Mind+body+soul

Liliana’s Birth Story

“We have a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful. It’s that women are STRONG.”     -Laura Stavoe

When you have a second baby, one thing you can’t help doing is comparing your second pregnancy with your first, and your second baby’s birth with the birth of your first. Read More →

Prenatal Yoga Guidelines

I led a Prenatal Yoga workshop at Purple Yoga and was reminded of my passion for women’s health, especially during vulnerable times like pregnancy and birth. I just love all things pregnancy and babies and of course, yoga! So I thought I’d share the guide I made for my students. It serves as an accompaniment to the in person instruction and I’m sure makes more sense in context, but I still think it would be a good resource for yogi mamas who already have some familiarity with yoga. I hope it’s helpful!  Read More →

Paula & Baby Alex’s Birth Story

I am a mom. It is so wonderful. My gratitude is immeasurable….. This was how I began one of the notes I wrote down during the first week of Alexander’s life. Thinking back on that week, I remember just how struck with gratitude I was. So thankful for this healthy baby boy; for Dave, my love, my rock; for my family; for the amazing experience of pregnancy and birth that I had just gone through. “Birth was and will always be the most commonplace of miracles.” Giving birth was at once the most normal and the most profound experience of my life. Read More →

Meditation Challenge

I have recently got back into my meditation practice. My new apartment is very conducive to the morning routine I’ve found best sets me up for my day. Every morning I wake up, roll out of bed, drink a glass of lemon water, and head out the door to go for a walk. I’ve only been living at my new place two and a half months but I already love it! I love the neighborhood – quiet, with beautiful older homes and nice landscaping, close to the beach. I leave my cell phone and wallet at home. I walk however long I feel like it, maybe 20 minutes, maybe an hour. When I come home I light some incense and roll out my yoga mat. I love that my apartment has wood floors and the perfect little space for my mat. I do a bit of yoga, free form, whatever I’m feeling, however my body wants to be moved, and then I meditate. I don’t have a fancy meditation pillow, I just grab a pillow from my couch, set it on the edge of my mat and settle in. When I start my day like this, I feel good the entire day. Read More →

Road to Teacher Training 2011

It was three years ago today (3years!) that I submitted an essay to Purple Yoga to be considered for their work/study scholarship for the fall semester of Yoga Teacher Training. I love that I had a a chance to write down my experiences on my yoga journey, at that point I had been practicing for just a year and a half, it’s amazing to see where I was and how far I’ve come. Now I am a teacher, I love teaching yoga, and I think being aware of where I came from really helps me be a better teacher. My hope is to be able to connect with each of my students wherever they are in their practice – helping a beginner build a foundation, just as I had to do. Or encouraging a more experienced practitioner in their challenges and adding new layers and depth to their practice, just as my teachers did for me – especially during teacher training. Just as a personal yoga practice is always evolving, so it is with teaching yoga as well. I’m so glad I found my way to this path, I am so grateful to Purple Yoga and my teachers. Even as I write this they are gearing up for this fall’s Yoga Teacher Training to begin in just one month, and other yogis (perhaps even students of mine!) are preparing for this wonderful experience, and even writing essays of their own, just as I did.

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Ojai Retreat

Grateful for an incredible retreat this past weekend in Ojai with my Purple yogis.  So wonderful to experience a new place, loving community, and an inordinate amount of yoga (haha…just kidding…sort of). I can get a little complacent with my day-to-day routine, I forget what good it does me to step out of the ordinary and into a change of scenery, meet new people, and have an extraordinary weekend. Read More →

Why Yoga? 10 Benefits!

Yoga is an oft-recommended form of exercise. A recurring question then, asked of those who teach yoga is: What is so good about practicing yoga? My doctor says I should do it, but why? Yoga is more than mere physical activity. Yoga is a holistic practice that helps us maintain a healthy body and mind in a myriad of ways. It is good for the muscles, brain, bones, organs, and everything in between that holds it all together.

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