It’s that time of year in Virginia: I cannot sit in my yard for a minute before being attacked by mosquitos. Since it’s an everyday thing, I don’t want to use harsh chemicals on my skin but it’s important not…
Travel Clothes for Men and Women
As I mentioned in my review of women’s travel pants, I’m determined to pack super-light for the upcoming Joyful Heart Yoga trip to Spain. While researching travel clothes, I came across the fact that merino wool is a great fabric for travel. Who…
Happy Father’s Day, Dad
This is my first Father’s Day without a father, so to honor him I decided to plant something that he planted in our yard when I was a kid. As I began to think about which plant to choose, I was…
Do You Have to be a Vegetarian to be a Yogi?
Yoga has a long tradition of vegetarianism. One of the yamas, or restraints practiced in yoga is ahimsa — the practice of non-harmfulness. This means to be kind to all living beings in thought, word, and deed and is often cited as…
Random Acts of Kindness
Last night I was the recipient of a random act of kindness while shopping at Trader Joe’s. I love Trader Joe’s because the employees there tend to be very friendly, and they actually engage in conversation with the customers. This…
Women’s Travel Pants for Multi-Activity Trips
After my last trip, I realized that I needed to seriously study the art of packing light and finding travel pants that are both functional for outdoor activities and stylish enough to wear in restaurants, museums, and on city streets.…
Yoga Breathing – Dirgha and Ujjayi
Watch this yoga breathing video to learn the dirgha and ujjayi technique that you can use any time for relaxation. Note: The crown of the head points toward the ceiling, not the floor. I think I relaxed myself too much while filming this!
Fun Way to Eat More Vegetables
This post is about one of my favorite kitchen gadgets — the spiral vegetable slicer. A spiral slicer takes just about any vegetable and quickly turns it into a mass of long “noodles” that you can use to make no-carb “pasta,” delicious salads, fun…
Welcome to Joyful Heart Yoga!
Welcome! Sit down, relax, and take a look around. . . This is the new home of Joyful Heart Yoga. I offer Kripalu yoga classes, yoga therapy, positional release therapy, Reiki, and facial therapy. I also lead fabulous yoga retreats…
Standing Forward Bends for People with Tight Hamstrings or Back Pain
A typical yoga class includes several forward bends to stretch the hamstrings and lengthen the spine, but they can present a lot of problems for people with back issues and tight hamstrings. Doing forward bends incorrectly can cause more pain. Often…
Taking Time to Process Loss
As many of you know, my father died at Christmas time. Since then I’ve been going about my business and doing what needs to be done (for the most part), but I’ve had trouble getting new projects off the ground.…
Yoga in the Car
While driving, I came across a very long truck that was struggling to back into the narrow driveway of a construction site. The truck was so long that it blocked both lanes of traffic, and we had no choice but…