As yoga teachers, a huge part of our job is to show up fully for our students. But what do you do when your metaphorical “cup” is empty? You’re stressed or upset; maybe something in your life is creating sadness or depression. But you still need to show up for your classes and be there for the class.

As your teaching experience grows, you’ll have many times like these in your career. That’s the way life is; it has its ups and downs. This experience can really affect anyone, but for yoga teachers, it’s a unique challenge because we’re in the business of supporting others which can be hard when you’re feeling tapped out. (this is in other professions too).

So, here are a few tips to help you when life’s a bit challenging but you still need to teach:

1. Remember that this too shall pass. Oh, god, this is such a tired phrase but it’s true. When you’re in the throes of a tough time, it can seem like the whole world is crashing around you. Have faith that with time, things will get better.
2. Lean on your yoga practice. We teach the people that come to class about the value of practicing yoga from a physical and mental perspective. It’s time to take your own advice. If you’re finding it hard to make time for practice, take a close look at your schedule and book yourself time to take class at least 3 times a week.
3. Look for the global lessons in your challenge. Teaching from personal experience is what makes your classes have depth, individuality, warmth and compassion. The key though, is to avoid talking about the details of your personal experience and instead, look for the global lessons and share those.
4. Pull out some of your old books from teacher training. When I started learning how to teach, I had a number of books that fueled my training. Things like Deepak Chopra’s “The 7 Spiritual Laws of Success”, Eckart Tolle’s “The Power Of Now” and Marianne Williamson’s “Return to Love.” While these weren’t necessarily about yoga poses, they taught me so much about the spiritual side of my own life, how to stay present and gave me specific tools to help when things are tough. Re-connecting to these books will give you content for your teaching and help you heal.
5. Stick with the basics. I have a general sequence that I have used for years. I vary it every now and again mixing in some different postures but the essence of it remains consistent (it’s true to the Baptiste Power Yoga standard sequence). I’ve found that when my head is swimming, it’s helpful to stay true to a standard sequence.
6. Be respectful of your personal boundaries. As a yoga teacher, you’re there to guide and support people through their personal practice. This isn’t the time for you to share your personal stories about the challenges you face in detail. While you might be tempted to share your story in detail with someone in your class, resist. It will keep you focused on the task at hand and help you see that you can be a strong leader even if in your head, you feel like you’re falling apart.
7. Take your own advice. Sometimes when you’re in the middle of a personal challenge, your experience colors what you say to your class. I had an experience a while back where I heard myself say something and I got choked up because it was exactly what I needed to hear. My friend said it was “spirit speaking through me.”
8. Learn to appreciate the commitment you have. When you’re in a slump, you might feel like sitting in your house with the shades drawn. But the responsibilities you have will keep you up and moving. This will aid in your healing.
9. Pick a mantra. Find something inspirational that’s a short saying. Something like, “Stay present” or “have faith in the universe.” Keep saying it over and over and it will literally bathe your heart and mind in good feelings.
10. Pretend everything is all right. You might feel like a total fake, but so what. Part of starting to feel better is to act better, even when you feel awful. You may have heard the term, “Act as If.” This is a perfect illustration of this idea. Pretend things are ok, smile, interact with the people in your classes as much as you can and slowly you’ll start to trick your mind and body into feeling better.

It’s school vacation week here in Boston and around the country. That means your Facebook page is most likely filled with pictures of people in tropical locations or otherwise relaxing venues.  Vacations are wonderful but if you can’t afford the time or the money required to get away, does that mean you’re stuck having a week of the same old thing? Hardly.

When you “can’t afford to get away,” as they say, here are some ideas to get you in a vacation mood:

Take one day off this week. Ok, so you can’t take the time or spend the money. But you can take one day, or even one afternoon off. Look towards the end of the week and scoot out of work early. Or, better yet, take one of the remaining days off this week. Remember, many people don’t take all the vacation days they are given by their employer.

Leave the cooking to the experts. Who cooks on vacation? No one does. So, this week, take some time to try a few new restaurants. Venture into some new neighborhoods, even those that you formerly avoided thinking, “I can’t afford it.” Constant thinking about what you can’t afford keeps you stuck in a feeling of scarcity. Instead, be open to trying new places, even if you need to be mindful of the cost of your meal.

Go out for ice cream at night. Many people have fond memories of summers spent in vacation spots, where the post-dinner activity was to go out for ice cream. Connect to those fun memories and take a walk to a local ice cream spot to enjoy the sweet of your choice.

Take in an action flick or comedy: Just like going out for ice cream can remind you of summer vacations, so can going to a movie. It’s hard to make the time to go to the movies during a workweek, which will make it all the more special if you do. Look for the latest action flick or comedy (who wants to take in a heavy, emotional movie on a weeknight?) and enjoy.

Play a game with someone you love. Back in the day, when my mom and dad would take us to the seashore for a week, there was no television in the rental unit. We’d read books and play monopoly or cards. So, instead of watching TV or huddling over your computer, pull out the backgammon or whatever you prefer, grab a friend or your sweetie and have a little friendly competition.

Have a picnic. Weather permitting, get your biggest wicker basket, go to your local gourmet grocery and buy some fun finger food to munch. Be creative: olives, salmon, fancy crackers and hearty bread, unique fruits and, of course, organic chocolate should all be on the menu. Add a non-alcoholic sparkling flavored water or wine and travel to a local park with a blanket. Food always tastes better outside!

Play golf, walk in the park, visit a local arboretum. If you happen to play golf, there is nothing more restorative than being outside on a nice day, hitting some golf balls. Leave the cart behind and walk the course if you can. Don’t worry about performance; you’re doing this for fun. If golf isn’t your thing, find a local park or hiking trail and take a walk.

Get a massage, foot reflexology or other spa treatment: Even if it’s just a manicure, you’ll feel like you’re investing in yourself and any of these treatments give you time to relax. If you’ve never tried foot reflexology, I’d highly recommend it.

Visit a bookstore. Wandering around a bookstore is a great way to open your mind and explore new things. Take some time to go through the aisles about travel, cooking, health and anything else that sparks your thought process. Just like some of these other activities, here’s something you can do at night after work, instead of the same old thing.

Make a vacation vision board and an action plan: Even if you can’t afford to take vacation now, it doesn’t mean you should write it off forever. Grab some magazines and cut out some picture of places that inspire you. Hang them in a prominent location (a cabinet or above your desk).  Start researching the cost of a trip and create a savings account just for vacation savings. Review your budget and figure out what you can afford to put away each week. Seeing your vision board will inspire you to save. Once you are halfway to goal, book the trip for three months out and head towards the finish line and your own vacation!

I have a book called “The Automatic Millionaire,” by David Bach. I bought it many years ago, before I was teaching yoga full time, but I pulled it out last year and re-read several parts of the book.

I found that it had a lot of good ideas that I could apply to my life today, the most important one being: “Pay Yourself First.” This concept applies to the idea of putting aside a bit of money each week from your earning, into a savings account. David suggests this be done automatically, via a withdrawl from your checking account to a personal savings account. I do it manually each week, as I like to build the discipline around doing the transaction. It makes me feel good each week and that “feel good” feeling has less to do with the actual amount I’m saving and much more to do with the fact that I’m taking a step to acknowledge my hard work.

This was something I did not do when I was working full time in the corporate world. Much of my saving in that phase of my life was done automatically and was towards retirement only but I didn’t take any action to save money into a personal savings account. There is something very rewarding about saving liquid cash. It gives you a sense of freedom as well as security. But more importantly, it helps you feel like the work you’re doing is not going without it’s tangible rewards.

Now, having said all that, the concept of “Paying Yourself First” doesn’t only apply to money. In fact, if the only way you are taking this kind of action is financially, you’ll most likely feel depleted on some level. We all know the stories of wealthy people that live without a sense of purpose or direction and feel somewhat empty inside.

As we get busier and busier in our lives, it gets harder and harder to find time to do things that we find rewarding and feed our passions. But in many ways, it’s our commitment to doing these things that will create more health in our life versus having a large bank account balance.  Paying yourself first doesn’t have to be reserved for those long and involved activities, like a week-long vacation or a massage. It can be found in small things too.

Here are some ideas:

Buy yourself flowers

Carry a meaningful memento with you and look at it often

Go for a long walk

Hug a child

Get a manicure or pedicure

Eat a healthy lunch

Visit a farmer’s market

Train for a road race

Take a class on a topic you want to learn

Have lunch with a good friend

See a movie or rent one that hold special meaning

Call someone you love

Have the courage to say, “I love you”

Take a risk to try something new

Go to the beach (or the slopes, if that’s more your thing)

Buy a new bedspread or nice sheets

Download some new music you love and that inspires you

Start a collection of meaningful things or something that reflects your passion

The point isn’t the dollar value of the activity; in fact, many of these things don’t cost anything to do. It’s more about taking the time to do something you enjoy and to acknowledge yourself.

So, how are you going to pay yourself today?

I just got done teaching a kid’s yoga class and I am so inspired, I had to write about it. I’ve been teaching children’s yoga for years and it never ceases to amaze me how they take to it. There are so many stories and examples I could share of kids over the years and things they have said and things they’ve done but today was just one of those days when everything was just clicking.

The kids were 8 years old or so and there were about 10 of them. We started with a quick question and answer around yoga with my asking them what they think of when they hear the word “yoga,” and what does yoga help us with? (Strength, flexibility, focus, breathing, relaxing, stress reduction). Yes, we talked about stress. I asked them what makes them feel stress. Some of their answers:

• When I get into a fight with my brother
• When I’m bullied at school
• When I can’t get to sleep
• When places are really noisy

We started to go into the yoga practice and I shared poses with them, they made up some of their own and then we did a little meditation. During the class, some kids had more of a challenge with focus and we talked about the difference between “focus” and “being silly.” They completely understood and that allowed us to move into some meditation to end the class.

Kids feel stress just like adults. Kids struggle with weight just like adults. Kids struggle to focus and pay attention just like adults. They develop coping mechanisms just like adults too; overeating, tuning out and using video games, TV and computers to avoid dealing with painful feelings.

Yoga for kids addresses all of that and more. Yoga helps kids focus; it shows them how deep breathing can affect their bodies and how they feel. Yoga helps kids build self-esteem by tackling different poses. Yoga helps kids work cooperatively together through the presentation of partner poses.  Yoga is a great way to help kids stay active, gain strength and learn to balance. Yoga helps kids relax through deep breathing. Yoga gives kids tools that they can use to process uncomfortable feelings and decrease stress. Yoga increases their awareness of how they feel; something that many adults should develop as a skill.

In today’s class, while we were doing a few minutes of meditation, some of the kids were laughing and having a hard time sitting still. I asked the kids to think of a color and when we opened our eyes, each child said the color that had came to mind. I asked if they found meditation relaxing or stressful. Some of them said “stressful.” When I asked why, they individually started to share feedback about how the behavior of the other children affected them. We had an amazing adult conversation and talked about what we found challenging about meditation and how our behavior can affect other people.

In the context of a 45-minute class, kids built strength, learned how to balance, focus and get stronger.  They meditated, worked cooperatively with others, used their imagination to create custom poses and relaxed. As the adult in the room, I was inspired beyond words. I kept thinking, “ I wish someone else was here to see and hear this!” One of my biggest passions is to bring yoga to children; I am grateful every time I teach and inspired beyond words.

Yoga teaches us to have the courage to live life with our heart open, the strength to plant our feet firmly on the ground and the commitment to express our passions. On this Valentine’s Day, share fully, love completely (especially yourself) and connect to your passion!

Ever wonder what your yoga students are thinking when they take your classes? I do. You look into their eyes and sometimes wonder if they’re enjoying themselves or not. I had someone in a recent class, a beginner, and he was working hard. Heavy breathing, a self-admitted newbie, eyes closed in what seemed like half-dazed confusion. When I went over to assist him, he turned to me with a big grin and said, “Thanks!” I must say, I was surprised.

Bottom line: You’ll never know what they’re thinking, unless, of course, they tell you.

Our goal as yoga teachers is to provide healthy, safe and enjoyable classes for our students. Depending on your background and training, what this looks like will vary. But the overall goal should be to provide a healthy experience in which students can grow and learn. Students will come to your classes with their whole life of experiences in their body and mind: their attitudes; habits; their ability to focus; their behaviors when challenged. They’ll bring their social skills, their struggles, their joys as well as their pains. When they come to the mat, you’ll most likely not be aware of much of this and yet it will color their entire experience.

As a teacher, you can either get caught up in these things, or you can keep moving forward, presenting poses and cues for breathing and mindfulness that will help them stay present. You can offer modifications, props and make eye contact when giving cues that you feel will assist them. You can use humor, speak from the heart and speak to what you see all as a method to keep them out of their heads and into their bodies and to inspire. All of this you can do, without ever getting into the no-win situation of trying to figure out if they’re enjoying themselves. And, of course, if they come up after class and say something like, “That was great!” you’ll know they enjoyed it. But keep in mind: sometimes classes that students don’t necessarily “enjoy” can, on some level, be the class that really helps them grow in new ways.

I had another experience recently with a private session. A woman brought a friend with her; an older man, with a kind face and a self-reported lifestyle that had him doing a lot of hard labor with his hands, he never had tried any yoga. He was there out of support and friendship for her, more than anything else, which of course, spoke volumes for their friendship. I led them through the basics, and I’ll admit, I wondered more than a few times, “What is this man thinking?”

We got to the end of the practice and as they came up from resting, he said in a deep voice, “I’ve got one thing to say.”

My heart kind of sank. I waited. He took a breath.

“ I’m glad I came to yoga.”

Sweet.

I taught a private yoga session to a woman recently that was just starting a yoga practice. She was interested in getting into shape and felt that yoga would be a helpful tool. She came to the mat with a bit of self-taught yoga experience but wanted to learn the alignment for each pose.

I often get students who have learned through experience and exposure to different teachers and classes but never had a one-on-one session to ensure they really understand the poses. While this is not necessary, it can be really useful to one’s understanding of yoga and can greatly increase one’s enjoyment as well as allow one to practice in a safe way for both the short and long term.

However, many times, when people have preconceived ideas of how the poses are to look and have self-taught themselves alignment, it takes a bit of “un-learning” to undo some habits that have development along the way. When I work with people, this process can often be met with frustration. It’s hard to undo patterns of movement. Think about every time you go to a yoga class and the teacher encourages you to “relax your shoulders.” Think about how many times you realize they’re up by your ears and you didn’t even know it.

But the other night, as I worked with this wonderful woman and we identified a few things to modify in her practice, she immediately burst out laughing. She thought it was hysterical that she could not change her alignment in a particular transition. She kept doing it over and over again, I kept gently correcting her and finally, after a while, she exclaimed, “I got it!”

This is a wonderful feeling. It reminds me of the feeling you may have experienced when you were learning how to ride a bike without training wheels. You fell a few times, trying to find your center of gravity, but then after a few tries, you stayed vertical and it felt great! This is often the feeling on the mat. You’re trying to combine both your conscious mind as well as your sensory mind. You know the direction you’re headed but it takes a few tries to get there.

Laughter is great thing to add to your yoga practice. Laughing releases “feel good” hormones into your system. Laughter helps you keep things light. Laughter is a wonderful way to demonstrate compassion for yourself. Laughter shows others that you don’t take yourself so seriously. Laughter shows other people that you’re willing to show yourself and therefore, encourages them to show their true self also.

After my session with her, I practiced the next day. My balance was off for some reason and I found myself struggling with many poses that usually come easily to me. In each pose, as my ankles wavered and I re-established my base, I found myself smiling as I thought of my new student and her great attitude. They say “our students are our best teachers” and this was truly an example of that!

Around this time of year, everyone starts wondering what they’re going to buy loved ones and friends for the holidays. Whatever holiday you celebrate, it’s a time to recognize the special people in your life. It can be stressful though, especially when you have limited funds. I remember when I was little, my mom would say, “It’s not the money you spend; it’s the thought that counts.” This seems to fade away as we get older but why should it? In some ways, it’s even more touching to get a homemade gift these days because it takes effort and thought. So, here are some ideas, spanning a range of price points, to hopefully get you started:

For the cook: A batch of homemade cookies, fun cookie cutters and a cookbook, dinner candles, placemats and napkins for a table setting

For the animal lover: A surprise trip to a local farm or animal sanctuary and a calendar from an animal charity, snacks for the person’s pet

For the beach lover: A frame with shells you gather from your favorite beach glued to the rim; a picture of the two of you enjoying a summer day, a beach bag filled with a fun towel and a book (especially fun to get in the winter to help one look forward to the summer)

For the movie lover: a basket of healthy snacks, a gift certificate for two movie tickets and a subscription to Netflix

For the reader: An actual book (yes, hard cover!), a soft blanket, a cute mug and some healthy teas

For the yogi: This is a tough one because there are so many ways you can go with gift ideas. A mat, a mat bag, a gift card for classes at a local studio, a gift certificate to a favorite yoga clothing store, or a DVD of a favorite teacher all make nice ideas. Other ideas include mala beads, scented wax free candles, healthy teas, eye pillow, essential oils or a cotton hoodie to don during shavasana

For the runner:  I received a wonderful necklace with “26.2” on it in roman numerals to commemorate my finish of my 2^nd marathon in October, 2011.  It came from www.endurejewerly.com and they have a number of other running-inspired themes on jewelry. Other ideas include compression socks, a fun hat and gloves for cold weather running or a basket with Advil, ice packs and natural athletic muscle rubs like Tiger Balm and a gift certificate for a massage. Better to be prepared for injury than surprised!

For your sweetie: An i tunes song list of favorites you share, a framed photo of the 2 of you (remember those?), a surprise trip to a favorite restaurant, a romantic visit to a café for espresso and pastry with an evening stroll afterwards, an old-fashioned locket with a picture inside. Other ideas might include doing something with your honey that’s usually reserved for them to do single- visit their favorite yoga class together, go dancing (even if you hate it), take in that chick flick or action movie or go for a hike with your rugged, nature-loving honey

For the fashionista: A pile of the latest (hard-copy) fashion magazines, a pashmina and dangling earrings

For your neighbor: Bottle of wine, gift card to a local coffee shop or a basket of homemade cookies.

The holidays are the perfect time to show the people in your life how much your care. Rather than making it about the amount of money you spend, why not make it about acknowledging something you love about the person. Sometimes, being appreciated is the best gift you can give and that has nothing to do with how much money you spend.
Happy Holidays. Enjoy the season!

The other day, I was listening to the news and they were talking about Gabrielle Giffords’ recovery. Dr. Sanjay Gupta was offering his comments on a video of her. In it, she was singing, “Girls just wanna have Fun,” full on, all out, her head swinging back and forth, a huge smile on her face, clapping to the music. The use of music is a big part of her therapy. Dr. Gupta was talking about her current challenges finding the right words and said that while finding the right words for conversation is hard, when it comes to singing, it’s actually a different mental process to recall words to songs. He went onto say those memories live in a different part of the brain and she almost flows from word to word more from a deep sense of knowing, routine and habit than intellect.

As I listened to this description, it reminded me of how yoga becomes engrained in your body. After just a few months of practice, you can feel new patterns of movement begin to take hold. But in many ways, it’s not so much that they’re new patterns of movement; they’re the old patterns that have been replaced by unhealthy patterns or habits. Just as with Gabrielle’s wonderful singing, it comes from a deep place. It comes from a place beyond thinking but more from deep memory.

When I work with people in class or even more so, in private sessions, I have a chance to hear about them. I have the one aspect of working with them, which is the physical realm. That’s comprised of their alignment, how their body moves, their approach to yoga. But there’s so much more beneath the surface and some of that comes up as we talk about different things going on in their life or a little bit about their background. Some students have athletics in their background but years of working hard and raising families have taken priority. Some people have dance in their background. Others have a passion for health but over the years, their health has taken a hit due to illness or injury.

But more times than not, with consistent practice, their former self starts to come through. I can see it even in the first session, although it’s not always clear to me because I don’t have the back-story. But as that gets filled in and the practices continue, I see more stability, more strength, more purpose in the poses. I also see deeper relaxation at the end of our practices.

This doesn’t come from complex poses or from daily two-hour practices. It comes more from consistently showing up on the mat, with an open mind and a willingness to do your best.

So today, if you’re feeling unstable, unsteady, heavy, and achy or a shadow of your former self, have faith. Start with a few deep breaths. Then, try yoga, maybe for the first time. Find a teacher to work with or visit a local studio. It may not happen right away, but in time, you will start to feel more grounded. And with consistent practice, you’ll tap into those deep muscle and soulful memories of being strong, open and comfortable in your own skin. It will happen!

I work with a lot of rowers and in my time with them, I’m always thrilled when we do different yoga poses and they comment on how the pose would be helpful for rowing. Yoga has a wonderful way of being applicable to many different activities; rowing, running, cycling, functional movement we do all day, awareness around sitting at your desk, even driving your car. But when we refer to “alignment” in yoga, what does that really mean?

When we refer to “alignment,” we’re literally talking about “being in line.” But what “line” are we talking about? I’d suggest it’s the centerline of the body, or the spine, that’s most often the reference point when talking about alignment. Being in alignment in a yoga pose is having a sense of being centered around your spine and that holds true for when you’re on the floor or standing; twisting, balancing, wrapping or extending your limbs out to the sides.

The other interesting thing about the word “alignment” is that it can also be used to refer to one’s ability to be “in line” with an idea, values or a mission. When a team is in alignment, they’re referring to being in agreement about philosophy, training and conduct on and off the playing arena. When employees are in alignment with a company’s mission statement, it can refer to everyone working well as a team, cooperating and expressing clearly the vision and mission of the brand.

When we look at using good alignment in yoga poses or even in any other physical activity (or even when driving or sitting at our desks), why would we want to do this? What value is there? Here are some thoughts:

Efficiency: When your body is in alignment, from a biomechanical perspective, you don’t have to work as hard. Your joints are stacked for maximum power and your chest is open so you can easily breathe. Good alignment helps us work enough but not overwork.

Decreased risk of injury: Improper alignment can lead to injuries. In yoga, things like locking joints, bringing the shoulders below the elbows in the high-to-low-push-up transition and scrunching the shoulders to the ears in inversions are common mishaps. When we move in alignment, we build strength and nourish our joints and muscles without creating stress or tension.

Helps conserve energy: Being in alignment helps us conserve our energy because we’re not overworking to compensate for being out of line. Similar to the efficiency benefit, it helps us put our energy where it’s most needed on a physical level. This also applies to the other application of being “in alignment;” when we live our life in alignment with our own values and mission statement and resist being swayed by others, we have more energy for all that we do and also less drama in our lives.

Builds strength: Working the body with alignment helps us build strength. Our joints are stacked so our muscles and bones can work efficiently.

Relieves pain from unhealthy movement patterns: For many people that start practicing yoga and paying attention to alignment, they begin to undo years of holding their body in unhealthy ways. They remark how their neck pain starts to subside or their lower back pain decreases. For some, it’s a matter of identifying what they are doing that’s not working for them and it is only through being in alignment, that they can identify these patterns.

So how does one learn alignment? In a typical yoga class, most students learn by watching others, watching the teacher, figuring things out for themselves, or a combination of all three. If the studio where you practice offers workshops dedicated to alignment, that’s a great way to learn. Learning by watching others is always a bit tough because everyone’s body is different. Plus, who knows if that person knows what they’re doing?

Ultimately, being “in alignment” is both an internal and external expression of being in congruence with a set of principles. If we’re talking about the body, they’re principles about biomechanics. If we’re talking about it from a spiritual perspective, we’re talking about being in agreement with the values and ideas around how we wish to live our lives. Alignment is an expression of being at peace in both our body and mind.