Functional eating according to TCM – Damp

Last time I wrote about the life energy Qi, about Yin and Yang, about the energetic effect of food and described through a practical example how you can use food to relieve symptoms. Yang is the energy (Qi) and Yin the matter.  This time: Damp. What is Damp? Damp: unknown within Western medicine, but within […]

Take a Deep Breath

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” Thich Nhat Hanh  When I was born, I was diagnosed with asthma. During the rst couple of years of my life, I was more in than out of the hospital. I still remember that I had to sit in the […]

The Functional Approach

By now you probably know that we at The Fat Yogis and The Functional Yoga Teacher Training, as the name suggests, teach functional yoga. And you probably also know that functional yoga is not a style of yoga, like Ashtanga, Vinyasa or Yin Yoga, but an approach to its practice. What is the foundation of […]

With Love

On the 18th of May Anat left her body. She is still here with us in everything we do, guiding us, teaching us, cheering us up, inspiring us. And we know that many of you feel the same. We are truly moved by this amazing community – so many joining the daily bijas, so many […]

Comfort is not Freedom

Comfort, that stealthy thing that enters your house as a guest, then becomes a host, and then a master Khalil Gilbran I paid attention to the stories my mother-in law used to tell, on how little everybody had during and just after WWII. On her birthday, during the last winter of the war, she got […]

TFY 6 Questions – Bernie Clark on the Spine

Anat and Marcel spoke to Bernie Clark, author of Your Body Your Yoga and Your Spine Your Yoga to hear about his insights about the spine. Bernie has been teaching yoga and meditation since 1998. He has a bachelor degree in Science from the University of Waterloo and combines his intense interest in yoga with […]

TFY 6 Questions – Suzee Grilley on the Chakras

Anat and Marcel asked Suzee Grilley about her view on the chakras and the practice of chakra meditation and discovered that the roots of her practice lay in her early 20’s as a dancer and who are her basketball heros. Suzee Grilley had a long career as a professional dancer, touring the world. She began […]

TFY 6 Questions – Paul Grilley on the Gita

Marcel and Anat interviewed their beloved teacher Paul Grilley about the Bhagavad Gita. Paul talks about the Gita in the context of the Mahabharata, the connection with Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and much more. Paul Grilley is the founder of Yin Yoga and wrote A Yogi’s Guide to Chakra Meditation (Marcel wrote a little review on […]

Divine Song

“On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear.” A Helpful Reminder It is hard to choose one quote from the Gita, there are so many great ones. They are poetic, beautiful and, to me, more than […]

Chatting About Karma

Anat and Ehud took about half an hour to talk about karma, sharing some of their thoughts, ideas and questions about this system. Anat also wrote a blog about karma and has a talk about it and Marcel interviewed Venerable Steve and recorded a class around the theme.

When Karma Comes Knocking

For more than two decades I have been studying and teaching yoga, deepening my philosophy studies progressively as I go. At the center of these teachings is the concept of karma, an incredibly elegant and poignant way to understand suffering, gain, loss, praise, blame, success, failure, all the sometimes maddening ups and downs of our lives.

The Fat Yogis interview Marijke Pfeiffer about energy

TFY 6 Questions – Marijke Pfeiffer on Energy

Marijke Pfeiffer has been an acupuncturist for the last 40 years and is co-founder of CIG Amsterdam and of TCMA, Traditional Chinese Medicine school in Amsterdam. In this interview Marijke talks about the different aspects of Chi, common Chi-related problems like low energy and burnout, and some of the things needed to keep your chi […]

6 Questions: Fascia

An interview with Dr. Jaap van der Wal Ph.D. Fascia isn’t just an arbitrary part of the body, fascia is a complex and vast communication network within the body that influences every aspect of our development – physical, emotional and spiritual. Marcel and Anat interview leading fascia expert and embryologist Dr. Jaap van der Wal. […]