Evolving Yogi

In this week’s edition of Tranquility du Jour, I chat with Cyndi Lee on:

• Embracing Self-Kindness in Midlife: Cyndi highlights the importance of being kinder to yourself as you age. She shares how letting go of self-judgment and perfectionism has transformed her perspective, enabling her to outgrow old patterns and embrace a more peaceful mindset.

• Reinvention Through Change: Reflecting on her journey, including closing her yoga studio and relocating, Cyndi emphasizes the natural process of reinvention in midlife. She encourages embracing ungrounded moments as opportunities for growth and exploration, even when they feel unsettling.

• Sustainable Practices for the Body: As her body changed, Cyndi adapted her movement practices, transitioning from intense yoga to sustainable approaches like strength training and walking. She underscores the importance of listening to your body and finding ways to move that feel nourishing.

• The Power of Connection and Community: Cyndi stresses the value of maintaining meaningful relationships and finding trusted communities. From her online sangha to her local neighborhood connections, these bonds provide a sense of belonging and shared experience.

 

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Grab your journal, a cuppa tea, and settle in for this week’s inspiration!

 

Our Guest: Cyndi Lee

Cyndi Lee began practicing yoga and meditation when she went to college in 1972. She began teaching yoga in 1978 and at the behest of her root guru, the great Tibetan master, Gelek Rimpoche, she began teaching meditation in 1992. The first western female teacher to combine yoga and Tibetan Buddhism, Lee founded OM yoga Center in NYC, which became a mecca for yogis worldwide.

Known as a “teacher’s teacher,” Cyndi has been invited to lead yoga and meditation teacher trainings, workshops and retreats in Japan, Turkey, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, Mexico, China and throughout the U.S. Through her students, her work has been integrated into the NYPD, NYFD, and the NY DOE, as well as hospitals, parole work, college counseling centers and even accounting firms.

Since 2020 her online meditation classes have helped meditators worldwide to develop their own daily mindfulness meditation practice through her online Mindfulness Meditation mini-retreats and #15minutesaday retreats. Many of these meditators have joined Lifting the Gaze, Lee’s online sangha founded in 2023, to offer community and support for ongoing meditation practice.

For the last two years she has been invited to be one of twenty presenters to give a dharma talk and movement practice as part of the Dalai Lama Global Vision Summit and the Women of Wisdom Summit hosted by Lion’s Roar.

Cyndi is the author of five books including The New York Times critically acclaimed May I Be Happy: A Memoir of Love, Yoga, and Changing My Mind and the classic yoga text: Yoga Body Buddha Mind. Other books include OM yoga: A Guide to Daily Practice and OM yoga Today. Her upcoming book, Long Life Yoga, will be published by Chronicle Books in spring, 2026.

For years, Cyndi has been a regular columnist for Lion’s Roar, Real Simple, Yoga Journal and Yoga International. Her recent feature articles include “My Slow Fashion Practice is Yoga, Too” (YJ), and “The Practice of Self-Caring” (LR). Her article, “Yoga Body Buddha Mind,” was a cover story for Shambhala Sun.

In 2018 she was ordained as a Buddhist Chaplain, under the guidance of Roshi Joan Halifax of Upaya Zen Center. She holds a BFA and MFA in Dance from University of California, Irvine.

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