Colleen Saidman Yee
My friend Colleen Saidman Yee has written a beautiful, powerful book called Yoga For Life. It’s a riveting recounting of her personal story interwoven with insightful and relevant yoga philosophy. Part memoir, part guide, this book speaks to the struggles we all face. I was so excited to talk to her about Yoga For Life, but really I wanted to hear more about the story behind the making of her book—specifically, the work she did to excavate and articulate her own truth.
Happy Spring
Can you believe it’s finally here?! It sure as hell doesn’t feel like spring, but I’m trying to practice patience (what choice do I have?!) and faith by cultivating the spirit of spring in my everyday life. After such a long winter, it’s time to look at familiar patterns and rituals with fresh eyes. The changing seasons remind us that transition is not only a part of life, but that it can inspire a new way of looking at ourselves.
A Study in Attention
I attended an event last week hosted by GlobalGiving, a non-profit organization I represent as an ambassador. They invited economist, professor, and writer, Bill Easterly, to come and talk about his new book, The Tyranny of Experts. He spoke about philanthropy and human rights, sharing stories of those in need who captured headlines only to fade out of our awareness with the next morning’s news. What I found fascinating about Professor Easterly’s presentation was his excavation of the root of action. Rather than quenching our thirst for a list of actionable items on a powerpoint slide, he directed our attention to the question, “How do we get people to care?” My takeaway from the event was simple but profound: when we care deeply, action is effortless.
The Space In Between
We’re in the throes of transition (Spring is here!) and it’s got me thinking a lot about change. I love how the depth of a concept continues to reveal itself through the process of living it; change is something we’re faced with on a regular basis, and yet, we are constantly relearning what it means. Transition is often thought of as the movement between two points—it’s the space between where we’ve been and where we’re going—and while transitions are the only obviously route from point A to point B, we spend most of the journey looking for a shortcut.
Pratipaksha Bhavanam Bouquet
I love when yoga philosophy makes a real difference in daily life. As yogis, we all have moments of transformation in the studio when an instruction will magically open the door to a deeper understanding of our bodies. As students of yoga, we learn about concepts like openness, practice, and surrender, but then all too often we go home and slip back into the kinds of ineffective patterns we’ve committed to move beyond. I mean, mastering headstand is great, but if I then turn around and go through my life with my head up my ass, what’s the point?
SHOP my style
Get Shopping
Paris On My Mind
I’m missing Paris like crazy these days. It’s been a while since I’ve been back and my heart is literally aching. I’m dying to put on a fabulous dress and just wander the streets until I get hungry enough to sit down at a café and promptly devour an entire baguette and wheel of Camembert by myself. I want to take le métro to the flea market where, upon arrival at Porte de Clignancort, I’ll have to lift the little latch in order to exit the train. I want to dip my fries into my poulet rôti au jus at Brasserie Lipp. I want to drink red wine until my French just rolls off my tongue.
Jacques Torres
Jacques Torres is an accidental yogi. I’m not sure he would agree with this and I, for one, certainly did not expect to talk about yoga when I sat down with him at his chocolate store in Tribeca. Frankly, I’m not sure what I expected. Jacques, like many creative geniuses or successful business owners (in his case, both), is hard to pin down, and so I came prepared to be unprepared. While his attention appears to dart in a million directions, he is completely present, processing inspiration and connecting the dots between life and work at an impossible pace. He spots opportunities to share his passion with others, engaging with customers and showering them with chocolate. His generosity is inspiring. As I listened to him talk about his life as an artisan and his passion for creating, I realized that I was, as I had anticipated, caught completely off guard. I came to interview him and instead, he was teaching me about yoga.
Jamaica Me Happy
I hopped on a plane to Jamaica right after Thanksgiving, strategically escaping the hustle-and-bustle-for-no-reason that hijacks the holiday season. It was very much a last-minute trip, which is totally out of character for me but pushing forward at full speed had taken its toll and I finally had an epiphany (breakdown) while standing in line at City Bakery. I had been working non-stop in every way imaginable for as long as I could remember and while all of this work had led to some pretty amazing and surprising triumphs, both personally and professionally, the sheer magnitude of my exhaustion in that moment crushed me with the weight of a million pretzel croissants. I booked the trip that very same night. Buh-bye. Comfortably sprawled on my lounge chair by the pool, mellowed by my margarita drip, I dove into the book I had started way back in June. Yes, June. I know. That’s exactly what I said.
