Megan LvR
The practice progresses with a purpose, says teacher David Garrigues. We start with standing postures. All standing postures are, in essence, balancing postures. They shift the energetic focus downward, towards our abdomens and legs…and away from our over-busy minds. It’s a dramatic reversal that takes committed, consistent, creative and intense effort. Lately, I’ve been focused […]
Last week, I held a ladder for my friend, Dean. And that was yoga. He needed to attend to an often overlooked (but crucial) homeowner’s chore: cleaning out the gutters. It’s a task that some people might consider risky, dangerous, or even unpleasant. It’s a task that’s tempting to ignore, avoid, delay….until emergency strikes, in the […]
‘Aim to remain internally centered within your body, devoted to contemplation, to continuously staying in touch….Beware of those moments of wanting to escape or distract yourself when you get tired, and endeavor to reapply yourself to your efforts to remain centered in practice.’ -David Garrigues These words ran through my mind this busy Monday morning, […]
The deepest, most transformative and most permanent benefits of a serious yoga practice are difficult to describe. Imagine describing a symphony to someone who has never heard a musical instrument. Or singing. Or any sound. Now, imagine being a professional musician–a soloist in a world-class professional symphony. Or better yet, a renowned composer. Someone whose entire […]
Asana practice is not a workout. It’s a moving meditation, designed to still the fluctuations of the mind. ‘Citta vritti narudah’ – yoga sutra 1.2 It’s not about manipulating the external appearance of your body. No physical routine—no matter how rigorously athletic–will alter the relative length of your bones. Nor is it about sweating away […]
Percussionist, vocalist, drum-maker, educator and friend Jay Beck has spent his entire adolescent and adult life touring the world, performing and leading cross-cultural drumming workshops. Now, we are blessed to have him here in Chadds Ford. Jay enjoys teaching in yoga spaces such as BYCF, where he leads a beginners’ drum series on Tuesday evenings. A […]
Earlier this week, I went to the Ritz theater in Philadelphia to see the documentary Awake: The Life of Yogananda, and found myself reconnecting to the source of our tradition. Paramahansa Yogananda is credited with bringing the healing philosophies of yoga to the west. He first traveled to Boston to speak at a conference in 1920…and then later established the self-realization […]
Today, I ran into an old friend and student at the west Philly studio… She remembers the circumstances of her first class, ‘like you remember where you were when somebody died….I was upstairs…in the back row…and I thought to myself, “these people are NUTS!”…So of course, I ended up loving them.’ Last time we talked, […]
Some of the most valuable lessons we learn in the hot room are ones that our elders tried to teach us. That you can always do more than you think you can. That pain is real, and it’s a part of life. That suffering is optional. That hard work is beautiful. That attitude is everything. […]
‘Walk slowly.’ ‘Chew your food.’ ‘Make your movements deliberate and firm…so your partner thinks, ‘SHE’S GOT ME.’ ‘Hold your own space…so you become the ripple that makes the wave.’ These were just a few of the themes addressed (literally and figuratively) during the first two days of training here at Casa Om. These are […]
Megan LvR 