I am writing this while listening to Aretha in a tiny hotel room in Manhattan, a place that I will always associate with the Queen of Soul, both because her music seemed so much a part of the fabric of this city she loved and because my mother and I had the great pleasure of…
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Not My Vibe, Not My Tribe. Or, Why I am Apparently Taking a Break from Yoga
In a recent interview on the fabulous new podcast Bare Naked Truth with my friend Abby Slate, she and I dished a bit about what makes me a “bad yogi” and what I find so troubling about yoga these days. I’d like to elaborate on some of that here. I’m not teaching much yoga these…
On Marriage, Perfectionism, and Reconciliation
July 16, 2018 “Not every fateful moral choice, every judgment of good and bad or right and wrong, is a matter for public debate…[T]he issues in moral perfectionism are not crises of conscience of this kind…they are deciding on what kinds of lives they wish to live and whether they wish to live them together,…
Notes From a Feminist Housewife
“Women have sat indoors all these millions of years, so that by this time the very walls are permeated by their creative force, which has, indeed, so overcharged the capacity of bricks and mortar that it must needs harness itself to pens and brushes and business and politics.” —Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own…
Thoughts on the Teacher-Student Relationship
In the days following Michelle Goldberg’s expose for Slate Magazine concerning allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct at Jivamukti Yoga, a lot of debate and discussion has taken place on the Internet. Many teachers and students are genuinely trying to grapple with what happened and think and speak carefully about it. But there are also…
A Response to the Question of the “Cultural Appropriation of Yoga”
The following was written in response to this piece, written by Andi MacDonald, whom I do not know but whose piece was sent to me by my dear friend and colleague Donna Bickford. First, thank you, Donna M. Bickford, for the chance to engage with this piece. I like it a lot, actually, and certainly…
Letting Go of Lululemon. Why It’s Totally Not a Big Deal.
First, let me say that I appreciate the opportunity to talk with friends and peers about the recent troubles at Lululemon, and I acknowledge that others, whom I admire and trust to be acting in good faith, take a different view than the one I express here. To that, I say, right on. Of course,…
Reflections on Kindness and the Discipline of Yoga
samniyama-indriya-gramam / sarvatra sama-buddhayah, te prapnuvanti mam eva / sarva-bhuta-hite ratah Those who are able to control their senses, have equanimity of mind and rejoice in contributing to the welfare of all creatures are dear to me. Bhagavad Gita XII.4 This month my holy teachers have chosen the relationship between inner-peace and outward kindness as the…
Light in Darkness
Maitri—adishu—balani (YS, III. 23) Through friendless, kindness, and compassion, strength comes. Many of us are very grateful that this week has drawn to a close. It has been a difficult week. And it will no doubt be marked for a long time to come by the terror, violence and fear that gripped so many Americans…
On Yoga, Easter, and Death
I’ve been thinking about death a lot this month. Not in a morose way (no one likes a sad-faced yogi!) but in an uplifting sort of way. What might it mean to look upon death in an uplifting way? And what in the world does death have to do with the practice of yoga? For…
