The Daily Downward Dog Blog
Inspiring Stories, Cool Yoga Playlists, and Yoga Tips!
YOGA in the 330!
I'm proud to say that Akron, Ohio is my hood. Long known for where the rubber hits the road, it will soon be known as where the yoga raises the vibration of LOVE, after hundreds of yogis roll out their yoga mats and join together as a community on a huge university...
Enjoy Your Life
I couldn't come back from my yoga retreat in Greece without a bunch of stories, and here is one I'd like to share about a restaurant owner on the island of Naxos. It is a story about trust, kindness, selfless service – and has an added bonus of a helpful little mantra...
Woo Hoo I’m Baaaack!
Happy October Yogis! I am so excited to be back in Ohio after a few weeks filled with Top Thrill Yoga and the most awesOMe adventure in Greece. I am full of inspiration, stories, and beautiful photos from the I Am Love Yoga retreat in Santorini, so stay tuned over the...
Top Thrill Yoga
A note from The Daily Downward Dog: This post originally ran on July 17, 2012. As I prepare for the Top Thrill Yoga Retreat at The Hotel Breakers this August 28-30, I pulled this out of the archives for inspiration and thought you might like to read it too! I...
Yoga Songs for the Sangha and The Road
Looking for some cool new yoga music to use as the soundtrack for your yoga and meditation practice? I know I'm always looking for beautiful music for my yoga class playlists, so I'm really excited to turn you onto three new CDs that were just recently released by my...
Homeworkasana
I am in the midst of my 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training, knee deep in yoga texts, self study, and special projects, and loving this incredible journey to becoming a certified 500-hour Yoga Teacher. One of my homework assignments this month comes straight from a book we...
Do Yoga Pants Have Special Powers?
It's official and I'm extremely happy to report that I have reached the point in my life where I own more yoga pants than I do grown up dress pants. The staple in my closet used to be black power pant suits, now my power pants are a plethora of colorful and unique...
Top Thrill Yoga Retreat!
I've had many requests to lead a yoga retreat on a beach that didn't require securing an international passport, or being far from family for a whole week. For those of you who want to get away from it all, dip your toes in the sand, and relax and recharge at a really...
Are You Creating a Life of Bliss?
I have a new favorite mantra that I shared in my yoga classes this week. I wish the words were my own, but they are the beautiful and inspiring words of Buddha. What You Feel, You Attract. I put the mantra right to work on Monday morning, when I started to think about...
Less Stress, More Beach (YOGA)
How about making this your mantra for the summer: Less Stress, More BEACH! That shouldn't be hard to do with the summer beach yoga schedule I have planned. I am thrilled to say that tomorrow (May 23) kicks off the fifth year of bringing beach yoga to the beautiful...
Find Your Inner Buddha Smile
Have you ever noticed that every time you see an image of Buddha he is always smiling? Check it all of the images below; the man always has a big grin on his face. Sometimes his eyes are open, but in most cases his eyes are closed as he is deep in meditation – deep in...
Lizardasana
I just returned home from leading my third Beach Yoga Bliss yoga retreat in Aruba, and as I was preparing my yoga classes this week, I thought about how my students would expect me to share a super inspirational story about the experience. No doubt it was an...
The Loving Kindness Yogathon
I have a confession to make: I got the inspiration for this post when I was in a bathroom. While in the WC I took the opportunity to check out the artwork hanging on the walls, and a lovely collage of magazine clippings all about yoga, love, and kindness caught my...
Word of the Day: Ease
The yoga teacher training program started up recently at Yoga Bliss Akron, and I got the opportunity to speak with quite a few of the trainees just before the program started. I wanted to wish them well and to tell them how excited I was for their journey. As I spoke...
My Wish for You on Your Yoga Journey
Last month, a lovely young woman named Erin showed up for one of my classes at Yoga Bliss Akron. She came up to introduce herself since she was new to the yoga studio, and I was immediately impressed by this really incredible energy about her. She proceeded to tell me...
I Have the Power to Manifest My Dreams
Don't you just love that headline? I am especially fond of it, but I’m biased because it is my official mantra of 2015! I am a big believer in forgetting about setting New Year's resolutions and instead adopting a few meaningful mantras to keep you focused, peaceful,...
Shop Goddess
I'm all for shopping local, but how about putting a different spin on that and shopping goddess! Yeah, support a business that is owned and operated by a goddess, or a product that has been created by a goddess. I count myself blessed to know and work with so many...
How to Live an Awesome Life!
This article first appeared on Elephant Journal back on December 6, 2012. It carries a message that is near and dear to my heart, so I thought I would dust it off and share it again. A few years ago I attended a sold-out yoga workshop given by Kathryn Budig, an...
Do What You Love!
The secret to happiness is doing what you love. The secret to success is loving what you do. I have to admit that right now, I am REALLY HAPPY! I am absolutely loving what I do and I'm really excited to announce upcoming yoga workshops and new yoga classes that I am...
Use Extra Care with Yoga; It Might Just Change Your Life!
I had the opportunity this summer to provide yoga assists at one of the coolest yoga events I’ve ever attended. A group called BelieveinCLE was formed in 2013 to bring together yogis throughout northern Ohio in some pretty sweet venues to collectively raise the...
Recovery 2.0
Before the month of September is over, I want to bring attention to the fact that it is National Recovery Month. If you or someone you know has ever dealt with addiction of any form – be it drugs, alcohol, food, smoking, or gambling – and are looking for tools to help...
SUPtember!
Woo Hoo...we are going to yoga and standup paddle board our ways right into September this Labor Day weekend! Please plan to join me this coming Saturday, August 30, at Firefly Beach in Huron for beach yoga and meditation at 8:30 AM followed by back-to-back standup...
Islandasana
Who doesn’t want to escape to an island for a few days to get away from it all, soak up some sun, sip fruity drinks, and have a few adventures? Better yet, how cool would it be to attend a yoga retreat while visiting such an island? If you live in northeast Ohio, you...
The Downward Dog Days of Summer (Beach Yoga Tales)
I have to say that this summer of beach yoga has been filled with some pretty magical and funny moments so far, and I've got some pretty great stories to tell and weave into my yoga class themes. So far a few surprises include finding this beautiful heart of flowers...
Sparkly Joy!
I’ll be the first one to admit that I am a total geek, and today I not only proved my geekdom but spread a little joy while doing so at Angel Nails in Vermilion. I woke up to gray skies and rain this Saturday morning, but that did not stop me from having a peaceful...
Super Full Moon Yoga & Beach Yoga Updates!
Woo hoo - the beach yoga in Vermilion and Huron has been a blast this summer and I'm sending out big hugs to everyone who has shown up to practice with me on the lovely shores of Lake Erie. Summer is heating up and so are the activities at beach yoga! Check out all...
Mantras, Beats & Meditations
MC Yogi’s Mantras, Beats, & Meditations has been in my car’s CD player for the last month, and it may just be the coolest yoga music CD I’ve ever listened to. But I admit: up until I heard this new album, I was saying that about his last one, Pilgrimage. Using a...
Because I’m Happy!
Holy cow – it has been way too long since I’ve written about cool yoga music! So, to make up for my yoga playlist slacking, I’ve decided that my next few blog posts will be dedicated to CD reviews, cool summer yoga and music events, and my new favorite yoga theme...
Do You Have Balls?
Can you believe I recently got an email from the folks at Icebreaker Merino posing that question? These New Zealanders wanted to know how I was bringing adventure into my yoga practice. I could tell them about my quest to get into handstand without the aid of a wall...
The Crazy Awesome Yoga Retreat
Well, another Beach Yoga Bliss retreat is in the books, and I couldn’t help but recap all the reasons why Beach Yoga Bliss II in Aruba more than just rocked. It was crazy awesome this year, and here are a few reasons why. Walk This Way. Yoga wasn’t the only physical...