A 10-minute, seated practice that combines MFR with gentle stretches and breath work to help you wake up and expand your lung capacity before paddling out for a surf.
Another September has come and gone, and for the 2nd year, I participated in the SurfAid September #MakeAWave Challenge of surfing 30 days to raise funding and awareness for the SurfAid Programs.
My current, go-to, Pre-Surf Stretch for when my body is feeling stiff and a bit surfed-out. This sequence could also be nice for a brief Active Recovery practice post-training or post-surf/sport
It was an honor to have the opportunity to write a piece for the Manduka Blog as a part of the Manduka x Gerry Lopez collection launch. In this article, I share my personal experiences with surfing and yoga and how I view the two as similar spiritual paths that reconnect us to life.
Now don't get me wrong, sometimes simple can be easy. And that's great. And sometimes there is a place for complexity as well. But the simple, the simple is available. Accessible. And when noticed and practiced regularly, the simple can support us in coming back to center. Back to what's true.
I think that one of the most common, modern-day misconceptions of yoga is that it’s only about the poses we practice on the mat, when really, well at least the way I see it is, yoga is more so a practice of choosing to show up for life. Yoga is a practice that reaches far beyond these four corners with the capacity to stretch into each + every corner of our lives.
Yoga came into my life when I was 21 years old. Growing up I was an avid athlete – I played soccer and basketball, I was a competitive surfer, and I loved to run and train. Slowing down, moving with compassion, and sitting in stillness were words that most definitely weren’t in my vocabulary, let alone things that I ever practiced regularly…
I thought it’d be fun to share pieces of my practice in hopes that it’ll inspire you to roll out your mat and maybe provide you with some fresh ideas to incorporate into your own practice and/or teaching. My goal with these are to keep them short, sweet, and most importantly, effective. So if you’re interested, click through for these two mini sequences!
I am a BIG fan of using props in both my personal practice and in the classes that I teach. But with current times - classes transitioning to online, at-home, and bring your own props - it can be easy to miss the yoga studio experience. So here I share 5 easy, DIY yoga props that you can recreate at home!!
Our ability to notice 'on the mat' fine tunes our ability to notice 'off the mat.' If our practice stays limited to the confines of our yoga mat, then it is not really yoga. As our practice reminds us, we can learn so much when we give ourselves permission to get quiet and to notice... So why wouldn't we want to apply this to the external world??
Any new self-care routine, practice, or form of cross-training is always super exciting, at first. But, once the newness wears off and repetition sets in, finding that motivation to keep showing up can be challenging. So how do we continue to stay motivated?? Here are 6 tips that have been helpful for me.
