This week was a turning point for me. Maybe for you, too. After learning that we were going to be sheltering in place for at least another month, I had to take a deep breath and a nice long walk. I had to soak in the idea that BYSJ will most likely be a part of…
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Breath and the Nervous System
Bikram Yoga Teacher, Misha Soltis, recently led us in our daily 10 am PDT live-stream Pranayama breathing on Facebook. She reminded me, and all of us, how great it is to have this one constant in our lives: our breath. With so much uncertainty, we often remind ourselves to stop and take a breath. We…
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One week in – a letter from Michele
It’s been just over a week since we closed and already it seems so long ago. The last few weeks prior to closing were so hard, navigating the fear and discerning what’s real in this unprecedented global event. Maintaining a yoga practice IN the midst of uncertainty is THE responsibility I adhere to most, and not just with this virus, in any occasion.
Michele’s Insights: The Nature of Transformation
“Transformation can come in many modalities, but few include the physical, like yoga,” states Craig Villani, teacher extraordinaire, at the beginning of our leadership intensive weekend with BYSJ teachers. This comment struck a chord with me. I’ve often wondered why this yoga is so powerful, even beyond the obvious of what does physically and mentally….
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Michele’s Insights: Understanding the Dialogue
Wow! How blessed we are to live in California with sunshine and warm temperatures. The little things we can take for granted pop up as blessings when we don’t have them. I just came back from a two week trip to Chicago with no sun and temperatures in the 30s. It was weird to feel…
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Yoga Immersion: My Experience Winning Nationals
“Yoga Immersion” is what I will call the four days spent on a journey to Madison, Wisconsin to participate in the USA Yoga 2018 National Championships. Once you enter into the Immersion, life’s priorities become: how you are getting to class, when and how are you going to eat in between performances, and whether you…
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How to Live A Thriving Life – Michele’s Insights on her 54th Birthday
It’s my 54th birthday! I enjoy celebrating birthdays and mine is no exception. Through the years, I make a point to do a gathering because my greatest gift is to spend time with those I love who mean a lot to me. Sounds like that might be easy to accomplish, but, as you experience, time with family…
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An Invitation to Trust: Yoga Championships, Mary Jarvis, and the 60 Day Challenge
The older I get, the more I see the world as both a beautiful and yet a fallen place. I think generation after generation after generation, as we’ve heard for thousands of years, we will always have tension roaming as we vacillate from brighter to darker times, then from darkness into light. Conflicts occur between nation-to-nation,…
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