the first author @ mala was awesome!

Special thanks to Anna Lappe’, who graciously kicked off our new Authors at Mala series last evening! Anna’s new book, Diet for a Hot Planet, is a timely, informative call to action about making mindful choices in our diet on a daily basis.  She was kind enough to give the dharma talk at the beginning of class, which was a witty anecdote about getting sucked into the trickster side of that thinking part of our brain.  Major kudos to the students in the room, who stayed with the hearty sequence of twists and backbends, despite the crazy levels of humidity in the room. (Don’t worry, the air conditioners arrive soon!) I wanted the asana sequence to focus on detoxifying poses for the kidneys, liver, & spleen, in honor of healthy eating, though the humidity made sweat-asana the theme of the evening.  It was a fun class to teach, as it helped highlight the ongoing conversation aspect with one’s self that the yoga practice is, and inspire us to parlay the mindfulness that our practice can encourage into daily action.

True to the generosity that is core to Mala’s community values, we raised over $600 for Just Food, a local nonprofit that works to increase access to fresh, healthy food in New York City and to support the local farms and urban gardens that grow it.  And thanks to our friends at Book Court, who sold Anna’s book after the event.  Join us for our next Authors at Mala class on Friday, July 9 with Stefanie Syman, author of The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America.

Anna and Steph open class

Twisting yogis