I’m delighted to have a personal essay up today on the online magazine YourTango.com, “smart talk about love.” It’s a new venue for me—and a new genre. Soul baring!

Well, soul baring with a purpose. I use a story of my own heartache to talk about a powerful meditation practice. For me, this is also a writerly experiment: the personal essay is a form I’ve long admired.

Also, I’ve been trying to reveal more of myself in my teaching as a way to engage students and avoid setting myself up as an untouchable authority. After all, I am very human.

Your Tango is a relationship-focused magazine, so while you’re there you can also read why bad relationships are a waste of time, or watch a video of Valentine’s Day cards we wished existed.

My piece is How Meditation Lead Me to True Love, on the home page, and in it I tell you how, for me, meditation and love are related.

Let me know what you think!

Had any similar experiences?

This just in! From Yoga for New York action committee:

“Success! Terrific Success! The vote in the NYS Senate Higher Education Committee was a unanimous “YES” in support of S5701A – protecting yoga teacher training from burdensome and unnecessary government regulation and licensing.

Now what? More Committees to get through (remember in school learning about how a bill becomes a law – were are in it!!)  — yup democracy requires a lot of work – we will keep you posted, of course, as working collaboratively on this is how we protect yoga!

What must we do now to keep the heat on?

* Please Call Senator Carl Kruger, the Chair of the NYS Senate Finance Committee, the next Committee the bill is before @  (518) 455-2460

* You will be connected to a representative of Senator Kruger who will take your message for the Senator. Here’s the message script:

“My name is  _________________ I am calling Senator Kruger because he is the Chair of the Finance Committee. I urge his support for S.5701A which will protect yoga teacher training from burdensome government regulations, unfunded expenses on local government and ensure that yoga studios stay in business. Thank you”

What else do we need?

Very important: funding and donations to make sure the hard work in the State’s capital continues.  Want to know how to donate or ideas for raising funds? Email action@yogaforny.org

Yes, it’s true—I’m leading a yoga retreat to Costa Rica. This is the third year that my co-teacher, Stephanie Sandleben and I will fly down to the Osa Peninsula for a week of jungle heat and yummy asana, February 26 – March 5, 2010.

Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge is our host—a fabulous eco-lodge on the secluded eastern shore of the Golfo Dulce. What does that mean? It means after flying down from San Jose in a prop plane, we are picked up in an outboard motor-boat and whisked 30 minutes across the gulf to a beautifully renovated cocoa farm—in the middle of nowhere.

There’s nothing around—no roads, no shops, and not even very much cell phone or Internet reception. It’s a blessing to get off the grid so profoundly.

What is around are amazing jungle creatures—monkeys, sloths, dolphins, turtles, alligators, ant eaters, toucans, macaws—fabulous plants and flowers. Ever seen a pineapple growing in the wild? Or smelled ylang ylang in bloom? Or squeezed a shampoo ginger?

We do two yoga classes a day, and the rest of the time we do whatever we feel like—go hiking, swimming, kayaking, or we talk to the naturalists, take naps and read.

Not only is the food locally grown and caught, the entire lodge is made of recycled materials and the owners are constantly looking for ways to reduce their impact on the ecology and increase the well-being of their environment.

It’s a great vacation—an excellent way to unwind from city life—and it’s a great way to deepen your practice!

For more information, see http://samatreats.blogspot.com or write to samatreats (at) gmail (dot) com.

Haven’t contributed to Haiti relief yet? Never fear: get yourself to a participating yoga studio on Weds, January 27 (tomorrow!) and let your practice contribute to the cause.

Yoga and activist organization “Off the Mat, Into the World” spearheaded by Seane Corn and friends, is getting studios to donate proceeds to relief funds in an effort called “Yogis for Haiti Day.”

In NYC, Kula Yoga Project will donate half of its daily income to Yogis for Haiti tomorrow. Take a class and you will be helping out. Plus, their classes are great and their teachers are inspired human beings (so if you don’t know the studio, get yer butt down there).

CityYoga in LA is also participating as, I’m sure are a lot of studios. Is yours? Find out!!

(Studios that want to participate should contact kerri@kerrikellyyoga.org)

Know a studio that’s participating? Add it in the comments and I will post it!

The list so far:
889 Yonge
Aha Yoga
Ahimsa Yoga
Apple Yoga
At One Yoga
Bend Yoga
Bend and Bloom Yoga
Bodacious Living Yoga
City Yoga
City Yoga LA
De La Sol Yoga Studios
Eyes of the World Yoga
Integral Yoga Institute – San Francisco
Kansas Siddhi Yoga
Kula Yoga Project
Life Yoga Goulburn
Lila Yogini
Mindful Movement Centre
Om Time
Quinnipiac Fitness Center
Sanctuary for Yoga, Body & Spirit
Shanti Yoga Shala
Solar Yoga
Studio 330
The University of the Arts
West Hartford Yoga
Willow Glen Yoga
Yoga Kula
Yoga Mandala Studio
Yoga Source – Palo Alto
Yoga Tree
Yogaphoria

(from Off the Matt, Into the World)

Benefits beyond Jan 27:

Dancing Dogs Yoga in Beaufort, South Carolina will have our grand opening on Saturday, February 27, 2010 with Hatha for Haiti.

Shanti Yoga- Nelson, BC Canada, hosts 2 more Community Yoga Fundraisers for Haiti, Saturdays from 2-4pm. shantiyoga.ca for details.

OM Yoga of NYC (not part of OTM, but still) raised $700 last Saturday!

Yoga is a religion—at least according 57% of non-yoga-ing Americans polled by the Yoga Alliance last Saturday, Yoga Day USA. The (semi-)regulatory organization was gathering  Americans’ opinion of the sport (?) to see what stops more people from trying it out.

According to its press release, inspite of the ubiquitousness of this multi-billion dollar industry that’s firmly routed in the material ($$) world, many people still think of it as New Age or only for the very nimble. (Sometimes it seems that way, depending on what center you go to and what style you practice…)

“there are many Americans who know little about yoga or, worse, have incorrect assumptions which inhibit them from participation. The three most common misperceptions are that yoga:

• Is religion-based. 57% of those who do not currently practice yoga believe that it requires mantras or chanting related to a form of worship.
• Requires flexibility in order to practice. Nearly 3 in 5 Americans – 59% of respondents – who do not practice yoga think that it requires a person to be in at least “decent” shape. In truth, however, anyone – of any size, shape or physical state – can benefit.
• Is not really exercise. Half of men who have never practiced yoga believe it “isn’t a workout.” In contrast, 73% of people who do practice believe it is just as effective as running, swimming or weight lifting.

All events are free on Yoga Day USA which is sponsored by the Yoga Alliance. Attitude adjustment might cost extra—maybe as much as a monthly membership to a local center.

Sponsored by the awesome Yoga City NYC:

This Saturday, senior Iyengar yoga teacher Bobby Clennell will lead a unique yoga class. You won’t do any asana or pranayama—in fact, you’ll have a sketch pad and a pencil. Yes, you’ll be drawing yoga.

From 1:30 – 4pm,  Clennell, who is also a talented illustrator, will lead students to “see” yoga poses in a different way—by drawing models as they make the poses. No drawing experience necessary. Just bring your desire to read the essence of yoga poses in a new way.

Read an interview with Bobby Clennell as she talks about the concept.

Saturday, January 16, 2010
1:30 – 4:00pm
Om Factory
265 West 37th Street, 17th Floor
To sign-up email info@yogacitynycspecialevents.com

This is no ordinary benefit. If you are going to donate to any cause this winter, this is the one. Protect yoga from state mandates! January 21—cocktails, hor d’ouevres, and silent auction at Chibo (info below). Save the date.

Yoga for New York, a non-profit formed last summer to prevent state government regulation of yoga, needs to raise $25,000. That’s a lot of cash. YFNY needs to hire a lobbyist to help pass legislation early this year that will help protect yoga from being defined by government officials who don’t know anything about the practice. Protect your practice! Protect your local studio.

Read more—and get the latest scoop on the issue—at Yoga City NYC.

Most of all, save the date: Thursday, January 21st

Where:    Cibo Restaurant
Location:  767 2nd Ave. at 41st Street
When:     January 21, 2010
TIme:       6:30PM-8:30PM
Tickets:   $100 in advance, $125 at the door. *Teachers will receive a special entry rate of $75 if paid before January 18th, 2010.

Silent Auction items include

• a weeklong stay at a Villa in Southern Italy
• a yoga retreat weekend at The Ananda Ashram
• dinner for two in the Theater District with actor/singer Dominic Chianese
• and much more!

Register at www.yogaforny.org/events

Download invitation: Invite YFNY Jan Benefit

Miami.

In this town, even the mannequins have boob jobs.

What kind of yoga can you expect where opulence is mistaken for elegance? A mile of bronzed thigh atop a 5” stiletto; lots of mascara and highlights; tight, tight jeans. Little goatees. Flash and glitter. Reflecting pools, royal palms, sequestered cloth cabanas.

Here where beach culture and night life vie for dominance, are sun salutations a variant on sun worship? Is it all spray-on tans and tiny spandex shorts?

Yoga in some ways is the same wherever you go: the same poses, the same instructions—sometimes down to the exact metaphors (“open your feet like a book”).

But the flavor changes from city to city, and certainly from instructor to instructor. In Miami, where new money, hot bodies, and Latin beats pulse up and down Ocean Drive, what did I discover?

Ashtanga.

Ashtanga, the austere, physically rigorous, 6-day a week practice, imported from Mysore, India. This is the bedrock. And then, sprinkled on top, a few variations: a little vinyasa, a little power yoga, a few hot yoga classes, some Jivamukti (which, by the way, is an ashtanga variant).

When I was in Miami last week, I practiced at Miami Yoga Shala, Miami Life Center, The Standard hotel, and Synergy Center for Yoga and Healing Arts.

Coming up: a mini review of yoga in Miami. From a guided ashtanga class to a surprise didgeridoo chakra cleansing—stay tuned!

How are your new year’s resolutions going? Do any of them include improving your relationship to money?

Well, all of us, rich and poor could use some help in that department. Perhaps especially yogis.

Upcoming: some free or affordable help from cool people including yogi and financial adviser Brent Kessel and Spencer Sherman, co-founders of Abacus Wealth Partners.

I saw Brent speak at the New York Yoga Journal Conference, May 2009, and loved what he had to say. Smart cookie. Here’s what’s on offer right now. Check it out:

1. Vicki Robin’s Conscious Money Speakers Series, Weekly 1-hour teleclass workshops with a dozen top conscious money teachers including Bill McKibben,  Brent Kessel, David Korten, John deGraaf, John Robbins, Lynne Twist, Olivia Mellon, Spencer Sherman, Trent Hamm, Victoria Castle, Hazel Henderson. $12 per class or $79 for the whole series. A great deal! Free introductory teleclass on January 11th. Series begins January 18th.

2. Heal Your Money Karma, #1 course on DailyOm.com. Brent Kessel and Spencer Sherman offer 8-weeks of invaluable financial tranformational tools through a pay-what-you-can structure.

3. Money Matters: The Business of Yoga, Yoga Journal Conference, San Francisco, Thursday, January 28, 2010, 2:45-3:45p. Led by Brent Kessel. Great for yogis who want to live more consciously in all ways, or yogis considering opening a yoga center.

Related Posts:

“It’s Not About the Money,”

Brent Kessel, Money Guru, Interviewed on Frugaltopia

Yo, New York yoga teachers! This meeting today is for you. I’m in Miami, but YOU need to be there!

“We need yoga teachers to help determine the future of yoga in NY. We are at risk of having our future decided for us, without our voice,” say the organizers, the lovely Liz and Mel of Yoga High.

“Whether you are for or against licensing, it is important we hear your thoughts and ideas on how we can all be involved in the process.  This will ensure that when regulation happens, it does so with intelligence, compassion and a deep respect for the yogic traditions.”

They mean the issue of New York State passing legislation requiring yoga studios to obtain costly licenses to run teacher training programs.

“So please come to a meeting specifically for NY yoga teachers to discuss licensing, health insurance, pay transparency and any other issues you feel passionate about. As a yoga teacher, dealing with these issues can sometimes be a very isolating experience. This is our chance to come together to talk about something that we love and how we can all continue to enjoy a yogic lifestyle.

“IT’S CRUCIAL THAT WE COME TOGETHER NOW. YOGA IS AT RISK. EVERY SMALL STUDIO IS AT RISK OF CLOSING IF LICENSING PASSES WITHOUT US GETTING INVOLVED.

“This is our last chance to meet and discuss these issues before the vote goes to the state senate. We can use our collective voice to buy us time to have input into how, where, and when regulation happens. If not, yoga in NY will become very limited and there will be fewer choices and a bottom line corporate approach.

“The meeting for just teachers will be Wed. January 6th 2010. 12 – 1pm.”

“We encourage you to stay for the Yoga For NY meeting that will be held immediately following from 1-3pm.”

“The meetings will be held at YOGA HIGH 19 Clinton St. between Houston and Stanton. (Ave B turns into Clinton Street South of Houston) 212-792-5776

F, V to 2nd Ave or F, J, M, Z to Delancey

***If you’re a yoga teacher, please forward this on to other teachers you know and to studio owners where you teach.”

THANKS everyone. (Non-yogis welcome to volunteer for Yoga for New York, too, you know.)