When did you stop thinking you were beautiful? Have you ever thought about this question before? I first heard this question when I watched a Ted Talk by the Global Director of the Dove Self-Esteem Project at Unilever in London, Meaghan Ramsey, called “Why Thinking You Are Ugly is Bad For You”.

I came across this Ted Talk while spending a normal work day researching body image and the impact it has on our sense of self-worth, our relationships, and ultimately how we show up to life each day. Back in 2006, at just 17 years old, I moved down to California. After an attempt at city college, I ended up modeling and acting in Los Angeles. Coming from my background as a homeschooled gal from Orcas Island, this was quite an extreme. I always loved challenges! But oh wow, I was not prepared for the challenge ahead.Read More

We are so blessed here in the PNW to have what must be some of the loveliest summers in the country. Not only is the weather pretty amazing, but we are blessed with so much abundance in produce this time of year! One of the best ways to take advantage of both, is to blend up a cooling smoothie. Stay hydrated, beat the heat, and enjoy the fruits and veggies of the season! Here’s a current favorite:

1 stalk celery
1 c. frozen pineapple and/or mango chunks
1 big handful of parsley
Coconut milk to taste/consistency you like

Blend and enjoy!

In Ayurveda, summer is ruled by the pitta dosha, which can express in the body as agitation, sluggish digestion, sour stomach, and skin irritations. Ingesting cooling foods (look for foods with astringent, bitter, or sweet tastes) is one way you can help to counteract the effects of this fiery season. Other things you can do to balance pitta:

–  Stay near water! Swim or bathe in cool water as often as you can

– Cooling yoga practices, such as yin or restorative

– Avoid heating foods such as coffee, alcohol, meats, and fried food. Favor fresh, local vegetables, cooked grains.

Stay cool and enjoy this gorgeous summer while it’s here!

I have been reading Deepak Chopra’s Why is God Laughing, Here’s the line that has stuck with me:

“Either you’re a person wondering if you have a soul, or you’re a soul who knows that being a person isn’t real.”

Whoa, heavy stuff, right? That line hit me like a ton of breaks, right in my third chakra (this is the solar plexus, aka the spot right underneath your sternum where your ribs separate, aka the “bread basket.” This is the place where we hold our self-identity and fears). So much of our lives are fear-based, but the reality is that we cannot predict the future. Read More

Summer is upon us, and many of us will be spending more time in the car off to see family, spend time in nature, and enjoy all that the PNW has to offer. So whether you’re in line for the next ferry or spending long weekends tucked into a cabin in the mountains, check out a couple of these podcasts to keep you inspired and take your practice wherever you go.Read More

Have you ever wished you could bottle up the feeling of deep, grounded peace you feel after a really great guided meditation or yoga nidra session to enjoy later? Us, too! We’re still working on figuring the bottle part out, but we’ve got the next best thing – a recorded yoga nidra session with Michal that you can enjoy anytime, anywhere!Read More

“As we move towards the bright season of light, remember that it is oh so nourishing and necessary to draw back into ourselves for healing…”

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Oh man…if I had a penny for every time someone mentioned they wanted to work their neck or shoulders in yoga class, I could feed the world! It’s no wonder this request is so popular though, given this recent study from the July/August issue of the Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy stating that up to 75% of adults experience neck pain as a musculoskeletal disorder. Reasons stated range from ergonomics to trauma to insomnia. In addition, shoulder and rotator cuff problems are stated to be in 25% of adults over 50 yrs old and 30% of cadavers have torn rotator cuffs.Read More

Om Shri Lakshmi Namaha!

Greetings yogis and yoginis! I will be offering the second installment of “Advance your Practice” on April 20^th. As this is Earth day, we will be focusing on the Goddess of Abundance, Lakshmi. According to Natalie Rousseau, the Hindu deity Lakshmi “invites us to fully embody our earthly existence and to enrich our lives with gratitude and pleasure, generosity and abundance.”Read More

One of the ways that we embody our core values is by offering a Karma Yoga program. As part of our mentorship program, mentees teach a donation class during their tenure. This allows us to offer a sliding-scale class for those who would like to practice with us at the studio, but might not otherwise be able to financially. In turn, with the donations we collect from these classes, we use that money to fund our teachers going out into our larger community to offer free yoga classes in partnership with non-profits or other organizations in our community. The intention is to create access for people interested in yoga that may have socioeconomic, geographic, or other barriers to attending a class at the studio, with the practice of yoga in support of the outside group’s goals and mission.Read More

A few weeks ago in Elizabeth’s Tantra Yoga workshop, students were guided to practice chanting using a mala. We see them all the time associated with the yoga practice, but it’s not often that we are offered the chance to use them in a supported way such as a workshop. Naturally, one of the questions that came up was what exactly is a mala and how do we use it?Read More