard as the other team is pulling. Otherwise, you're going be pulled to the other teams side and loose. In these days of unrest and insanity we have to intentionally, with great effort, pull ourselves towards peace. If we want to make a difference in this new, and hopefully temporary, world order, we need to exert as much effort towards peace as we ​understand that energies are pulling us towards non-peace. We can't just state that we're fine, things are okay, and have it be so. Those days are over, if they even ever existed.

If you think it doesn't matter ​to the rest of the world ​what headspace you are in, think again. Imagine the ripple effect that this angry coach (a man who most likely was admired by his young team) that hit the umpire created. This happened in a playing feild filled with children who were either horrified by what they saw (maybe traumatized) or given permission to act violently against a decision that they may disagree with in the future. Then this became a news story. Now I'm sharing it with you. The EMTs, doctors and nurses who attended to the umpire were affected. ​What about the extended families of the coach​ and umpire, and the people they work with? The court case means more people will know about it and now this crazy thing has touched so many more people than just the man who was hit. 
 
 Just because we don't see the ripple effects and how its moves out into the future doesn't mean it won't happen. We can't think our energy is not influencing someone when we step into a room ​cranky, ​or when we present work that will somehow make its way out into the public. What about what you are posting on social media? What are you saying in front of your children and colleagues? If we agree that this ripple effect is true and valid, why not use it to create ​a ​peac​ful calm environment​? "I didn't mean to do that" should only be acceptable a few times. So that t-shirt I mentioned in the beginning of this post would only buy me one or two missteps. After that I should be willing to recognize that I was not self-aware enough to make sure my energy d​id ​not harm others.


We can and should contribute time and money to uplift our neighbors who have less and use our votes and voices so that our social structures offer real support.  This doesn't always work as we might have hoped​, and​ we have seen time and ​time ​again.   The only ​way​ we can make a lasting positive change towards peace is in ​by creating it ​our own minds​ first​.  So, let's get to work and clean up our vibrational fields while we are doing everything else we are doing.  Remember in this game of tug of war we have to pull the rope as hard and strong, and continuously, towards peace as we can.  

If you are interested in doing this work together, join me for the meditation intensive that is starting July 5th.  More info can be found here​

The psoas muscles are your deepest core muscles.  They run on either side of your lumbar spinal column, pass through your pelvis across the pubis and then attach to the inner thigh bones.  

The important physical functions of the psoas muscles are hip flexion (lifting your thigh bone up), hip abduction (takes the thigh bone away from the midline of the body), lumbar flexion (draws the lumbar spine forward) and external rotation (rotates the thigh bone outward).

Equally important is that the psoas is one of the first muscle responders for the flight, flight or freeze response in the body. When one feels threatened and adrenaline rushes into the bloodstream, the psoas will jump into action and will either help you run faster (hip flexion), tighten up around your organs (preparing for a fight, like armor), or immobilize you (stuck on the spot- freeze!).  Since the psoas also attaches to the diaphragm their actions will affect your breathing. When the psoas is activated it will help you breathe deeper if you are running or fighting (pulls the diaphragm down with more force), or slow your breath way down if you are going into freeze mode, like a  opossum playing dead (diaphragm movements frozen). The psoas is also known to hold emotional energy.  People have been caught off guard when they are in a psoas stretch and burst into tears.   It is a fairly regular occurance in a yoga class.

A tight psoas, especially if it is just on one side, can cause lumbar back pain, sacroiliac joint instability, nausea, weakness in the core, instability, hip pain, knee pain and shoulder misalignment. Tight psoas muscles can also cause an excess of guarding of ones emotions as well as poor sleep, poor digestion and low sexual drive.

Many people will think they have back problems when their pain is actually coming from the psoas.  It is not always obvious if the psoas is weak, tight, or in a hyper-contracted state.
Stretching is not always the best thing for the psoas, especially if it needs to be released.  


Here is a good way to both strengthen and release the psoas-

Sit on the ground with your feet about 3-4 feet apart.
Lean back slightly and support yourself with your hands behind you.
Turn your toes out at a 45 degree angle.  
Keep your knees soft. Then lift the right right leg up about 3 inches from the ground on an inhale. Exhale lower it back down. Imagine you are lifting the leg from the inner ankle, or inner knee.  Try not to compensate by using your abdominals, shoulders or the opposite leg.  It is also important not to lift the leg too high. Repeat on the other side.  If one side is more difficult to lift, that is your weaker side.  If they feel the same, and the movement is not too hard to do, walk your hands closer to your body, arch your lower back forward and try to lift the leg again.  See if one is easier than the other.  If the movement is too hard and you can not lift your leg off the ground, lay down on your back.  Have your legs the same distance apart as above and try to lift each leg. Up on the inhale, down on the exhale. Lift up only about 3 inches.
This movement is both a test to see if there is asymmetry in your psoas strength and also a way to correct it.  If one leg is hard to lift, start with 3-5 times lifting. Even if your leg does not leave the ground, you are still toning the muscle.  You might want to work the weak side twice as much as the stronger side.

You can stretch the psoas like this:
Get a stable chair (kitchen or dining room chair is best) and place it against a wall.  Stand alongside the wall and use it for support as you  put your right foot on the chair.  Sink your hips down. You can lift your back heel off the ground and have a little bend in the left knee.  Make sure that when you sink your hips down, your right knee does not extend past your right toes. If it does, step your left leg back further or your right foot forward more, or both. You want to give a lot of space between the left leg on the ground and the right foot on the chair.  When you sink your hips look for a stretch in the front of your left hip. If your left toes are facing the chair that your right foot is on, you will be stretching your superficial hip flexors. Now, if you turn your left toes out to the side at a 45 degree angle and you sink your hips you should feel the stretch on the left side closer to your groin.  That will be your psoas, and that sensation you feel will be your psoas stretching.  It is best to pulse the movement here- inhale pull your hips up, exhale sink your hips down.  5-10 pulses on each side is good. 

It is important to know that some people will not feel a strong stretch in the psoas, especially if it is weak and hyper contracted.  You may also feel it very differently on one side than the other.
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​Appreciating the completeness of  yoga solely by putting your  body into a yoga pose is like hoping t​o experience the majesty of the ​Grand ​Canyon by looking through a paper towel tube, understanding the vastness of the ocean by observing a tablespoon of water, or trying to figure out the mystery of the cosmos by viewing a photograph of a planetarium.  The more ways we can view something, and experience it directly, the closer we can come to understanding it.  Yoga is a vehicle to view, and to merge with, the true self.  The koshas are the different views (or lenses) we use.  Kosha means veils, or sheaths, and  the koshas are the veils of illusion that we view life through. 
 

There are 5 main koshas, or ​ lenses that we use to see​ the world.  Knowing what kind of veil you are looking through will help you to make more sense about what you are seeing and experiencing.  It's a bit like the "glass half full or glass half empty" scenario.  When you know ​if ​you are more of a half empty or half full person, the way you perceive the world around you will make more sense and become more predictable.  If it makes you unhappy (or the people around you unhappy) to see a half empty glass, you can actually start to​ see  the glass ​as half full if  you want to.  It takes a change in perception.  But before you change a perception, you might want to know what your perception already is, and you ​will probably want to know your other choices.​  This is not just about going around and saying things are great when you don't really think they are, or saying "it's all good" when it is not.  We are not trying to "fake it til we make it".
 
This shift in perception is like taking off your far-seeing glasses and slipping on your cheater glasses in order to read fine print.  If you don't realize that you are using the wrong eyewear to see something, you might feel helpless, hopeless, or get angry and frustrated because you can't read the text that you want to read.  And if you can't read that text, you can't get what is needed, you will not have the freedom to choose because you don't really know what your choices are.  Being someone who now has to cycle through both far seeing glasses and cheater glasses while wearing contacts, I find myself wondering what people did back in the olden days before corrective lenses were a thing.  Did they think everyone saw things blurry the way they did? What were they missing in the landscape around them and from being able to read books, or from recognizing people they passed?  Until I was in about 4th grade I thought everyone saw the blackboard blurry. Then I realized I needed glasses.  I remember crying from this realization that I could do something about not being able to see. Similarly I wonder about people who are doing asana with just their body.  What are they missing?  I did asana for many years before I "plugged in" to the subtlties of prana and the koshas, and just like when I discovered I needed glasses, I cried with joy.  My yoga practice took on a new and profoundly deep mean. So I do actually have an idea of what they are missing, just like I remember what it is like to not be able to see the blackboard in school.  

In the seminar Asana Through the Koshas we are going to study the koshas and what it may look or feel like to be perceiving things through those koshas.  We will use yoga asanas to experience the koshas and, this is the fun part, we will  experiment with viewing the asanas through these different veils (or koshas). ​ The lovely thing about learning to practice this way is that you will find a deeper level of connection with the practice and with yourself. You will find out you don't need to struggle through asanas in order to practice yoga.  ​

Interested? ​ Check out the workshop coming up this weekend, 3/5-6 AND the Subtle Anatomy workshop happening on Friday evenings 3/18 and 3/25.  Find out what is happening beneath your skin.