notes & news

'notes & news' began in response to requests share writings, poetry, thoughts, philosophy, research, or inspirations woven into what I offer in conversation, classes, and workshops ... enjoy browsing
Santa Sabini Retreat

Santa Sabini Retreat

I returned yesterday from five days with John Prendergast at Santa Sabina Retreat Centre in San Rafael, not far from San Francisco. What is alive for me as a result of this transformative experience is deep gratitude, vast love, sweet gentleness,...

call to adventure

call to adventure

What if we viewed our lives as call and response? In kirtan practice the leader of a chant sings (the call) and participants respond through sharing their own voice, their own expression of the chant. What if life is offering you a call through...

open to Grace …

open to Grace …

    Gurupurnima on July 3 invites us to embody gratitude for our teachers in all their forms. Sally Kempton, beloved meditation teacher, passed away Tuesday July 11. Matariki (Maori New Year) on Friday July 15 invites us to remember those...

holding paradox …

holding paradox …

' Though I handed over the studio in 2019, having founded it in 2002 and nurturing it's first 17 years, the final closure was full of diverse feeling for me. The deep sadness at its ending, and the great joy and all it has offered to literally...

allow …

allow …

' We live in challenging times. Some would say we always have. On a 'Circle of Trust' retreat I attended earlier in the year we sat with the possibility of 'letting it all be true'. Our practice of yoga is such a gift, inviting us to feel and be...

the company we keep …

the company we keep …

'  This weeks suggested practice on our Yoga Journey is a the last in our Neuroscience Informed Practice series and is about the incredible phenomena of mirror neurones. I had a teacher who once said, "you are the company you keep, so keep...

responsiveness in practice

responsiveness in practice

'    Trees have been deeply woven into my, and our, practice of yoga since I first drew the YFTH tree image in 1993, and then evolved it in 2018 a quarter of a century later. Contemplation of trees and of connectedness has been such a gift....

peonies

peonies

    Peonies by Mary Oliver This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting readyto break my heartas the sun rises,as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers and they open ---pools of lace,white and pink ---and all day...

self regulation for ease & resilience

self regulation for ease & resilience

  Your bodies stress response is an amazing built-in mechanism to enable you to deal with tough situations and be resilient. We can define resilience as the capacity to prepare for, recover from and adapt in the face of stress, change,...

welcoming the winter solstice threshold

welcoming the winter solstice threshold

(Photo above is of the recent aurora australis viewed from Kingston Beach and taken by Paul Hoelen) The winter solstice (from the Latin meaning ‘sun stands still’) is coming up on June 21. The longest night of the year, and also the threshold at...

S.T.O.R.Y

S.T.O.R.Y

What is the story for our upcoming autumn online yoga journey? First 5 session series explores the stories we live, tell ourselves, and live by. We are by nature meaning makers and meaning seekers, puzzle makers and puzzle solvers, story tellers...

the dance of Shiva

the dance of Shiva

One of the most visually dramatic and culturally significant forms of the absolute or the supreme in Hinduism is Nataraja – Lord Shiva as the King of Dance. The form of Nataraja gained prominence in the Chola dynasty of South India around the 10th...