Monthly Archives: November 2011

The Wisdom of Coach Taylor

Extremely grateful for this love muffin.

“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” One of the greatest lines from a TV show if you ask me. But when you really think about it, it’s also a great perspective to take in life. In yoga, we dedicate our practice to emptying the mind and filling the heart in order to see more clearly and live more deeply. Coach Taylor would probably scoff, but he is quite the yogi.

I have been feeling this mantra even more deeply in recent months. My heart is so full of gratitude for all of the incredible changes and amazing opportunities that have come my way. But even more importantly, I am so thankful for all of my family and friends, who have been such an amazing support system along the way. Thank you will never be enough to express how I feel about all of you.

While I won’t be with my family today for Thanksgiving, I am fortunate to be able to spend it with my friend Ashleigh at her family’s alpaca farm! Extremely grateful to have such hospitable friends all over the country.

Wherever you are and whomever you are with today, I wish you all a healthy, safe and delicious Thanksgiving….and of course, clear eyes and full hearts.

 

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Taking This Yoga on the Road

Traveling is one of my passions; the feeling of landing in a new city, trying the local food, having crazy adventures. It’s one of the main reasons my new job was so appealing to me. But kind of travel I do is usually pretty hectic, and now it is going to be much more frequent with work travel thrown in he mix. Between long flights, lugging around heavy luggage and lots of walking around exploring the area and culture, my body can take a beating. Yoga is a great way to take care of yourself while your travel. But classes are not always accessible and yoga mats may not fit in your luggage, especially if you’re packing light. So what’s a yogi to do?

Fortunately, there are a few fantastic options that allow you to take your yoga with you, no matter what. There are travel mats that are super thin and able to fold up like a towel, making them extremely suitcase-friendly. Manduka has a fantastic mat (I got mine as a gift from my sister last year and I love it!). It is a thin, no-slip rubbery material that I can take anywhere.

If you want to go even lighter, Gaiam sells gloves and socks with rubber on the palms and soles so you can literally do yoga anywhere. These are also great to use with a mat if your hands tend to get sweaty and prevent you from getting a good grip.

Finally, if you don’t feel comfortable making up your own practice, there are several free podcasts that you an download from iTunes. Yoga Download and Yoga Journal are great. If you’ll have your laptop with you, websites like Yoga Today and Yoga Glo offer full-length classes. Yoga Today has one free class each week, but is only $10 per month for unlimited access to all of their classes.

Hopefully these tools will help you maintain your yoga practice on your travels so you can keep up your energy for your adventures and still feel rested when you get home. Bon Voyage!

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