Imagine the simplicity of just sitting, with no responsibilities tugging at your attention. Notice the pleasantness that arises when you allow yourself to be fully present, free from the constant urge to do or fix something. This is a state of being where you can truly value the calm that naturally exists within you. This is finding peace with conditions.
When you step into a yoga class, you might expect a focus on perfect poses or ideal wellness. However, I believe the essence of yoga isn’t about flawless postures or achieving a specific body shape — it’s about connecting with yourself and others in a meaningful way. It’s about investigating the nature of reality. This describes a few key aspects of my approach.
My classes provide a container where people can slow down, become fully present, and cultivate self-compassion. There is nothing to believe. I create space to experience the transformative power of a meditative yoga practice. Here are some of the features of my classes that support mindful awareness.
Our bodies sense the world all day long, and yet it can be easy to ignore those signals as we move through daily life. In this meditation, pay attention to our senses, including sounds, smells, and touch and observe the effects. We notice if senses are pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral without trying to change them.
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Mental noting is a meditation technique in which we label experiences as they arise, often just using a single word to describe the experience in the current moment, such as "fear," "excitement," "joy," "feeling," or "thinking." The process of mental noting can help keep us grounded in the present moment and allow us to accept whatever is happening.
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Breath control can help us fold our awareness inward. Scanning the body and can help us relax. In this meditation, we pay attention to our breath, physical sensations, and mind, relaxing into the present moment and the mystery of life.
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Most of the public enthusiasm for mindfulness stems from the reputation it has for reducing stress. But scholars and researchers who work on mindfulness, and the Buddhist tradition itself, paint a more complex picture than does the popular media.
While I'm not particularly fond of the phrase "self care," I have found that there are places and times when self-care practices can be helpful. Self care includes making sure you are eating enough food to nourish your body, sleeping enough to allow your body to repair itself, and related practices. It also means checking in with yourself, in a healthy way, to help determine if you are being cared for. In this meditation, we pay attention to the breath, body, and mind, as well as create space for you to tune into your physical and emotional needs to help you show up more fully in your life.
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The breath is a common focus during meditation. Breath meditation can help cultivate mindfulness and the ability to stay present with life. In this meditation we practice paying attention to the breath, whether we feel it most at the tip of our nose, the chest, or the belly. We do these practices to train the mind to stay present and experience the natural rhythms of life.
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The first foundation of mindfulness is contemplation of the body (kayanupassana). When you learn to listen to your bodies and stay with sensations, you can become more grounded and less reactive. Contemplation of the body helps you make friends with your body, and accept the fact that this body is not "your" body, but rather just a temporary form. A large body of scientific research suggests that simply paying attention to your body helps ward off disease, improves cognitive and emotional functioning, and much more. However, simply staying present with the sensations in your body is as simple as it is challenging.
