Yoga can empower women

Written by Bridget Bardill on 09 March 2013. Posted in Epiphanies

Beauty standards are indoctrinated into women at a young age. Diet, cosmetics, plastic surgery and weight-loss ads bombard us from the media, and they all emphasize the importance of being skinny.

Women are conditioned to believe that if we lose ten pounds, shrink our waistline or go under the knife, only then will we finally have the life we wish for.

These unrealistic standards set by the Western culture have led us to sacrifice our health and well-being. Sources say more than half of women in... Read more...

Fishing for meditation

Written by Sarah Hutcherson on 13 February 2013. Posted in Epiphanies

Standing at the water's edge, I search the water for any sign of movement beneath the surface. As the sun glares down, I can barely see two feet in front of me. The rays mix with the white foam dancing on the surface as the water barrels across rocks and boulders. The tumultuous flow carves out transient lines that dart from my shore to the other. The sun's movement on the water's surface distracts my eyes from the treasures that lie beneath.

It is so easy to become distracted with these... Read more...

How I learned to stop worrying and love yoga teacher training

Written by Austin Richman on 03 August 2012. Posted in Epiphanies

The way I became a yoga teacher was not the stuff yoga superstars are made of.

I wasn’t the reluctant son to parents who owned a studio. I never inadvertently found a guru on a vacation in India. And I’ve never met any of the famous yoga masters whose influence can be so profound their students also become renowned masters.

I was however, looking for a change, which is something that seems to be common in all denominations of teachers. I knew something needed to change, but that was the... Read more...

A first time yoga teacher reports back from the front lines

Written by Arturo Sanchez on 29 May 2012. Posted in Epiphanies

As part of the 200 hour teacher training at Manitou Yoga School we had to intern with an established teacher and help guide part of the class. It sounded reasonable. Little did I know I was in for quite an experience. Having been in different teaching roles earlier in life, I knew that we really begin to learn when we start to teach. We can’t continue to hide in mediocrity when we expose ourselves to teaching others. The responsibility is too great.

So I prepared myself. I wrote a syllabus... Read more...

The alchemy and grace of yoga

Written by Julie Hoyle on 27 April 2012. Posted in Epiphanies

The mysteries of yoga and meditation entered my life unexpectedly and intriguingly one cold, damp November evening. I remember the exact moment. I was eight years old and sitting with my father watching a National Geographic documentary that highlighted the extraordinary feats advanced Indian yogis could perform.

Staring in awe, we saw old men with matted hair and long grey beards contorting their unbelievably supple bodies. Mesmerized, we witnessed an ancient looking yogi sitting in lotus... Read more...

Inspired to teach by cancer

Written by Maureen Sagan Cortés on 24 January 2012. Posted in Epiphanies

In 1984, my new yoga practice helped me with pain from a racquetball injury.

More than fifteen years later, in 2000, yoga helped me survive and thrive after a breast cancer diagnosis.

I lived in Santa Fe at the time, designing jewelry. It was near the end of the year, and I was packed and ready to move to Mexico for the holidays. I went in for my second annual mammogram, and then received a phone call asking me to return for a biopsy.

An initial review had not detected any problems, but when... Read more...

car wrecked, yoga healed

Written by Deb Bartos on 09 January 2012. Posted in Epiphanies

During the summer of 2009, I practiced yoga at Yoga Journeys, a wonderful studio owned by teacher Teryl Lundquist. I was in the midst of the “Yoga Challenge,” a special program she had created in her studio. For a set fee, you could take an unlimited number of classes. The more classes one took, the better the price, and for me, the better I felt.

I never felt stronger or more flexible, and was looking forward to more of the same.

And then the unexpected happened. I was in a head-on car... Read more...