Sequencing: It’s Not Just Cool Choreography
In 1989 I went to India for a three-week intensive with B.K.S. Iyengar and his daughter, Geeta, at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune. Mr. Iyengar had just turned 70, and Geeta was officially handling the majority of teaching duties, but until the last week of the intensive, B.K.S. appeared every day […]
Teacher, Know Yourself
It is wisdom to know others; it is enlightenment to know oneself. ~ Lao Tzu I’ve been fortunate to learn from so many knowledgeable yoga teachers over the past 30 years. My first teachers, Olivia Cita Mason and David Riley, as a physical therapist and doctor, planted a seed of curiosity about anatomy in […]
What is an Advanced Yogi?
Recently I led some yoga students through a rather lengthy series of leg-stretching asanas based on Supta Padanghustasana (Supine Big Toe Pose). I traditionally end the series with a one-legged version of Yoganidrasana (ankles behind the head). Of course, most people in my classes feel pretty flexible if their foot ends up within a few […]
Slowing Down
It’s not easy to walk fast on the beach. Sand yields so willingly to the pressure of a footstep. With each sinking step you must first unearth your foot in order to take another. Solid ground requires only momentary contact; sand invites us to linger. Perhaps this is why people who live in […]