Boundaries as Prayers
sometimes in the wild tapestry of family, the threads of love and care need to be woven into boundaries, even when it feels like it’s pulling your own heart apart.
The Beauty of Weathering
As time marches on, I'm working on embracing the authenticity and elegance of aging. I'm the first to admit that it's not totally comfortable for me yet. But I'm learning that
Yoga is not something we ‘do’…
Yoga is more than a thing to do. Yoga is what happens when we LET GO of trying to do all the things.
Giant Stumps & Tapas
Setting aside the environmental issues inherent in taking down an ancient tree, I started to wonder what makes an older guy like that wake up in the morning, put on his work clothe
Embracing Challenge for Personal Evolution
It’s when we are pushed to our limits that we find the courage to adapt, be flexible, and think outside the box. In short…we GROW.
Dancing with Darkness
“Hope begins in the dark,the stubborn hopethat if you just show up and do the right thing,the dawn will come.”—Anne Lamott Where I come from, winter feels like a time of stag
What Does it Mean to Go with the Flow?
Going with the flow means that we loosen our grip on our agenda and notice what’s happening around us. When we can sense the direction of the flow of life and move with it, we
On your Worth…
It takes courage to let go of the conditions you’ve placed on your worth. It’s hard to forgive yourself when you’ve let people down. It can be scary to fully embrace who you
De-Stress Your Holidays
December is here and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by an extra-long to-do list on top of the usual stressors associated with the holidays. During this time when most of us genuin
Self Love: Selfish or Self Responsible?
Nine days ago, Layne and I were down just south of Coffs Harbour, Australia celebrating the wedding of our son Tim to Emma, who has felt like family for many years. It was a magica
Is Yoga A Religion?
In the west, many people seek out yoga for its health benefits or in search of balance in a busy, stressful life. But no matter what your reason for starting, yoga can also be a
Yoga Is Not My Life
“Let your practice be a celebration of life” — Seido Lee deBarro I’m just back from a weekend away with my beautiful family, our three adult children, their partn
Wisdom from the Water
When I got there, there was a beautiful old tree, its roots reached out over the water creating a ‘chair’ for me to sit in. I sat there in the arms of the tree, and crying, I a
Connect with Nature
Over the weekend I read an email from my friend Noah Maze, and he closed the email with this quote from John Muir: “The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past,
Overcoming Overwhelm
Most Mondays when I want to write, I go for a long walk with Boo, and the ideas flow. But today, no flow. This latest round with the Pandemic has set me on my side a bit, and I hav
Luxuriating in Liminality
Twelve years ago, in the process of moving to Australia, my youngest daughter and I found ourselves between lives. Layne and our two older kids were already established in Brisbane
Svadhyaya: Know Thyself
In Ancient Greece, in the heart of the city of Delphi, stood the Temple of Apollo. It was home to the Oracle: A woman, who it was believed, could answer any question given to her.
Is Attachment Really The Source of All Suffering?
“Attachment is the cause of all suffering.” I hear this ancient teaching quoted often by yoga teachers, and the first thing that comes to mind is “What about my child
The Gift of You
Early in our marriage, I brought to Layne’s attention that I was feeling like I was the one who was planning all of our together time, our dates. When we talked about it, he r
The Benefits of Moving Slowly
Several years ago there was a study conducted in Europe comparing the rate of heart disease between the French, who have a very low rate, and Austrians, who have a much higher rate
The Power of Tender Receptivity
When he finally told me to open my eyes, there in front of us was the full moon rising just above the water, sending a shimmering path of light that ended exactly where we sat.
Are You a Sensitive Soul?
10 signs you might be a sensitive soul, and strategies to reclaim and nurture your gifts. By Alison Potts I meet sensitive people all the time. As an empath myself, I am drawn to k
5 Reasons Office Workers Should be Practicing Yoga
With the advent of modern technology, an increasing number of jobs require sitting at a computer for 8 or more hours per day. This might seem to make life easier, but the human bod
Contraction & Expansion: The Rhythm of Life
Have you ever noticed that after you take a leap of faith and make a big change in your life, it’s often followed by a time of shrinking back? Or that a period of agitation or fe
Stoke Your Inner Fire
As we see the turn of the weather in Brisbane, finally, we welcome cooler nights, and fresh, crisp breezes. Yoga offers a way to warm you from the inside that will keep you feeling
The Magic of a Full-Moon Meditation
By Alison Potts Why is meditating under a full moon so powerful? When you were a child, did you ever find yourself stopped in your tracks by the moon at its fullest – arrested by
Turbulence is Life Force
Turbulence is life force. It is opportunity. Let’s love turbulence and use it for change. Ramsay Clark With COVID-19 moving at warp speed across the globe, all of us are united b
Stepping into your Power
The recent Super Bowl halftime show has sparked some great conversation this week about the empowerment vs. the objectification of women. I don’t know if you saw the show, but it
Why Yoga?
What first brought you to yoga? When I first started practicing yoga in the mid-1980’s it was strictly physical. Back then yoga was cross-training for me. Having dealt with an au
Sankalpa: A Resolution from the Heart
I love New Year’s Eve, but not for the reasons you might think. I love celebrating cycles – all of life’s cycles are significant, they bring rhythm and flow to life. Wh
Heart on Overdrive: Grandparent Love Explained (sort of)
It had been years since I held a new baby for hours — his head nestled on my chest, hanging on every sigh, breathing in his scent, no place more important to be than right here.
The Stories We Tell
Recently I changed bookkeepers, and last week during my 2nd meeting with my new bookkeeper we went over our cash flow forecasting. She had reformatted the spreadsheet and tidi
The Wisdom of the Tradeoff
Moving to Australia nearly 10 years ago meant leaving behind a comfortable existence in the US. We had a sweet house in a charming area, we had friends, the kids had friends, and m
On Possibility, 2019…
A couple of years ago I was invited to give a speakeasy at Wanderlust Festival, a 40-minute talk on the subject of my choice. Now, I talk in front of a room full of people every si
Celebrating Eight Years of Shri
I was NEVER going to open a yoga studio. When I moved to Brisbane from Chicago 9 years ago that kind of responsibility was the furthest thing from my mind. But when the Universe li
Living Life Fully
Can you remember a time when you felt like life was never-ending? I can remember feeling this way as a kid. It didn’t matter how long I was mad at my sister, or how long I had to
Shaken, Not Stirred: The Yoga of Being Comfortable with the Uncomfortable
First Brexit, now Donald Trump. With news and information coming at us from all corners of the globe and faster than any other period in human history, at times it feels like our w
The Yoga of Moments
A few weeks ago Layne and I escaped for a weekend down to the hinterlands outside Byron Bay. Our little cottage was set high on a hill in a macadamia orchard, and the view from the
Spring Equinox: The Myth of Life Balance
This Friday at 12:21am is the Spring Equinox, the moment of perfect balance between light and dark. Spring is a time for us to open the windows and doors, to clean out the clutter
Humbled by Tumbles
I’m a mover. I believe in the ability of movement to heal the body. The impact yoga has had to heal me on both a physical and spiritual level is what inspired me to learn to teac
Lifting the Veil: You’re Already Awesome, Why Not Enjoy It?
This is my 14th week recovering from major reconstructive foot surgery. I was in a cast up until last Friday, and very limited in my ability to move. As someone whose life’s work
Trust Your Gut: Accessing the Still, Small Voice Inside
Back when I lived in Chicago, I had a student and friend who was a pioneering female entrepreneur. She invited me to be her guest at a luncheon where Oprah Winfrey was the keynote
The Principle of Perfect Fullness
When I was a child, I had a board game called Perfection. It was a plastic puzzle board, and the object was to fit 25 plastic pieces of all different shapes into their place on the
Heart Broken and Scarred
18 years ago today I had surgery to fix my broken heart. It was a terrifying time, I went in for tests for something completely unrelated and within a day my chest was being sawed
Strength Through The Range
I love teaching the esoteric parts of yoga… We are our bodies, but we are MORE than our bodies. Being embodied is like a little microcosm of your life; the lessons you learn in y
