Many years ago my best friend sent me a copy of the book When Things Fall Apart by the Buddhist nun Pema Chodron. At the time I was unfamiliar with her work, but my life was definitely falling apart and out of my control. So I was interested in what it might offer to...
A great many of my most important teachers are people I’ve never met. That seems like an odd statement, I know, so I’ll have to explain. I’ve been an avid reader since – well, since the moment I learned to read. As a child, my first favorite book was The House at Pooh...
It is said, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Upon reflection of the road I’ve traveled so far, I had no idea at the time how true these words would turn out to be. As someone who grew up with emotional obstacles and low confidence, I learned at a...
We have all been students and have had many teachers. As students, we remember those teachers who have given gifts that we take with us throughout our lives. It’s the little stuff—the details we learn that inspire us to find our passions. My parents were my first...
Growing up in the Netherlands, I was introduced to yoga as a child by my aunt, Frieda Thepass, who lived with us. In 1957 she founded Stichting Yoga Nederland (now known as Yoga & Vedanta ) with a small group of yoga friends. It is still one of the most respected...
