Happy Yogaversary To Me

10 years ago today, I wandered into a Bikram yoga studio in lower Manhattan feeling betrayed, heartbroken, anxious, and lost. I remember every detail of that first class: the view of the Flatiron building across the street, the woefully unabsorbent fabric of my outfit, the name of the kind student to my right (Hilary, and I never saw her again) who graciously demonstrated anything I didn’t immediately understand.

I emerged from my first hot yoga class drenched and exhausted, but like a fire had been ignited within me. From my first 90 minutes focusing, breathing, and balancing on a mat, I knew I had found home. I’ve written a lot about the benefits of yoga with regard to my violin playing, but I’m not sure I’ll ever really be able to express how a regular practice has guided me to exactly where I need to be within my life and within myself.

A decade later, my practice has evolved to include a wide range of styles of movement (my non-Bikram mentors will be pleased to know that I’ve backed away from doing insane backbends like this one!), I’m a certified Kripalu yoga teacher, and my life’s dream path is being forged with my soul sister, Melissa, through the work of Intermission. It feels so fitting that in just over a week, we will be releasing our Intermission App into the world, so that we can share some of the ideas that have helped us to unite music, movement, and mindfulness with as many people as we can.

Follow along on Instagram (@intermissionsessions) and Facebook (@Intermission) as we count down to our App's launch on September 3rd, tell you a bit about how this new stage of Intermission came to be, and guide you through some "Yoga Minutes" to get you warmed up and ready to take an Intermission with us, wherever you are in the world.