Celebrated as the month of love, February can be a little sad for those who are without a special someone. Valentine’s Day, with all of its commercial grandeur and hype, doesn’t have to be a let down if you’re alone. No one else but you is required to feel love.

Several thousand years ago, Rumi, a Sufi poet and mystic, penned the beautiful verse, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” Love is abundant. You don’t need much to feel it. All you need is an open heart and the remembrance that love is everywhere.

Aside from the many health benefits of yoga, we are also encouraged to be open to the enchantment that lies within when we practice. In other words, yoga helps us to dismantle those barriers that keep us from experiencing love.

The following suggestions will help you realign with love. They are not necessarily for couples, spouses or partners; they are for anyone wanting to rekindle a love affair with life.

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Many people will be hitting the ski slopes over President’s Day weekend, and lift lines will continue to grow through spring break and beyond. The air may be thin at the top of the lift but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to breathe. In fact, Anne Anderson, a certified ski instructor from Mohawk Mountain in Connecticut, takes advantage of the fresh mountain air by teaching her skiers breathing and meditation practices as part of her lesson plan.

Snowga, a combination of the two words ‘snow’ and ‘yoga’ is the latest hybrid yoga class to hit the slopes. A blend of yoga and skiing, Snowga helps to improve your downhill skiing skills by incorporating yoga poses, breath work, and meditation. Created by Anderson, Snowga also helps skiers face their fears of the mountain and stay calm and relaxed on difficult terrain. “Yoga has a natural benefit of healing. It calms the mind and body and is a true compliment to snow sports education,” Anderson told Fox News in a recent interview.

Anderson is not the only skier who practices yoga on and off the slopes. U.S. Ski Team freestyle mogul skier Heather McPhie adds a little yoga to the days she skis. “It is so helpful in keeping my body more physically prepared and is a wonderful pause in my day where I get away from everything else and just center,” McPhie also explained in her interview with Fox News.

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Ever since the New York Times published “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body,” the yoga purists are waging war on the way America practices yoga. Not only do they accuse modern yoga participants of falling victim to taking exercise classes sprinkled with spiritual materialism, they are not happy about how yoga teachers teach yoga today.

Recently published in the Huffington Post, Ira Israel’s article “What is Yoga” discusses his disappointment with a “butterfly-stroke shouldered” yoga teacher who apparently berated two young men who were not following along properly in class. According to Israel, after the instructor asked them if it was their first class, she made sure they understood that someone new to yoga shouldn’t take a level 2/3 class. As with anyone, these men felt that maybe they should not be there, so they left.

Israel’s bone to pick with the instructor, who he refers to as the “young buck” and who he feels should be shamed, is that yoga, as practiced 5000 years ago, did not have ‘levels’ because it was more a spiritual endeavor than a physical practice. However, he doesn’t mention the classic theory that long ago, the student couldn’t practice the physical yoga postures until they earned approval from their guru. I wasn’t there 5000 years ago, so I can’t actually pretend to know what it was like, but I am confident in saying Yoga Alliance was definitely not there mulling about yoga safety and designating ability standards in classes.
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Named the “Yoga Rebel” by the New York Times, Tara Stiles is an internationally recognized and influential yoga teacher based in New York City. She is the author of the book Slim Calm Sexy as well as the owner of Strala Yoga, a non-pretentious yet highly successful yoga studio in the big city. As a former model, Stiles uses her celebrity, yoga teaching talents and humble girl-next-door persona as a platform from which to launch yoga cross-training programs for athletes, as well as designating yoga as an accepted and necessary part of preventative health care. Her second book, Yoga Cures, which covers the health benefits of yoga for a wide array of modern-day ailments, will be out on the shelves in April of this year. Ms. Stiles also inspires many by her choice in yoga products and accessories. For example, she supports the environment by selecting green and sustainable items to use in her practice. Manduka mats top her list as the best yoga mats, as they are non-toxic and eco friendly. Her favorite mat, made with high standards and low environmental impact, is the Manduka eKO Lite. For her hot yoga sessions, Stiles prefers to use Manduka’s eQua HOT yoga towel above other similar products.
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Those visiting Indianapolis for the Super Bowl this week may be most concerned about celebrity sightings, fancy parties, the zip line in the Super Bowl Village, or the NFL experience, but that doesn’t mean that they will want to forsake their fitness habits entirely. With hotels packed to the gills and many renting out local homes for the week, the miniature hotel gym may not be the best option for everyone. Luckily, Indianapolis offers a variety of fitness options unique to the Circle City.

I am a big fan of running, even in the snow. Although it might require additional gear to run outdoors, we have had a sunny and unseasonably warm January which is predicted to continue past the big game. Indianapolis offers several trails that are great for runners, walkers or bikers; check out the Canal Walk, the growing Cultural Trail downtown, and the Monon Trail, which extends from the northeast side of downtown through Carmel and Westfield. Take your outdoor exercise a step further by jogging the steps at the Indiana War Memorial located just north of the Circle on Meridian Street.

If you want to take your workout indoors, here is a look at the best places to workout in Indianapolis.
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