Sometimes people will ask me where I work. There is something about the word “work” that makes me recoil. “I don’t really work.” I’ll say, “I teach yoga.” But lately I’ve been thinking about that and it seems to me that I do “work” only it’s not work in the “Omg, it’s Monday and I have to go back to work!” kind of work.
But I do work. I put in lots of hours. I plan and I do computer-y things and I answer emails and a million other kinds of little jobs. But I thought I would devote this post to showing you where I really work. This is my lab. This is where I work out my sequences that I will teach; this is where I go deep; this is where I do hundreds of rounds of pranayam and many hours of meditation. This is where I consult anatomy books and then try experiments on my own body. This is where I do the Yoganand workouts and the Yoga Today workouts. This is where I work.
I teach at a studio, but this little spare bedroom in my house is where I work.
This is my mat:
I practice on a Manduka Pro in Black Cherry. On top of it, I have a Gaiam full-length yoga towel because my practice gets really sweaty and I need the extra grip. I love this towel because it has grippers on the underside and will not slip.
This is the mat from another angle. Another prop that I am totally in love with is my Hasta Pada strap. If you are still using a regular yoga strap, and you use a strap a lot in your practice, definitely get this one. It will change your practice. It will make your life so much easier.
I recently got a mirror for my studio after getting one for my home studio. I don’t use it very much, but when I need to check my alignment it really comes in handy. All yoga rooms should have a full length mirror.
This is my prop basket. It has blocks, hair bands, mat wash and an assortment of stretchy bands. I recently bought those 2 cork blocks you see in the front and I love them. I use foam blocks at the studio and they are fine, but these cork ones are heavy and solid and support me so much better. Those 2 pink ones in the basket? Pieces of shit. You want them? Hate them. They have cut outs for your fingers and I thought they would be great but they are not. Live and learn. Beyond the basket, you will notice 2 bolsters under my weight bench. I am using them to try to stretch my quads by lying back over them. They too, are a Manduka product and I love them.
That folded up thing is the poncho I wear during meditation.
This is my yoga journal and all the stuff I am working on at the moment: bakasana prep poses, astavakrasana prep poses, anatomy books, I am always writing things down, consulting books and magazines and just working it out.
I don’t have an altar at the studio but I do have one here at home. Sometimes I light incense, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I light the candle, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I pick a flower and put it in the ikebana bowl, sometimes I don’t. But I like my Buddha statue and the card that says:
This is where I work. I love my work. I love my warm little space where I can close the door every morning and do what I need to do.
Inspiration Location 