Matthew Tift, PhD, RYT-500
I teach yoga and meditation, and I build websites. At the end of most classes I say, “may you live at ease.” I’d like the same to be true at my desk: one thing at a time, harming no one.
I love this life, and most of what I do comes down to wanting to share that. Practice gave me a steadiness I didn’t always have, and it feels right to pass along whatever I can.
So here is what I have to offer. I teach yoga at The Marsh in Minnetonka, Minnesota (near Minneapolis). My classes are gentle and welcoming, and you don’t need to be flexible, fit, or experienced. You only need to show up and be curious. Sometimes I play harmonium while we practice. If you can’t make it to a class, you can use one of my guided meditations any time you want company for a few minutes of stillness.
I write about ordinary life read through yoga’s ethical teachings: a bus stop, a bike ride, a decision about which software to use (free software, usually), a pause at a tech conference. If that’s your kind of question, the blog is the place to start, and you can get new posts by email. I also host the Pretty Good Meditation podcast.
I trained as a yoga teacher at Kripalu, learned to meditate from Theravada Buddhist monks, and owe a great deal to my teachers.
I try to carry the practice off the mat: assisting with the 200-hour teacher training at Kripalu, leading a prison meditation group, serving on the board of One Love Yoga, which brings yoga into schools, and offering free yoga and meditation classes.
By day I build websites for state and local governments at Lullabot, using Drupal and other free and open source software.
When I’m not teaching yoga or building software, I play violin, and love practicing string quartets with my wife on viola and our two kids on cello and violin.
Whatever brought you here, I’m glad you came. Come to a class, try a meditation, or just say hello. There’s more in my full CV if you’re curious about the rest.
