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.