Shine-y Friends I want to make sure you know about a new class that will be happening on Tuesday mornings at Shine. Wendy is still teaching the 9:30 - 10:45 Mixed Level Class and I am taking over the Tuesday late morning class and am revamping it a bit. It is called "Yoga 4 Life." It's a class near and dear to my heart and that will combine my love of Yoga with my appreciation for the way the Functional Exercise effectively improves quality of life and movement. Please read m

My cursor blinks before me.... reflecting on 9/11 there is so much on my mind. At times like this, the only solace I have is to drop into my heart. It's scary to go there. As much beauty and bliss that lives there, there are also broken dreams, bruised hopes, and daggers of disappointment. These aren't all my own. As my eyes see the pain that grows into anger and even into hate, it's hard not to absorb these feelings and make them my own. For me Yoga was a true salvation. The

Slouching over computers, hunched in our cars, lounging on our couches at the end of the day….. it’s a lot for a pair of shoulders to bear. This quick shoulder alignment exercise helps to re-align the shoulders, strengthen your mid-back postural muscles, and helps to stretch your chest and shoulders, which releases upper body tension, strengthens your inner core, and will even give you more energy, by allowing you to breathe easier. Doing the exercise standing gives you the c

Lately social media has been exploding with all sorts of wild expressions of yoga poses. I honestly enjoy them as much as anyone. But…. I also recognize that they are giving a very skewed representation of what Yoga really is. And… I bet that most of the photos you see are truly only a small part of that individuals practice. It takes mad skill to do most of those fabulous poses. It takes dedication, focus, and passion. But that is NOT what Yoga is ALL about! For the majority

Ever since I was a little boy I believed in magic. I remember distinctly trying to make things happen with my thoughts. Sometimes they did. The pure belief of a child’s innocence is powerful stuff. I believed that there were real places like the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and that if you believed enough you could make magic happen. This month as we enter the sign of Virgo we revisit the Alchemical powers of the god Mercury also known as Hermes. Mercury was th

I just wanted to take a moment to give everyone a few more details on our upcoming May workshops! I am very excited about all three of them! Workshops are a great way to learn something new, learn something from a new or visiting teacher, or just an opportunity to delve a little deeper into a certain area. Workshops will no doubt enhance your practice and likely life off the mat as well. This May we are offering a core function workshop by Chandler Stevens of Motusfit Cincinn

When I was a runner, many years back, I strove to improve my personal best in a race and checked to see how I finished compared to the other runners in my age bracket. When I went out for a run around the neighborhood I tried to keep pace with the faster runners, passed some and always ran just a bit farther. Running, like a lot of things in life is competitive. We compete with ourselves and others. This is not a bad thing; in fact it’s good to have that drive, that desire to

I'm thrilled to beginning this new venture with Jennifer, my new co-author and the spark of motivation that I am incredibly grateful to have walked into my life at this time! Jenny and I will begin this blog by offering you a broad spectrum of perspective around the practice of Yoga. She as a new beginner and myself one who finally felt at home when I began a traditional practice 15 years ago. The practice of Yoga has so very much to offer and I'm happy to have this little pl