I was lying in final twist, pulling my hip away from my ribs like a good little yogi, when the teacher, who didn’t know my practice that well, came over and gave me an adjustment.

My back cracked. His eyes lit up; I could tell he was very pleased with himself. My back cracked ten more times. His eyes shifted to panic. Being a people pleaser, I tried to quietly reassure him. But I was, in fact, on the verge of panicking about it myself.

I’d been trying, unsuccessfully, to remember when my right hip joint had started cracking so prolifically. But I could only conjure memories of lying on my mat, twisting deeper and deeper, feeling like it needed to crack but couldn’t.

That night, standing in the shower, I swayed—shifting my ribs ever so slightly in the particular way that causes my back to crack over and over again. I counted up to 100 cracks. (I know. Counting is another bad habit that we control enthusiasts fall into when chaos is looming.) But I couldn’t stop. I was trying, as I had been every night for some time, to crack it until it was all cracked out. One more crack. Just one more.

"My Other Car is a Yoga Mat" is my column about living my - your - our yoga off the mat, and deepening our practices on the mat. It's published in LA Yoga Magazine and syndicated to Yoga Chicago Magazine and yogamates.com. The collected columns are also available online right here on the website.

But I know a lot of you don't have access to the magazines and/or don't like to read a lot of text online, but do dig listening to podcasts - plus I love recording audio - so now I'm making "My Other Car is a Yoga Mat" available in the groovalicious podcast format as well.

That means now you can enjoy "My Other Car is a Yoga Mat" in your car! Or on your mat:) Now enjoy Episode #4: "Water Whirled". And here are links to some of the things I refer to:

The Hydro-Mag Water Magnetizer
The Water Egg
Dr. Emoto

Listen and subscribe in iTunes (and don't forget to rate and review it - thanks!)

Podcast: 

moci.WaterWhirled.12.06.m4a

"My Other Car is a Yoga Mat" is my column about living my - your - our yoga off the mat, and deepening our practices on the mat. It's published in LA Yoga Magazine, Yoga Chicago Magazine and yogamates.com. The collected columns are also available online right here on the website.

But I know a lot of you don't have access to the magazines and/or don't like to read a lot of text online, but do dig listening to podcasts - plus I love recording audio - so now I'm making "My Other Car is a Yoga Mat" available in the groovalicious podcast format as well.

That means now you can enjoy "My Other Car is a Yoga Mat" in your car! Or on your mat:) Now enjoy Episode #3: "Arm and Arm"

Listen and subscribe in iTunes (and don't forget to rate and review it - thanks!)

Podcast: 

MOCI.ArmAndArm.9.25.m4a

This trailer will give you a taste of the delights that await in Beth's show, which others have called "Funny & Mind-Expanding!" (LA Weekly) and "Not to be missed (examiner.com) and "Chakradelic upward-facing comedy!" (yogamates.com). Click here to see a full-size video.

The next performance of "100% Happy 88% of the Time" will be:

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 8pm
at The Renberg Theatre, 1125 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood 90038 (Free Parking)

Tickets are $20 and net proceeds benefit the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Baby Dragon Fund for Meth and Mental Health Counseling. Our motto for the night "BETH NOT METH". Call 323-860-7300 or click here for tickets.

If You're interested in booking the show - or want to suggest a venue, please e-mail us. For more info about the show click here.

The Comedian's Way workshop for Writers, Performers & Other Humans is the place to develop your authentic voice and deepest material for one-person shows, personal essays, books, scripts, blogs, or just to have a better attitude about life.

There are written descriptions of the workshop here on Beth's site and also on the Un-Cabaret website, but here's a pretty coherent description of what exactly happens and what you can expect from the workshop to help you decide if it's for you.

Class meets this Sundays Nov. 22, Dec. 6 & 13 from 1-4pm at M-Bar, 1253 N. Vine St. LA 90038 (2010 class dates TBA). It also meets Saturday, Dec. 12, 4-6pm in Palm Springs. For more info, call 323-993-3305 or e-mail us.

Any single class $60
Any 4 classes $200
Any 10 classes just $400

Audit (observe) any class for just $10
Audit 4 classes for $25

What happens when a piece of material gets stale? How do you keep the audience - and yourself - interested?

Beth offers some great advice about how to keep your material fresh, find material that will stay fresh the longest, and tips on integrating this freshening practice into your creative process and your life.

Let Beth help you take the 'ow' out of Now at The Comedian's Way workshop for Writers, Performers & Other Humans this Sunday, Nov.1. Also meets Sundays, Nov. 8, 15, 22, Dec. 6 & 13 from 1-4pm at M-Bar, 1253 N. Vine St. LA 90038.

Register for single classes. Discounts on multiple classes. Audit any class for just $10. For more info, call 323-993-3305 or e-mail us.

"My Other Car is a Yoga Mat" is my column about living my - your - our yoga off the mat, and deepening our practices on the mat. It's published in LA Yoga Magazine, Yoga Chicago Magazine and yogamates.com. The collected columns are also available online right here on the website.

But I know a lot of you don't have access to the magazines and/or don't like to read a lot of text online, but do dig listening to podcasts - plus I love recording audio - so now I'm making "My Other Car is a Yoga Mat" available in the groovalicious podcast format as well.

That means now you can enjoy "My Other Car is a Yoga Mat" in your car! Or on your mat:) Enjoy Episode #2: My Other Yoga Mat is the Cosmos...

Listen and subscribe in iTunes

Podcast: 

cosmos.m4a

Beth always opens The Comedian's Way workshop sessions with some inspiring thoughts about the creative process. Here she talks about finding the right context for your work - and how you have to translate a particular piece of material when you adapt it to a different medium or context.

She couldn't do the kind of personal intimate storytelling that she wanted to do in the mainstream comedy clubs and that's why we started Un-Cabaret to begin with.

Click here for more info about The Comedian's Way workshop.

I have a million ways to avoid a pose: thinking about something else while I’m in it, slipping out of class to pee, judging everyone else’s poses.

My favorite way to avoid a pose has always been to slink off my mat for a sip of water. But lately I’m having a hard time using water this way. I don’t feel like I’m a water user any more. Now I feel like I’m a water lover. And, of course, love is complicated.

It used to be so simple. I’d suck on my straw peacefully avoiding the dreaded eagle pose. But now it seems like the water activates my monkey mind the way water was supposed to activate those super cute little sea monkeys you could order from the back of comic books.

I tell my self I shouldn’t be drinking water in class. Water quenches the fire I’m working so hard to stoke. Drinking water mid-practice disturbs the pranic energy body. And my drink is another student’s distraction.

But then myself tells me that I’m thirsty!

I always feel a little silly getting technical and medical and serious about the healing power of laughter.

But with the health care crisis reaching epidemic proportions and people freaking out about the state of the world, feeling a little silly is a small price to pay. In fact feeling silly is The Comedian's Way.

So here are the very serious facts about laughing.