“It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.” - Dalai Lama

Raise your hand if you sit at a desk!

Raise your hand if you sit in a car!

Raise your hand if you sometimes feel like Quasimodo!

And raise your hand if that sometimes makes you feel like merde

Ohhhhh I feel you!

​Actually, my nickname from my college society has the name Quasimodo in it, but that has nothing to do with my back and everything to do with wearing a giant hooded jacket under a hazmat suit...but that's a story for another day.

If you struggle with having good posture, I feel you. I really do.

This is something I work on a lot in my personal practice, because I notice the tendency within myself to round round round when what I really want to do is stand tall!

But have you ever noticed that the more you round, the harder it is to stand tall?

That's not only a physical dilemma. It is an emotional one as well.

Our body speaks for us when words don't.

As we lose our perfect posture, we begin to round inward, collapsing the chest and becoming smaller.

The smaller we become physically, the smaller we feel, and the smaller we feel, the smaller our self-confidence becomes.

Speaking of smaller...

Ladies, raise your hand if the first time you were told to roll your shoulders back and stand tall, you felt way too much like your were flaunting your breasts? 

We are taught to be small. We are taught to stay unnoticed. We are taught to be unremarkable, unmemorable, to never question the status quo and stay in our shells.

Yeah, well I say F*ck that!

Which is why we work on our posture.

​I have literally grown taller through my yoga practice.

This is not the time to stay small (or short). This is the time to roll back those shoulders and flaunt those breasts because 2020 thought that it could bring us down but nooooo baby.

Not today.

Posture is everything, my friend.

Because our body speaks without words.

So raise your hand if you're ready to stop playing small, you're ready to take your life into your own hands and you're ready to let your body speak beautiful, confident words for you!

Awesome. Then I can't wait for you to try this week's class!

Inside this 45 minute session we move slow, we love on the body, we stretch and we strengthen.

We start on the ground and really get deep into some feel good twists and restorative poses. This is to stretch and open the muscles which are often shortened from holding your arms in front of you all day.

Then we begin to warm up and build the muscle connection that will draw your shoulders back into alignment.

We spend a lot of time on the belly, so if you would like, grab a blanket to keep close by to cushion the hips.

And while you're there, leave me a "YES" in the comments, so I know you're ready to be your tallest, proudest, self!

xoxo, Dylan

​“Rather than wandering around in problem-solving mode all day, thinking mainly of what you want to fix about yourself or your life, you can pause for a few moments throughout the day to marvel at what’s not broken.”
― Kristin Neff

Good morning!
​
Or afternoon if you're on the other side of the world.

​It's truly awe-inspiring to know that our world is really so small, and that there is a community of like minded individuals anywhere that you might want to step your feet.

I'm grateful for this each and every day.

The beauty of languages, of cultures, of weather and nature. The beauty that is being "different" or "exotic."

I truly believe that being "different" from what is expected is a wonderful thing.

What is considered standard or normal here in California is different than in Mexico which is different than in Scotland which is different than in Afghanistant which is different than in Thailand.

We all have an understanding of what is considered normal, or beautiful, or expected.

And it is so fun to step outside of that and love that which would be considered "different."

Kind of like this yoga class.

Or all of my yoga classes really.

They don't fit the mold.

And nor do I.

And maybe nor do you.

And that's ok. Exciting even!

That's what makes us unique.

You can't keep doing the same old thing that isn't working and expect the results to be different.

We have to embrace change. We have to embrace where we feel pain, where we need to back off, and where we need to charge forward.

This standing vinyasa flow is about embracing your limitations, and creatively overcoming them.

I hope it encourages you to embrace those limitations that you see in your life, and creatively overcome them.

Because limitation is subjective, is it not?

​I'll see you on the mat!

xoxo, Dylan

​“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Guten Morgen!

That's German for good morning if ya didn't know!

I know, I know, I'm all sorts of cultured ?

I'm kidding.

But it is morning (my time), when this love letter makes its way to your inbox.

And I don't know about you but I am not a morning person.

Even my 23andme tells me that biologically I am meant to get up at 9:00am.

That's my excuse.

Are you a morning person? Please comment below and let me know! Bonus points for any tips to help a person drag herself out of bed...

So this morning flow is designed specifically to drag you off the floor/bed, to boost the energy through a mix of blood pumping postures and a specific pranayama called Surya Bedhana.

And it only takes 25 minutes.

Better than a cup of coffee?

That remains to be seen. But I'd say it's pretty damn close.

See you on the mat!

xoxo, Dylan

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” ― Henry James

Ah, summertime.

My favorite time of the year.

When school is out (I've mostly worked in education). When the sun is most powerful. When the beaches are alive with too many people and you have to "accidentally" throw sand on them to get them to move.

I'm kidding. I've never done that.

But I do love me some summer.

I'm a sun loving kind of gal you see.

The more sun I get, the more happy I am.

But I get it. Sometimes it can be hot.

Like really really hot.

Like 111 degrees Farenheit hot like it is right now.

Or 44 degrees Celsius.

That's hot hot.

So I do hope that you're keeping cool, that you're drinking lots of water if you're in the heat, and that you've had a spectacular summer so far.

Even if it's not the summer that was expected.

So today's free class is a slow flow full of cooling postures to help you beat the heat!

And bonus points, if you're in a sauna like I am right now, this is practically hot yoga! And what's one of the top benefits of hot yoga? Flexibility!

So today we work on deepening the stretch, deepening the breath, and deepening the practice.

Ready?

I'll meet you on the mat!

​xoxo, Dylan