… about having her picture in the front page of the Thursday Style section of the New York Times today.*

*I think they make you sign in to read it (sorry). And in the online version, it’s the second page, yes.

I think you’ll all join me in saying: !!!!

And the Shiva Nata connection …?

Well, the picture was taken at a Shiva Nata yoga class here in Portland.

Actually I was hoping that fellow Shivanauts Shannon and Carolyn would be in the picture too but you know, Selma kind of took over.

Because she’s a superstar and has been on German television and everything …

God, that duck is such a diva. It’s out of control.

And one more Shiva Nata connection …

This is very exciting, yes.

And here’s the interesting part.

Dance of Shiva is, like all forms of yoga, about the ongoing practice of learning how you work and then loving yourself anyway.

And — more specifically — it’s about using your brain to deconstruct your patterns so you can build better ones, right? And the big pattern I’ve been working on all year is getting more comfortable with being seen and acknowledged.

So big huge thanks to whatever universal forces are at work there. Thanks, wacky and wonderful Shiva Nata. And thanks to Abby Ellin who wrote the lovely piece in the Times.

And thanks, sweet Selma. I couldn’t do this without you.

p.s. All Selma references and goofiness aside, it’s a terrifically thoughtful and well-written article about what it means to bring more levity, light-heartedness and love into yoga, while respecting tradition and the spirit of the self-work process.

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• Ask a Shivanaut: Dance of Shiva + pregnancy.
• “Do men ever do Shiva Nata?”
• Dance of Shiva: internal and external space

Because otherwise I never would have heard about this awesome, awesome article (warning: German) by Thomas Gerlach.

If you don’t read German, hurry up and use Dance of Shiva to teach yourself German because this article is the bomb.

Let me explain.

First of all? it’s about me. Well, not about me. But it features me prominently in the best context ever, which is how cool Shiva Nata (Dance of Shiva) is and how much fun it is to be in a tent with me teaching it at the Berlin Yoga Festival. I exaggerate, but only slightly.

Second of all, this article appeared in Welt am Sonntag, which is kind of like being featured in the New York Times. Welt am Sonntag! That’s the paper that Christian Kracht, one my favorite German author, used to write for.

Oh, just be excited for me.

Third, this article says nothing but nice things about me and about the method. Dance of Shiva rocks, the yoga festival rocks, etc etc etc.

I’m totally getting flashbacks of how ridiculously amazing teaching at the festival was. Even though giving an hour long lecture in German is not really on my list of relaxing things to do … !

No, it’s just that the energy of teaching close to a hundred people all crammed together in a circus tent … that’s just the coolest thing ever.

Moral of the story.

Have a duck. Smile. Befriend Thomas Gerlach. I’m just kidding. I have no idea who Thomas Gerlach is, but I love him. In my loud-mouthed Israeli-American way.

Thomas, das ist wahnsinnig lieb. Vielen vielen Dank.

(I’m so finding out who he is and bringing him yummy things from Portland next time I come to Germany.)

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• And more Shiva Nata classes in Berlin!
• Punk Rock Shivanauttery: answering a bunch of questions!
• Shiva Nata workshops in Berlin: questions?