Mat Chat with Michelle

Yoga is more than shapes on a mat.

These recaps from my in-person classes explore the deeper layers of yoga philosophy, breathwork, and Ayurveda, helping you bring the practice into everyday life. Sign up for blog updates and receive fresh inspiration, class recaps, and deep dives into Yoga and Ayurveda—delivered straight to your inbox.

What I’m Learning Through Listening, Loving, and the Practice of Letting Go

Lately, I’ve been feeling like two different versions of myself are taking turns behind the wheel of my life. There’s the Michelle who is fearless—driven, focused, determined to follow through on her dreams. She’s bold in her body, grounded in her clarity, and shows up without hesitation. And then there’s the other Michelle—the one who…

Cultivating Your Inner Fire (and Letting It Burn Steady)

I shared a metaphor during class—about how we care for our cars: checking the tires, topping up fluids, cleaning out the cupholders. Your body is no different. The breath is your fuel. Agni is your engine. And without maintenance, you’re not going anywhere far.

Permission to Pause

The Sivananda method invites us to slow down, to do less, and in doing so, to feel more. Each posture is followed by rest, often savasana, allowing the body to integrate and the energy to settle. There’s no rush to the next pose—no pressure to perform. It’s a practice of presence, patience, and profound release.

Cleansing with Compassion

Cleansing goes beyond what we eat or the amount of water we drink. It’s also about releasing the thoughts, emotions, and old stories that no longer serve us. As I mentioned during class: “We are not at war with our bodies, but rather we are here to compassionately and courageously love it.”

Balancing More Than the Body

Throughout the month, we explored how steadiness applies to the breath, to our thoughts, to our intentions, and to the way we consistently return to our practice—even (especially) when life gets full.

The Dance With the Tension of Life

The dancer’s pose—named after Nataraja, a form of Shiva, the cosmic dancer. In the story, Shiva dances the rhythm of creation and destruction, a divine movement so powerful that when his lifted foot touches the earth, the world as we know it dissolves. A potent symbol of transformation—and of the fragility and beauty of every moment.

Strong Yet Supple

Yoga offers us tangible tools—like tree pose, warrior sequences, and mindful transitions—to experience physical balance. But it also reminds us that balance isn’t just about the body. It’s about mind, energy, and intention.

Steadiness Amidst the Swirling

In our yoga practice and in life, this principle, known as sthira in Sanskrit, reminds us that steadiness isn’t something we wait to feel before we begin. It’s something we cultivate as we move through the whirling.

The Breath, the Body, and the Breakthrough

I wasn’t even sure if I was going to share this. But the more I sat with it, the more I realized how much these personal events of fear, breathlessness, and of surrendering this past week, lives at the very heart yoga, of my yoga in practice.

Healing Through Surrender

There’s a funny thing about surrender… it’s often the lesson we resist the most, yet it’s the one we need the most. Surrender is not something that comes easily to most of us, especially when life throws us challenges that we don’t feel ready for.