By Courtney Aldor
I first met Ford Peck in Fairfax at one of his Meditation workshops. This led me to his yoga classes, which brought me to his energy healing sessions, which are more like psychotherapy (in which he’s trained), where he draws upon techniques from NLP, Yoga Nidra, various bodywork methodologies...
By Colleen Crowley
Noah Levine's spiritual path began on the floor of a padded jail cell at 18. A veteran of the punk movement, he spent his youth addicted to drugs and rebelling against pacifist parents whose peace approach seemingly resulted in a world of capitalist propaganda, government corruption, and fascist oppression. As detailed in his best-selling book “Dharma Punx”...
By Deidre Norman
When we are in the present moment, we are more grounded and when we are more grounded, we can more easily tune into the flow of life. When we are in the flow, we are a part of life, rather than just our thoughts about life. It is in this state, that we naturally become more open, compassionate and even more efficient...
By Courtney Aldor
With her infectious smile and upbeat sense of humor, Lesley Desaulnier has quickly become one of Marin’s most in-demand yoga teachers. In fact, when she first arrived from New York and a friend brought me to her class at Yogaworks, it was under the condition that I not tell anyone...
By Liya Garber
Evening time was very special, as we all gathered at the main stage for a different concert each night. It felt as though we were all part of one big loving tribe. It was especially nice to see the kids running around smiling, laughing and activating all of us with their sweet presence...
By Autumn Feldmeier
You cannot think about dance. You cannot count the beats or tell yourself to do this step and that step. Instead, you have to act in a way that puts aside your everyday conscious mind. You just have to dance. You can't make it look any better than what it is, and if you are honest, you can't make it any worse: you can't hide yourself when you dance...
By Rachel Nichols
I had the amazing opportunity to talk to Forest Fein, the Curriculum Director + Lead Instructor for the Youth Mindfulness programs at Larkin Street Youth Services. Larkin Street provides youth between the ages of 12 and 24 with the help they need to rebuild their lives. Each year, more than 3,000 youth walk through their doors seeking help...
By Erika Van Gemeren
Shakti: the great divine feminine mother. Every Spring Shaktifest puts on a magical and unforgettable gathering in Joshua Tree. The first day started for us with a Kundalini class led by Kia Miller. Her radiant spirit is a shining example of the Ma and was quite infectious...
By Kelly Finnegan
I immediately felt relaxed and open to this experience because of my love of self-acceptance. I spend a great deal of time and energy working on building up my personal value, which has no ties to society’s illusive perception of worth. In spite of all this great work that I do, it is exactly what I just called it: work.
By Patricia Gums
On May 20th, nearly 1000 people attended a guided sound meditation at Grace Cathedral to benefit San Francisco Suicide Prevention, which answers more than 200 calls a day from those in need and have 6 core programs, which you can learn about here. As a professional event planner, I can confidently say it was the “hot ticket”...
By Autumn Feldmeier
The one love movement's mission is to inspire 'one love' across the globe & create one community that gives back through action. Their cause is underprivileged youth...
By Kelly Finnegan
The word Bhakti has several definitions. One that stands out the most to me is “union through love and devotion”. One would think that love and devotion are inherently present in each and every practice, but that is not the case. No two practices are ever the same; just like no two days are ever the same...
By Autumn Feldmeier
"One’s legacy might be considered before one is almost gone, and last I checked, I’m still here, baby! I’m proud of being among the early pioneers in the turn-of-the-century San Francisco yoga movement. Being able to help serve the tidal wave of modern day yogis in this beautiful city (and beyond) has been one of the biggest joys of my life..."
By Patricia Gums
he title of the workshop sounded intriguing: Awakening the Nerve of the Soul, a combination of intensive Kundalini yoga practice and sound healing with Liya Garber and sound practitioner Danny Goldberg...
By Ashley Shires
I pulled my rental car into the dirt parking lot of Bhakti Fest, in the Joshua Tree desert, and a security guard in a bright orange vest motioned for me to roll down my window. I did, to a blast of 100-degree heat. He grinned at me, yelling, “Namaste!” I grinned back, realizing I had pulled off the highway and into an alternative reality...
By Andrea Kasprzak
Sherpa Power, a new ayurvedic brew from Berkeley-based company Global Family Farms, packs a powerful message in every bottle. The brand-new beverage, which took home awards at this year’s Expo West and now available at Bay Area Whole Foods, makes a powerful change in more than just your health...
By M Ryan Saldiver
In our Yoga mat practice, it’s important to remember we’re not pushing for perfection, but excellence. Aristotle said “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly...
By Courtney Aldor
Ok, so I’m in NYC right now, missing the Bay Area every minute of every day. Which is why, when I heard about Devaa Haley Mitchell’s free online Inspiring Women with Soul event on the Shift Network, I jumped at the opportunity to connect with that NorCal yogi spirit and inspiring women everywhere. My alarm went off for Shiva Rea’s talk...
By Colleen Crowley
Tucked away in one of those unassuming single-story white wooden Presidio buildings is SenSpa, one of SF’s hidden gems. Recently, Monica Parks, a Lead Massage Therapist at SenSpa, gave a talk on how to incorporate spa-like treatments and therapies into our daily lives to maintain health and wellness between visits through a feeling of abundance...
By Courtney Aldor
When I asked Tarika Lovegarden - author, meditation coach, nutritionist, and all-around badass chick - if I could interview her, I was going to write about her profoundly deep Heart Meditation classes. That is, guided meditation specific to strengthening the energy of the heart chakra: that which relates to love, confidence, compassion, hope and healing...
