Author Archive | Christina Bryza

I don’t usually go to upscale salons to practice yoga, but that’s definitely what I did yesterday: In the course of my two-and-a-half-hour haircut, I had ample opportunity to focus on my breath, connect to my body (image), and become aware of my ego. I even stood in tadasana for part of the time, and […]

“Transformation can be as simple as returning to the breath.” Yesterday I received that wisdom from Cheri Huber, a monk whose work I admire and whose tweets I receive as texts because they’re designed to keep me in the present moment. I’m not going to become a monk. And I’m often far from Zen. But […]

If you’ve been into hip-hop anytime since the 90s you have probably heard of Common, but if you haven’t, all you need to know is that he is an honorable man who has found huge success by staying true to his core values. I recently heard him talk about life and discuss his new book, […]

I’m mad, and so I’ll meditate. I don’t particularly want to meditate, mind you, but yoga is my go-to solution because it’s the least destructive way I know of to cope with my problems. It’s funny, how well I can pull off the Zen thing at times (see previous post) and how at others I […]

I’ve been pretty much prepared to get “bad” news for a few days now, because in my experience, more than a week after a final job interview, no news is not good news. Nonetheless I’ve done my best to stay neutral, persistently telling myself that I wouldn’t really know the answer until I received it, […]

I’ve been pleased with my recent calm–I’m waiting to hear whether I’ll be offered my dream service job, and in the meantime there is nothing to do but make the most of the present, even though I am also anxious to plan for the future. Really, there’s nothing like not knowing where you’ll live in […]

Since I love my mom and dislike hurricanes, I decided to head upstate for the weekend and combine natural disaster preparedness with family time. I was hoping to try out the local studio where my mom’s been practicing ever since her joyful discovery of yoga’s benefits a few months back, but there weren’t any classes […]

I left the community center yesterday feeling uplifted, enlightened, and thoroughly respected. I didn’t speak to a single child. This wasn’t the plan, of course. The plan was for me to plunge valiantly back into the throng of children who last week thwarted my efforts at teaching them how to get calm and stay focused. […]

I am trying, and I am tired. But I am trying! That about sums up my recent sentiments regarding one of my greatest challenges thus far as a yogi: holding a safe space for a crew of kids ranging from age 4 to age 12. It’s hard. I knew it would be–I’m working with a […]

This is how I feel inside!

There. I said it. That horrible pun has been pinging around my mind since Thursday. When the peeling began. It turns out my rooftop asana was canceled by rain, so I thought I’d have a reprieve from sweat and thus a chance at a tan. But the next morning showed a pink spot on my […]

You play in the sun, you’re gonna get burned. At least, you will if you’re me and you experiment with the sun-shielding abilities of shea butter. True fact: Shea butter has natural sunscreen properties. Truer fact: Shea butter does not have enough natural sunscreen properties to adequately protect you on a hot summer day at […]

Yoga is the union of breath and body, the balance of stillness and movement. So is dancing, if you pay attention. A lovely yoga studio in my vicinity held an open house party last night to celebrate its new space, a dance hall. I went with a friend and we weren’t quite sure what to […]

I’ve been doing a lot of balancing lately. Not so much in asana–I think tree pose with a tree is the last time I really tried standing on one foot–but definitely with my breath and in my mind and heart. I’ve been wanting to write about loss. The disruption of peace in Norway, the death […]

Namaste. It’s spoken at nearly every yoga class I’ve taken, but what does it mean? According to Yoga Journal, “Namaste literally means ‘bow me you’ or ‘I bow to you’.” According to Wikipedia, similar translations like “‘The spirit in me respects the spirit in you,’ ‘the divinity in me bows to the divinity in you,’ […]

I can’t vouch for his morality or spirituality, but I sure do appreciate his sequence, and his yoga changed my life. These are facts, as far as I know. I talked with a friend tonight who has never tried Bikram yoga. I think we’ll take a class together, and I asked her to commit to […]

I took a teacher training this weekend with Street Yoga, and today I did yoga on the street. Coincidence? Definitely not. In fact, it’s the second time I’ve done spontaneous public yoga since training ended, the first being in a park last night. (Turns out sun salutations feel pretty good even when there is no […]

So, my phone was stolen last night. Not a very yoga topic, I know, but I’m struggling with attachment and surrender, two things yoga helps me with, so, close enough for a blog post. Plus, writing almost always makes me feel better, and I really want to shake off the negative vibe that’s rattling me […]

“Bhakti” is a Sanskrit word that in yoga means “devotion.” So, for example, the act of loving fully is sometimes described as bhakti yoga. Yesterday I took a yoga class born from the teacher’s love and devotion for break dancing. She calls her style “breakti.” I call it a blast! Keep it real, come correct, […]

I have recently been twice inspired by Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. She took me by surprise because, while I am a devoted (read: addicted) user of Facebook, I’ve never been particularly trusting of its leadership. But when a friend forwarded me Sandberg’s commencement address at Barnard University, I knew right away that […]