You should do something to mark the occasion!

I hope this finds you well and healthy! Congratulations on cleaning out your closet! I am a born and raised NYer who was raised in an environment that appreciated the ethic of bargain-hunting which often led to a full closet. Through yoga I do my best to practice sutra 1.12-16 non-attachment or vairagya, and at the very least agree to my husbands rule of balance, “for every purchased item, one item is donated.”

I am also writing to you because I came across your name on YJ and here on your blog after being questioned by a colleague if I had ever considered doing yoga modeling. Do you have any leads on how to pursue that path?

Otherwise, do you think yoga journal would ever consider doing a story on an up and coming yoga teacher and her path from finding yoga and meditation while living in Senegal, West Africa to living in France, then back in NYC in the world of investment banking then private language schools, then doing graduate research and teaching yoga in Sri Lanka, finally working in raising money for the underprivileged NYers through the nonprofit industry all while teaching yoga? For more details you can see my blogs: http://ruahyoga.blogspot.com or http://ruahseyes.blogspot.com.

Thank you for your time and consideration – I understand this request is perhaps amongst the thousands or even millions of messages you receive. However, I had to pursue the potential serendipitous crossing of email paths here – I did afterall meet my own husband on the L train in NYC, so I tend to stick with my gut feeling and give anything with a glimmer of hope a chance!

Shanti & Mangala,

Ruah

Your teachers gave me what I need such as the breathing technique, the trapezius was just great references. So now I can listen to my teacher on tape and do all those integral references I need to focus on my body.

Alignment and awareness is key….thanks for your revelation and journey.

I had a similar experience at the beach recently. As I jogged for a mile, I couldn’t wait to get in the water because then my untanned body, with its visible cellulite, would be hidden. Sure, intellecutally I was grateful to have a healthy body, and realized that although I might be obese by fashion model standards, by healthy human standards my BMI is where it right where should be. However, on an emotional level, I kept fearing that I looked like a beached whale trying to jog, totally ridiculous.

Eventually, the heat and endorphin release helped me feel more free in my own skin, and I reached the point where I didn’t care what anyone thought about how I looked. It’s also freeing to think that other people have better things to do and think about than what I look like.

Food is so symbolic of love, and in the yoga community of following a spiritual path, that it’s almost inevitable that those of us who lack the time, energy, and inclination to cook will feel like failures. I’ve been relying on healthy prepared foods (along with fresh fruits and veggies that require no preparation), and feel terribly guilty for that. And I feel inferior because I’m a terrible cook, anyway. I don’t tell many people outside my family that I’m basically a non-cook because I already feel judged enough.

I really, really admire creative cooks, and cooks who enjoy preparing wonderful meals for their friends and family, for whom preparing a meal is a pure act of love and service. But that’s not me. When I attempt to cook, I get frustrated and stressed, and half the time I botch the recipe and wind up going for takeout anyway.

You and Bo are so right that there is so much work, and so much healing, to be done in this area. BTW, the woman who made that judgmental comment is conflating two issues: dissociation from how food is raised and cooking it. I’ve enjoyed having a small vegetable garden, so I’m happy to literally get my hands dirty raising food. Cooking it, however, is another matter. Thank you for bringing this into the open, the first step to the healing is talking about it openly and honestly.

I’m currently in a yoga teacher training program that emphasizes vegetarianism. While the teacher says that we can be yogis and eat meat, although she personally believes that anyone can be a vegetarian, so often I feel judged and like a second-class yogini because of my choices.

Your yoga teacher who eats meat once or twice a year is interesting. Sometimes I wonder what a strict vegan would do if, for example, s/he had a 92 year old grandmother who cooked what would probably be her last Thanksgiving turkey, and would feel very hurt if a beloved grandchild refused her cooking. If the choice is hurt Grandma’s feelings and remain true to deeply held principles, or eat a few bites of the turkey, which is more in keeping with ahimsa? I know what my answer would be, but the point is, these choices aren’t easy and I’m not convinced that there are any “right” or “wrong” answers, just what is best for an individual in a particular situation.