It’s late at night and I am still awake. Every once in a while I do get in a late night mode and find it hard to wind down. I am in the middle of a family vacation out in Utah and it is proving to be more of a yoga practice than I imagined. It’s all perfect and much needed air clearing on many of our parts but still work. As Rumi says, “How can you get the pay if you haven’t done the work?” Life is like a continuos gyroscope. As soon as you feel balanced, something tips you another direction and you are forced to regain balance. At least that’s the way I see it. Not everyone does and a family is the perfect place to watch all these differing views interact. Tolerance, tolerance, and more tolerance. Oh, and let’s add some communication, Love, compassion, and more tolerance! It is quite pointed as well being on the edge of 2012..hovering just days away from what I am praying will be a most transformative year. Check the prophecies from around the world..Look around now as it all unfurls. I wish I could say that was my quote, but it’s not. It belongs to Adam Yauch, most known for his band The Beastie Boys. It’s from a piece called the Bodhisattva Vow. Amazing lyrics..some of my favorite, really. My teacher, Pattabhi Jois, used to say that two of the highest forms of yoga practice were being in a committed relationship and having children. I would like to add being in a family. It’s a constant kiki; crisis/opportunity. So, wherever you are tonight and every night, may you always remember that you are deeply deserving of love, and since you are, that means that everyone is. So, please practice tolerance, love, and patience with everyone and everything. It is not easy, but as the Buddha said, ” If it were not possible, I would not ask you to do it. If it were not skillful, I would not ask you to do it. Since it is both possible and skillful, I will ask you to do it.” Happy new Year 2012 and may our paths cross in the coming year…Peace and Love, Nicki xo

I am sitting here in the International Red Carpet Club at the San Francisco airport about to head north to Vancouver!! I am so excited for this trip..not only do I get to teach at a great studio up there, Semperviva, but I get a few days to explore the city. Funny, I teach in so many places in Canada and have yet to teach in Vancouver. This must be a sign…according to many prophecies, this coming month is a major time in our planetary evolution. In fact, a friend just sent me something that this coming weekend, Oct 16 to be exact is a transformational day according to the Mayan calendar. Supposedly all this talk of 2012 being the big explosion is not quite accurate. Things will be happening sooner than that…Look around now and see how it is all unfurling…Natural and man made disasters, the Wall Street revolution, and so many people having monumental changes in their own lives..It is an amazing time to be alive!! So I am teaching the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali on Sunday Oct 16 in Vancouver. What could be better?? An opportunity to align ourselves with a higher power and spirit..we all know it’s out there and yet there is a lot of fear surrounding this…Wake up people!!! It is time to fully Live and Love! I am going to see my best friend who lives in Van and she has been a support in my life since I was 19 years old..Aside from the relationship I have with myself and my family, she is the oldest one…Love that!! So, enough rambling for now…Oh, wait, I forgot to mention that I saw Michael Franti and Spearhead play at the greek Theatre in Berkeley on Saturday night. I felt so proud of Michael rocking that amazing venue..he has come so far in the last ten years…and the most amazing part of the show were these outrageous video montages running the whole time on jumbo screens. They were done by Brett Mazurek, who by the way, just got all my maya yoga dvds on youtube in little clips. At the end of the show, they played the lyrics to John Lennon’s song, “Imagine” and everyone was singing along..It was a beautiful moment of people connecting with each other..basically it was Yoga in action!! I love you all and hope you will reciprocate that love to all those around you!!! Until next time..Peace out, Nicki xxoo

12 more hours until my first regular class starts up again at my studio here on maui. If you think about it, that means that I am sitting at home in my office writing on my computer instead of being out on the town with my girlfriends tonight! I figured it would be a good idea to get a good night’s sleep tonight so that I can get up early and prepare for class. Honestly the hardest part for me is going to be keeping class at an honest 2 hours..time management is definitely not my strong point. Everything is in order for tomorrow, the room has been deep cleaned, the waivers printed, the blankets folded, bolsters stacked, and I even cut the grass yesterday..Evan taught me how to use the rider mower so now that’s one of my jobs at home. I quite like doing it. I put on my ipod and my silencing headphones and away I go! I have actually gotten pretty good at it, if I do say so myself..So, now all I am waiting to see is if Susie got the flowers for the porch..I am now feeling like maybe I wasn’t clear about who should buy them, her or me..We’ll see tomorrow morning..good reminder to always be specific with the details! Huge mushy waves today at Ho’okipa but man was it beautiful…caught the late afternoon and watched my son surf for a few hours. He is so happy to be back on maui..and I can hear the ocean through the window crashing down in the bay below our house..time to head upstairs and do some yoga nidra…A hui ho and namaste

It’s September and therefore time to go back to school! I just started teaching a teacher training in sebastopol with eddie..today was day 3 and I had a great day in there and was enjoying myself immensely. I like the fact that almost everyone in there has done a previous training with us. So, what else is going on with me these days? Well, I moved or should I say I relocated back to maui. We have such a beautiful place it feels warm there and to look at the ocean all day is a kind of magic..Well, now i have to go and plan tomorrow’s class..review of the yoga sutras and the 8 limbs..until we meet..

Life really is never quite how you think it’s going to be…Te Pratiprasavah Heyah Sukshmaha We got word saturday afternoon that our old friend, Larry Schultz, was in the hospital and about to pass on. We called to send our love and blessings on his transition. He passed away yesterday, Sunday February 27, 2011 at an age that seems way too young to go..Larry was such a colorful character in the yoga world. He founded the studio It’s Yoga in San Francisco 20 years ago and was a good good friend of ours. Whenever someone close to you passes on, it’s a great opportunity to let everyone in your life know how much you love them. So, I am doing that right now! If you’re reading this, I love you!! Don’t wait, life is happening right now, all around us..LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

I don’t really know why it’s been so difficult for me to adopt the blogging habit yet..I really want to do it and I always have these great ideas, but never while I’m sitting at my computer! Anyways, enough self limiting thoughts here..Thank you Patanjali…I have been quite absorbed in the Yoga Sutras lately. This is probably because I am teaching two Teacher Trainings simultaneously and it’s such a core part of the course. If we only practice asana without recognizing it’s penetrating effects, we set ourselves up for disaster. I know the Sadhana(practice) is working when the halahala( toxic inner substance..vrittis, etc) begins to rise. This is the moment that I know that we are actually starting to stir things up and move beyond our comfort zone. Patanjali starts his first book, Samadhi Pada by first defining Yoga and telling us what that state looks like. Then immediately in the fourth sutra he tells us that when we are not in the state of yoga( Nirodhaha), our tendency is to actually believe and identify with the vrittis ( whirling agitations on the mind). Instead of taking personal responsibility for them, our tendency is to project them on everyone around us. Unfortunately this always brings us pain. And yet we continue to do it over and over throughout our lives. It’s kind of like running on a gerbil wheel..it never stops, unless we are willing to do the difficult work of grabbing the and taking control of our mind. It is usually at this point in our practice that we either step up for ourselves or we abandon our practice for fear of what we might find. This is just the way it is. I believe that it is critical for our personal evolution and involution that we do the difficult work and deal with our stuff before it deals with us. It is unfortunate that the hala hala rises first, but shit floats and rises first…literally. Once we see how good it ultimately feels to take responsibility for our own happiness, we simply cannot stop. And that is why I will continue to teach in spite of the projections that may or may not come my way. I always remember Krishna in the Bhagadvagita when he tells Arjuna that he is not working in vain. And also to always remember that the work lies in the journey and not in the destination….Peace and Om…Nicki

Saturday night in McLean, VA..I just got home to my parent’s house here after seeing the new movie, “The Town”. I went with my brother and sister inlaw. I loved the movie…can’t believe I’m saying this but Ben Affleck has become quite a talented director and actor, both of which he does in this movie..It’s set in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts, a neighborhood where people stick together no matter what and where they never leave.Someone from charlestown is a townie in the city of Boston…The movie made me a little nostalgic for the east coast, massachusetts in particular since my parents are from Rhode Island and I have many relatives in both RI and MA..Even though it’s about bank robberies, deception, violence and ignorance, it’s also a story about love, redemption, rising above our circumstances, and finding a way to make better choices today that will affect the future tomorrow. It actually was kinda like yoga..maybe a bit of a stretch but I liked it..This one could be a contender…Jeremy Renner from “The Hurt Locker” was excellent in it too…GO see this film, you may start liking Ben Affleck again too…Goodnight

Hey ya’ll, I just finished reading an article in this month’s Vanity Fair. It’s the issue with that poor little train wreck, Lindsay Lohan, on the cover. Anyways, the article is titled, ” Inside Sarah Palin,Inc” and is basically an expose on Sarah Palin and her team as they head towards the 2012 presidential election. This woman is frightening and she is unbelievably well supported. I was shocked to see how much money she’ making off of her ridiculous book, “Going Rouge”! She got a 7 million dollar advance for that piece of you know what. Not to mention the money she makes off of her speaking engagements, over $100,000.00 per event! I was blown away…I really hoped she would slink back to Alaska after McCain lost but no…She has a huge following and it’ s really really scary. She sounds like a crazy zealot hell bent on public office at the highest level. Anyways, we on the “other side” need to stay vigilant about what’s going on out there. She has support of the crazy tea partiers who are basically religious fundamentalists and people seem to love her…Sad to say but it makes me feel like America is getting stupider (is that a real word?!!) and stupider…Get the magazine and read why we need to support anyone who opposes her! Good night…

Well, so much for getting right on it and writing everyday! I am embarrassed to say that it’s been 6 month since my last blog..Lots has happened of course, as I am sure it has in everyone’s life..My 96 year old sweet grandmother passed away on Sept 5 and that has certainly been a big one for me. Other than the relationship with my parents, she was the longest other relationship I’ve had in my life. Grama was a huge inspiration spiritually for me and she will be sorely missed..As I said at her funeral in the closing remarks of her eulogy, ” Heaven has gained an angel and the earth will lose a beautiful sweet woman..” To everyone who’s lost someone near to them recently..I feel your loss as we are all one..

Wow, i can’t beleive it’s been over 3 weeks since I first wrote on this blog…I guess i thought I’d be much more on it thatn I have been..imagine that?!! Well, I am really going to try to stick with it..it’s just another practice for me I suppose..really it’s my moment of surrender…I was listening to U2 the other day..their new album No Line on the Horizon, which is excellent by the way..go out and buy it if you haven’t already! So, I am totally ripping off Bono right now by using the name of one of the songs on the album as the title for this blog today…Although really I cannot imagine that it is an original title..the moment of surrender? That’s what yoga is all about…When we finally get to the place inside of ourselves where there is nowhere else to go…that becomes the moment of surrender. When we are ready to look at ourselves without the veil in place and we see ourselves as we truly area n not as we think we are; then there is also a moment of surrender..I love how yog and music can both do the same things to people..they open us up and often we don’t realize it’s happening as it unfolds..I find a similar relationship between yoga and poetry..i have always felt that yoga opens up a door to our souls and then the poetry and also the music can simply give us the extra push we need to actually go through that door…The Moment of Surrender…In the song he talks about falling to his knees in that moment and the passersby not even seeing him…this also happens in yoga and in life..that moment of surrender is avery personal thing between you and your Higher self…Thank you Bono for all that you do in this word especially because you could just be sitting back and doing absolutely nothing…And thanks for the title to this Blog! In Peace, Nicki xo