Practice | Sharon Fennimore

September 12, 2018

by Sharon

Satya as a Form of Grace

Satya is one of the most complicated of the yogic ethical principles. It is translated as “truth” in many texts, but truth is, in and of itself, a construct of culture. For example, I may hold as “truth” in my Quaker faith that everyone has the …

May 7, 2018

by Sharon

Online Matrika Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training and Certification

I’m so excited to have opened enrollment again in my online Matrika Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training and Certification course. My course is unique in that it brings Tibetan Buddhist subtle body anatomy, meditation, and cultural anthropology into the training. Included in the course is a section …

May 3, 2018

by Sharon

Beautiful and Sensual

I have been using essential oils in my practice and for self-care for many years. It all started when I participated in some classes and workshops taught by Amy Galper and Schuyler Grant around yoga, acupressure, and aromatherapy about sixteen or so years ago. A couple …

March 9, 2018

by Sharon

Imaginary Tea Party

In my memory, a significant part of my childhood was spent in imaginary play. From a quick review of photographs, I spent a lot of time in a leotard with a tutu. I was either dressing for the job I wanted or I just liked the …

November 3, 2017

by Sharon

Happy (?) Holidaze!

Whether you feel like this is the most wonderful time of year or you’d prefer to go into hiding until it’s all over, I’m offering some services unique to the season that can help you find some relief or just create more time and space for …

January 10, 2017

by Sharon

Professional Development for Yoga Teachers

In April 2013, I closed my brick and mortar yoga studio, Yoga Matrika, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and pioneered yoga and meditation studies through distance learning. In the process, I tried a number of different platforms for holding classes and teleseminars and worked with hundreds of …

November 9, 2016

by Sharon

Forward Folds and Bending Over Backwards in Nature

The number one thing that adults say when I tell them that I am a yoga teacher is: “Oh, I can’t do yoga! I’m so inflexible and I can’t even get close to touching my toes.” For about twenty-years now, I have tried every socially acceptable …

May 5, 2016

by Sharon

Practice

Creation Meditation

I was doing some internet research on energetic wounds and back pain and happened across a recommendation for this “Creation Meditation” (this is a very feminine meditation, but it is made available to men as well) and you can also find an audio guided experience here (NOTE: …

April 16, 2016

by Sharon

Everything Changes

[I said to Suzuki Roshi,] “I could listen to you for a thousand years and still not get it. Could you just please put it in a nutshell? Can you reduce Buddhism to one phrase?”…He was not a man you could pin down, and he didn’t …

April 7, 2016

by Sharon

Pure Brightness

Today, April 7, 2016 is the Festival of Pure Brightness (Qingming, or Tomb Sweeping Day) in China. It is a three-day festival that is as much about honoring ancestors as it is a way for people to have time to go outside and enjoy the new …

January 28, 2016

by Sharon

Practice

Wisdom Body Yoga & Meditation

Have you ever witnessed a friend, family member or colleague at work create suffering or patterns of suffering for themself? It’s so hard to watch. It’s so easy to identify the pattern, the problem, the mistakes. It’s equally simple to see an obvious solution. On the …

August 12, 2015

by Sharon

Imperfect Vessels

I’m always reading. Whenever I come across common themes in my reading, I try to make note of it and then think about what that theme means to me in my life, my practice and my work. Two-weeks ago, in everything I was reading, the word …

June 19, 2014

by Sharon

Hope, Marx, and the Body

I have had the great fortune of studying with and, in some cases, just been able to listen to, some people that I would consider to be genuine geniuses. My fortune has been so great, that it would not be possible to list everyone here. One …

July 1, 2013

by Sharon

FREE Guided Meditation Webcast

Guided Meditation Recording Oh no! Did you miss the live webcast? Download the MP3 and listen at your convenience and practice as often as you like (but not while driving–PLEASE)! The recorded meditation will be available within an hour of the end of the live webcast. …

June 20, 2013

by Sharon

Interdependence Meditation

Guided Meditation on Interdependence In honor of Independence Day, I have decided to host a guided meditation on interdependence that you can experience from anywhere by calling-in on your phone. This will be a live guided meditation experience. All you need to do is dial-in …

June 13, 2013

by Sharon

NEW Online Meditation Course

Four Noble Truths: Insights and Meditations In this five-week online course, we will explore the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism through Phillip Moffitt’s book, “Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering.” The course includes guided required reading of …

May 20, 2013

by Sharon

A Pep Talk for You!

A Little Pep Talk Just for YOU How many flexible people do you know? Let’s be honest here—you don’t actually KNOW anyone who is flexible. If yoga required flexibility, then 15 million people in America wouldn’t have been practicing last year. But, they did. How many …

April 29, 2013

by Sharon

Yoga and Meditation Classes with Sharon Rudyk

This Week: Starting Monday, April 29, 2013 GROUP CLASSES: This MONDAY I am teaching an all levels (and when I say “all levels” I truly mean that everyone from absolute beginners to advanced students will all feel comfortable and get a great practice) yoga class at …

December 30, 2012

by Sharon

Are you doing yoga “right”?

This is a re-post of one of the most read blog posts I have written in the past 5-years. This originally appeared in the blog in February 2009. It’s a great reminder as we start the new year for a healthy and safe way to approach …

November 28, 2012

by Sharon

Have a Cuppa for Holiday Tension

Many of my yoga students confide in me that they “can’t meditate.” In most cases, this is based on a misunderstanding of what meditation is. In many cases, I inform my students that, in fact, they have been meditating with me for years in our practices …