 Even though we're all still staying home, I'm back to teaching yoga [after a brief COVID-19-dictated hiatus] and I couldn't be happier about it! Until our yoga studios are up-and-running again, you can practice with me virtually via Zoom at the following times EST:
All classes are $12 and you can register online through CentervilleYoga.com (link below) or on the Mindbody App (search "Centerville Yoga & Wellness Center" in Centerville, MA). After you register for class you'll receive an email with a link to the class; this email will arrive at least 30 mins before the class starts. Registration will close 30 minutes prior to class. Even though I've only taught one class so far, it was AMAZING seeing so many familiar, beloved faces from near + far and I look forward to continuing to connect with you all online (until we can connect in-person again)! Sending you all lots of yogic love...   In my over 8 years of teaching yoga, I've seen a lot of couples come to class together. I've watched 40-year old couples roll out their mats side-by-side and I've observed brand new, 3-week old couples walk nervously into the studio to practice next to one another. I've watched flirtations form in class, I've seen approximately 10,000 women bring their brand-new-to-yoga male counterparts to advanced classes [Ladies: this isn't a great idea! Get those guys into a more beginner class!] and every once in a while, I've witnessed a male regular introduce his female love interest to yoga. As I've observed all of these yoga couple interactions over the years, one thing has stood out to me: there's a right way to interact with your significant other (or hopeful significant other) in a yoga class and a wrong way. The right way is sweet, brings you closer, and makes everyone around you feel happy for both of you that you found one another. The wrong way makes people around you feel annoyed, distracted, or uncomfortable, and often makes the teacher feel uncomfortable and distracted, too (like that one couple who rolled towards one another at the end of class and just passionately stared into each other's eyes while I was sharing the final reading). Therefore, today's post is a quick do + don't guide for flirting in yoga class. Here's how you should (and should not) interact with your significant other (SO) or love interest during class... DOs
DONTs:
Oh, and another couple-related PSA: don't smoke weed together before you come to class. We can all smell it. Now go forth and take yoga classes together, all of you yogi couples! I encourage you to do so! Taking a class with your SO really is the best. I miss the days when Ben and I would take Dibora's Monday night class together every week (sigh)...now the only yoga we do together happens when Charlie Mae is leading us through one of her toddler-dictator practices (which is great in it's own way, but not the same). Speaking of some of the weird things that happen in yoga classes, here are a few oldies but goodies that you might enjoy:  PS. The picture used in this post is me (I know!) taken by the amazing + talented Dilyana Stoeva. Although it doesn't show flirting in yoga class, it is my "sexiest" yoga pic to date (HAHAHA) and Ben calls it my "50 Shades of Grey" yoga pic so I decided to go with it.
 Your votes have been counted and although it was a close race, the above color combo--Berry Red + Bright Sky Blue--is the winning color combo! Thanks for your excitement over this tank and for sharing your opinion. I'm excited to change things up + print such a bright, summery top! ;) Details about the tank are below... Description: Super soft and comfy Berry Red racerback tank top with a hand-drawn floral OM symbol printed on the front in bright blue ink. Small "Starr Struck" logo on the upper back of the tank in the same bright blue ink. The tank is 100% cotton ("Satin Jersey") and has a high-low shirttail hemline. It's a perfect tank for keeping cool on a warm day (or in a warm yoga class!), and is also great for layering under warmer pieces. Sizing: Available in SM, MED, LG, and XL. Sizing (measurements) listed in product images on Etsy. Price: $28 + shipping {Note: if you're local and want to save on shipping, just enter the code LOCALPICKUP at checkout and we can arrange pick-up via message or email} Ordering Info: The tanks are now available for pre-order in my Etsy shop and will be shipping out in a few weeks. Pre-orders will be available until through Monday, July 23rd. Thanks again + happy shopping! ;) 
Once again, I need your help! I'm finally getting my summer tank design ordered but I can't decide which color combo I like best. What do you think?
Help me decide by casting your vote below (vote for your 2 favorites!):
Which color combo is your favorite?
Created with PollMaker
Voting will be open through Friday, 7/13 and I'll pick a design over the weekend. Stay tuned next week for the final design and a chance to pre-order the chosen color combo... Thanks for your input! 
Your monthly audio yoga class is now here! Just in the nick of time + hot off the press, it's a class that I taught this past weekend and I think it's a fun one ;)
Here are all of the details re: practicing with me via audio class... Class Description: In this 75-minute audio yoga class we focus on opening the heart center and spine while also working into the quads (quite a bit!). This class is not for beginners; experienced practitioners only (level 2-3 class). Recorded live. You can view the playlist used in this class here ("May 2018 Yoga Class Playlist"). How to Listen: You can listen directly from this website (player below) or on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher (search "Starr Struck Yoga: Live Yoga Classes"). If you subscribe to this "podcast" wherever you listen to podcasts, you will automatically get each new class that I post in your podcast feed on your phone. A Note About the Audio Quality: These classes are not professional recordings, so you will hear me mess up, you'll hear students sneeze, you'll hear me whisper a specific instruction to a specific student, and at times, the audio quality might not be the best. Apologies, but hey, they're free and as authentic as you can get without being in the actual class! ;) You can stream the class here: Thanks for practicing with me from afar! 
Better late than never...your March Audio Yoga class! This one requires a strap (or strap-like prop if you don't have an official "yoga strap") + a desire to open your shoulders (oh yeah).
Ready to practice? Here's everything you need to know about this class... Class Description: In this 75-minute audio yoga class we focus on opening the shoulders, spine, and heart center through a number of back-bending and shoulder-opening poses (many of which involve your handy dandy yoga strap!). This class is not for beginners; experienced practitioners only (level 2-3 class). Recorded live. How to Listen: You can listen directly from this website (player below) or on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher (search "Starr Struck Yoga: Live Yoga Classes"). If you subscribe to this "podcast" wherever you listen to podcasts, you will automatically get each new class that I post in your podcast feed on your phone. A Note About the Audio Quality: These classes are not professional recordings, so you will hear me mess up, you'll hear students sneeze, you'll hear me whisper a specific instruction to a specific student, and at times, the audio quality might not be the best. Apologies, but hey, they're free and as authentic as you can get without being in the actual class! ;) You can stream the class here: Enjoy! 
 While assisting one of my students in savasana the other day, I went to gently massage her ears (it's a thing, I promise!) and without even thinking about it or looking down at her ears, my hands moved around her cartilage piercing to avoid pulling on her earring. In that moment I realized that despite not even knowing this student's name, I knew her body so well that I subconsciously knew what to avoid when touching her head. And this got me thinking about my regular students' bodies--and in particular, about my knowledge and awareness of my regular students' bodies. I know this might sound kind of creepy, but I swear that it's not. It's clinical. As a yoga teacher, part of my job is to study and remember my students' bodies, and to touch their bodies while teaching them. When you look at someone's body 1-3 times per week for a few years in a row, and when you assist someone in the same poses time and time again, you start to know his or her body very well. For instance, I know where my regular students are injured (or have been injured in the past), and I know which arm she favors in chaturanga, which of his elbows bows out in down dog, which wrist she got surgery on, the location of the moles and freckles on their backs. I know that he hates hip openers but does them anyway, and that she always does headstand at the end of class, whether or not I offer it. I know that he always struggles with balance, that she always goes too deep into extended side angle, that she likes an assist in half moon to help her lift out of her hip. I don't always know what my students do for a living, or in some cases, what his or her name is (ugh, I hate when I don't know names); I don't always know if he has kids or if she just moved here or what kind of life she has when she's not on her yoga mat, but I know her body, his tendencies, her scent, his intense facial expressions. When my students are on their mats, they speak a subtle physical language with their bodies. Their muscles tell me about their work stress and their relationships. Their skeletons tell me stories of past trauma. Their feet tell me about their journeys, their hands about what they create. While I may not actually know a student--may not have said more than a few words to her outside of class--I often feel like I know that student on a much deeper level than our our quick hellos and goodbyes would suggest. I may not know much about her, but I've been studying her body while she is on her yoga mat, week-in and week-out, and that has taught me something about who she is as a person. It's an honor to be a yoga teacher. It's an honor to be able to speak the language of the body with yogis. I have so much to learn (and always will), but my students and their bodies are my best teachers and they continue to teach me every day. To the bodies who come to my class: thank you for tutoring me in this physical language and helping me to become more fluent in it over the years. And if you're up for it, don't be afraid to tell me a little something about yourself the next time you're in class. I don't always ask because I like to give you your space and let you be anonymous (in case that's what you want), but I'd love to learn more about you--over + beyond what your body has to say (which is a lot!).  PS. Thanks so much to everyone who completed my reader survey! Your feedback is super helpful. The winner of the giveaway is Lacey H.! Lacey, check your inbox for details on redeeming your $50 :)
 I took my first real yoga class in the fall of 2007 in NYC. I became a yoga teacher in the spring of 2010 in DC. This means that I've been practicing yoga for 10.5 years now and teaching for almost 8. If you were to add up the hours that I have spent in a yoga studio in one capacity or another, the number would be staggering. I know--without a doubt--that I have spent more hours in yoga studios than I have in any other one place in my adult life, and I'm pretty happy about that. The past 18 months since having Charlie Mae, however, have had me spending less and less time doing yoga, teaching yoga, + in studios than ever before. I miss my daily practice and I miss the ability to pop into a class whenever I want and I miss the distraction-less surroundings of practicing in a studio (as opposed to my home which is covered in the debris of family life). However, despite this slight cooling off in my relationship with yoga as of late, I don't love it any less. In fact, I think I might value yoga even more these days. Here's how my relationship with yoga has grown, matured, and deepened in the 10.5 years since we first "met": 2007: The first few months after we bumped into each other at Dolphin Fitness (ha!), yoga and I spent some time getting used to one another. I tried out different teachers, and thus, tried out different styles of yoga (although I didn't know that's what I was doing at the time). I was really drawn to particular classes and teachers and was excited to have a way to move my body that didn't hurt [like running now did]. 2008: By 2008, just a few months into our relationship, I was really into yoga. This year was marked by infatuation; like a young girl falling in love for the first time, I wanted to spend all of my time with yoga but had no clue what I was doing or where things were going. All I wanted to do was practice; I went to class every single day after work and tried to get as much as I could. I was in it for the physical--it was the one thing I was "allowed" to do with the injuries I was working with (and I was addicted to working out + trying to be thin)--but there was something else that kept me coming back for more, too. 2009: At the beginning of 2009, I started to realize that I wanted this relationship to be a long-term one. I was ready to commit. Yoga had become my cognitive therapy, my only respite from the intensity of my mind and emotions, my exercise program, my physical therapy, my healer. In the fall of 2009, after a move to DC, I did commit, and started a teacher training program. While in this program, yoga and I fell deeper in love; my practice grew, my love for the practice grew, and my desire to be with yoga for the rest of my life solidified. 2010: This is the year that things got complicated. After the honeymoon period, which was marked by finishing teacher training and beginning to teach, I lost touch with my own practice there for a little bit. I was teaching so much yoga that I no longer had time to practice every day. I went overboard and had to reel things back in. Yoga waited patiently while I sorted out my issues and scaled back my teaching so I could practice again. 2011: A growth year. A year of continued exploration. A year of continued commitment. I wanted more so I signed up for a 300 hour teacher training.The dust started to settle as yoga and I continued to get to know one other on a deeper level. 2012: Yoga and I got into a groove this year. It's like we had already gotten married, but due to life circumstances, had continued to live apart--then in 2012, we finally moved in together. In reality, what happened is that in late 2011, Ben and I moved to an apartment that was a 2-minute walk from the yoga studio where I taught the majority of my classes and was the Studio Manager. Yoga was truly my life at this point. It had changed how everything looked and felt from both the outside and the inside. I also graduated from my 300 hour training this year. 2013: In 2013, yoga helped me get ready for + process our next big move. It was my outlet for all of the stress and anxiety that came with planning a big life change. In late 2013, we moved to Cape Cod and I had to say goodbye to my yoga home, yoga world, and the yoga life that I had built in the DC area. But luckily, my yoga practice made the move with me. 2014: After moving to Cape Cod, yoga was my lifeline. I used yoga as my way to explore my new home, visiting studios, meeting teachers and studio owners, getting a feel for this new landscape and the people who lived here. Yoga introduced me to almost everyone I know on Cape Cod (outside of family) and kept me company in this new place where I might have felt lonely otherwise. It showed me that I would be okay here. 2015: In 2015, the pace of my physical movement while practicing slowed down a bit for the first time (ever?). I took some new trainings with completely new-to-me teachers. My teaching changed a lot. Yoga and I traveled to Costa Rica and Italy together on retreats. Yoga continued to introduce me to new people and new places and expand my horizons. 2016: Practicing yoga regularly while pregnant was a game changer. Yoga gave me a way to connect with the baby growing inside of my body and a time to process the changes that were happening within, too. I felt stronger and more at peace when on my yoga mat while pregnant. The first time I practiced after my daughter had been born, it felt weird practicing without her. I missed her company; it was just me and yoga again. 2017: Last year, yoga and I saw each other less than we ever have before. I was lucky if I could practice at a studio once per week. My home practice was pieced together in 15 and 30 minute increments during which I was distracted, overwhelmed, and often interrupted. I missed yoga so much but I also grew to appreciate it even more. Like a long-distance lover who you only get to see every few weeks, I was always left wanting more, but I took what I could get. 2018: Yoga and I are starting to get back into a somewhat regular groove. I need yoga in new ways now and I respect and appreciate it in new ways, too. We're so familiar and have been a part of each other's lives for so long, and yet there is still so much we have to learn about one another. I'm excited to continue to learn + grow together, and for my daughter to get to know yoga better, as well. Oh, yoga: thank you. When I look back at everything mapped out like this and reflect on the past 10.5 years, I am amazed to see that yoga really is one of the few constants in my daily life. So much has changed, and yet, yoga and I are still going strong. For that, I am eternally grateful.  
Ready to twist + shout? I hope so, because that's what we're doing in this week's audio class. Details on how to listen/practice from home are below...
Class Description: In this 75-minute audio yoga class we focus on twisting and wringing it out in preparation for our peak pose, side crow (parsva bakasana). We also talk about the power of changing your mindset from one of scarcity to one of abundance. This class is not for beginners; experienced practitioners only (Level 2-3 class). Recorded live. How to Listen: You can listen directly from this website (player below) or on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher (search "Starr Struck Yoga: Live Yoga Classes"). If you subscribe to this "podcast" wherever you listen to podcasts, you will automatically get each new class that I post in your podcast feed on your phone. A Note About the Audio Quality: These classes are not professional recordings, so you will hear me mess up, you'll hear students sneeze, you'll hear me whisper a specific instruction to a specific student, and at times, the audio quality might not be the best. Apologies, but hey, they're free and as authentic as you can get without being in the actual class! ;) You can stream the class here: Thanks for practicing with me from afar! 
I'm finally getting into a routine when it comes to getting these audio yoga classes out! Yay!
Thanks so much to all of you who have reached out to share your gratitude for these classes. It means the world to me to know that they're doing their job and making yoga accessible to you on those days when an actual class at a studio just isn't possible (moms with sleeping babies, I feel you! ;) Here's this week's class... Class Description: This 75-minute audio yoga class is a full-body practice focused on athletic movements like yogic push-ups, squats, and planks. We focus on these strength-building poses in order to generate heat, challenge our bodies, and get out of our minds and into our bodies. Be prepared to sweat, connect with your inner warrior, and move almost continuously. This class is not for beginners; experienced practitioners only (Level 2-3 class). Recorded live. How to Listen: You can listen directly from this website (player below) or on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher (search "Starr Struck Yoga: Live Yoga Classes"). If you subscribe to this "podcast" wherever you listen to podcasts, you will automatically get each new class that I post in your podcast feed on your phone. A Note About the Audio Quality: These classes are not professional recordings, so you will hear me mess up, you'll hear students sneeze, you'll hear me whisper a specific instruction to a specific student, and at times, the audio quality might not be the best. Apologies, but hey, they're free and as authentic as you can get without being in the actual class! ;) You can stream the class here: 
Happy Monday + happy Solar Eclipse day, everyone! Are you as excited about this eclipse as I am? I'm so looking forward to this afternoon and although I wasn't able to procure any eclipse glasses in time (sigh), I have a homemade pinhole viewer at the ready and made one for Ben, too ;)
Anyways, I thought it would be nice to start this week out with a new audio yoga class for you to do at home/at your leisure; if you haven't taken one of these classes yet, details on how to do so are below. I've also included a class description for you to check out before you jump in... Class Description: This 75-minute audio yoga class is a heart-opening practice that focuses on creating space in the spine, shoulders, and quads in preparation for a number of different backbends and balance challenges. This class is not for beginners; experienced practitioners only (Level 2-3 class). Recorded live. How to Listen: You can listen directly from this website (player below), or on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher (search "Starr Struck Yoga: Live Yoga Classes"). If you subscribe to this "podcast" wherever you listen to podcasts, you will automatically get each new class that I post in your podcast feed on your phone. A Note About the Audio Quality: These classes are not professional recordings, so you will hear me mess up, you'll hear students sneeze, you'll hear me whisper a specific instruction to a specific student, and at times, the audio quality might not be the best. Apologies, but hey, they're free and as authentic as you can get without being in the actual class! ;) Thanks to all of you who have sent me notes about enjoying these classes! I'm honored to have you practice with me from afar. 
This month's Mat Matters video is simply a 10-minute pick-me-up class for you to do at home; it's meant to be a quick energy boost for whenever you need one. My goal is that this little sequence gets you moving, breathing, and sweating (just a little) in 10 minutes, all while getting you grounded and bringing you back to your body. Save this "class" for any time you can't fit in a full practice but want a quick shot of yoga. Oh, and I should mention that it's geared towards experienced practitioners. You can watch the video here or on my YouTube channel, where you can subscribe so that you never miss an episode. Enjoy! 
 As of last month, I've been teaching yoga for 7 years. That means hours and hours (and hours and hours!) of cueing students into down dog, child's pose, chaturanga, and half moon. It means days and days of staring at peoples' bodies in extended side angle and warrior 1, buckets of sweat lost, too many playlists made, and countless readings picked out + shared with my students while they rest on their right sides. In all of this time, I've obviously changed a lot and learned quite a bit about who I am as a yoga teacher; I wouldn't say that I have everything figured out and I'm definitely not an expert at teaching (always a student!), but one thing that I've recently realized is that I do finally feel comfortable with my voice as a teacher. Most of the time. What do I mean by that? Well, when teaching a yoga class, it can be hard to figure out what to say, how to say it, and how to stay true to who you are as a person while speaking about the asanas and/or yogic philosophy for an entire class. I've had incredible teachers who can say things like, "Reach up towards the heavens as you inhale, bring heaven down to earth as you exhale" or, "Bloom your sitting bones towards the sky and unfurl like a spring blossom into the sun" and sound inspiring, beautiful, and normal, but if I tried to say those kinds of things, I would sound ridiculous [and feel even more ridiculous]. Similarly, I am not a super commanding, direct, unapologetic person (like it or not, I'm the opposite), so although I love teachers who are no-nonsense and cut-to-the-chase, I can't be like that, either. And despite reading and taking many courses on The Yoga Sutras and The Bhagavad Gita, I still don't feel knowledgeable enough on these subjects to weave deep yogic philosophy or history into my classes, and don't feel that I can do either of these texts justice on the base level at which I understand them, so I don't fill my classes with old world wisdom, either. When I first started teaching, I struggled a lot with the fact that I wasn't able to be the kind of teacher who did the aforementioned things while teaching. I had a hard time figuring out what "my" teaching language was going to be if it wasn't flowery, super direct, or steeped in philosophical lessons. What did I have to offer? How should my voice sound? How could I use metaphors in my teaching and not cringe internally as I said them? How could I give precise cues and still be warm and welcoming? How could I teach my students something about themselves without getting in over my head or revealing how little I actually knew? But over the years, I've settled into what I have now come to realize is my teaching voice. It's not super flowery, it's not super direct, it's not super simple, it's just me. I don't share a lot about my own experience, I don't tell lots of stories (I wish I could, but they always come out wrong), I don't weave super deep spiritual themes into my classes (again, I wish I could but it doesn't feel authentic), I don't make my classes into anatomy lessons (argh, I wish I could do this, too!); I just teach the asanas, try to hold the space as best I can, and remind my students to check-in with their minds, their bodies, and their breath at regular intervals throughout class. And I *think* that after 7 years, I'm finally okay with this. I don't mean to say that I've become complacent and am going to stop challenging myself as a teacher or stop learning how to speak and guide in a clearer, more precise, more inspiring way, but that I'm finally starting to accept that my authentic voice is a valid one, even if it's different from the voices of the teachers that I admire. I'm learning to accept that the space and opportunities that we create for our students through our sequences, our silence, our readings, and our sensory touches are just as important--if not more important, sometimes--than the words we say or the way in which we say them. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this lesson applies to life outside of the yoga studio, too (I mean, don't they all?). Learning to feel comfortable with who you are and what you have to offer, instead of beating yourself up for what you lack, is a pretty great skill to master. What you say is obviously important, but the way in which you show up, the body language you use, and the energy that you bring to the relationships and activities in your life are often just as important as your words and the meaning behind them. {Especially when you regularly say silly nonsense things like, "Energize all 3 quadrants of the body," as I did in a class last week. Cringe.} So, for my fellow yoga teachers: I hope this post reminds you that your voice is valid, even if it isn't as experienced or poetic as some of your teachers. My wish for you is that it doesn't take you 7 years of teaching to stop comparing your voice to others and accept your authentic voice as a part of who you are. And for my fellow yoga students: remember that your teachers are forever students, too. I encourage you to take classes from lots of different teachers so that you can experience different voices, different teachings, and different energies and hopefully, learn something different from them all.  Mat Matters is back! Finally. Phew. I was all ready to bring it back last month and here's what happened: I spent a morning getting set up and then recording my first video back. Then the night before I was going to post it, I spent some time editing the video and uploaded it to YouTube. As I was doing so, I noticed that the video I had *just* created was on a subject/post that I had ALREADY done before--and not just that, but it was one of the last few videos that I had made before taking my unintentional extended hiatus from Mat Matters. Aghhhhhhh! Mom brain strikes again! I was so mad at myself for wasting so much [precious] time, but hey, that's life, right? So, in case you were wondering, that's why this first episode back is a month later than I had planned. But nevertheless, here we are! Today's video demonstrates 4 straightforward ways to incorporate cat/cow-based core work into your vinyasa practice or classes. I like to teach an entire class that focuses on this kind of engaged cat/cow movement, and then work up to an arm balance that requires that kind of engaged low-belly strength (like crow). You can watch the video here or subscribe to my YouTube channel to ensure you never miss an episode. Enjoy! It's fun to be back with this monthly column! 
 Your votes have been counted and the winner is in...my next yoga tank will be the above design! "Because yoga" was *by far* your favorite style and I'm so excited to have it printed + wear it proudly. Want to make sure you get one in your size? They're now available for pre-order in my Etsy shop and will be shipping out in a few weeks. Pre-orders will be available until Monday, April 10th. Similarly, I've gotten so many requests to re-print my formerly *sold out* rescue dog tanks that I've finally decided to bring two of the designs back for one more run, this time on a lovely Navy Heather tank (pictured below):   Looking for the nitty gritty details? Here are the basics:
As usual, thanks for your feedback + support! I absolutely love designing these tanks and seeing you wear them in class, on social media, + beyond ;)  |
HELLO!I'm Mary Catherine, a Cape Cod-based yoga teacher, painter, designer, writer, mom, and list-maker extraordinaire. My goal is to inspire you to start living a more creative, simple, joyful, + purposeful life.
{Learn more + read my story} 
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DISCLOSURE
This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. From time to time, I accept compensation for sponsored posts and campaigns. However, any sponsored content will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored. Even though I receive compensation for sponsored posts, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own.
I am also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
I am also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.