Dana Gornall is the co-founder of The Tattooed Buddha and mom of three crazy kids and a dog.She has been writing stories since she could put words into sentences, writing books and poems from early on and is still completely in love with language of all kinds. The desire to connect with people on a deeper level has always been the catalyst for writing and still is every single time she sits down at the computer to bleed her heart onto the page. A sign language interpreter and lover of language, she finds bits of enlightenment in all of those connections. When not working or writing, you can find her lying outside in the dark night gazing up at the millions of stars or dancing in the kitchen with her children. She has written for elephant journal, Yoga International, Rebelle Society and Meet Mindful and Be You Media.
Working Class Poor.
By Dana Gornall Last year I was employed and below the poverty line at the same time. I had never really thought of myself as "poor" because I had a cell phone and a computer, my kids went to a good school and I always had food on the table. But the truth is, that...
How to Not Fall on Your Butt: The Art of Focus.
By Dana Gornall Dharana: Concentration is the process of holding or fixing the attention of mind onto one object or place. (3.1) One of my greatest fears is falling over in yoga class. I realize that seems a little silly. Most people have a fear of...
Tis But a Scratch: Metta & Redefining the Super Mom.
By Dana Gornall If you're at all familiar with Monty Python, you probably know exactly where this line comes from: Tis but a scratch. If you are not familiar, it comes from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a British, satirical comedic film that...
How to Find a Moment of Zen in a World of Hashtags, Selfies & Dick Pics.
By Dana Gornall It's early morning and my bedroom is still dark. My alarm is playing and so I do what I do every morning when I first wake up---I shut my alarm off and slide the button to open my screen to see if I've gotten any texts or messages. I...
I Suck at Yoga (& Other Things I Think).
By Dana Gornall "How is it that I have been practicing yoga this long and still suck at it?" These were the words I typed out into my phone to my yoga instructor. I was frustrated (and I still am). I'm a busy mom. I work, I run places, I drive my kids around...
I Need a Guru.
By Dana Gornall I need a guru. The words run through my head like one of those light-up digital signs from the 1980s that flash a sentence or two over and over again. I even found myself typing those words and posting it as a Facebook status one day which...
Catch Me, Before I Fall.
By Dana Gornall Pulling my car into the garage just like every other day, I shut the engine off and collected the various debris of things that needed brought inside. I shuffled my feet toward the door of my house, my mind unfocused and buzzing in that...
Is Buddhism the New Black?
By Dana Gornall As a child of the late 70s and early 80s, I can remember when the workout trend was a thing. I grew up hearing Olivia Newton John sing Let's Get Physical, watched as the teenage girls next door donned colorful headbands across their foreheads,...
Sangha Envy.
By Dana Gornall Yes, it's true I am an introvert. This word has gained popularity over the last few years with the resurgence of the Myers-Briggs personality test on social media, the plethora of memes such as Anxiety Cat and The Social Awkward Penguin...
Yoga & the Single Mom: Trying to Find Enlightenment, Godd@mmit.
By Dana Gornall I haven't gone to yoga in 3 weeks. It hasn't been that I don't want to go, life just keeps getting in the way. The school year is coming to a close and there are the end of the year activities like assemblies, recitals and final exams. I look at...
The Balance of Yes & No.
By Dana Gornall My name is no My sign is no My number is no You need to let it go You need to let it go Need to let it go No, By Meghan Trainor I'm a yes woman. Many of you may have heard this as a phrase to describe a kind of guy that is a...
A Mind Disturbed.
By Dana Gornall "When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way, nothing in the world can offend, and when a thing can no longer offend, it ceases to exist in the old way...If you wish to move in the One Way do not dislike even the world of senses and...
Buddhism Says These 5 Things are What Holds Us Back.
By Dana Gornall Every day she takes a morning bath she wets her hair Wraps a towel around her as she's heading for the bedroom chair It's just another day Slipping into stockings, stepping into shoes Dipping in the pocket of her raincoat It's just another day...
My Yoga Pants Stink: A Tale of Imperfection.
By Dana Gornall I can't think straight, I'm so gay Sometimes I cry a whole day I care a lot, use an analog clock And never know when to stop And I'm passive, aggressive I'm scared of the dark and the dentist I love my butt and won't shut up And I never really...
The Yoga Slut: The Beginning.
By Dana Gornall Slut: noun 1. Disparaging and Offensive. a sexually promiscuous woman, or a woman who behaves or dresses in an overtly sexual way. 2. Informal. a person with a seemingly insatiable but often undiscerning desire to do or have something specified:...