Brave Life's Journeys with Mindfulness, Rest, and Yoga Wisdom in Action

Brave Life's Journeys with Mindfulness, Rest, and Yoga Wisdom in Action

As I stared at the blinking cursor, I felt like I was crossing a desert with mirages of topic ideas appearing on the horizon, only to disappear as I started to walk towards them on my keyboard.

It was time to set up camp and rest.

I had been on a trek these first few months of the year.

  • I’d summited the heights of producing and running a 5-week transformative Great Yoga Wall course.

  • I’d plunged into the lake of starting a membership for those who took the course to continue their studies.

  • I’d whitewater rafted along the bumpy rapids of filming another multi-week course.

  • I’d rock-climbed the face of launching and teaching a 3-day live Great Yoga Wall intensive.

I’d “traveled” further in the first 10 weeks of this year than the first 8 months of last year. No wonder my creativity tank was as dry as the Sahara.

That is, until I started to rest and catch up with myself.

I’m not sharing my adventures to brag at all. Many people are facing much tougher journeys.

I know you’re in the middle of your own expeditions too, whether you’re exploring the rough terrain of things like raising kids, taking care of aging parents, dealing with relationship challenges, tackling health concerns, managing multiple projects at work, taming wild employees, dealing with inequities, figuring out what to put in your belly for dinner, or even finding time and space for your next yoga practice.

Here's what I know to be true:

Taking Leaps: Cultivating Faith When You Don’t Know Where You’ll Land

Taking Leaps:  Cultivating Faith When You Don’t Know Where You’ll Land

I had no idea what I was doing.

I sat in the LA sun a few weeks after I had taken a leap of faith and left my job doing national security research and analysis for the federal government. Despite the joy I felt at being back in my home state of California, a low-level panic started to settle into my stomach.

I had 2 job offers related to my work in Washington, D.C. I could tell that both would interfere with my plans to finish yoga teacher training and keep me from beginning the work I felt called to do after a big career success in DC.

But I didn’t have the slightest idea of how to start a business, especially with little-to-no background in the wellness industry other than my own practices, interests, and personal research.

What did I do?

Surprising Ways Yoga Can Boost Your Heart Health

Surprising Ways Yoga Can Boost Your Heart Health

When I was no bigger than a lime inside my mom’s belly, my maternal grandfather passed away at age 45 after a doctor misdiagnosed his chest pain as indigestion instead of the massive heart attack he was having.

A high school friend in his early 40s and my brother-in-law on his 60th birthday went for runs and didn’t come home.

When my handsome hubs had chest, neck, and jaw pain walking home from work one day several years ago, thankfully, we caught it in time.

Chances are heart disease has touched your life in some way too, whether it has affected you or someone you love.

More and more clinical studies are showing the potential benefits yoga has for heart health.

Quick Yoga Solutions for Integral Self-Care at the Holidays

Quick Yoga Solutions for Integral Self-Care at the Holidays

My annual holiday illnesses had become as dependable as the New Year’s Eve ball dropping in Times Square, and my body was saying, “Enough!”

Though my heart ended up being fine that morning, I knew I needed to make some changes. I had to face the fact that I neglected my self-care in favor of trying to do alllllll the holiday things, from the Christmas market to the shopping, wrapping, and shipping, to the work parties and the seasonal dinners with friends.

I decided then and there I was going to do the holidays differently.

When Life Gets Intense, Conquer Stress with these Yoga Practices

When Life Gets Intense, Conquer Stress with these Yoga Practices

Life over the past 3 months has been more intense than eating a Carolina Reaper pepper.

If you’re having a hard time keeping your nose above the storm surge of life’s hurricanes right now you’re not alone. Many people I’ve been talking to have their own lump-in-the-throat version of this list too. 

I’m not bragging, trying to get sympathy, or taking away from the suffering of others who have bombs raining over their heads or not enough food to eat.  I acknowledge the privilege that’s inherent in my list.

Here’s the thing.

Stress and suffering in one form or another are universal.  Although there’s no one-size-fits-all magic potion to eliminate stress, you have a choice how you respond to life’s rough seas.  Your yoga practice—on and off the mat—can help you navigate those shark-infested waters.

These steps from the yogic path have been helping me cope.

4 Tips for Communicating and Relating Despite Perceived Differences

4 Tips for Communicating and Relating Despite Perceived Differences

She sat on the ground a few feet away from us with a taupe shawl cocooned around her entire tiny being while my (now) husband and I moved through the rituals of our Bengali Hindu wedding.

When I saw her hunched over like that I worried that she was unhappy with her son’s choice to marry someone from another culture. My husband later explained that she was praying (we were in a temple, afterall). Over time, I came to understand just how deep her faith ran, and whether she held dismay or concern in that moment or not, our relationship quickly blossomed in a way that’s difficult to put into words.

Meeting her wish not to be a burden and to serve God until her final day, my mother-in-law left her body on August 5, 2023.

I’ve been reflecting on her life, her strength (you can read my tribute below to learn more about what a resilient woman she was), and what made our relationship so special, despite language and cultural barriers. In our case, it comes down to 4 main factors.

A strong Sankalpa (Intention), mutual purpose, commitment through actions, and mutual respect are key factors to communicating and forming a strong bond, especially across perceived differences.

Save Time and Stay Focused on What’s Important in a Go-Go-Go World

Save Time and Stay Focused on What’s Important in a Go-Go-Go World

I LOVE funny animal videos.

Whether they show a cat that meows like it’s saying “hi y’all” or a dog “singing” with its owner, these videos are the one thing that will get me stuck in a social media scroll.

Until…

I realize I’ve lost precious time that I could have used sleeping, practicing postures, meditating, writing, reaching out to a friend, or doing something else for my self-care and Dharma (Purpose).

Whatever lures you away from your highest priorities, know that you’re not alone in the struggle to stay focused on what matters most in this busy, over-stimulating, increasingly neurodiverse and demanding world. When I survey my clients, they respond that time management and staying focused are the biggest blocks they have to living a happier, healthier, more inspired life and to taking better care of themselves.

Staying focused on what matters most is an ongoing, integral practice that involves more than mental concentration alone. Your Dharma (Purpose) provides a north star, and the 8 Limbs of Yoga are the navigation system to help you eliminate distractions (beyond silencing your phone notifications) and keep moving towards that guiding light while still taking good care of yourself.

9 Keys to Practicing Safely with the Great Yoga Wall

9 Keys to Practicing Safely with the Great Yoga Wall

The number one question people ask me about the Great Yoga Wall is some variation of “how do I use the Great Yoga Wall safely?”

Feeling safe doing something new is a very subjective, individual thing. We all have different definitions and versions of safety, and different things that help us create and feel it. Though finding a sense of inner safety is up to each of us individually, several external factors can help, including practical tips and knowledge.

In no particular order, here are my top 9 keys to practicing with the Great Yoga Wall safely.

Calm Down, Cool Off, and Reconnect with Supported Setu Bandha (Bridge Pose)

Calm Down, Cool Off, and Reconnect with Supported Setu Bandha (Bridge Pose)

My spine lengthened as if a chiropractor or massage therapist was pulling my upper body away from my lower body.

But no one was in the room.

As my head and shoulders spilled along the floor, my chin and sternum moved towards each other, like 2 friends coming together to share a secret.

On a hot summer day, a breeze of calm washed over me, and my body became cooler.

The sounds around me got quieter as if the rest of the world had become a bit muted. In a good way.

In a way that allowed me to ignore distractions like that last pile of laundry, forget about my to-do list, and reconnect to my true self for a few minutes.

With my eyes closed, I looked inward and took a refreshing soak in supported Setu Bandha (Bridge Pose) on a bolster.

What Working Too Hard and Not Hard Enough On Your Mat Have In Common

What Working Too Hard and Not Hard Enough On Your Mat Have In Common

Last night my husband showed me a video of a fawn stuck in a soccer (or football, for my overseas friends) net and a kind Samaritan who freed it. Though Bambi and his mother initially fled into the forest, at the end of the video, they stopped the man on the road and came up to him as if to thank him for his kindness.

Mark Twain said, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

And apparently it's the one that can transcend even species at times too.

PRACTICE STARTS WITH KINDNESS

With this sort of impact, it’s no wonder that the very first principle in yoga is Ahimsa, which often is translated as Non-Violence, Peace, or Kindness.

On the outset it seems simple—don’t kill or hurt others. It has so many more nuances, though, which makes it so darn difficult to master.

The most common and obvious interpretations of Ahimsa define it as not harming others. Some people choose to practice by becoming vegetarian. Others commit not to kill wasps or other critters that accidently wander inside their homes. More and more, folks are speaking out and mobilizing for social justice causes too.

For me, the practice of Ahimsa means not only abstaining from obvious violence. It also encompasses learning how you might unintentionally cause harm and going out of your way to be kind as well.

AN INTEGRAL APPROACH TO THE YOGIC PRACTICE OF AHIMSA (KINDNESS)

More integrally, Ahimsa includes being compassionate and non-violent to your body, your mind, and your environment, as well as towards other people and creatures.

Stay Productive: Listen to Your Body to Adapt with the Seasons

Stay Productive:  Listen to Your Body to Adapt with the Seasons

My handsome hubs and I went for a walk on a windy, sunny, dogwood blossom-kissed Sunday morning here in Charlotte. We walk throughout the year here, and this day was one of those especially nice spring ones, after the cooler days of winter and before the humidity of summer.

When we got home, I immediately started sneezing, not like a time or two, but like 15 times in a row! And so began a day of allergies that signaled to me spring was officially here.

Though the sneezing started literally on the spring equinox, it wasn’t the first sign that my body had given me. For the last couple of weeks prior to the equinox, my digestive system had been undergoing its annual March pivot.

Pretty much every year around this time…

Strings Attached: How Using the Yoga Wall Can Empower Your Practice and Your Life

Strings Attached:  How Using the Yoga Wall Can Empower Your Practice and Your Life

I sat on small metal bleachers set up on a patch of grass at the fairgrounds, completely mesmerized as I watched Bob Baker’s marionette puppets on the “stage” a few rows below me.

At 5 years old or so, I guess I didn’t see the strings, because I seriously thought these puppets were magical and real. After all, they were moving, they could talk, and they were having the most fun adventures.

For a few years it was the one thing I really wanted to do at the fair, even before the midway rides and games. We planned our visits around the showtimes, and it was usually the first stop.

At some age I realized there were strings, with people holding them and making them move. Though the puppets weren’t alive and “real,” that flutter of excitement I felt watching them as a child was.

I remember longing to go with them on their adventures. Little did I know that many years later I’d be having a kind of puppet adventure of my own.

You see, the Sanskrit term for doing yoga with the yoga wall is yoga kurunta. Though kurunta has a few definitions, a common meaning when put together with yoga is a wooden doll or puppet. Yoga kurunta refers to using suspended ropes in a yoga practice, like aerial yoga or yoga on the Great Yoga Wall.

The Reframe That's Helping My Clients (and Me) Through Change

The Reframe That's Helping My Clients (and Me) Through Change

As we draw closer to switching the clocks for daylight savings time this year, I’m feeling less dread.

Most years it’s a pretty rough transition. We only lose one hour of sleep on the weekend, but it throws off my sleep schedule for most of the next week.

When I don’t sleep enough, my body rebels. My digestive system can get so inflamed that it hurts to drink cold water. My head can sometimes feel like it’s in a vice. My brain can get so foggy that I spend the whole day feeling like I haven’t quite woken up yet. Sometimes I can even feel my lymph nodes and gums swelling, even though I’m not sick.

Rather than going into an explanation of how losing sleep can cause inflammation and instead of giving you a bunch of tips for how to make it through the spring forward transition (I did that last year in this post), I want to tell you why I’m not dreading it quite so much this year, even though I know I’ll probably feel like a zombie for several days.

Sure, I’ll be doing some restorative yoga and meditation to help me shake the brain fog and adjust my sleep schedule. On top of my go-to spring forward tips, this year, instead of dreading the clock change, I’m using an old piece of wisdom from my mom along with a little trick I learned from coaching. Perhaps it will help you through a transition too.

Let Your Purpose Decide Your Response

Let Your Purpose Decide Your Response

I lost a few hours of work as I sat glued to CNN and watched the unfolding of the early hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

You might not know this about me, but one of my two undergraduate majors was Russian Regional Studies. I learned the language, history, politics, and culture before going on to earn my graduate degree in International Policy Studies.

I also worked in the nonprofit sector for 6 years to help stem the spread of nuclear weapons from the former Soviet Union. You can bet that the rhetoric around nuclear weapons and attacks on nuclear power plants caught my attention.

I’ve been out of that field long enough not to have my fingers on the pulse of the situation like I would have in the past, and I found myself spending more time than usual in the news feeds.

I know that my purpose has shifted beyond that particular work, yet I found myself wondering for a moment or two if I made the right call to leave it.

After losing half a day, which is nothing compared to what Ukrainians are sacrificing, I realized something.

After a point, I wasn’t helping anyone by sitting there nonstop, taking in more and more of the same and different people offering the same and different information with the same and different traumatic video footage rolling beside them.

If you know me from yoga and coaching, you might be wondering what any of this has to do with yoga, breathwork, meditation, your purpose, and feeling more rested, focused, and inspired. Well, let me tell you.

When Exercise Isn't Enough

When Exercise Isn't Enough

When my handsome hubs told me he was feeling really tired and out of breath after walking the few blocks home from our neighborhood “L” station in Chicago, I thought something was off. After he said he also had pain in his chest, neck, and jaw, I knew we had to go to the hospital.

He resisted. I insisted.

When we got there all the tests came back fine. He didn’t have a heart attack.

His primary care doctor asked the hospital to keep him until they could do a cardiac stress test the next day.

It’s a good thing they did, because he had critical blockages in 2 out of 4 arteries in his heart that could have caused a massive heart attack within weeks.

Everyone was stunned. He was way too young to have a heart problem, practiced hot yoga 5 times a week, walked a lot, went salsa dancing relatively regularly, and did all kinds of sports off and on throughout his life.

I’ll never forget what his cardiologist said. He told us that my hubby’s family history of high cholesterol and high blood pressure probably would have caused a problem eventually, but…

The Missing Links to Finding Your Purpose

The Missing Links to Finding Your Purpose

With garlic naan, lentils, and various curry leftovers piled up on our plates, my handsome hubby and I sat down to watch the movie, The Fundamentals of Caregiving, a touching story about a man who becomes the caregiver for a wheelchair-bound teenager who has muscular dystrophy.

In one scene, the main character, Ben, sits talking with a pregnant woman named Peaches, who asks him what it’s like being a parent.

Ben answers, “Every corny thing you’ve ever heard about having a kid is completely and utterly true. It’s the only reason we’re here.”

It was one of many bittersweet, lump-in-your-throat moments in the movie, and it got me thinking about purpose.

Purpose answers the question, “why am I here?” or “what is my mission in life?”

Though procreation and caregiving to one’s offspring might be a purpose, it’s not the only one for all of humanity.

I’m not diminishing the importance and beauty of having kids, and the courage and caregiving that parenthood requires.

If having kids is the only reason we’re here, though, then the implication is that those of us who don’t have kids have no reason for being here, that we’re purposeless, or that we’re failing in the contribution department.

People like Mother Teresa, who helped so many children despite bearing none, Oprah Winfrey, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Coco Chanel, Leonardo DaVinci, and many other everyday childless leaders and heroes prove Ben’s statement incomplete.

A Simple Benchmark That It's Time For A Change

A Simple Benchmark That It's Time For A Change

When I began my career working for the U.S. federal government many years ago, I received so many blessings, many who came in the form of human angels that set me up for the award-winning career I had.

Several of my friends had worked at the same organization for some time and helped me navigate a very complex web of systems and processes both in and out of the office. I started off with a strong female boss who entrusted me with opportunities to shine right away.

My boss assigned not one, but two, amazing mentors to help me learn the ropes. Both had decades of experience in the work I was doing and had different gifts to offer.

I was such an excited newbie, and I smiled a lot. I loved where I worked and what I was doing. Why wouldn’t I let it show?

One of my mentors—let’s call him Jay—had been around long enough to retire and then come back as a contractor. He’d seen the team go through successes and learning experiences. He’d lived through changes in the organization and in the problems we were trying to solve.

Jay found it amusing that I was always smiling. One day he said to me, “Tami, you always smiling. How you always smiling?”

I responded that I loved what I do so why not smile.

Jay said, “That’s a good thing. Never let them take away your smile. They’re gonna try, but don’t you let ‘em.”

I have to tell you, I didn’t believe him.

Beyond Bikinis on Instagram: Leaning into the “Sacred Art of Yoga"

Beyond Bikinis on Instagram:  Leaning into the “Sacred Art of Yoga"

“First, draw a circle in the middle of the page. Color it in, except leave a little dot that’s not colored to show the reflection. Then draw two little lines like upside down rainbows under the circle, and another one under them.”

My little niece, who lives near Chicago, was teaching me how to draw a fox over video chat, starting with the nose.

“Like this?” I asked, holding my picture up to the camera.

“Yeah! You did it!” she exclaimed, as excited as if I’d won a prize.

Our art sessions are one of the unexpected joys that came out of the pandemic. Sometimes she draws while we talk and shows me what she’s doing at different steps along the way.

At other times, she teaches me, and we draw the same thing. I’ve kept all of the pieces we’ve done together so I can show her one day when she’s older.

Lessons from Spring Break and A Burning Jeep

Lessons from Spring Break and A Burning Jeep

When I was in college, I must have missed the memo outlining the requirements for spring break: grab a group of friends, go somewhere fun, and get wasted.

I seem to recall that I always had a paper due right after spring break, which kind of put a damper on it, knowing that at some point I had to work.

Still, when I think back to my own college spring breaks, two stand out in my memories.

For one of them, a group of friends and I (check that box) went to a super fun beach city (Santa Cruz, CA) for a few days. You’d think that I’d be able to check box #2, but our spring break was so early that the beach was cold and rainy.

Instead of bikinis and umbrella drinks in the sun, it was sweatshirts, *actual* umbrellas, and far too much time in the hotel room for us.

On another spring break, a friend and I (again check box #1) decided to head up to the mountains. Again, you’d think I’d be able to check box #2, but the clutch in the car decided to go out on the way there.

Instead of walking through and smelling the forest, we took in the fumes of burning rubber and rode home in a tow truck.

Don’t get me wrong—my friends and I still had a great time. They just weren’t the typical MTV spring break adventures that seem like almost as much of a college requirement as English 101.

My stories pale, though, in comparison to what a group of young spring breakers we saw this year will be able to tell.