“Ronen, please lead us through Suryanamaskara A.” David Swenson, one of the most senior Ashtanga yoga teachers around, motioned me to the front of the class to kick off a week-long Ashtanga yoga teacher training course at Kaia Yoga. I was the only non-teacher in the room and was very happy to remain that way…. Read More »
The first time I heard the expression “change is good” was during a corporate retreat. The VP of marketing kicked off his presentation with one simple black and white overhead slide proclaiming that Change Is Good! Later that year, as part of the” change,” I was downsized and subsequently launched OpenMoves. Not sure if that’s… Read More »
There’s nothing like a sweaty yoga sequence to inspire my instructor to expound about space. She insists that yoga is all about creating space between the shoulders and the ears, behind the shoulder blades, between the vertebrae, around the hips, and even between the toes. I wipe away the sweat running down my scalp… Read More »
Nearly 35 years ago –ouch– I fell in love with the long distance adventure. I loved the nomadic lifestyle, living close to nature and the teamwork of expeditions. I traded the career ladder and the commitments that my peers shouldered for the promise of the next quest. It was during those years — when… Read More »
This past year I started to meditate daily as an extension of my yoga practice. I’ve recently noticed that this was the brain food that I was seeking to help rein in emotions that don’t serve me. In a few instances I’ve been able to diffuse emotionally charged events by sitting on my cushion, closing… Read More »
Imagine that I can wake up on any given day and decide to hop on a bike and ride across a continent, or walk across a mountain range, or kayak across a sound, or whatever I dream up and really do it. I spent years getting my body and mind honed into an adventure machine…. Read More »
Over the past two months I’ve visited several Western and Eastern healers and amassed prescriptions that ranged from steroids, pain killers, lotions and potions. Most of them are sitting in a pile on my desk untouched. I may need them down the road, but for now I decided to seek the kind of medicine that… Read More »
Sometimes in June I completed one of my best Ashtanga-yoga sessions ever. I was in my peak, swishing, sweating, floating, flexing and grinning. There were scores of yogis in the room and I was the oldest and the most accomplished at pushing back age; a man doing his thing if there ever was one. The… Read More »
I have been practicing yoga for years. Not sure why, but I think that anyone whoever drove a station wagon, x-country skied or ran long distances must have explored yoga at some point. So wherever I traveled, I would inevitably stumble into a yoga class. I was not supple and yoga did not come naturally, but somehow it made me feel right and I left it at that.
Ten years ago, I found a wonderful teacher, Jeff Logan, who introduced me to Iyangar Yoga. I practiced diligently under Jeff’s guidance for years. Jeff taught me the fine art of body alignment and staying light. But it wasn’t until I watched my friend Edina practice Ashtanga yoga that I realized my practice needed a new
