YOGA NYLA BLOG - Yoga Nyla

A Love Letter to Yoga Nyla

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 21:25:00 GMT

The first time I came to the studio, I showed up 30 minutes late. I’d confused it with the downtown location and missed class entirely. I remember sitting in my car after that — sobbing. Not a tear or two. Full-body, can’t-catch-your-breath sobs.

Something deep cracked open. After years of feeling disconnected from yoga and from community, my body knew before my mind did: I had found home. I came back the next day. Took class. And I’ve been coming ever since. This space — the heat, the floors, the walls that hold us — is sacred to me.

I’m someone who lives in my head, light and airy, pulled in a hundred directions. They call the wind Mariah, and that’s always felt true. I tend to drift. Disappear with a shift in the breeze. But this studio grounds me. It calls me back to my body, again and again.

Since that first class, my whole life has moved through these walls.

In 2019, I practiced on my wedding day.
In 2020, I practiced on Zoom.
In 2021, I stayed connected here when nearly every other relationship in my life fell apart.
In 2022, I practiced through the grief of our stillborn son.
And in 2023 I practiced as long as I could while carrying our rainbow baby — the one this community has loved so openly, generously, sweetly.

This space and my life are inextricably linked.

You may know me as the studio manager — the one behind the schedule, the emails, the events. But underneath all of that is this: I love this place with my whole heart. It’s held me through everything. And everything I do here — every class I promote, every caption I write, every time I open my mouth to teach — is for you.

I want you to feel what I felt that first day.

Welcome. Wonder. Belonging.

And maybe, if the timing’s right, something you didn’t even know you needed.

Thanks for being part of it. Whether we’ve shared a sweaty corner of the room or just a wave in passing — I’m really glad you’re here.

In deep gratitude,

Mariah June

Yoga For Transformation

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 15:37:00 GMT

Many years ago, I saw an advertisement for a Kundalini yoga event that caught my attention. At the time, I didn’t practice Kundalini regularly, but I felt a nudge from my soul to say yes.

The commitment was 40 days. The wake-up time was 4:30 AM. And I was not in a good place. I didn’t know if I could commit to that. I wanted to—but I wasn’t sure. I was in an unhealthy relationship and I didn’t have the strength to leave. I was drinking daily and using speed to suppress fear, hopelessness, and grief.

Still, I signed up.

I didn’t do it perfectly. I missed many days, as you can imagine. But I went enough times to feel something shift. I can still remember some of those mornings as if they were yesterday. There were moments in that class when I could feel my soul talking to me.

One morning stands out. I felt love rise up in me—so powerfully, so tenderly—that I cried for a long time. I was longing to feel loved. And at that point in my life, I wasn’t loving myself.

That was a turning point.
That program changed my life for the better.
Not instantly. Not all at once.
But I began to change.

As many of you know, I am sober now. In healthy relationships.
With the self-esteem to walk away from things that aren’t good for me.

This week, someone came into my class and apologized for not being in a good mood.
He said he thought he needed to be in a good mood to come to yoga.

I told him I disagreed. That’s not what yoga asks of you.

Come exactly as you are. No mask. No mood requirements. Just a willingness to let something shift inside you.

That’s all it takes: A heart wide open for a transformation.

xo,
Diana

There’s Something Different About Something Different

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:00:00 GMT

Some of the things coming up at Yoga Nyla have completely changed my life—and I don't say that lightly.

One of those life-changing experiences started in a way you might not expect.
The first time I experienced the Amherst Writers and Artists method, I didn’t even want to go. Two friends invited me, and honestly, it wasn’t my cup of tea. I would have never signed up on my own. But I trusted them—and I was going through a lot at that time—so I said yes. Mostly just to spend time with them

At that point in my life, I was outwardly successful, but inside, I was struggling.
I wasn’t speaking to my dad. My personal relationships were messy. I felt stuck and overwhelmed. I actually cried the entire way to that first workshop.

But when I walked into that room, something shifted.
The instructor was warm and encouraging. No pressure. No expectations. Just a safe space to show up exactly as I was.

Week after week, I kept returning.
At first, everything I wrote came from anger.
But as the weeks went by and I kept writing straight from the heart, that anger softened. It gave way to sadness. Then to hope. Then to love.
It was like a continuous release—a way to finally hear myself, in a way that talking never allowed.

Through that process, I found my voice.
Not just as a writer, but as a human being.
Today, I’m a published author. And I know for sure: if I hadn’t taken that leap, if I hadn’t trusted that uncomfortable invitation, I never would have written a book.

There’s something different about trying something different.
It changes you.
And that’s what I hope for you this summer season.

At Yoga Nyla, there are so many opportunities opening up right now. So many ways to spend a little extra time with yourself, outside of life’s usual distractions. And it doesn’t matter which program you choose. It’s not about learning to teach Yin Yoga or winning a Pulitzer Prize. It’s about giving yourself the chance to discover something new within you.

I guarantee you—when you step into one of these offerings, you will uncover something about yourself that you didn’t know was there.
And you never know when the teachings you pick up will ripple out into the world—whether it’s in a conversation with a colleague, a loved one, or even a stranger at a local café.

So if something on our schedule catches your eye—even if it feels a little outside your comfort zone—I encourage you to go for it. Try something different. Be brave enough to meet a new version of yourself.

It’s always worth it.
I’ll be right here, cheering you on.

With love,
Diana

Yoga is an Evolution

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

I remember being a young yoga teacher and hearing a story that brought tears to my eyes. It was about two yoga students practicing with their teacher in India. They told him that millions of people were practicing yoga in America but were doing it for the wrong reasons. They said to their teacher that Americans were doing yoga to get a tighter butt and to look better in their yoga pants. The teacher started crying. The students thought he was crying because of what they said, and he was, but not the reason they thought. He was crying from joy. He said, "It doesn't matter why they start practicing yoga; if they forget who they are, they will remember."

I will never forget this story and how it made me feel the first time I heard it. I heard it at a time when I forgot who I was or simply didn't know yet. I also remember this story today because this week, I was talking to a friend about why people practice yoga. It seemed like my friend had an opinion like the yoga students in the above story. I challenged her opinion and said, " Maybe it doesn't matter why people begin the practice."

When I started practicing yoga at age twenty-two, I was trying to escape how I was feeling and used the practice to escape. I was trying to feel better. Like any escape, It eventually stopped making me feel better; instead, I felt worse. Twenty-five years later, I can truthfully say that I practice for the opposite reason I did at age twenty-two. I practice to feel everything. I practice to lean in. I practice to connect and feel myself as I am.

Is my experience now enhanced because I also knew the opposite? Yes, I believe it is. When I started practicing yoga, I thought it was downward-facing dog and Warrior One. Today, I believe that yoga is what you do while you are in downward-facing dog. I am deeply passionate about yoga and using the practice to connect with myself because I know the pain of disconnection.

Yoga is an evolution. What a gift we have been given to grow and heal here.

If you have found yoga in this life, it's a gift.

As we are coming up on Yoga Nyla's final days for our introductory special of 4 weeks for $40, I ask you to invite someone to join you in this gift of practice.

May you be where you are, and let the people you surround yourself with be where they are too.

May we grow together and at our own pace.

May we all share the gift.

xo,

Diana

The Remover of Obstacles

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 16:00:00 GMT

There is a saying in Zen, " If a teacher cannot bow to her students, she cannot bow to God." Many people think a student finds an answer from a teacher; however, a teacher often sees an answer through the student. As this teaching conveys, we are all the student AND the teacher.

I've been thinking all week about what to write to you, and until this morning, I still wasn't sure what I would say. After I taught my 6 AM class, a student approached me, looked me straight in the eye with deep sincerity, and said, "I needed to hear everything you said today." She squeezed my hand in a way that felt like a hug.

She gave me my answer.

Please take a deep breath with me and feel it while you bring some of your attention to your forehead center. This is your third eye, the space where you gain or lose strength by your capacity to use wisdom, or long sight. Clear sight. Although sometimes difficult, the following teaching is worth the practice and the consistent and honest assessment.

Buddha said, "The physical world is an illusion."

This may not make sense, literally, but symbolically, it holds the answer. What he is saying here is not that the world outside of you doesn't exist. He is saying that nothing outside of you has power over you, unless you give it power. You get to decide what has power over you or not.

The practice of Zen offers the same teaching with different words: "If you see the Guru driving down the street, kill the Guru." When I share this teaching with people, they sometimes get offended.

Again, don't take it literally.

The word guru means remover of darkness. This teaching reminds you that nothing outside of you has power over you, unless you give it power. Often, people look outside themselves for the answers, yet you are the only one who can see them. If you can only see the guru outside of you, kill the guru.

These teachings are symbolic.

The light you are looking for is within.

The love you are seeing is within.

The world is a mirror.

The one that can remove the darkness

is not on the outside.

You do it.

xo,

Diana

How Self-Esteem is Built

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 15:00:00 GMT

When I first started my self-esteem coaching business as a side gig four years ago, I chose to work with ONLY young women ages 15-18. While promoting my program Strong Girls, numerous women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s wrote to me that they wished I was doing a program for them. There was so much interest that I had to say yes, so I designed Strong Women. About a year later, I simultaneously wrote a book on the process and opened my program to men and young men.

I love working with ALL these people. I have learned so much from all of them, and I am thrilled that I didn't limit myself or the program to one group of humans. Each individual is rich with potential to grow and change, and each person's journey is so unique.

One of the great joys of working with young people is that when I ask them questions about self-confidence, they simply say what they believe to be true. They don't know some of the answers, and they don't pretend to know. I'm not saying that adults always pretend, but sometimes adults know the answer but struggle with integration. Adults know the answers consciously, but don't know how to stop their unconscious patterns. They need support to help themselves see where they are stuck and learn tools and steps to get the answers.

One day I was working with a 15-year-old boy who came to me with the desire to have more confidence. In our session, I asked him, "How do you build self-confidence?" I waited for his answer as he spoke up sincerely and responded, "By not messing up." I looked at him and nodded my head as I understood, and I could tell he was sincere.

This was what he honestly believed.

It's no surprise that he was feeling the way he was. I asked him if there was another way that he thought he could build up his self-confidence.

His second answer was to avoid things he was not good at to avoid messing up.

I looked at him and said playfully, "These are terrible answers." We both giggled.

I reminded him of our conversation's importance because he had so much time to change those answers. He was expressing to me what I see in so many of us - adults and teenagers alike. I myself had both consciously and unconsciously believed this for years. The belief is that validation is found outside of ourselves, in other people's opinions or our performance.

This belief is, of course, a fallacy. The truth is that self-esteem is found in our character. My client and I talked about many things that day, and I could tell he understood why it was not a great idea to put the power of our self-esteem in the hands of others. The road to self-esteem is complex, but the formula is simple; I told him, "Self-confidence is built by keeping promises to ourselves."

As a storyteller, I share this story because the conversation is essential. As a yoga teacher, I share this story as a way for people to see where they still have room to grow.

On the mat, what is your internal dialogue when you mess up? Do you avoid things you are not good at so you don't mess up or fail? How many of us celebrate the fact that we practice with integrity, knowing that when it feels good, it's probably because we are keeping a promise to ourselves - not because we didn't mess up?

We will mess up, and self-respect is built in the space of failure and choosing to take responsibility for everything we think, feel, and do while simultaneously choosing to learn and grow.

xo,

Diana

There Are No Bad Feelings

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 17:15:00 GMT

I quietly walked into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting last week, sat down, took a deep breath, and started processing what was happening inside my heart and mind. There was a lot in there, and in that moment I needed the space.

I also needed the meeting. It is a commitment I have to myself every Wednesday at noon. I know and love many people there, and they know me too.

Before we began, one of my favorite men approached me and said,

"What is the look on your face?"

Turning my head, surprised, I replied, "What look?"

He followed, "That look of disgust."

I first giggled and then went into self-reflection.

I was thinking about something that brought up both fear and sadness inside of me, so I looked at my friend and said, "I'm processing some feelings."

The meeting began and then ended as we circled and held hands. I stood next to the same man, and he looked at me and said, "You know Diana, you are a lot prettier with a smile on your face than that look you have today."

I know his intention was good, but it felt like he had crossed a boundary with me. I looked at him and said, "No, please do not say that to me. That belief and that mindset are exactly why we need to be in this room in the first place. There is no such thing as a bad or wrong feeling. So I choose myself in this moment, and I will move through this;

give me the space."

What you don't express, you will feel as anxiety.

The yoga practice is a tool that teaches you how to stay connected to yourself through any obstacle. In the moment you run away from what you are feeling, you no longer belong to yourself.

There is no such thing as a bad feeling.

Lean in.

Stay close.

xo,
Diana