• Community is Shared

      I am a sociologist by training. I love to think about culture, people, interactions, identity issues and patterns. Emile Durkheim, the famous French father of all things sociological, argued that one must treat ‘social facts as things’. These “facts” become the subject of study for sociologists. Further, Durkheim believed that collective phenomenon is not merely reducible to the individual actor. Society, he believed, is more than the sum of its many parts. It is a system formed by the association of individuals that come together to constitute a reality with its own distinctive characteristics. Let me think of an example: how about language? Language pre-exists our birth and it continues after our death. Perhaps some of us will have the honor of inventing some new recognizable slang (LOL, duh),…

  • Environmental Influence

    I like to think about how different environments shape our notions of self. For example, a solitary confinement cell and a mathematician’s office may look eerily similar but one denotes dignity, intelligence and creativity and the other denies these same qualities. Meanings attached to space reinforce concepts of authority, autonomy, legitimacy and social status. Years ago, I read a fascinating book that explored the meaning of the art people choose to put on their walls (Inside Culture by David Halle). You may believe your art is merely representative of your taste but a careful look will reveal far more about your character and your socio-economic background than you can begin to imagine. I think the same is true for gyms and yoga studios. There is a feeling that permeates the…

  • A Surprising Twist

    I was not a particularly athletic kid. During college I wore pearls, Bermuda shorts and keds to play intramural basketball. The ref had to stop the game because he couldn’t see through his tears of laughter as I jumped down the court holding the ball (I was attempting to avoid a call for traveling). My husband worried throughout my pregnancies that I would pass my “two left feet” gene on to our children. And, so, it came as rather a surprise to find that not only do I love yoga but I am a pretty successful practioner of the art.