Author: James

Out on Eight Limbs

I have decided to write a book. And I’m writing here — for you, for free — in real time to help keep me honest. Then I’ll organize it into a book. Probably. Who knows? Let me know if you’re following along! I’d love to hear from you. And, if you want, try your own […]

How (and Why) to Practice Every Day

At Daily Flow, my mission is to help people establish their own personal daily mindfulness practice. In this post, I dive into the how and why of creating a consistent routine that enhances well-being, manages stress, and fosters self-awareness. Whether you’re new to mindfulness or looking to deepen your practice, these actionable steps will help you build a foundation for long-term success.

The Power of Shared Practice: Yoga in Community

I was once intimidated by yoga classes, relying on DVDs for the first decade of my vinyasa practice. It wasn’t until my 30s that I joined a yoga class, and everything changed. I took my first regular yoga classes at the gym (something I took for Lent one year) and I first experienced how we were united in breath and movement. This shared practice not only brought me closer to others in the room but began to reveal something deeper.

Awakening Body Awareness

Yoga Studios Shouldn’t Have Mirrors. And, for that matter, you probably shouldn’t compulsively make videos of yourself doing yoga. I will admit that when I edit my videos each week, I pay attention to some of the good stuff (alignment, posture, tension) but mostly notice the stuff that shouldn’t matter (my bald spot, my love […]

Balance: Yoga’s Wisdom and Your Life’s Equilibrium

As a human in the world, you have undoubtedly seen ads, read books, watched talkshows and listened to podcasts that advocate we find greater work/life balance. What that means, I realize, is that we’re supposed to “leave work at the office” so that we can spend time with our families and friends, as well as cultivate ample alone-time to pursue other hobbies and interests (like yoga and meditation).

Can Yoga Build Muscle?

Yoga is good exercise, but practicing yoga only to get physically stronger is a little bit like taking a Formula I race car to the Piggly Wiggly or slicing bread with a hacksaw. Sure, it can do the job, but is it the best tool?

Flexibility is More than Open Hips

Tell someone you’re a yoga teacher, and they’ll tell you they can’t touch their toes. I’m not sure when touching one’s toes became all that important, but it seems like a lot of people consider it a barrier to entry if they want to practice yoga. So let’s climb that barrier… Tight hips and hamstrings […]

I Hate #Mindfulness

As I started to meditate on the idea of Mindfulness, I heard myself sounding like all of the clichés that riddle the yoga community and social media. I know that I roll my eyes every time I see a yoga influencer talking about their “mindfulness practice” that includes sitting in a gorgeous outfit in full hair and makeup peacefully gazing on a million dollar view. I want more for us.

7 Yoga Poses to Instantly Relieve Stress

Today we embark on a new adventure: a series of blog posts and videos specifically created to directly address the challenges we all face in the real world. I love the esoteric and “woo woo” side of yoga, but sometimes there is a legitimate need for which you need a simple, tangible solution rather than […]

Samadhi

I have been resistant to writing this post because who am I to write about Samadhi!? It seems to me that there is something to teach in the other seven limbs. They are actionable, and even though my practice of them is far from perfect, I can understand and explain them. Samadhi is a result. […]

Dhyana

We have spent the last couple of months systematically working our way through the eight limbs. Slowly and effortfully trying to concentrate. Getting our minds under control, only to arrive at the penultimate sutra which, essentially, is to stop thinking. It makes sense. After all, the goal of meditation is to live in the space […]

Dharana

Dharana means concentration or meditation on a single point. When we achieve Dharana, we are actively concentrating on a point of meditation, whereas we release all of the effort fully in Dhyana (next week!).

Pratyahara

When we practice Pratyahara, we withdraw the senses. It’s not that there is nothing to taste; it’s that we are choosing not to taste it. Sounds will inevitably happen around us. We choose not to hear them. Taste doesn’t just happen. Neither does smell. How we process, label and experience them is wholly done in the mind.

Pranayama

Breath is connection. It brings the outside world, quite literally, in. We consume it in much more intimate way that we do food. Think about it: food is chewed, swallowed and goes through a lengthy digestive process.

Asana

It is surprising to a lot of Westerners to learn that the third of Patañjali’s Eight Limbs is Asana. Of course, he had no sense of the modern meaning of that word. He just meant “steady seat.” We bring the mind under fuller control if we can sit still.

The Niyamas: Iswara-Pranidhana

If you simply reframe your current activity — the thing you’re doing right now (presumably reading this blog) — as being in service rather than self-serving, you’ve done it. You’re there. Sutra 45 tells us that if we do something fully in service, we gain Samadhi.

The Niyamas : Swadyaya

The more you study a deity, the more attuned with it you will become. The more you will feel its sway on your life. Some people choose to study secular “deities” like political figures or causes. They spend their time and intellect on earthly things and are, therefore, bringing these Earthly influences closer.

The Niyamas : Tapas

Tapas has a few different translations — I’ve usually heard “heat.” But I’ve also heard “pain,” “suffering” and “austerities.” Why do I want to be hot? Heat purifies. Boiling water makes it potable. Smelting metals removes impurities. Ironing clothes removes wrinkles. Now think about the last time someone said something hurtful to you. Something that really […]

The Niyamas : Santosha

Santosha means “contentment.” “Contentment,” it seems to me, is not the same thing as “happiness.” “Happiness” sometimes implies a kind of delusion. To be “happy” all the time means to deny that struggles of daily life; to completely ignore that there is sadness, famine, war, disease. To be “happy” with how things are might be […]

The Niyamas : Saucha

So Saucha, Purity, is about how you regard and purify (and keep pure) your body. But it’s about more than that. We all think of the same “pure” imagery, I’m sure: virginity, doves, driven snow.

The Yamas : Aparigraha

The fifth (and final) of the five Yamas is Aparigraha, which can be translated as “non-greed” or “non-grasping.” I had never considered before that grasping non-material things — like my need to “win” in competitive cycling classes or my need to advance my career — might be a form of greed. I’m also more and more […]

The Yamas : Brahmacharya

Brahmacharya means “continence” or “moderation.” It’s clear that Patañjali is referring to sexual abstinence, at least in large part, but it’s also about moderation in all things. Specifically, it’s about moderation in all things that give us pleasure. But I just want to do yoga and have a ‘yoga body’ and have all of my […]

The Yamas : Asteya

“Nonstealing.” Easy, right? Super easy to not shoplift. No big deal to avoid picking someone’s pocket or snatching their purse.

The Yamas : Satya

If I am dishonest, my mind knows I am being dishonest. However subtle or “harmless,” the mind knows it’s lying, and that knowing creates an obstacle.

The Yamas : Ahimsa

The first of the Yamas sounds simple. It’s usually translated, “Do No Harm” or “Cause No Pain.” Easy, right? Don’t punch anybody in the face. Don’t be rude to waiters. Be “nice.”

Week Thirteen : The Power of Story

Our human minds organize things into stories. Starting in infancy, we begin to take in the world and — as a matter of necessity — create stories. Where do the stories we tell stop being useful and start being harmful?

Week Twelve : The Power of Boundaries

Having, knowing, defining and defending clear personal boundaries is crucial if we’re ever going to grow, but there’s a difference between setting a boundary and just not feeling like doing something.

Week Eleven : The Power of YES!

What experiences do we allow to pass us by because we’re nervous about trying something new? We’re getting better about saying “no.” Let’s say “YES!”

Week Ten : The Power of “No”

This week, we give ourselves the space to say “no” to all that does not serve us. By clearing away the debris in our lives, we have the opportunity to make space for what really matters. Try saying “no” to something and see how it feels!

Week Nine : The Power of Change

As an always-aspiring yogi and spiritual being, “change” means doing my best to find — and live in — the “flow.” Shutting off the voices that tell me something is wrong … leaving the “should” at the door… and embracing the fact that my own deepest knowing comes from a higher intelligence.

Week Eight : The Power of Joy!

Don’t look at the bright side. Don’t pretend things are good when they aren’t. You’ll never win (and you’ll wind up miserable). Instead, look for joy in different places. Find pockets of goodness existing alongside the bad. It’s not about ignoring or turning off your sense of reality; it’s about learning to shift attention to […]

Week Seven : The Power of Love

It’s Valentine’s week, so Love is definitely on the mind. Love sometimes gets a bad rap. This week, we’ll explore how the Power of Love can quite literally change the world.

Week Six : The Power of Manifesting

What does it mean to live into the life you want … now?

Week Five : The Power of Anger

If you listen to it, allow it to come up, then it will dissipate and … eventually … you won’t need it any more. At least not in that reactive way around that specific issue.

Week Four : The Power of Raising the Bar

I mean looking at where you are and thinking about how you can move forward to deepen your practice.

Week Three : The Power of Lowering the Bar

There is tremendous power in embracing that something can be “good enough,” or — as a friend put it — “done is better than perfect.”

Week Two : The Power of the Mundane

“Mindfulness” doesn’t mean sitting for hours on end in perfect stillness. The real power in living a more mindful life is in the little things.

Week One : The Power of Intention-Setting

Whatever has brought you to Daily Flow : WELCOME! Let’s create a deeper, more meaningful practice.

Week Zero : Intentions Can Shift

Welcome to the Daily Flow 2024 Mindfulness Series. New Year. Same me.

Freedom to Live!

You can’t go home again because home has ceased to exist, except in the mothballs of memory. John Steinbeck And I know things now, many valuable things,That I hadn’t known before.Do not put your faith in a cape and a hood,They will not protect you the way that they should. And take extra care with […]

The Road Back

As we turn the corner back toward home — toward the conclusion that we trust is eminent — we are forced to revisit the sites of our past trials and triumphs. Life’s like a movie, write your own endingKeep believing, keep pretendingWe’ve done just what we set out to do.Thanks to the lovers, the dreamers, and […]

Encountering the Divine

Traditionally, western-style yoga classes end with the Sanskrit word “Namaste.” It literally just means “greetings,” but we use it as a statement of gratitude and recognition. I close my classes (and our brief practice here) with a statement that my teacher Mindy uses: The light in me bows to an honors the light in you.When […]

The Inmost Cave

This week, we dig a little deeper. In our Hero’s Journey template, the hero is exploring literal caves on his quest. What will you unearth this week? Caves can hold treasure. They can also hide dragons.

Trials & Temptation

You have departed — left home — and crossed into the first of your trials. Life is suffering. The BuddhaFirst “Noble Truth” We also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our […]

Into the Unknown

As we take the first steps on our journey together, let’s take a few moments to reflect on what is bringing us to this practice. Where are you going?Don’t leave me aloneHow do I follow youInto the unknown? “Into the Unknown”Frozen IILyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez *I promised that I’d try to keep […]

Enlightenment

So we’ve spent twelve weeks together. We must have attained full Nirvana or Enlightenment by now, right? Of course, the journey has just begun! We end in much the way we began: with setting intentions but looking beyond to consider how we’d like to show up in the world.

Look Out

We’ve spent the last TEN WEEKS going within; now it’s time to start to look to the world around us. This can be very challenging, so we’ll take it slowly and our yoga flow will help us open up to all life has to offer!

Go Deeper

This week, we’ll build on last week’s practice to explore where we’re holding — tension, emotion, fear — and begin the (lifelong) practice of release. WARNING: This week’s journal practice, in particular, can get a little dark. So if you’re someone who struggles with depression or if you feel it all getting a little too […]

Integration

Part Two For the last seven weeks, whether you know it or not, we have been working through the seven primary chakras of yoga/Hindu practice. The Chakras are energy centers that a slew of Eastern philosophies embrace. Frankly, they make a lot of sense. Very briefly put, they are “wheels” located at several points along […]

Bliss Out

Time to bliss out! The past six weeks have lead us to this moment: building from the ground up to the part of us that is most-connected to the Divine. I know that’s a mushy sounding word, but it’s the best one I have.

Trust Your Gut

Whom do you trust most in the world? If you answered anything except “myself,” this week is made for you! This week, we’ll spend some time trying to trust our own instincts and intuition.

Find Your Voice

How do you express yourself? Many of us who were “raised right” think that it’s polite to keep quiet or that being liked is more important than being heard. I think these days, that’s even trickier because we’re always hearing a lot from people who over-share — whether face-to-face or on social media. People who […]

Listen to Your Heart

As you wrap up your first month, let’s come into a lighter space of love and gratitude. I don’t mean romantic love (necessarily) but the spirit of generosity and kindness that permeates all aspects of creation. Call it the Prana, Chi or the Holy Spirit: it’s all the energy that connects us to creation.

Who Am I?

Who are you? Now that you’re a few weeks in, let’s try to arrive fully in the present moment to connect with and honor our intuition and intention.

Ignite Your Passion

Welcome to week three! How’s it going? Last week, we spent time connecting with the important energies of our past. This week, you’ll come even more fully into the present to consider what drives you: what do you really value? I don’t mean material stuff (although it’s nice to have nice things): I mean what […]

Rooting to Rise

This week, we connect with — and find gratitude for — our roots. That might mean the family that raised you. It might mean ancestors whose stories resonate. Or might be your chosen family.

Setting Intention

As we embark on our twelve weeks together, take some time to consider how you want to show up. Do you hope this to be the beginning of a longer, more sustained practice? Or are you just giving yourself a little reset? As you consider this, how often do you want to practice? Will you […]

Basics / Getting Started

If you’ve never done yoga or meditated, they can be daunting, so here are a couple of reviews to help you feel more confident. You’ll see the three tabs below. This is exactly how your course chapters will work, so click below for a little preview.

Materials, Supplies and Fun Stuff

I want to be super clear from the outset: you don’t need anything (except 30 minutes a week and a good attitude), but if you’re new to any of these practices, or if investing in some special things will help get you excited, here is stuff I like… Yoga Stuff In general, I really like […]