Top 10 things about Winnipeg

June 30, 2015May 5, 2017 Yoga Spy

Two weeks ago, I traveled to Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, for the first time. I knew little about Canada’s “Gateway to the West.” I’ve met a few people who grew up here. I remember a movie, My Winnipeg, that screened at the Vancouver Film Festival several years ago. That’s about it. Well, my first impression was very positive, Travelling can be really fun and it can help you to get more positive. (Winnipeg in December might have been a different story.) My Winnipeg top 10: Continue reading Top 10 things about Winnipeg

Life1 Comment

The yamas and niyamas of shopping

March 3, 2015March 4, 2017 Yoga Spy

Before my January trip to California, I stopped at a toy store in Kitsilano. I wanted to buy a Schleich animal figurine or two for my little niece. Shopping for her is tricky. She has strong opinions. But, throughout her … Continue reading The yamas and niyamas of shopping

Life, Practice, Yoga8 Comments

Learning on your own

February 3, 2015August 15, 2017 Yoga Spy

I bumped into an old friend during my holiday trip to California. “Dylan” has always been an athlete, so I wasn’t surprised that he’s still avidly into hockey, skiing, and other sports. But I didn’t expect him to say, “And here’s one for you. I’m … Continue reading Learning on your own

Life5 Comments

Assessing the past year

January 5, 2015February 6, 2017 Yoga Spy

I can’t believe that 2014 is over. I still have tons of unfinished business and loose ends to tie up. Plus I didn’t read enough books, clean out my closets, practice enough yoga, spend enough time with family or friends… On the bright side, 2014 was a decent year. I wrote another Lonely Planet Big Island book. I got an iPhone, my first smartphone (why on earth was I such an extreme holdout?). I injured and recovered from a hamstring injury. I replaced a back-wrecking memory foam with a solid zenhaven mattress mattress. Most memorable, I studied at RIMYI and traveled to India, both for the first time, from late July to early September. It was … Continue reading Assessing the past year

Blogging, Life3 Comments

Five years a blogger

December 18, 2014February 6, 2017 Yoga Spy

One of my favorite yoga blogs is Michael Romero’s Home Yoga Practice, which features his writings on being an Iyengar yoga student and teacher in Honolulu. I first “met” Michael when he posted comments on my blog as “yogiromero” in November 2013. He has strong opinions tempered by thoughtfulness and humor. I could tell that he was a serious practitioner. I could relate to his point of view. In December 2013, he launched his blog, which interested me primarily by his tell-it-like-it-is writer’s voice, but also by his connection to my Hawaiian homeland. Michael lives on O‘ahu and teaches at Iyengar Yoga Honolulu, which I’d once visited in … Continue reading Five years a blogger

Health, Life3 Comments

Aging Well: Momo the Black Lab

November 21, 2014February 2, 2017 Yoga Spy

The next star in my Aging Well series would be a centenarian if she were human. In dog years, she’s 15. Meet, Momo, a Labrador Retriever with high energy, strong will, sleek physique, and unbridled enthusiasm. When we adopted her almost five years ago, she acted like a dog half her age. She’d roam Kits beach, chasing herons, swimming, ignoring commands, and sniffing everywhere. Food was, and always will be, her great passion. Today, despite some creakiness in her joints and limbs, she still has daunting “get up and go.” She is never tardy for her morning walk, much less any meal (hers, mine, yours). Five years ago, she was going grey … Continue reading Aging Well: Momo the Black Lab

Iyengar Yoga, Life, Yoga31 Comments

Farewell, Mr Iyengar

August 20, 2014February 13, 2017 Yoga Spy

Walking toward RIMYI just after noon, I saw a crowd blocking the street. Just outside the gate, an ambulance was parked. Soon I heard chanting, and five or six men, draped in white cloth, came carrying the body of BKS Iyengar, adorned with flowers, … Continue reading Farewell, Mr Iyengar

Books, Iyengar Yoga, Yoga7 Comments

Reading list: India

July 15, 2014December 24, 2014 Yoga Spy

In late February, I got the green light to go to Pune in August. (Among Iyengar yogis, “going to Pune” means going to study at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute.) Five months to prepare. To me, this meant buying Lonely Planet India, finding an apartment in Pune, booking flights, getting vaccinations, avoiding injury, and reading up on India. Five months is enough time to do it all–except the reading. While I’m going to Pune primarily for yoga, I have a hunch that the Pune experience encompasses more than classes at the institute. I’ve never traveled to India, and I suspect that my yogic challenges will go beyond … Continue reading Reading list: India

Health, Life, Yoga3 Comments

Aging well: Phyllis Sues

July 1, 2014February 2, 2017 Yoga Spy

Prepare to be impressed. Can Phyllis Sues really be 90 years old? You can’t really guess her age any more since she went through Blepharoplasty Beverly Hills.Go to her website and see her in action: tango dancing, jumping rope, playing tennis, doing yoga, swinging on a trapeze, hiking. From her 20s to her 40s, she was a professional dancer and entertainer. She then became a fashion designer, running a women’s apparel company for two decades. In the early 2000s, in her 80s, she took up the piano and tango dancing. At 85 she began practicing yoga. Now, five years hence, she is doing a bunch of challenging poses, as illustrated … Continue reading Aging well: Phyllis Sues

Life, Teachers & Students, Yoga6 Comments

Have you ever cried in yoga class?

May 27, 2014February 6, 2017 Yoga Spy

“I couldn’t stop crying in Savasana,” my friend Elaine once told me. She was struggling through a bad time and finally, in yoga class, she felt at ease. It was such a relief that she broke down. Yoga can catalyze emotions in people. I’ve witnessed spontaneous crying, during or after asana, most likely at all-day workshops. The hours and hours of yoga, the divergence from routine, somehow trigger emotional release. I myself can’t recall ever crying in class. For me, yoga has the opposite benefit. Asana (even a strenuous session) calms my mood swings. If I’m on the verge of losing it, yoga steers me to a … Continue reading Have you ever cried in yoga class?

Life, Practice, Yoga6 Comments

Home practice in my hometown

April 28, 2014February 6, 2017 Yoga Spy

Flying into Hilo, my hometown, two weeks ago, I gazed out the airplane window. An endless, supersaturated palette of green, along the Hamakua Coast. While much of the world, including California (my subsequent stomping ground) is suffering from drought, Hilo has had over 12 inches of rain in the month of April alone. The aerial view was striking. What a vast bountiful island. So much undeveloped land. Still a chance not to ruin it. I thought to myself: I’m lucky to have grown up here. I didn’t always appreciate Hawai‘i, not enough anyway. One of my worst habits is not appreciating what I have–in the moment. Only afterward does it hit me. Maybe I … Continue reading Home practice in my hometown

Health, Life2 Comments

Aging well: Misao Ihara

March 10, 2014February 2, 2017 Yoga Spy

Old age. Why do we dread it? A common fear is ill health, which is probably why 95-year-old Olga Kotelko, the first in my Aging Well series, is so impressive. Another concern is loneliness. There will come a point when we lose friends and our closest companions. That’s why I’m now featuring Misao Ihara, whom I discovered in The Daily Life of a Grandma and Her Odd-Eyed Cat in Demilked, a design blog. Misao Ihara found this stray cat with mismatched eyes and called it Fukumaru, so that “the god of fuku (good fortune) would come and everything will be smoothed over like … Continue reading Aging well: Misao Ihara