​​I can usually find very good yoga company nearby. For example, at home, this Charlie dog.  Every damn day. (See video with Charlie pup at http://www.YogaNag.com) And in studio. Whether teacher or student, I am awed by the  amazing company in the yoga world. Last week, a beautiful class in a studio I don’t normally frequent and at least 3 friends just happened to be there seeking the wisdom and care of this practice led by a wise and careful teacher. What a gift. Seriously. 

Even when we travel, I can walk into a yoga studio and feel right at home. In my body. On my mat. In the new-to-me space. What a gift. Seriously.

Such amazing support. For me. For my practice. For this life. 

I thank the universe for yoga and yoga community. A shout out and millions of hugs and kisses to ALL of my yoga friends, including students. You are awesome. I am thankful for your yoga and your friendship. 

And even when I can’t find people, there are many other options to support me in this practice. Most know what a prop lover I am. How about a wall?  Nice on the wrists for wheel and helps me play around with other options.   (Another video at http://www.YogaNag.com)

​​I share this in collaboration with #gratitudeandgrace. Led by the wise & wonderful @dianazotos, in partnership with @proskoyoga @erica_mather @patricialadis @francescacervero @medicalyogamom @giuliapline @traceyvincel@arianayoga @yoganag

Love,

Daisy, aka YogaNag
http://www.YogaNag.com
#yogapuppy #yogakula #yogacommunity #practice

A Sunday shape.  A pose that requires so much vulnerability and strength. I generally have more of one than the other, in yoga and elsewhere. I bet you can guess which. This is definitely not a yoga glamour shot, my Sunday morning PJ struggle with wheel pose. I feel too exposed. But I am very aware that I must stop avoiding the places where I feel my vulnerability, my instability, even where I feel slightly unsafe in my own body. This feels particularly important in the current times. This pose embodies both strength and vulnerability. I need both. I think we all do. Some of us have more of one inherently than the other, for so many reasons, some of which comes right down to privilege. For me, I can’t look away from the hard stuff, and seek out the stuff that makes me feel strong, good, safe. I am embarrassed by how much I do this (and even advocate for it, saying pick the poses that you love and start there, which can be great, but not all of what we need to do in this practice). I am digging in, getting real. I am grateful for this practice, this body, this cozy space with Charlie’s support, and the inherent indulgence evidenced in this post, that I get to practice these things here in my body on a daily basis. I know this is a privilege. I also know many of us could use a lot more embodiment right now, and maybe like me, embodying some of the stuff you normally avoid. 

It is the time of year where we look to what we have. This year, I am looking more deeply at my list. In looking at what I have, I am also looking for what I don’t, seeing where I could do more work, where I could do less. On my mat. And off.  

What is on your gratitude and lists this year? Can they help you reveal more about you? About your world? Are you avoiding important bits? Are you overdoing something, underdoing something else? It feels like time to get real, friends. Like, really real. Time to dig in. See what is there and what isn’t. What you have and what you have been missing. What we have and what we are missing.

I share this work in collaboration with #gratitudeandgrace, led by the wise and wonderful @dianazotos, in partnership with @proskoyoga @erica_mather @patricialadis @francescacervero @medicalyogamom @giuliapline @traceyvincel@arianayoga @yoganag

Love,
Daisy, aka YogaNag
http://www.YogaNag.com

Hi beauties!  

I have a great share. Some of the fun perks of being a yoga teacher are discounts on yoga clothes and yoga gear from a variety of places. My FAVORITE by far is Manduka–like these comfy leggings and this awesome mat. As an “ambassador” for Manduka, they are extending a discount to my students and friends between now and Halloween. 

Use the coupon code DWHITTEMORE9 to receive a 25% discount on an order from http://www.manduka.com. Nice! Right? Fun! Leggings leggings leggings. Or whatever suits YOUR fancy.

Maha love,
Daisy, aka Yoga Nag
http://www.YogaNag.com

​​
Shift the perspective. And the movement. But stay with the breath. Make the back of the mat home base. 

These were my birthday sun salutes. Video at YogaNag.com. There were quite a lot of them. Slow and steady through the ages. 

Do yoga. Today. 

Daisy

http://www.YogaNag.com

​​
Cultivate the capacity to sit still with yourself (including making necessary adjustments, such moving your fleshy bum bits out of the way and finding ease in your neck and shoulders).

❤️

Yoga Nag

Video at YogaNag.com

“Grief is love’s souvenir. It’s our proof that we once loved. Grief is the receipt we wave in the air that says to the world: Look! Love was once mine. I loved well. Here is my proof that I paid the price. So I’ll just show up and sit quietly….I’m so sorry. I’ll say. Thank you for trusting me enough to invite me close. I see your pain and it’s real. I’m so sorry.”

–Glennon Doyle Melton

This one is for my beautiful Minnesota family. I love you. I see your pain, and it’s real. I’m so sorry.

You are surrounded by love. We are all here.

xoxox

Daisy

That’s what I am doing. So, that’s what we are doing, in my classes. The in-betweens….in between poses, in between our exhale and inhale, in between our exhale and inhale. 

Happy transitional season. Not summer. Not fall. In between. So, we will occupy that space. Together. 

It’s hard work. It’s good work. Join me. New schedule is up. 

Peace and pauses,

Daisy, aka Yoga Nag

Hi friends,

I hope you are all thriving, both on and off your mats. I have been offline, out of touch, not posting for months. I know! It has been mostly good, wonderful even, to spend less time in the electronic world, fingers on machines. However, I do have to admit that my yoga practice has suffered without the constant nag to nag. As many of you know, one of my primary reasons for nagging all of you lovelies to practice your yoga is to also hold myself accountable for practicing my yoga. Well, without you, I have practiced much less. It’s sad. Community helps me keep on keeping on, even in this odd electronic format.

I am not yet committing to returning to my daily Nags, but I am working to get back to a more regular practice. That is my intention. That is my big plan. And that will be part of my fall class lessons too: how to infuse our practice (and our lives) with not just presence but a sense of purpose, an intent. It makes a big difference for me, and we will talk about it some, how it goes for you, and I hope to blog or at least nag a little about it too.

In the meantime, my fall schedule starts tomorrow, with much of the same, except I am super excited about a new offering at the end of October, a late night yoga practice with Daisy on Thursday nights at 7:45 pm at Willow Street in Silver Spring. Years ago, my home practice began with late nights after my kids were in bed, the only real time I could carve out for myself. I would clean the kitchen (usually), sweep the floor, and roll my mat out in the middle of the room. Sometimes with a computer and an online teacher, sometimes on my own, I would unwind from my day, and reconnect with my body. It was sometimes a very calming, settling myself down type of practice. And sometimes a very long, ambitious one. I still think of that time as the cornerstone of my yoga practice and myself as a yoga teacher. I learned a lot in those months on my kitchen floor late at night. I am hoping to share some of it with all of you later this fall. So, see the schedule below. Sign up or drop in. I would love to see you.

Big love, peace, and pauses all around. May the transition to fall treat you kindly,

Daisy, aka Yoga Nag
YogaNag.com

FULL FALL SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAYS 
6:15-7:30 pm ~~ Aligned Vinyasa, Intermediate/Advanced
Willow Street Yoga Center, Silver Spring, MD

7:45-9:15 pm ~~ Yoga 1/2
Willow Street Yoga Center, Silver Spring, MD

THURSDAYS
9:30-10:45 am ~~ Mixed-Level Flow
extendYoga, North Bethesda, MD

6:15-7:30 pm ~~ Pregnancy Yoga
Willow Street Yoga Center, Silver Spring, MD

7:45-9:00 pm ~~ Postnatal Yoga (6-week special, 9/15-10/20)
Willow Street Yoga Center, Silver Spring, MD

AND THEN A FUN NEW ONE! starting 10/27-12/8
Late Night Yoga with Daisy, 7:45 – 9:15pm
Willow Street Yoga Center, Silver Spring, MD

FRIDAYS
12-1 pm ~~ $5 Community Mixed-Level Flow (starts January 29)
extendYoga, North Bethesda, MD

See Workshops too.  Or if you want more personal attention, schedule a private session.

Two more classes and then vacation for me. Hurrah!  Don’t know if this Nag will nag or not. Or if I will get back to more nagging when I return. Time will tell. Trying to live and love and practice in the now, and the more immediate moments ahead of me, which are….

Tonight. Arm balances. At Willow. 

Tomorrow. $5 flow. At extendYoga

Tomorrow night. ROAD TRIP to the  beach. 

Be well, yogis. Practice. Pause. Be. Just be. 

Love,
Your Nag
http://www.YogaNag.com

Hard to go anywhere without my bag o’ balls lately. The cheapest massage therapists in town. I feel a workshop brewing. In the meantime, off I go to teach a lovely professional group at their very own self supported and created retreat. 

I hope to get back to more nagging soon. I think.

Do yoga. Today. Everyday. 

Peace and pauses,
Daisy, aka Yoga Nag
YogaNag.com