Yogaland Roundup
Basking in the glow of smart, thoughtful women
As I was thinking about what I wanted to write for this round-up, it dawned on me: Even though I spent the entire month of August sick with various respiratory viruses, I’m feeling very inspired because of my recent collegial connections with three smart, interesting women. So, I thought I’d share them with you.
The first is Jill Miller: We had our very first Yogaland Book Club meeting with Jill on Tuesday 🎉 It’s always fun and fascinating to get a brain download from Jill and the hour flew by.
As I mentioned at the end of the meeting, I’ve been puzzling over how to cover the rest of the book, which is so experiential. I thought about filming some of the “sequences” of rolling that I’ve been doing but I don’t want to misrepresent any of the nuances of Jill’s teaching. So, the plan is to share a few more written posts with what I’ve been working on, in hopes that you will tell me in the comments how it’s going for you!
I will say the exercise below has been my go-to lately. It feels like my remedy for everything — stiffness, malaise, stress, shallow breathing. Something about side-lying just does it for me.
Also: I will be attending Jill’s upcoming Body by Breath Immersion from April 26th-28th. It’s an online course that brings the book to life and feels like the perfect cap to my 2023 Jill Miller experience! 🤘 Maybe I’ll “see” some of you there? Let me know in the comments if you’re planning to attend!
PS: If you’d like to go back through the book club posts, click here. You can also click on Yogaland Book Club on the top navigation and you’ll see all of them there.
The second recent inspiration is Kim Weeks — Kim interviewed me for her podcast, Practicing Well. I often clam up when I’m on “the other side” of the mic. But Kim helped draw me out of my shell and we just had a good, deep talk about yoga. We covered so much, including:
My time at Yoga Journal and what it was to be at the magazine during its Iyengar heyday
My feelings about being called a yoga snob
The importance of yoga teachers holding space
How Jason has helped me step into my authority on the podcast
Where I think the future of yoga content is going
Kim has so already amassed such a great list of guests — Richard and Mary Freeman, Matthew Sanford, Stephen Cope and Sat Bir Khalsa to name a few! I feel so honored to be among them and I encourage you to check out Practicing Well. You can listen to the episode with me here.
The third woman I recently connected with is Dara Kennedy, who I interviewed for an upcoming podcast. I spent the most delightful morning with Dara at her store, Ayla Beauty in San Francisco. I rarely get to do in-person interviews and I rarely get to talk to someone who is not directly in the yoga/wellness space.
Ayla Beauty is an online and in-person shop that carries expertly curated healthy beauty products. I’ve known Dara for years and she is a special kind of business owner: She knows her craft (having spent years at Elizabeth Arden as a global skincare brand development manager) and yet what stands out more is the consciousness she brings to it.
It’s hard to convey in words — I think you will feel it in the interview we did together, but here’s a simple anecdote: I brought Jason with me (he was my A/V guy 🤓) and Jason loves a good skincare product.
After the interview, Jason had a lot of questions for Dara. Each time he asked her a question about a product, she would pause and study him inscrutably before responding. That thoughtful pause coupled with her kind, expert response is so Dara.
She would answer with ease (“That serum has a coconut base so you’ll need more moisture to absorb it”) and a practicality (“This brand is a favorite among men because the price is so good, yet the products are fantastic.”) that is never pushy.
It’s no surprise that Dara is a long-time yoga practitioner and meditator. She loves beauty and, although it’s not typically something I cover on Yogaland, her approach is so aligned with everything I try to convey on the podcast. She truly wants people to feel good in their skin. She focuses on helping people to feel beautiful by bringing out their brightest self.
It’s always a joy to learn from someone who is an expert in their field and is still passionate about it. I know you will love her and I will let you know when the interview is up!
Loved the Jill Miller book club and wish it could have been longer. I am a little behind in the reading yet will catch up. Maybe you can "assign" us a few of the rolling techniques for our next book club meetings and we can review and talk about our experiences together. I find your posts to be so inviting and informative. Thank you!
Thank you for the Podcast recommendation. I am heading home and I just downloaded the episode with Kim Weeks. It will be a nice companion to your latest podcast "How yoga has changed". I resonated with your conversation with Jason about your insights on your yoga practice and the current trends in the yoga community. I vividly remember my first yoga class. I left my 6 month old boy and entered the hot, cozy Ashtanga studio. I moved and stumbled my way through the practice and my attention was focused. When savasana came at the end of class, I was relaxed and completed at peace for the first time in years. AMAZING. It hooked me, and my practice has shifted and changed over the past 20 years.