“Think of the tailbone like the root system of a tree.” When a tree’s roots are strong and deep, the tree can withstand storms, drought, wind, and changing seasons. It doesn’t panic when the weather shifts because its foundation is steady. When I first began studying Svaroopa® Yoga in 1998, I didn’t fully understand the significance of the spine and nervous system in yoga. At that time, I mostly saw yoga as a fitness practice. I had been practicing Bikram (Hot) Yoga and other

March is a month of subtle turning. The light begins returning, the ground softens, and something beneath the surface begins to stir long before we see the first flowers. Nature reminds us that growth does not begin when we can see it. It begins quietly, in hidden places. Yoga philosophy teaches something similar about the human body. At the very base of the spine, near the tailbone, yogic teachings describe a small four-petaled lotus known as the root center. This lotus repr

Cultivating Calm Is Emotional Intelligence in Action The theme for my classses this month has been Cultivating Calm.  It sounds simple but asks a lot of us. Not pretend calm. Not a spiritual performance. Not the kind where we paste on a smile while something inside is tight or burning. Real calm. Practiced calm. The kind that develops when we take responsibility for the energy we bring into shared space. When it comes to emotional intelligence, here is what I know for sure: