I guess I am failing miserably at updating this blog in a reasonable amount of time.  The Holidays always through me off.  I find them to be physically and emotionally wearing and it takes me weeks to recover.  So, I find myself on Groundhog day wondering where January went.  February isn't much better since our family celebrates 4 birthdays within the first two weeks.  Lots of aquarians... interesting.  So, in an effort to update my web friends I thought I would share some news and thoughts. 

Firstly, if you don't subscribe to Vegetarian Times magazine you might want to consider doing so.  I picked one up the other day at the grocery store and found some delicious recipes to try.  As I write I am finishing up a delicious vegan "Smokey Pea Soup" - YUM!  Loads of flavor, very easy to make and totally filling.  I also made a yummy roasted veggie linguine last night with some toasted kale leaves.  The kids even like the kale though I salted it a bit too much!  I am currently in a space where I have been deeply committed to exploring my diet to try to figure out what is going to work best for me both on several different levels - in no particular order.  Firstly, I need to feel good; secondly, I need to enjoy my food; thirdly, it needs to be manageable to prepare and lastly my family has to also feel good about what we are eating since I am preparing most meals for 5 other beings.  So, in the beginning of January I led a week long yoga detox which included 5 mornings of a heated vinyasa detox flow, three group meetings, 5 days of a strict vegan diet and 2 days of fasting.  We had 14 people going through the week together.  Everyone came in with their own experiences, intentions and expectations.  I hesitate speaking for all of us, but I know that I felt a deep connection with everyone throughout the week even though I was leading the group so I imagine that the students themselves probably felt an even stronger connection.  It turned out to be a great week.  The vegan diet was pretty easy for me since I've done this for weeks in the past.  The fast was difficult.  I tend to lose weight rapidly and I tend to be a little anemic so I went into the fast feeling pretty weak.  My allergies began flaring up with the supplement we were taking so 1/2 through the second day I had to begin introducing some raw nuts and by about 5 PM that second day I heated up an Amy's veggie burger.  About half of our group elected to not participate in the fast, but the other half did and everyone seemed to have some challenges.  In the end though we all felt lighter with a deeper sense of clarity and profoundly more aware of our bodies, our practice and our diets. 

So, the food dilema I am now experiencing has to be related at least in part to that experience.  The week after the cleanse was all about regaining my lost weight which turned out to be about 5 lbs.  I ate some unhealthy carbs, but other than that I couldn't handle anything too heavy.  Cheese and white products are still feeling a little strange.  I am not sure where this is going to take me. 

Other things on my mind include our move at the end of the month, our new website design, retail purchase orders, dentist appointments, birthday party's and turning 36.  So, my plate is full, but my spirit is fuller with peace, light and lots of love from 4 wonderful children and my very supportive husband.  I hope to update this more often but there will be no promises, just intentions.  I hope to see you in the studio soon my friends. 

It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome a new teacher to Balance Yoga!  Lucy Howard is joining us from the beautiful city of London and will be covering all of my classes while I am away on my Bhaktilicious journey next week in San Francisco.  Lucy had the pleasure of training in Bali, Indonesia at Shakti Spirit Yoga under the loving guidance of Rachel Hull (www.shaktispirit.com).   Please be kind to Lucy while I am away as she jumps into the routine and gets comfortable at the studio. 

Well, I certainly need to update this thing more often.  I understand I have some blog "devotees" now; strange & wonderful at the same time.  I don't think that anything I have to say is particularly important other than maybe what time class is...  I digress. 

I have officially started my bhakti flow teacher training and, WOW, it's a lot of work!  But, it is work that I don't mind getting to.  As matter of fact I am kind of obsessed with it at this moment.  I was officially accepted into Rusty Well's teacher training program in early September.  This is the teacher that blew the roof off of my practice this past July when I was visiting San Francisco.  Since then I've been bhakti obsessed!  I have read and been told that when it is time, your teacher will find you and I believe that is what has happened in my life.  I had been contemplating different trainings to take my personal practice and my teaching to a much higher level and was seriously considering several different programs throughout the country.  I didn't even really know of bhakti flow (this is the style of yoga based on Bhakti or the yoga of devotion), but after taking just one class, I knew that was where I belonged and I felt that Rusty was the right teacher to study with/under.  The teacher training program that I am currently in is a 200 hr level course in which I am completing 100 hrs now and another 100 in March/April in NYC.  I am currently completing the home study portion of the training which includes approximately 5-7 hours of written work, study and reading every week.  I just finished up the week 2 assignments and am already learning and applying the work into my own practice.  I, of course, can't wait to share it all with my students when I am finished.  At the end of this month I will be leaving my family for 10 long days traveling to San Francisco ( one of my favorite cities on the planet) and training with Rusty & crew.  So far, the experience has exceeded my expectations and I am really looking forward to meeting all of my teachers and the other students in person.  I will be staying with another student who is hosting me for all ten days.  She, like me, is already a teacher and we happen to have a lot of other things in common.  She is a mom of two and we are becoming good facebook friends at the moment.  I am very grateful to be able to have this opportunity.  I am filled with enthusiasm and energy.  I have a feeling that over the next month I will experience tremendous growth and change and I am welcoming that with open arms. 

I am getting very excited!  We have a busy weekend ahead and I am really hoping & praying for a good turnout especially for the art reception on Friday night for local artist, Amber Summers.  If you haven't been in the studio in awhile please stop by to say "hi", take a class or just admire the beautiful work of Amber.  It is amazing what color can do to a room and our little studio is a great example of that!  Amber is preparing some music that reflects her work for our regular class time at 5:30, then immediately following we will be setting up some additional art and bringing in the food!  My favorite lunch stop, Something Special located in Kingston is preparing light, yummy vegetarian appetizers for our guests & we will have some hot apple cider and organic wine on hand for drinks! 

On Saturday morning we have planned a hike up Ricketts Glen's Falls Trail!  I am hoping & praying for good weather!  If we have it the plan is to hike up the trail to Lake Jean and then sit & do some Yin Yoga on the sandy beach.  I am really looking forward to this time with my fellow yogi's & yogini's and of course any new faces that show up!  This event is free, so hopefully we have a nice crowd!  If you've never hiked the Falls Trail before you've got to come out and appreciate this local paradise - it's really beautiful!  I may drag along my trusty companion, Sunny...  we'll see if he's up to it on Saturday morning.  Unfortunately, my kids have other things going on that morning so they won't be able to make it. 

On Sunday we are hosting yoga teacher, Stina Forsell from Stroudsburg who will be running the "Autumn Alignment" workshop from 4-6 PM.  If you've never met Stina you'll soon find out that she is a good time!  Stina has a great sense of humor and and is a wonderfully talented teacher of yoga.   The workshop is for anyone - beginners - advanced as she will explore some foundational asanas and peel them apart focusing on alignment using props and your body to take it "back to basics".  I am hoping to attend, but with the week I am having it might be impossible! 

Well, that is it for now... I have two little yogini's tugging at me for snacks.  Look out for our "Journey Into Power" workshop next weekend!  We are almost FULL, so if you still want to attend please rsvp today!  Peace!

Finally feeling human again after a long 11 days.  As many of you already know I had to have an unexpected surgery last week.  Thankfully I was able to have a laproscopic procedure, but I was still hurting most of last week into the weekend.  I am finally feeling more energetic and less tired today and hope that over the next week or so I'll be able to start practicing again - gently, of course!  This is the longest I've gone without practicing in quite some time so I am feeling really different.  Some old aches and pains that I haven't noticed in awhile have made their appearance.  What is interesting is that it is giving me a new perspective on my health and vitality without yoga in my life (or at least without my asana practice).  This time off the mat has given me a chance to reflect on my practice and how important it is to my well being.  Besides the aches and tightness in my physical body I've also noticed my temper flaring up more than usual and my patience feeling tested more noticeably.  After a challenging morning routine with my 5 year old daughter yesterday she told my husband that I was acting like a "maniac"; this made me take a step back.  I lost my patience with her because she was being indecisive about choosing shoes for her outfit for school.  Now, while I know that we all lose our patience some of the time (with or without yoga in our lives) this made me feel sad.  I don't want my 5 year old daughter feeling bad before starting a long day at school - a school that she is just starting to adjust to.  While regretful of this and regretful of her feeling upset with me I realized that it was more about me feeling off balance than feeling frustrated with her indecisiveness.  She is after all a five year old child having a bad "shoe" day... I would normally handle this situation better, but I am human and currently a human not fully practicing my yoga.  So, what I've been concentrating on today while in the studio is to step more fully, more clearly into this moment and use this time to take inventory of any negative energy or feelings inside that may be bubbling up during this time of healing.  I am not normally a list person, but I'm going to make a list and keep adding to it so that when I am able to begin my practice again; when my body is ready and my Dr. confirms that it is ready that I can focus on the positive changes yoga makes inside and out.  I was talking to a good friend yesterday about this - another yogini, and I explained to her that I've felt good for so long because of my practice than I've forgotten what it feels like to feel bad.  This about sums it up.  So, I will do my best to take advantage of this time so that I can better relate to my new students just finding yoga and to all of the other non-yogis & yoginis in my life.   

It's so good to be home.  There is nothing in the world like coming home after a long vacation - even a very nice, very relaxing & fun vacation. 

I know that I said that I would be blogging about my yoga adventures in California (and there were many), but the truth is I just didn't feel like opening up my computer.  I really stepped away from it all for two weeks and through my practice decided that my focus needed to be firmly set on my family and our vacation.  So, that is what I did. 

California is a beautiful state and I now have a new appreciation for it's beauty & diversity.  We packed in so much it would be difficult to share every detail.  But I will say a few things. 

San Francisco has it all except it is freezing cold there in July.  The best yoga classes at Yoga Tree in Castro (Rusty Wells) that I've ever experienced & the most challenging.  Amazingly beautiful city - friendly people, Alcatraz, delicious food!  Tess and I walked those hilly streets for miles & miles.  I don't know how anyone living there could ever be chubby.  I got a workout everyday just walking around. 

Napa - oh, the wine.  Wine country... & Ubuktu - the best food ever!  Hands down the best meal we had the entire vacation & all vegetarian.  I am still dreaming about those potatoes. 

Driving down the coast on Pacific Highway 1 was the best day of the vacation.  We took a slow ride stopping in Carmel.  Carmel is like a fairytale kind of place.  The trees don't even look real.  It is so beautiful and charming that I can't imagine anyone visiting there doesn't fall in love with it's streets.  It was very, very expensive though and we met some of the rudest people that I've ever met.  Snotty, rude, very rich people.  After a few hours we headed S and took a slow ride down through Big Sur.  Big Sur is magnificent.  God must have really been proud of what He created there.  I can't even describe how amazing it is.  You just really have to experience it for yourself.  I cannot wait to go back someday and spend some time there just hiking around.  I think Ed & I were speechless most of the ride just giggling like kids, pointing at the sights and taking it all in. 

Next was LA.  Blah.  We all hated it there.  It's a nasty, smoggy, filthy, crowded city.  We did go see the taping of "The Tonight Show" with Conan which was pretty cool.  My husband really enjoyed that since he actually watches the show.  I just kind of took it all in and thanked God that I didn't have to spend much time in LA. 

San Diego.  We fell in love with San Diego.  What is not to love?  Perfect frigging weather - PERFECT!  Perfect temperature.  No humidity.  No bugs.  No rain.  No clouds.  Just perfect sun, beautiful ocean breeze and perfect temperature ALL OF THE TIME.  I want to live there.  I would move there tomorrow if I could - no lie.  Gorgeous coastline.  Great people & awesome downtown.  If you've never been there.  GO.  Tomorrow if you can.  My brother lives there and he always says that he will never leave.  I now totally understand why. 

Great vacation.  Now back to reality which is a good thing.  I can't wait to get back to my studio. 

Hello friends - I miss all of you already and I haven't even been gone a whole day.  It's hard to step away from you life for a week - especially for me.  Especially after the weekend I had...  Anyway, I am here and happy to be here - I think...  It was a three hour drive from home, but the drive was nice & peaceful.  Not much traffic and NY state is beautiful.  I called my husband to tell him that and he reminded me that I must have traveled up 84 hundreds of times with him...  tells you how aware I am on a day to day basis.  The Taconic Parkway (hope I have that right) is really pretty - tree lined highway, definitely my pace.  I arrived on campus right around 7 p.m. and they greet you right in the parking lot.  Everyone is soooo friendly.  Lots of young people work here I guess for the summer - wish I would have known about this place 15 years ago.  After registration I hurried up to the dining hall and enjoyed a most delicious vegan feast - the food is fresh, mostly organic and local - awesome.  While I was eating I happened to look up and exchanged smiles with Steve Ross - very cool.  He looks much shorter in person, but I couldn't miss that happy grin.  I later found out that there are only 16 people in our class so I am really excited to learn and grow from this week.  We had orientation around 8 p.m. which was a standard typical orientation and I met a new friend who said to call him "Tex" b/c he is from Texas.  So, anyone who has read "Eat, Pray, Love" will laugh to themselves.  Ahhhh, enjoying a "meditation" tea in the Omega cafe and a vegan cookie - then off to bed in my little hut.  Love & Peace - Jenn

I promised one of my student's today that I would finish this story.  So, after a great but very long day at Hershey Park here I am finishing up my Swenson story.  I wonder if he will ever read this?  Maybe if he googles himself (like most people do every now and again), he will... I digress.  (What if he thinks I'm crazy???  I digress again.)

Focus, focus...  So, where did I leave off?  Oh, yes backbending.  Backbending came to me pretty easy.  I feel strong in bridge & wheel.  Open in camel & bow.  I want & crave more when I wet my palate with a nice locust or up dog.  I'm sure you get the point.  So, what threw me off was the fact that the class before David's was specifically backbending.  It was a sequencing class and I was a little tired, but really wasn't paying enough attention to my body to realize that at the moment.  So, there I was pushing my tired 35 year old ass through some pretty advanced postures.  At the time I felt good until we got to the drop backs.  Drop backs are interesting because I believe it's more of a fear thing that most people need to overcome.  I understand that, but never experienced it in backbending... until I felt my upper body crunch literally into my cervical spine while practicing.  I couldn't help but think that maybe I really hurt myself, but what I actually think I did was pull a muscle in my neck and my spine had just had enough.   I had to back off.  This was hard to do and luckily this was towards the end of the class so I really didn't have to back off of much.  But I was aggravated.  Here I was with this great opportunity to learn & explore in a very safe environment with a master teacher and I was letting fear & an achy neck get the best of me.  Soon we settled in Savasana and I could not for the frickin life of me clear my thoughts.  I was obsessing about my neck.  Then I had this great thought - go ask the teacher about it - after all, I was the STUDENT!  Ohhhhh, the excitement.  I had a problem, a concern and I had someone there I could ask to help me out.  That someone just happened to be David frickin Swenson!!!!  After savasansa many of the students must have had the same idea b/c he was literally surrounded by students.  So, I waited.  After all, I had no where to go b/c I was waiting for the Anna Forrest demo anyway.  I sat my tired ass down on my mat & waited taking in the sights.  About 20 minutes later I had my opportunity.  I think I may have actually hopped over or maybe I just flew, because I literally don't remember my feet touching the ground.  I was so excited.  He was sitting down on the floor and I crouched down next to him.  The first thing I said was something like this... "Hi - my name is Jennifer and I just wanted to thank you for the great class".  He thanked me.  Then, it happened...  I began my gushing.  It went something like this... "I use your practice manual and I am inspired by you almost everyday so it really is such an honor to be here practicing with you".  He just smiled and thanked me again.  At this point I think I must have been a little scary.  But, did that stop me?  Nahhhh - I just kept rambling.  Next I told him about my neck discomfort during the drop back.  He told me to show him.  I got up and did what I was told.  He stood up next to me and adjusted my neck which instantly changed the entire posture.  I no longer felt any crunching and actually felt better.  It was pretty cool.  But the dork inside just couldn't stop.  I had no control and then it happened.  It went something like this....  "Mr. Swenson - would you mind having your picture taken with me?"  I literally forced the guy to sit in a picture with me - which I guess I will have to post.  I think it may have actually been his son or his nephew b/c the guy that took the picture looked  like him...  After writing this all down I am now kind of thinking that maybe it wasn't as much of a big deal as I made it out to be.  Maybe I was such a dork after all.  People must react that way to him all of the time, right?  Hey, as long as he doesn't remember me when I go to the teacher training in September, right?  Right! 

And on that last thought I will say goodnight.

I get this question all of the time.  I am a yoga teacher...  So, I thought I would address the question with all of the truth inside of me to share with all of you.  I am not a vegan, and I am not a vegetarian.  I am however, a struggling carnivore.  At this moment in time my diet consists of approximately 80% vegetable base, 10% fish & seafood, 5% chicken and 5% beef.  I no longer eat any pork or veal.  I do not eat or feed my family any prepackaged meals or fast food and try my best to limit white foods including sugar.  This is sometimes hard to do, especially with a large family with four kids.  Every-time we eat out or visit family or friends without fail someone asks me why or how I got my children to eat so well.  I am always perplexed by this until I have the chance to observe other children and realize that my kids are different.  What I've come to realize is that I never gave them a choice to eat any other way.  So, for them a vegetarian meal is not necessarily vegetarian, just dinner.  We often make meals out of freshly steamed artichokes and rice or fruit.  I have delicious vegan soup recipes that don't skimp on flavor so for them it's just yummy soup with crusty bread.  Of course they still like chicken fingers like their friends, but instead of going to McDonald's (which they think is disgusting, other than the play area) I make fresh, organic, free range chicken fingers at home.  We do still enjoy burgers on the grill and sometimes even hot dogs, but the meat is always organic and usually local (thanks, Forks Farm).  So...  why am I a struggling carnivore.  Two main reasons... 

1.  Animals are treated like garbage in factory farms.  They are kept in filthy, inhumane conditions.  Conditions that if the American public was exposed to or chose to be aware of the agribusiness would be forced into severe change. 

2.  I feel better when my body is not processing meat.  I feel lighter physically and mentally in my practice and in my life in general. 

So, why do I continue to eat meat?  Because I am human and I make good and bad choices everyday.  I strive to eat and live as clean as I can but I also have to live in this world and raise my children in it.  So, I try my best and forgive myself when I fail to make the right choices and start the next day over again with good intention.  This is my journey and it may not in any way, shape or form resemble yours.  I just wanted to answer this question.  I will post my favorite soup recipe when I get home for Vegan Tortilla Soup. 

Peace-

Jenn

So happy to be home and hanging with my favorite two little yogini's, Sophia & Tess - just catching up around the house and reflecting on what an amazing weekend it was!  I am sorry that I was not able to "blog" as much as I thought I would be able to over the weekend, but there just was not nearly as much time as I thought there would be. 

The experience really was awesome and anyone reading this that has ever considered going to one of these conferences I urge you to go.  Don't allow intimidation to enter your mind!  There were men and women of every age and every level in almost all of the classes I attended.  There were classes offered for every level and interest whether it was asana, pranayama, meditation, philosophy and some included all of the above.  Having the opportunity to spend time and learn from some of the most talented teachers in the world was both inspiring and grounding.  Inspiring because these teachers are often the folks we watch on the dvd's, author the books we study and grace the covers of the magazines we read.  Grounding because these same teachers that we strive to learn and grown from are really just like you and me.  They have the same struggles that we have in our practice - they have human bodies just like us that ache & get injured and grow old.  Of course my practice may never evolve into the grace of Sarah Powers and I may never be as strong as Anna Forrest or as skilled as David Swenson, but I will continue to learn & grow in my practice and these teachers and many others will continue to inspire me to get down onto my mat everyday.  Over the next week I am going to try my best to fill all of you in on the rest of the weekend.  The thrilling moments, the joyful and the even the painful.  I hope you find this these words inspiring - I can't wait to see you all in the studio this week for class.  Namaste.

I am psyched!  So completely, totally, 1000% excited because in exactly 26 hours I will be leaving to trek up to NYC with two awesome yogini's to attend the Inaugural Yoga Journal Conference in New York - the greatest city on the planet!  The conference actually kicks off today with classes for studio owners which I would have loved to attend, but, hey... I've got four kiddos who are having a hard enough time with me being gone for 2 & 1/2 days so that wasn't going to work out this year... 

Tomorrow evening we will be attending the Krishna Das kirtan.  Kirtan is a a traditional Indian call & response sacred sound practice which has become more popular in the West both inside and outside of ashrams and yoga studios.  Today Kirtan extends across cultures, races & religions offering a profound experience of connection with the Divine.  We often listen to Krishna Das in class - he has a beautiful, deep, soulful baritone voice that transcends us to a place of peace, serenity and joy.  I am so thankful to have this opportunity to experience him live! 

The rest of the weekend will be filled with classes & lectures with some of the most respected teachers & gurus in the world.  I will be taking 6 classes (3/day) to learn and grow both in my own practice and my teaching.  I am especially excited about David Swenson's backbending class and for the Anna Forest Vinyasa sequencing class!  I'll be blogging throughout the weekend on the experience so that all of my friends, students & teachers can check in to see what's going down!  So, check in often!  Namaste! 

By Molly Cornell

I’ve been teaching yoga for 10 years in the Wyoming Valley and whenever I teach, wherever I teach, there’s always something missing:  men.  Why don’t more men do yoga?  I think men are absent from most yoga classes for a variety of reasons.  First, I think that men are intimidated to walk into a room full of women who they think are “good” at yoga.  Most men are competitive and like to be good at something or win.  If a man goes to a yoga class, he assumes that everyone will be better than he is.  He is embarrassed that he’ll be terrible at yoga.  But he’s wrong:  a lot of the women in yoga are working on different challenges in their practices.  As most of us know, some yoga students can get their heads to touch the floor in a standing forward bend; others can’t even touch their hands to the floor.  These students aren’t yoga experts, but they’re willing to come and try and get better at yoga.  Most men feel they have to be competent at yoga before they even enter a yoga studio.  But the opposite is true--one goes to yoga with a beginner’s mind, to be open to learn and get better.  Even if you’re a complete beginner, you come with the attitude that you may not be “good” at yoga, but you come prepared to try and improve.  However, in my experience, most men are very competent at yoga simply because they have the strength to get through a class. 

Another reason men don’t come:  they want to win, and yoga is a non-competitive exercise.  Even my husband Andrew says, “I don’t like yoga, because at the end of class, I can’t tell if  I’ve won or not.”  But being in a non-competitive environment is great for men who compete in business.  They need to give their minds a break from the dog-eat-dog world of corporate America, and try something that is more about the process than the results.  A non-competitive exercise like yoga can help bring their lives more into balance.

One thing that might get more men into yoga classes is this:  Yoga helps to improve sports performance. Whether its golf, cycling, running or basketball, yoga helps you increase your mental and physical performance.  For example, I if your back is tight and you are a golfer, that will affect your range of motion when you swing a club.  If you start practicing yoga, doing twisting postures, for example, on a regular basis, you’ll be able to slowly increase spinal flexibility, which leads to greater range of motion in your swing and ultimately that leads to a longer drive off the tee.

The reason I mention all this about men and yoga is this:  at Balance Yoga, we want to see more men in yoga classes.  In June we will begin to offer a men’s yoga workshop.  This will be a “men’s only” class to introduce them to the basics of power yoga.  We’ll also show them the appropriate modifications for any injuries they may have. Hopefully, at the end of the session, these new yogis will be less intimidated about entering a yoga studio and will understand that yoga isn’t about being the best at something or winning,  it’s about feeling your best, and bringing balance to your life.

Hello-

Since our studio is finally settling into a good flow (no pun intended) it's time to finally start our studio blog.  The goal for this blog is for all of you to get to know us a little better and for us to share our personal yoga experiences with you - our students, friends, family & others that might find us out there in web world. 

This is also a great way for us to check in while we are away at various trainings, talk about upcoming workshops and give our yogic perspective of things happening around us.  We'll also be talking about great books we might be reading, new products that we might be loving and terrific recipes we might be trying.  

We hope that you will check in from time to time and as always if you have any suggestions or recommendations please let us know.  

Peace-

Jenn