Author Archives: Michelle

My job in teaching yoga to cancer patients is to facilitate a healing process. One of the first things we look at in this process is internal awareness. In turning inward, participants begin to tease apart the different internal phenomenon, all of which will, in general, fall into one of three categories: physical sensations, emotionsContinue reading “Developing Internal Awareness”

I can’t recommend this book enough, The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer. Singer describes the process of moving into calm awareness and quieting the mind as if it were a ‘how to’ on washing dishes. His language is simple, direct and accessible. What I especially liked is that he barely used citations and referencesContinue reading “The Untethered Soul”

I just started reading Dr. Herbert Benson’s book, Relaxation Revolution. I’ve been excited about Benson’s work for a while now and first wrote about him in an earlier post, Meditation and the Relaxation Response. In the 1970s, Benson started researching the physiological changes that happen during meditation and these changes are collectively known as theContinue reading “A Relaxation Revolution”

Just as I was considering taking some of my yoga students outside to do standing poses barefoot in the grass, my friend Kevin Starbard, a Qigong teacher, sent out a blast about “Earthing.” Earthing is the practice of grounding yourself by walking or standing barefoot on the earth and Earthing enthusiasts purport that it has numerousContinue reading “Earthing”

You’ve heard me go on and on about diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing especially in regards to anxiety. In this video below, Elmo and friends show us how to use it for anger or your “Inner Monster!” Just to clarify, the belly goes OUT when you inhale. Enjoy!

This is the time of year when we consider resolutions, which are just a form of setting clear and conscious intentions. Setting intentions are a common aspect of the yoga tradition. A teacher will often open or close a class by asking you to set an intention for your practice. In essence, they’re asking youContinue reading “Setting Intentions”

If you’ve been taking my class for a while, you’ve heard me say numerous times, “keep the shoulders down, lift the upper chest, find that regal posture!” Here’s more as to why we should “lift up” and out of a rounded upper torso. Often we hunch forward when working at the computer, washing dishes orContinue reading “Lift Up!”

In Part I of the Anxiety writings, I talked about the kind of anxiety that won’t go away. You’re in the middle of something intense, a crisis, and anxiety is omnipresent. In Part II, I talked about mundane anxiety, the kind that visits us regularly due to mental habits. In Part III, I want toContinue reading “What to do with this Anxiety – Part III”

In Part I, I talked about anxiety being a big hairy beast that sits on your chest. Here in Part II, I want to talk about all those other times when the beast is not quite so big. It is more like a nagging pest. So here you have more room to work with it.Continue reading “What to do with this Anxiety – Part II”