Yoga Commentary

Breath awareness is foundational to mindfulness. In the practice, we choose an area of the breathing passage—the nostrils, chest or abdomen. Then we rest our attention...

Before 1993 I enjoyed the luxury of moral certainty. I was pretty good at separating the “good people” from the “bad people.” Good people were kind,...

I’ve been ambivalent about the phrase “yoga pose” for a while. At one point, I resolved to stop using it. But it wasn’t easy. Thirty-plus years...

Like pretty much everything in yoga culture, there are lots of opinions about how to name yoga poses. Teachers with a more traditional bent often prefer...

What does a yoga community look like? If you go by photos on social media, you’re likely to picture endless sea of yoga mats, their occupants...

A couple weeks ago, I attended a seven-day silent meditation retreat at The Last Resort in Duck Creek, Utah. Due to COVID, it was my first...

In 1988, I attended my first silent Insight Meditation retreat. I noticed one thing right off—how incredibly out-of-control my mind is. But as my mind began...

There’s a popular meme going around on social media. It goes something like this: “If you haven’t learned a new skill in the past year, it’s...

Recently a former high school classmate posted a meme that caught my eye. It went something like this: “At my age, when I drop something on...

Decades ago the film, Annie Hall, embellished a famous quote about the art of teaching. In the film the quote went like this: “Those who can’t...

A few years ago, a yoga teacher posted a blog about the evils of Western medicine and the healing powers of yoga. I’m in complete agreement...

A while back some nasty bacteria set up camp around my lower right wisdom tooth. The sensation was one I’d never felt before. Swollen gum tissue...

“It is through the body that everything comes to the mind. It is through and with your body that you have to reach realization of being...

I feel fortunate—really fortunate. Decades ago, I got to study with yoga luminaries such as Donna Farhi, Judith Hanson Lasater, Elise Miller, Angela Farmer, Aadil Palkhivala,...

Yoga Culture: Why Can’t We All Just Get Along? In the past few days, I had the good fortune to attend the Parliament of the World’s...

The Door of Compassion “The idea that some lives matter less than others is at the root of all that is wrong with the world.” ~...

Teaching Yoga: The Wisdom of Humility For the past two years I’ve had the privilege of attending retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center led by Joseph...

If you practice yoga, you’ve probably heard the entreaty, “Listen to your body.” It’s good, sound advice. When you embark on any physical practice, it’s important...