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Hi yogis!  I miss you all dearly.  I am so, so devastated by our nation’s incompetent leadership. This past Wednesday we set a record with new Covid-19 cases, and yesterday we set a new record.  I predict we will surpass that number today. It’s probable we’ll be seeing 100,000 new cases per day within the next two weeks.  I’m grateful to be here in Philadelphia where our local leadership

Yogis, About a month ago, I shared a list of resources that I found useful in my work to awaken my own internalized racism. I acknowledged those resources as just the beginning and in an effort to continue the conversation, I wanted to expand this list and stay in this practice with you.  Just like yoga, what is initially uncomfortable gets easier with dedication and repetition. And just like yoga, anti-racism is a p

Yogis,  The Maha community showed up yesterday for Pride month! We raised $4,000 through our Pride fundraiser and we will be donating half to The Attic Youth Center. The Attic is an incredible, independent organization just a few blocks away from Maha that support LGBTQ+ youth. Like Maha, they are offering programming online and continuing to support their community during the Covid-19 crisis. As Maha struggles to pa

Maha Community, A few weeks into quarantine I heard from a longtime friend that a queer friend of ours had died by suicide in her home. She was sheltering in place alone in the Bay Area (rest in peace, Finley Kipp). Finley used to live in my neighborhood here in Philadelphia, and in fact her house at 50th and Baltimore was where I used to stay when I came here to visit in my early twenties.  That’s when I fell

Maha Community, In June 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in NYC, and violently hauled employees and patrons out of the bar. At the time, the New York State Liquor Authority penalized and shut down establishments that served alcohol to known or suspected LGBTQ+ individuals. This police raid was followed by several days of protests lead by black gay men, lesbians, drag queens and trans women. T

Yogis, Today I had an email scheduled to go out to you about the start of Pride month. I’ll send that later in the week. There is something more urgent I want to dialog with you about.  Last night in my neighborhood protestors clashed with police. I’m sure you’ve heard by now that tear gas was fired by the police, which included them gassing empty side streets. This neighborhood of West Philadelphia

Yogis, Do you feel like you’re bending over backwards to get through this?  That’s absolutely where I am. And I hear from others that this is shared:  Kids are at home and need home schooling support.  And how about the curve balls on the kids’ summer plans?  We’re cooking at home all the time. Oh and the cleaning!  Most of us are working from home and having to balance our family members̵

Yogis,  It’s become harder to practice at home lately because I do EVERYTHING here.  I get pulled away from my mat when my computer is open on my desk, I have laundry in the wash and my floors are dirty. But the time on my mat is SACRED and deserves my FULL attention.  If you’re struggling too, I’ve listed a few of things to help you create a sacred space to help you transition away from the ac

Yogis, Have you been wondering when Maha is going to open for public class? Yeah, me too. The truth is: it’s going to be a while.  I’m sorry, but I simply do not have a more clear answer. At the heart of the philosophy system that we teach at Maha is a set of ethics grounded in Rajanaka Tantric philosophy. One of the tenets is svatantrya – the concept of self looming freedom.  Svatantrya is the prom

Maha Community,  After weeks of back and forth – our negotiations with our landlord are at a standstill. We are still being required to pay our high overhead in full, as the studio sits empty. This expense has a huge impact on the financial health of Maha. We have been operating at about 50% for the last 8 weeks with little known about when we will be able to return to 1700 Sansom. Looking at this empty space b