Namaste! This summer I will have a reduced teaching schedule— I am taking some time to revap this site and merge it with my yoga site. I will be traveling more (hello Wanderlust!), and doing some more yoga training, so watch this space for updates! This site will be moving to wordpress, along with my yoga site, just in time for me to lauch a new meditation product this summer (and maybe more)! Soon www.emily-perry.com and www.emilyperryyoga.com with land you in the same space. Look for more writing over at elephantjournal, and new videos on my youtube channel! Follow me... Continue reading

I have two special events this month I hope you will join me for! On Friday May 4th join me for a special night class with DJ SURAJ of Rebel Music Sound! 6:30 PM- 9:00 PM, Pleasure Point Yoga You can register online here (click on events + workshops) ::: Later in the month, join me for NOURISHING OURSELVES: Tonic Herbs for Yogis + Meditators! Sunday May 20th, 1:30 PM- 4:30 PM ($25 by May 13th, $35 after) Santa Cruz Yoga Tonic herbs, plants that nourish and sustain our energy and vitality, have been used throughout the ages by sages... Continue reading

Part II of my interview with Christina Sell is now up over at Elephant Journal... go find it here! Continue reading

I have some new pieces up over at Elephant Yoga, part of Elephant Journal: Nothing Lasts: On the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and story-telling My Body Is A Temple (Part I): An interview with Christina Sell on the Guru Question Look for part II of my interview this week! Continue reading

"In order not to leave any traces, when you do something, you should do it with your whole body and mind; you should be concentrated on what you do. You should do it completely, like a good bonfire. You should not be a smokey fire. You should burn yourself completely. If you do not burn yourself completely, a trace of yourself will be left in what you do. You will have something remaining that is not completely burned out." ~ Suzuki Roshi, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind Leaving no trace means releasing our attachment, our preconceived ideas. Leaving no trace means... Continue reading

My latest piece is up over at Elephant Yoga- Radiant Mom Yoga with Janet Stone: The Gifts We Keep. I hope to see you over there- join in the conversation! Continue reading

I.6 "[These five vrittis are] right knowledge, error, imagination, sleep, and memory" I.7 "Right knowledge consists of sense perception {pratyaksa}, logic, and verbal testimony" ~The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, By Edwin Bryant According to the Yoga Sutras, yoga is concerned with the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind (I.2: Yogas citta-vritti-nirodhah: Yoga is the stilling of the changing states of the mind). These fluctuations, the vrittis, are are our thoughts, memories, experiences— the workings of the mind— and are recorded in the mind (the citta) as imprints, or samskaras. How we experience the world is therefore dependent on these... Continue reading

{the path ahead, big sur} May your year ahead be full of joy and radiance! Here's to filling our lives with more of what nourishes us, sustains us, and fills us with love + compassion! Om! Jai Ganesha! Continue reading

{image credit: the talented Jody Greene} I am so excited to share with you a recent piece I did over at Elephant Journal Yoga: Janet Stone: Radiant Mom Yoga {video} We had an incredible conversation that is not to be missed. Read the article and watch the video here! Continue reading

I have a new post up over at Elephant Journal, all about using tonic herbs to support a successful meditation practice (if there is such a thing...). And as usual, you can always find my pieces at Elephant over in my sidebar. I will be adding new public classes starting next week: Tuesday/ Thursday at 9 AM starting on Decemeber 13th over at a new studio space, Pleasure Point Yoga. This class will be all levels, and the space is so beautiful, I can't wait to see you there! First class there is this Saturday at 4 PM for you... Continue reading

So, I have been really digging into my studies in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and the Yoga Sutras over the last few months— digging into my practice, reading, listening to podcasts, just all around submersion in general. With all of this study has come a lot of clearing. Not only is a clear vision of my practice appearing, but a new vision of my business is emerging. What has been revealed is the core message of my work as an Acupuncturist, Holistic Health Practitioner and Yoga Teacher~ ~ I want to support women and men in living radiantly~ Through connecting people... Continue reading

The breath is the vehicle for the prana, so the breath is important. The breath is the driver, and the beauty of that is as long as there is breath in our body we have the opportunity to experience the fruits of practice, no matter how broken our body might be. It's the breath that will take us to the bandhas. It's the breath that links the body and the mind. Through the breath we can still the mind." ~Annie Pace, Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students Continue reading

Next weekend, Saturday September 10th I will be offering a workshop on the Foundations of Vinyasa Flow Yoga. If you are new to the practice, or want to expand your experience of yoga, please join us! Come learn about the core elements of the practice, including the breath, the bandhas, the transitions between poses. From the workshop description:"Flow styles of yoga, including Vinyasa Flow, are the most popular in the country for a reason: you start by moving dynamically to more easily warm and open the body, release tensions and toxins, and more easily find your way into greater strength,... Continue reading

{Photo: Kthread} My latest post is now live over at Elephant Journal Wellness: "3 Tonic Herbs Every Yogi Should Know About". Come read about the ways in which herbs can support your sadhana, or practice! Please leave a comment if you'd like! Continue reading

There is something so incredible about the teaching process. Watching someone's understanding of yoga unfold before me is so exciting. I remember when so much of the practice was new to me: I basically learned yoga out of this book for many years, since I did not know to really look for a public class until 1997 or so. And even now, after all these years, the richness and depth of the practice is still unfolding before my eyes. Once I started teaching, it was clear that I had to teach from my own practice, my own sadhana and self-study.... Continue reading

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Today we celebrate independence, freedom. I think we often forget that independence is really interdependance: we all are connected, depend on each other, find freedom in that connection. How do you celebrate freedom in your yoga practice? Continue reading

I have a new piece up over at Elephant Journal, an online magazine about yoga & so much more! The article explores the Dai Mai (or Belt Vessel) energetic channel, and how twists open and release energy. I hope you enjoy it! Continue reading

As I have been working on a new yoga transition in my practice, so many lessons have come up. Commitment is key: if I don't commit to the action, then I could get hurt. I've got to be totally present: get distracted, loose my connection with the breath, and again— injury is more probable. Dedication to my practice is the foundation to it all: if I am not on the mat all the time, I loose some of the strength and flexibility that may be called for in the transition. If I embrace and expect the fear of falling to... Continue reading

Things are busy over here, with lots of time spent on the mat and exploring yoga and music. Here are a couple of playlists I have enjoying lately in class. Enjoy! {click image to enlarge, or follow the link below for itunes...} Strong Vinyasa Flow 1 {click image to enlarge, or follow the link below for itunes...} Strong Vinyasa Flow 2 Continue reading

The last few weeks I have thinking a lot about going deeper in certain asanas. I am discovering another layer of waiting for things to open and reveal themselves. There are times of unease: the mental clutter coming up and swirling around as I try to ground down and relax. Staying with the unease is the real practice in those moments. I recently found this video of Darren Rhodes discussing the process of sitting with that concealment, and opening up to what is revealed to us in the process: it really spoke to my experience as of late. Continue reading

There are times in my practice, and in life too, when I feel afloat. When I really get a sense of groundlessness, a sense that there is nothing permanent to anchor to. It is a moment of becoming fully aware of one of the four noble truths in Buddhism- that nothing is lasting or forever. These moments are when we really need our practice~ to bring us back to center, to show us that it is the witness consciousness behind the stirrings of the mind that we are connected to. We are a part of that ground of consciousness behind... Continue reading