We are finally normalizing mental health as an essential aspect of our daily lives. It’s easy to get caught up in our routines from work, school, gym, family, and the multitude of obligations we pile into our day. With all of our responsibilities, we forget to give ourselves permission to chill out and feel guilty …
Finding Peace in the Present
The year 2020 has presented us with many challenges that have profoundly affected our global society’s collective emotional trauma. It is easy to get swept up in the uncertainty of these times or simply turn away from it all by distracting ourselves with miscellaneous business, i.e., work, exercise, food, alcohol, etc. It’s a complicated time, …
Simple Tips for Practicing Yoga
When working from home 2020, am I right? This year has flipped our world upside down in a multitude of ways. Many of us have transitioned to fully working from home and spending more time in front of our screens. We no longer have the sweet luxury of slipping into a lively, energy-packed yoga class, …
Facing Loss and Uncertainty
If I have ever in my life needed the strength, fortitude, compassion, and perspective that yoga brings to me, it has been in during these last two years of my experience. I have had to (like so many others) face my grief and despair about so many things: intense polarization of our society and politics, …
My Miracle Morning
A Morning Routine To Improve Your Lifestyle In addition to being a California-based yoga teacher, Emily Meersand leads surf and yoga retreats around the world. Emily also runs her real estate investing business, and with all of that on her plate, a morning routine is essential to having a successful day. An early start I …
Essential Yoga For Surfers
Yoga Poses Every Surfer Should Practice Are you feeling stiff after getting out of the ocean? You’re not alone! Surfing demands a lot from our bodies, primarily creating tight shoulders, compression in the lower back and hips, and a closed chest. Not to fear, yoga for surfers is here! It’s no surprise that many surfers …
Building The Fence
In his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, Swami Satchidananda asks us this: If you were going to plant a sapling in the middle of a cow pasture, how would you protect it from getting eaten or trampled by the cows? My guess is that if it were something you cared about, you would build some …
The Practice Within The Practice
I have been teaching Alignment Based Yoga Flow for over 25 years and practicing yoga even longer. Back pain led me to yoga, and I have been exploring the practice daily ever since. Ganga White, one of my teachers, tells us that “there is no such thing as one kind of pain – pain is …
Being Present For Online Classes
So, you’ve meant to take your yoga practice more earnestly during this pandemic? There are online subscription sites with talented teachers who bring the highest quality of yoga into your home. Yet, you struggle with putting the phone down, closing the laptop, saying no to extra work around the house, or turning off the TV. …