Category Archives: Yoga

Love Revisited

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Hey, guys, The Fierce Diva is on re-runs for the next few weeks, dusting off some of my earliest posts, the ones I wrote before anyone was reading, and giving them a second life.  I thought this would be fun to do leading up to my one year anniversary of blogging, which falls the end of the month. “Love” is one of my favorite posts, and was also where I introduced Miss F. to my readers. Raising Miss F. can be a challenge for me, which also makes her my greatest teacher. Happy Valentine’s Day and love to you and … Continue reading →

Fierce Like Me

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The early morning hours are my favorite.  The house is quiet.  The day is new.  I sip that first cup of coffee and check email with eager anticipation of what lies ahead.  Next, I practice yoga to MC Yogi Radio on Pandora in an incense filled room, followed by a meditation session to quiet my mind and prepare me for the rest of the day. It has been said that meditation is like crack.                                                         It must be, because I never want to get out of meditation, those quiet moments compiled with nothing but the sound of my breath and … Continue reading →

One Word

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My word came to me pretty easily.  I blogged about it before, actually –but it was before the word and I were officially going steady. A number of bloggers talked about picking a word to focus on for the year.  For Christine, it was “Intention.”  For Alison, it was “Do.”   Their posts encouraged me to take a word and make it mine.   (Of course, the word is now Sharpie tattooed on my belly). In lieu of a new year’s resolution, I like the idea of using a word to guide us.  In yoga, we use mantras, sounds that … Continue reading →

The Pause

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I went seeking truth, the meaning of life, a higher spiritual plane. I wasn’t all that concerned with “chaturanga arms,” or “warrior thighs” or any of the other accoutrements promised by westernized yoga practitioners.  I needed to get down to brass tacks. Why are we here?  Why am I here? And what is the purpose of all of this? I was at a midlife crossroads.  On a treadmill for years of getting by, doing OK, at certain times, being highly successful doing things that I did not love to do.  Things that fed my family but did not feed my … Continue reading →

Rock My Root Chakra

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“Call me. It’s important,” she specified in her voice mail. R. hated to talk on the phone, so I knew it had to be important. When she picked up on the first ring, I got scared, as R. didn’t race to the phone for anyone, not her husband, her friends, or even her clients. R.’s phone aversion mirrored my aversion to processed foods.  If I were starving on an island and had no choice but to eat dinner rolls from Perkins to stay alive, I would relent.  If R. were stranded on an island and needed to make a phone … Continue reading →

How to Be Kick Ass on The Fly

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The first mistake was sleeping until after seven, because my best thinking takes place way earlier.  On a good morning, I sit with my coffee at 5:30, before anyone else is awake.  I review my calendar for that day.  I meditate. I chant “om.”   I practice yoga postures.  I listen to music I like.  I take a few hours to ease into life before the kids barrel down the stairs, the dogs beg to be fed, and the chase to get to the bus stop or weekend morning soccer practice begins. So it should have come as no surprise that … Continue reading →

It’s My Island

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I didn’t want to teach tonight. I never don’t want to teach. It has been a whirlwind week, between starting a “big girl” job that requires me to walk out of my house primped and well caffeinated when the kids leave for school, the impending monthly deadline on the magazine I edit, and getting adjusted to being the only adult in the house (I thought I was outnumbered before with three kids.  Now, I’m really outnumbered!) So, at 6:40 tonight, I finally turned off my computer after squeezing in 20 minutes of magazine editing time, after getting home from work, … Continue reading →

Boot Camp

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I walk into the class room, feeling a little more arrogant than warranted. I’ve got this, I think to myself.  I’m a distance runner. I’m a yogi. I’m a total badass. How challenging can this actually be, I wonder, feeling more smug than curious.   The Boot Camp classes at the studio where I teach yoga are the most popular classes, by far.  They are so popular, that registration is required in advance so that you are guaranteed a spot. One class is offered immediately after my Tuesday night Fight Club, and every week, I head to my car, as … Continue reading →

How Not to Hold a Grudge

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The bitch and I share the driver’s seat as I drive to the studio.  She’s taking up most of the space. “Can you please find your own seat?”  I ask.     “Shut up, bitch,” she snaps back.   “Who do you think you’re talking to?  You’re the bitch!” “Like you’re completely innocent.” I turn up the music and block her out.  The seat feels pretty cramped, but I manage.  You may not see my inner bitch, even if we’re in the same room, but every now and then, she takes over.    Like today. I’ve been holding some grudges, and … Continue reading →

What My Swami Said

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I found them to be a terrible distraction.  Not the kids fighting in the next room, or neighbors playing loud music, or thoughts of war or poverty or neglected dogs.  It was my bangs.  My new, shorter, side swept bangs weren’t sitting properly across my forehead.  I brushed them, I tried a different part, a flat iron, but nothing worked.  Enough, I thought to myself.  It’s time for the mind to move onto something else. There are worse things than a bad hair day, even if this was the day that I would be meeting Swami Shantimurti  Saraswati of Ahsram … Continue reading →