Before teaching a yoga class, I like to write down my dharma talk—this is something instructors usually say at the beginning of class, which sets the “bhavana” or tone, mood, and theme for the practice. Some days, I skip it and focus on straight-up alignment and the physical aspect of the poses. In those cases, I’ll still begin with something…
It’s easy for me to eulogize my maternal grandmother. When it comes to describing Felicidad Paras Manaloto—”Mamang” to her children—there is more than enough to fill up a page. Lola, “grandma” in Filipino, was a woman ahead of her time, a true embodiment of the female spirit: nurturing, graceful, intelligent, selfless, fierce, steadfast, tenacious, and ever generous. The Capampangan that…