Roanoke Yoga

09/27/2025

"Someone asked me, ‘aren't you afraid about the state of the world? ‘I allowed myself to breathe and then I said, ‘what is most important is not to allow your anxiety about what happens in the world fill your heart. If your heart is filled with anxiety, you will get sick, and you will not be able to help.’ There are wars - big and small - in many places, and that can cause us to lose our peace. Anxiety is the illness of our age. We worry about ourselves, our family, our friends, our work, and the state of the world. If we allow worry to fill our hearts, sooner or later we will get sick.
Yes, there is tremendous suffering all over the world, but knowing this need not paralyze us. If we practice mindful breathing, mindful walking, mindful sitting, and working in mindfulness, we try our best to help, and we can have peace in our heart. Worrying does not accomplish anything. Even if you worry twenty times more, it will not change the situation of the world. In fact, your anxiety will only make things worse. Even though things are not as we would like, we can still be content, knowing we are trying our best and will continue to do so. If we don't know how to breathe, smile, and live every moment of our life deeply, we will never be able to help anyone. I am happy in the present moment. I do not ask for anything else. I do not expect any additional happiness or conditions that will bring about more happiness. The most important practice is aimlessness, not running after things, not grasping."
~Thích Nhật Hạnh

09/25/2025

Bird of Paradise is a challenging balance posture. It requires strength and stability in your legs, a toned core, balance confidence, and length in your hamstrings. And like most things, this takes practice.

Like any one-legged balance posture, Bird of Paradise will strengthen the muscles in your legs and promote muscular stability. Psychologically, it develops a sense of confidence, concentration, and mental clarity. This pose also develops flexibility in your hips and hamstrings.

Here’s your quick disclaimer: working up to Bird of Paradise will take time. If this is your first (or maybe even your 20th) time practicing the poses in the sequence, your body may still need some time before hopping into Bird of Paradise. Honor your body, stop when it asks you to, and remember: every day is a new opportunity!

09/25/2025

09/22/2025

Many blessings to you on this first day of fall! 🍂🍁🍂 Autumn is a season of great energy and a lot of change. The world around us undergoes an immense transformation, as evident in the shorter days, cooler temperatures, and falling leaves. Our daily routines also become more complicated, especially with back-to-school activities and preparations for upcoming holidays. The energetic and seasonal shift may cause you to feel overwhelmed, unbalanced, or detached from your true self.

Although it may seem difficult to make time for yoga at this time of year, practicing regularly can help calm the chaotic and variable energy of this season. Try incorporating more grounding asanas and maintaining the poses for several additional breaths. It’s also a great time to enroll in gentle or restorative yoga classes.
Fall is also associated with the harvest, which makes it an excellent season to reflect on how you have grown during the year so far. Take time to look back on all that you have accomplished, and to truly appreciate the results of your efforts. Acknowledge all of your progress, whether you realized any specific goal or not. Then, look forward to the remainder of the year and all the potential it still holds. Either reaffirm your current intention, or create a new one that supports your goals.
Finally, with Thanksgiving just a few months away, this is the right time of year to begin incorporating gratitude into your meditations. We typically direct our gratitude outward, towards people or events around us, and neglect to turn it inward. So take a moment, right now, to acknowledge and be thankful for yourself.

I am thankful for my body, and for all the sensations it allows me to experience.
I am thankful for my mind, and for all the ways it supports and guides me.
I am thankful for my spirit, and for all the knowledge and wisdom it holds.
I am thankful for myself, and for all the ways I care for myself.

09/18/2025

09/14/2025

Expectations are seen as a primary cause of suffering, as they create a gap between how life unfolds and how we wish it to be, leading to disappointment and frustration. The key to reducing suffering is not to eliminate all hopes, but to cultivate non-attachment to outcomes and align our expectations with the present reality, which allows for greater peace and wisdom.  
In yoga, we call this practice Aparigraha. Aparigraha is a Sanskrit word from yoga philosophy that means non-attachment, non-possessiveness, or non-greed. It encourages people to take only what is necessary, let go of excessive material possessions and desires, and avoid hoarding or clinging to things, thoughts, or outcomes. This principle helps cultivate contentment, inner peace, and a more mindful, simple life by fostering a sense of trust, self-reliance, and freedom from the burdens of accumulation.
Until you are enlightened, you will repeatedly fall into expectations. But the reason to practice being mindful of expectations and being compassionate with yourself when you feel yourself caught in them is so that you acquire the skill to let go of them. You may have expectations, but you are not tyrannized by them. This is freedom from expectations. It is what a Buddhist meditation teacher known to me describes as “just starting over.” When you realize you are creating expectations or are caught in them, you see them for the suffering they represent and you just start over in that very moment, as best as you are able.

09/11/2025

Well, that 👏was👏awesome👏 Sunset yoga is still one of my favorite classes of the year. We had perfect weather, a beautiful sunset, and over 700,000 sunflowers surrounding us in every view. And, tonight was the 8000th yoga class I've taught. We'll just call that alignment.

09/10/2025

I am now receiving all the love! 💙
♡Standing backend♡

09/06/2025

Mountain pose - Tadasana
The active standing foundational pose on which all balances are built on. There's a reason why yoga teachers usually give the most cues for this one.