In my life, I have always been drawn to help people. This propensity has sometimes been to the detriment of my own wellbeing, and it has afforded me many opportunities for learning to create healthy boundaries between my self and the people I wish to help. Over time and with bumps along the path, I…
Be the puzzle: Reflections on life, learning, and yoga with Jaye Martin
I have a kind of love-hate relationship with the public transit system in Brussels. I love how easy and affordable it is to get around the city. I don’t like waiting outside on freezing cold winter mornings (though I did wind up investing in a super long, warm down coat this past winter, which is…
Living on my edge
I have applied to many jobs and programs of study in my life. Written applications often include an essay section with questions that ask the applicant to describe the experience that inspired them to pursue a career or course of study in that particular field. Suffice it to say that these were not my…
What does your tea bag tell you?
Several years ago, a dear friend spent a couple of winters with me when I was living in Lowell, Massachusetts. We shared the gift of time together in my apartment beside an old candle making company that had been started by a Greek family decades ago. My building had been attached to the neighboring building…
Shiva and the snail
Often when I am feeling a bit crushed and bruised by the world, reminders are sent to me that offer both perspective and a solidarity. These reminders frequently come in very small packages. Yesterday morning, I left the house all ready to attend the final day of a weekend workshop with an incredible Anusara teacher,…
Pop goes my sanity
Lately, I kind of feel like my body has been replaced with one of those little Jack-in-the-boxes, with a crank on the side that someone turns to play semi-creepy music. As they turn, the music plays faster and the tension increases. When this combination has become almost unbearable, the top of the box pops open…
Without the dark
Much like my journey toward so many practices that create balance and joy in my life, my path to yoga has been full of stops and starts. Realizing that a practice will lead to a more easeful, sustainable existence does not mean that I am able to instantly and seamlessly weave it into my life….
Karma Sutra
For much of February, I experienced a deep and aching longing. Some mornings, I woke up feeling such intense heartache and homesickness that only the prospect of a hot cup of coffee could get me out of bed. Brussels is much like western Washington and southeast Alaska in winter: grey, overcast skies mixed with intermittent, driving…
Ready. Set. Zen.
Every night, my husband and I sit down for a 20-minute sit before bed. I use an app to keep track of the timing. As we prepare to sit, I unlock my phone, open the app, and turn off the light. Before I tap the start button to begin our sit, I say the…
In the shadow of Shiva
I spent this past weekend in a teacher training for Anusara yoga. The training was held in English, which was the common language for everyone in the studio. Before moving to Brussels, my husband told me that when he had gone on a PhD reconnaissance mission the city had felt very international. He had that…
Creating community in foreign lands
I officially began a new chapter of my life in Brussels, Belgium on December 2, 2016, and it has been a bit of a bumpy introduction thus far. Since I graduated high school, I have moved as often as every few months to one to two years. In this transient life, I often experience a…
Life is here and now
Breath is a way to connect to the deepest part of the body where all memories are held, from the this life and who knows how many others.
Howling Wolf Yoga 