Twist Yoga School – Need-Based Scholarship

  We get it…  Although we believe yoga school to be a valuable investment, sometimes we could use a little support in following our path. We at Twist Yoga are committed to your success, each year awarding need-based scholarship dollars. Persons eligible to receive a portion of our scholarship dollars shall meet the following criteria: Scholarship applications will … Read More »

Jen’s Favorite Things. Like Oprah’s, only cheaper.

It’s smack dab in the middle of the holidays, and things have been a little hectic lately, so I’ll just leave you with some of my favorite things: – I feel like I’ve finally made it!  Here’s why:  http://yogadork.com/news/she-exists-i-can-be-a-yoga-teacher-barbie-doll/ – Who ISN’T writing a yoga memoir? But this one is a sweet little gem: accessible, honest and … Read More »

Symptoms of Busyness Syndrome

I recently dated a guy; let’s call him Guy*,  who reacted with a certain level of alarm when I described a book I was currently reading. He exclaimed, “You read?!” I laughed, thinking he was joking.  He was not.  “What?  READ?  Who has TIME?” It was that disappointing moment on a date where, in an … Read More »

Fall. The most chaotic season

Teaching a class the other day, I found myself completely butchering my lefts and rights: “Now inhale and step your left foot between your hands.  No, I mean your RIGHT foot. Is it left? Are we on our right or left? Did we do this side? Wait a minute. I meant step your right foot … Read More »

The DOGA Sutras: What your Dog Can Teach You About Yoga

Lucy the dog was sentenced to wear a plastic Elizabethan cone by our vet for a month, a time frame which she has pointed out –by the look in her soft, brown retriever eyes-   is like 7 months in dog years. As I write she’s sitting across the room in front of the floor lamp.  … Read More »

Thoughts from a Monkey Mind

Things have been a bit hectic this summer, so I’ll leave you with these thoughts: – No one rocks Pinterest like Flying Yogini! Her images and inspiration are completely knocking my socks off. Warning: You’ll waste a lot of time looking at what she has put together.

Attempts at Meditation with a serene (annoying) teacher

When it comes to the objective of a yoga practice, many yogis cite Patanjali’s Sutra 1.2: “Yogash citta vritti nirodhah.”   Sanskrit scholars offer varying translations of this sutra, but the gist of it is:  “Yoga is the cessation (nirodhah) of the fluctuations (citta vritti) of the mind.” Personally, Bernadette Birney’s (a smart and thoughtful yogi … Read More »

How to avoid dysentery while traveling in India

I have writers’ block. I think I’m still suffering from jet lag; since I returned from India last week I’ve found I can barely string two thoughts together, let alone an entertaining newsletter about something yoga-ish. During my time away, I spent three days in Mumbai, followed by two weeks at a retreat center studying … Read More »

A dog, shoulder, and an Italian underwear model.

There’s a little dog that lives behind a chain link fence on my street – an energetic little Jack Russell terrier named Buck.  Buck shares his yard with Christie, a Basset Hound-Lab mix who is quite possibly the slowest moving dog on the planet.  Christie spends most of her day sitting in stunned bewilderment by … Read More »

Admitting you have a problem is the first step

“Good God, you are rough on yourself,” my therapist once said to me.  “How ‘bout we work on your self-loathing with some techniques for self-compassion?” Mentally, I rolled my eyes, recalling a recent new-agey workshop experience:  There I was, in the Oregon wilderness, uncomfortably skirting the outside of a giant group hug with 20 weeping … Read More »