By conventional standards, it could be said that I wasted my time moving back to NYC. I came here to put some feelers out and realized it's not the right fit. In total, I will have spent 6 months coming to this conclusion and shifting gears to get back on track.

During most of that time, I taught two weekly yoga classes. It cost me more money to commute into the city than I earned from those classes. On a number of occasions, nobody showed up. On most occasions, there were 2-3 students. On rare occasions, I would have a group large enough to create a momentum for class.

While I made some money doing other things, I put my attention and energy behind building momentum for yogahour in NYC. After a few months, I decided it was not worth pursuing further. When it came time to cancel my classes, I did so without hesitation. And I felt relief.

However, something else happened. When I announced that I would be teaching my last classes, I felt the pangs of sadness... the feeling that I would actually miss teaching these classes. When I look objectively at the situation, there was nothing promising about continuing to teach these classes... it felt like trying to save a slowly sinking ship.

I taught my last class last night... and I chose the word "Endless" as my theme for class. I described the endless appreciation that I have for the path of yoga as a valuable investment of my time. I shared the endless love that I have for the people who show up to class with genuine enthusiasm. I reflected upon the things that I care deeply about.

A wise friend once told me, in regards to hiring good people, "You can't replace the give a fuck."

The same is true of pursuing a path of vocation.

Last night, I realized that I care deeply about teaching yoga. That despite the lack of external motivation and financial viability, I still cared deeply about each class.

I prepared last night's class in great detail... the sequence, the playlist, the theme. And as I reflected on this last class, it literally brought tears to my eyes to think about closing this chapter.

These last few months have been of immeasurable worth. They have reaffirmed the strength of my conviction to pursue the path I have chosen... to cultivate myself as a yoga teacher, to support students in connecting with practice and to pursue a vocation that I care deeply about.

I'll begin by saying that I was just on the verge of something BIG... I had the distinct feeling that I had recognized something so profoundly insightful, so essential to skillfully navigating through life's circumstances, that it felt like THE tipping point.

I remain on that verge, virtually no different than I was just moments ago... except that I feel a tiny bit closer to the endlessly profound wisdom of the great ones.

Yoga, as a physical practice, teaches me to focus my attention, with great detail, on what I'm doing with my physical body and why... through which I develop a greater understanding of my physical abilities and limitations. The result of practice yields a skillful focusing of my attention.

That skillful focusing of attention profoundly affects how I feel on the inside... it yields an empowering ability to notice and subsequently choose where I place my attention. As a result of practice, I notice that the quality of my attention is less distracted by the bullshit and able to dwell on the things that matter most.

That ability to skillfully focus my attention and choose where I place it -- THAT is profoundly insightful.

What gets your attention, grows... in other words, the grass is always greener where you water it.

Our attention is the most precious thing we have to give... it is the seed for everything of substance; thoughts, words, actions, results, belief systems, culture, society.

If you are to place your attention more skillfully on the things that matter most, just imagine how that could affect the day-to-day world YOU live in...

Stop imaging. Start practicing.

Over the past several weeks, I've been surrounded by really great community... and being in great company reminds me of what I value most.

Before I left Tucson last spring, I had a clear vision of where I was going and why. It was my primary AIM to establish a home for yogahour in NYC, to train new yogahour teachers and to use that community to launch a studio called The Anchor. That studio would be the flagship for a network of affiliate studios and the seed of a new yoga empire.

This big vision was propelled by my close relationship to yogahour and my experience building successful yoga brands in NYC. I believed, wholeheartedly, that I would radically change the entire landscape of yoga in the most accelerated city in the United States by making yoga more affordable and accessible without diluting quality or tradition. Never for a moment did I give equal weight or consideration to the way that I felt about living in NYC. That was a small price to pay for the prize of building an empire. 

People think it’s a privilege to make it in NYC. For me, it’s a trap...

The best thing that I ever learned through AcroYoga was the ability to fly someone. I remember being flown for the first time myself; the experience was transformative beyond description. And to be able to share that with others has been a gift of immeasurable worth.

From the moment I learned to base, I was so enthusiastic to share the first flight experience with as many people as possible. As I gained confidence, I realized that I could share this gift with nearly everyone with whom I came into contact. It was universally accessible.

This is the spirit that built the AcroYoga community.

I’ve shared this gift with tens of thousands of people around the world, and I've had a genuine moment of connection with each and every one of them. Over the past weekend, I had the opportunity to interact with many generations of students and teachers who have been similarly touched by this practice. It reminds me of the power of human connection, in it’s simplest and most basic form.

As a teacher, I have interacted with many students who are eager to learn new skills and to advance their practice. That desire has contributed significantly to the evolution of the practice. The pitfall in emphasizing advanced skills is that it can create the illusion that the more advanced poses offer something you can’t get from the basic poses.

I believe our attitude shapes what we receive from practice. And every student meets the practice where they are ready to receive it. As teachers, it is our duty to serve and support that bond between student and practice… to create access. 

While challenge is part and parcel of the growth students seek, I see great value in using innovations in teaching to make the difficult more doable, thereby keeping the practice intentionally inclusive. Ultimately, it fuels the spirit of sharing. 

I offer this as a reflection to anyone who has been moved by their own experience of a first flight, or has witnessed the effect of flying someone for their first time. We live in a world that is craving real human connection. As a community, we are empowered with a great gift to share. I believe it is our responsibility to share that gift and to create access for others.

I shared these thoughts at this year's AcroFest; thoughts evoked from the spirit of that gathering. I bow in reverence to the wisdom that emerges in the presence of the Kula.

Word of the Day: Tenacity

It takes tenacity to live in a city like New York, where you are constantly inundated with distractions that can throw you off center. Piercing sirens, steamy subways, disgruntled people, mindless behavior. When I get triggered by these aspects of city life, I tend to create unconscious tension in my body, my mind.

When it comes to yoga, the practice is designed to throw you off balance in order to help you find balance. It creates stress to test your tenacity. Paradoxically, we create tension to release tension. And the result is that we bring more conscious awareness into the process of dealing with challenging circumstances while remaining calm and focused.

For myself, I consistently feel more centered as a result of practice... more at ease with whatever circumstances arise. A dear friend talked to me yesterday about her first yoga class in NYC many years ago. Her most vivid memory was noticing the effect of practice during the final rest. She could hear the sounds of blowing horns and street traffic below, but for the first time, it didn't bother her. She was able to stay relaxed amidst the noise of city life. It was a profound impression that remains with her until today.

BONUS: Here's a link to a song that I recently recorded... it's a song that I love to play at the end of class while students rest. Enjoy!

I've made it my personal mission to bring yogahour to NYC. I began teaching public classes last week, and am appreciating the process to build momentum around teaching a new concept in this community. Nearly every student is adapting to an unfamiliar style of teaching. That brings us into the moment together. It takes time to get people on the bus often enough for the bus to gain momentum… and for students to develop a familiarity that feels like flow. 

When it comes to teaching, I find perspective through observing how well each student grasps the message and translates my instructions into observable action. I often repeat the same sequence and make slight improvements with each iteration. Once the sequence starts to flow with familiarity, it’s time for a shift. I use that momentum as leverage to start teaching a new sequence.

One thing that I love about yogahour is the promise of profit per participant. No matter where you hop on the bus, you benefit from practice. 

There's never been a better time to hop on the bus!

Several moons ago, I answered this question while filling out an online dating profile.  At the time, I thought to myself, “Who wants a relationship founded upon dedication?”  It just sounded boring.

While passion is an important catalyst, it is dedication which sustains relationship.  When it comes to developing a career around doing what you love, it takes tremendous discipline to execute a vision from inception. 

Success, according to many thought-leaders, is described as 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.  Real dedication is anchored in a deeply-rooted passion, one that is worth fighting for.  And both passion and dedication are necessary ingredients for success.

Real dedication means there are no days off. It is the hard road where tenacity is forged. It is the fuel when passion fades. It is an unwavering determination to overcome all odds. And it is the essential ingredient to enduring success.

With dedication, everyday is an opportunity to take actionable steps towards realizing your goals. And by pacing yourself, you can sustain your passion for the long-haul. Whatever your ambition, the grit of dedication will likely get you further than the spark of passion.

People fall in love with passion. They feed their love with dedication.

What motivates people to hustle... to work to their capacity? In the long-run, it's not motivated by greed.

If you've ever been to In-and-Out Burger, you may have noticed how those employees hustle to get the job done, to get it done right, every time... all with a big smile on their face.

I stopped by one of their locations today and it was slammed. Those kids were just going for gold! While waiting for my order, I asked one of the employees candidly, "what motivates you and this crew to work so hard?" 

I asked her to try to answer in one word. She laughed. "Two words? Ok, how many words do you need?"

She thought about it and replied: "Work environment." She said it's a really fun work environment where everyone on the team motivates one another in a positive way.

What fuels you to hustle... to keep working hard and to reach continuously for your personal best?

I've recently shifted my predominant mindset away from concerns of inadequacy towards feeling abundantly supported in my endeavors. Nothing on the surface actually changed, but everything on the surface looks different.

It happened in the stroke of a moment. Instead of fearing what I can't control or assuming it's out to get me, I thought to myself... "what if that feeling of the unknown, the unseen, represents a benevolent force... a force conspiring in my favor?"

Nothing changed on the outside. But inside, everything changed. I relaxed immediately. I felt safe. I felt comfortable in my own skin, regardless of my surroundings.

Since that stroke of insight, I've regained tremendous faith in myself. I've carved out a powerful vision for the next steps in my career and personal development, and I'm confident that I'll be successful.

Prior to this insight, I was somewhat plagued by worries... about financial stability, the health of my physical body, the direction of my career. That's just the short list. I found myself dwelling on worst-case scenarios, and like an obsession, those possibilities weighed heavily on me.

While worst-case is often a real possibility, it's often not the reality... so why obsess over it?

This doesn't mean I don't calculate risks or consider the possibility of losing something valuable while pursuing my goals. Those factors are weighed into my choices. But the risk of loss or failure doesn't drive my choices.

Instead, my choices are driven by the field of possibility... fueled with imagination, creativity and enthusiasm. Every attempt I make in the direction of what's possible helps me to further refine my efforts, carve my vision and grow.