Today, the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their innovative work that led to the life-saving mRNA COVID vaccines. Ms. Karikó, a Hungarian-American biochemist and researcher at Penn Medicine is one of (now) 61 women who have received this award, while Dr. Weissman, a physician and researcher also at Penn Medicine, is one of over 890 male laureates. This wonderful announcement stirred my feminist passion and also reminded me of my lifelong interest in science. Maybe I could have been a scientist. If I was born 20 years later, could things have turned out differently?
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Careers
Teaching Yoga on Zoom: My Path to Acceptance
At the start of 2020, I was teaching two yoga classes at a local dance studio and was about to start a new weekly series for Duke University employees. My calendar was as full as I liked it, with room for other yoga gigs that periodically came my way. This all came to a Covid-19 dead stop in March. Pandemic-mania meant time for me to take a break. I was not interested in moving my classes online, either with YouTube videos or scheduled Zoom sessions. I felt the Internet was already flooded with good content, much of it affordable or free. I thought “I’ll just wait it out, resume in-person classes when the situation improves.” Are you laughing along with me?
By the end of April, the situation was not anywhere near improving and I found that I missed teaching yoga. I missed having a weekly commitment that kept me pro-active and involved — devising new sequences, considering modifications, researching and learning. Most importantly, I REALLY missed my students. I capitulated, purchased a basic Zoom account, and emailed announcements to my local students.
My first class was April 29th and, except for holidays, it has continued weekly. Having spent many hours on conference calls in my corporate life, the Zoom learning curve was short and, luckily, I’ve had very few technical difficulties. But, the teaching experience has been VERY DIFFERENT, in both good and bad ways.
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Six Lessons from My First Year of Teaching Yoga
I enrolled in yoga teacher training over 2 years ago and, soon after, started teaching a little bit here and there, mostly to family, friends, and neighbors. Last January, I embarked on my own weekly gig, a beginner’s mat-based class at a local dance space, Yoga at the Lindy Lab. This is when my REAL education began. Here are six lessons I’ve learned in my freshman year of teaching.
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accidental goddess 