By now you know I’m very passionate about the retreats that I facilitate in Tuscany. For years I had gone on retreats myself and it is a yoga retreat that inevitably altered the direction of my life and brought me to live in Italy. But really why are retreats important? There are many reasons: they …
A genuine and deep feeling of gratitude emerges as step into our receptive or yin nature and open up to being helped. Most of us pride ourselves on how self-sufficient we are. We like being responsible and being able to take care of ourselves. This is exactly why it can be so very frustrating when …
This summer didn’t exactly turn out the way I thought it would. If you don’t already know, at the end of July I had an accident or what I like to refer to as a wrestling match with a Taxi in Florence. The taxi won, leaving me with a broken wrist and in a cast …
As we begin to understand that the world outside of us is merely a reflection of the world inside of us, we may feel confused about who is to blame for the current problems we face. For example, If we had a difficult upbringing, we may wonder how we can take responsibility for that, and …
Happiness is obviously subjective and each one of us perceives it according to our own capacity. Some people find happiness in money, a new job, a vacation, while others find it in the little things that happen in our daily lives, such as approval, a confession of love, or even an apology. Gratitude is also …
The yogis say, do less and accomplish more. I’ve heard this repeated frequently over the past few years but I don’t think I really understood what it meant until very recently. There is an old story of a man riding very fast on a horse. As he rides past a friend who is standing on …
Nobody said living in Italy would be easy, and if they did, they lied. While many people harbor a fantasy of packing their bags and buying a one way ticket to a farmhouse under the Tuscan sun, the reality of living in that farmhouse is much different from the movie. In my case things began …
The buddha said, “Don’t believe anything second hand.” And I couldn’t agree more. Don’t believe anything because its written in ink in an ancient book. Don’t believe anything because everyone knows it’s true. Don’t believe anything because of habit. Don’t believe anything arising in your own mind mistaking your imagination for truth. Don’t believe anything …
When used mindfully and with compassion, No is a powerful instrument of integrity and a way to create healthy boundaries. It often takes a lot of courage to say. It is hard to receive. But setting limits ultimately sets us free. There will come a moment when you say, “No” without any justification or excuses …
You are great. I don’t care what your thing is, I believe that you are great at something or maybe you’re great at a whole lot of things. But no matter how great you are at however many amazing, impressive or important things, no amount of expertise, experience, or passion will mean that everyone will like you. Let …