Blog Written by Angela Williams-Jones As I write this so many thoughts and emotions come to pass. The excitement of being selected for this magnificent journey brought thoughts of worthiness, worry, fear, past experiences, where we all are on our…
I’ve always hated pictures of myself. Maybe it’s because I’m shy and introverted. Maybe it’s because of a lifelong dissatisfaction with my size and my looks. Maybe it’s because I’m a vampire….just kidding, I’m not a vampire, everyone knows vampires…
“Why do we do Restorative Yoga?” Recently a student asked me this question at the beginning of a class. They added, “I mean, it feels good, but what good is it?” Restorative Yoga is unlike any other approach to yoga.…
“The experiences of unity among peoples are more important and crucial than all the concepts, prejudices, ideologies, faiths that may divide. And if you can multiply these experiences of unity over a time interval of sufficient duration, you can undermine…
Prologue I am a yogi. I practice, teach, and train people in the art of yoga. This was not my dream job, and I hesitate to call it a job at all. It feels more like a calling, as they…
The Yoga Service Council is committed to highlighting the work and journeys of our growing community in an effort to inform, inspire and affirm our shared work and vision in the name of yoga service. We want you to learn…
Today, more and more elders, ages 65 to 95, are living active, interesting lives. Some live at home and explore activity and learning opportunities at senior citizen centers or adult day care facilities. Others are residential participants at retirement communities…
Somewhere around the winter of 2008, I received a phone call that would lead to a pivotal event in my life—as a human being, as a therapist, as a yoga teacher, and as a yogi. When I answered my phone,…
This post is an excerpt from Michael Huggins recently released book, “Going Om: A CEO’s Journal from a Prison Facility to Spiritual Tranquility,” a behind-the-scenes look at life inside a men’s correctional facility. It’s easy to dismiss “them” as being different…
Hands to Heart: A Yoga Service Interview with Susan Lovett At Yoga Service Council one of our core tenets is supporting and celebrating the work of great Yoga Service Organizations. One of our Board members of Yoga Service Council, Susanna…
Editor’s note: Alexa Mergen, who teaches yoga in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, is passionate about bringing the practice to other small towns across the U.S. In Fall 2016, she joined the Yoga Service Council to connect with a like-minded community that would support…
The Yoga Service Council is proud to share this inspiring poem by Sarah Plummer Taylor, a U.S. Marine veteran, author, wellness leader, and contributor to our forthcoming book, Best Practices for Yoga with Veterans. You can listen to Sarah read her poem by…
Black Yoga Teacher Alliance Conference at Kripalu, August 25 – 28, 2016. I just returned from a family reunion! Had no idea I was even going to one. I registered for the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance Conference at the Kripalu…
So many wonderful yogis have been born on the mats in the beautiful Linehan Chapel on the campus of Nazareth College. Students at Naz have the amazing opportunity to participate in yoga classes on campus six times per week. The…
Melanie Klein, the Co-Founder of Yoga and Body Image coalition (Y.B.I.C.), sat down with Susanna Barkataki, a board member of Yoga Service Council, to discuss moving beyond “yogalebrity” to yoga community, past wins and future plans for Y.B.I.C., and the…
This is the final post in a 3-part series exploring diversity (or the lack thereof) in Chicago’s yoga community. The author, Karla Velasco, wrote it as part of Natalie Tomlin’s “Explore Chicago” course at DePaul University in Winter 2016. This class took students…
This post is the second in a 3-part series exploring diversity (or the lack thereof) in Chicago’s yoga community. The author, Karla Velasco, wrote it as part of Natalie Tomlin’s “Explore Chicago” course at DePaul University in Winter 2016. This class took students…
This post is the first in a 3-part series exploring diversity (or the lack thereof) in Chicago’s yoga community. The author, Karla Velasco, wrote it as part of Natalie Tomlin’s “Explore Chicago” course at DePaul University in Winter 2016. This class…
Operating within the juvenile justice system, The Art of Yoga Project provides yoga, mindfulness and creative arts programming for incarcerated and exploited teen girls. I had the opportunity to visit the center last week to participate in the weekly yoga…
Pain and disease awaken us to convictions, which are necessary to our moral condition. ~ Samuel Johnson These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them. ~ Rumi Pain is the great teacher of mankind. Beneath its breath souls develop. ~ Marie von…
Yoga’s popularity has been felt across all fabrics of American life. The private sector has successfully commercialized its products and services. The social sector is developing infrastructure to positively impact the lives of people that might need contemplative practices most, but can access it…
Susanna Barkataki: So tell us a bit about your role in Yoga Service. What motivated the yoga service work that you do and the creation of the retreat for Alzheimer’s caregivers? Melissa Smith: My father has been the caregiver of my…
Trauma as Spiritual Crisis When we talk about purpose in yoga, we use the word dharma. Dharma, a Sanskrit word denoting one’s “ethical duty,” serves as our guiding principle for living. A need and desire for dharma is innate, yet…
Excerpted from Meditations on Intention and Being: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga, Mindfulness and Compassion. A few years ago I went on a ten-day meditation retreat in California’s Yucca Valley. It was very well attended, and each…
I love teaching yoga to kids in detention. I have found that many of the young people I encounter in juvenile detention can’t remember when they last heard a good word from anyone in authority, whether it be parents, teachers,…
A couple of years ago, in a New Year’s Eve note to my readers on SemperSarah.com, I encouraged them to be vulnerable. Then, I decided, I was going to walk my talk. First, I shared this note with them. Then,…
I have been really struggling with anxiety and depression the last several months. So much self doubt showing up. Doubt in myself and the path of teaching trauma-informed yoga to women that has chosen me. The fear of not being…
I used to think strength meant presenting an image of strong silence and always looking like I had everything together. I was a Marine, a leader, and could never make a mistake. I became a Marine to serve, and loved…
BACKGROUND I am a Mother, a Poet, a Yogi, and a disabled Veteran with a vagina. I have served my country, first as an active duty Chaplains Assistant, then as a military wife, then as a divorced military spouse, and…
“We came to this country to unite, you need to show them we are here to work hard. That’s it. You show them by example not by arguing or crying.” Those were my fathers words when I was crying after…
I’ll admit, when I first signed on to work with Arts Holding Hands and Hearts of CultureTrust, I was more than a bit nervous about going behind bars to teach teenage boys in the juvenile justice system. Sure, I had…
I want to see a new convergence of yoga, mindfulness, and social justice. Can this happen? I don’t know. I have a gut-level, insistent feeling that it’s possible. But I also feel that if this possibility is ever going be…
Take a moment and think about a time when you were in a community that felt safe. It could be a community of any size 3, 15 or 100. Simply call to mind an experience that allowed you to fully…
The Cycle of Violence Ends in Your Own Heart by Jacoby Ballard* So many of us do the work that we do in the world because the pain of injustice and inequity break our hearts, and many of us have…
Yoga for First Responders: Waking Up Through Serving Domestic Soldiers by Olivia Kvitne* I remember the moment when the definition of “teaching yoga” changed for me. Barking out asanas in a hot room with a required Top 40 playlist didn’t…
The Beauty and Versatility of a Chair Yoga Practice in Institutional and Clinical Settings by Joanne Spence I have just had the great fortune of finishing up a three-week trip to Australia, where I have been teaching some yoga workshops…
The Call to Be By Rolf Gates As a result of an addiction to alcohol and the intense suffering I experienced during my early years I seem to have been born to ask the question: What happens when we cant…
Turning Your Vision into a Yoga Service Reality by Sue Jones I have recently begun writing a book that has lead me to reflect back on the development of the yogaHOPE TIMBo (Trauma Informed Mind Body) program. To anyone who…
Understanding Interception and Supporting the Recovery of Trauma Survivors through Yoga: David Emerson One of the key theoretical underpinnings of our model of Trauma Sensitive Yoga is neuroscience with a particular focus on parts of the brain collectively known as the interoceptive…
by Lynne Staropoli Boucher What a difference two years can make. In May of 2012, only two months after I finished my yoga teacher training, I was fortunate enough to attend the inaugural Yoga Service Conference at Omega Institute. Fairly new…
Welcome to our new Yoga Service Blog. We are looking forward to sharing thoughts and perspectives on topics near and dear to the hearts and minds of Yoga Service Council members from a wide variety of trusted teachers, researchers and…
