The Daily Downward Dog Blog
Inspiring Stories, Cool Yoga Playlists, and Yoga Tips!
There’s No Such Thing as Cheating in Yoga
I’m really lucky in that I’m blessed with an awesome group of girlfriends. I recently had a bunch of them come to visit me for a girls’ weekend and invited them to bring along their yoga mats if they wanted to catch one of my beach yoga classes. Here is how one of my...
Are You a Locavore?
So I guess if I had to have labels I could be called a redheaded, pescatarian, middle-aged, Midwestern yoga nerd, and none of those labels would bother me one bit. And, I’m proud to say that I now have a new label: “locavore.” Just what is a locavore, you ask? It...
Up on a Yoga Mat
It’s summer, and one of my favorite things to do is go see James Taylor perform live at an outdoor venue. I didn’t make it to his concert this year, so instead I pulled out my James Taylor greatest hits albums to get my JT fix. And, like most things in my life these...
Daily Downward Dog 15 Seconds of Fame!
Sharing a little TV love today with a video clip from the July 27 New Day Cleveland show on Fox8. David Moss visited Vermilion, Ohio, and along with the entire production team behind New Day Cleveland, put together an incredible show that showcased Vermilion as a road...
The Goddess Project
I’ve always been a big fan of the goddesses. A picture of Lakshmi the goddess of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity, and courage is hanging on the wall by my desk both in reverence and to remind me to be...
Cool Yoga Music – On Sale!
Does your yoga music collection need a little summer refresh? Well the awesome folks over at White Swan Records put a whole bunch of their music on sale, so you can fill up your iPods with fresh tunes from Wah!, Donna DeLory, Suzanne Sterling, Go Ray & Duke, and...
Be Good To Yourself
One of the teachings of yoga that I love is the emphasis on self-love. Yoga is about honoring your body and learning to accept and love yourself. Despite this love fest that takes place on our yoga mats, most of us are still guilty of beating ourselves up, not taking...
There’s Plenty of Fast Out There
I often marvel about the number of things I encounter in an average day that relate to my yoga practice and can bring a spark of inspiration for a class theme. The other morning said inspiration came from a sixty-second radio commercial for insurance. I was driving up...
Never Give Up
I’m too old for yoga. I’m too inflexible for yoga. I’m too overweight for yoga. I’m too [fill in the blank] for yoga. Need a little inspiration to get you off your ass? Watch the video below. It will only take 4:55 minutes of your time, and I guarantee you will be...
The New Yoga Playlist Standard – MC Yogi Pilgrimage
I’ll never forget the first time I was in a yoga class and a rap song came on the playlist. It wasn’t your standard fare hip-hop or rap song full of tough street lyrics. Nope, this rap song was praising the freshness of Ganesh! Thank you, Deb Kistner, of Nirvana Yoga...
Confessions of a Kombucha Virgin
I attended a lunch with a bunch of my fellow yoga teachers a while back, and the subject of the conversation moved to kombucha. I didn’t want to admit that I had no idea what it was, so I just listened intently as they went on about this wonder elixir. I remember...
7 Steps to Happiness
I can’t take credit for this, but I’d like to share these simple, straightforward steps to happiness from Jason Wachob over at MindBodyGreen.com, who originally found them on happinessinyourlife.com. Hey, when you find a little happiness, you gotta keep paying it...
A Tale of Two Yoga Mats – Part 2
Two Trips, Two Yoga Mats, Two Tales. I bet you all were anxiously waiting for the second tale and thought I forgot! Ha ha, not to worry—my problem is that I have too many tales to tell about my awesome experiences at the NY Yoga Journal Conference and Tadasana...
Let’s Get More Dads on the Mat
As a girl growing up, I loved doing things with my dad. He was a busy guy running his own business and raising five kids, but when he had the time, it was always extra special to do things with him. I used to love to go on hikes with him, go skiing together, and help...
Asana Wishes and Headstand Dreams – Recap #1
Back in December of 2011, I put a stake in the ground and proclaimed that bakasana (crow pose) was my 2012 dream pose. And if that wasn’t good enough, I even went as far to proclaim that by the end of the year I was setting my sights to master parsva bakasana (side...
The Power of a Runner’s (or Yoga) High
I’m here to tell you that one of the many reasons why I love yoga is the incredible blissed out (yoga high) feeling I get when I finish up a practice. The muscles in my body are tingling, the oxygen-rich blood from all that pranayama breathing is pumping through my...
Thai and Fly
On my quest to try out the many flavors of yoga, I had no doubt I would find some new ones to try when in Los Angeles for the Tadasana Festival. My search didn’t take long as I soon happened upon the lovely yoginis from Yoga at the Raven, offering Acro Yoga sessions...
The Power of Pranayama
I love it when a student tells me that they took something they learned in one of my yoga classes off the mat and into their world. I think that, for any teacher, this just may be one of the most gratifying elements – to know that you have passed on a valuable...
Eat Local, Eat Healthy, Practice Ahimsa!
I have always wanted to join a Community Share Agriculture (CSA) program. The concept is simple: local farmers grow healthy organic food right in your ‘hood. You support these farmers by purchasing a share of their crop and, in exchange, get to eat delicious,...
Lady in Red – C.C. White – Bringing Soul Kirtan
So you’ve been to a kirtan and enjoyed the experience. Maybe you listened in at first, then got the courage to sing along, and enjoyed watching the crowd of dancers in the back of the room let go of their inhibitions as the music moves them. Kirtan, call-and-response...
Beaches, Beginners & Bliss
I just want to go on the record to say that I have the best summer job ever. Not only do I get to teach yoga, but I get to do it on a beach! I am thrilled to announce that I will be back on the beautiful shores of Lake Erie in Vermilion and Huron, Ohio this summer to...
Covers, Acoustical, and Chinmaya – Oh, My!
Yikes, it’s been a few months since I posted a Daily Downward Dog yoga class playlist. Sorry about that! My playlists have morphed into a mix of mellower music with fewer words in the songs mashed up with some more lively tunes for the flowing sequences of class. I’ve...
Yoga – You Don’t Have to Be Good At It!
I come from an advertising background, so I’m always in search of a good slogan – a few catchy words that sum up a product’s essence and also just so happen to look good on a t-shirt. Not that I was looking for a slogan or tagline for yoga, but sometimes a great one...
Let it Green, Let it Green, Let it Green!
I’m starting this post out with a big WOO HOO! And that comes courtesy of the simple fact that winter in northeast Ohio is officially over. Spring has sprung, and those of us lucky enough to live in Ohio (yeah – I really feel that way!) can forget about letting it...
A Tale of Two Yoga Mats
Two trips, two yoga mats, two tales. I recently got to combine my love of yoga and travel when I journeyed to the New York Yoga Journal Conference in New York City and the Tadasana Festival in Santa Monica, California. On recent trips to Florida and Arizona, I didn’t...
Top 10 Reasons Why Tadasana Festival ROCKED!
My mind is still bursting from all the incredible energy, learning, and inspiration I received last weekend, when I was lucky to attend the very first Tadasana Festival in Santa Monica, California, with the 3-day pass I scored from itsallyogababy.com. My full recap...
P-R-A-C-T-I-C-E
prac·tice/ˈpraktəs/ Verb: Perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain (or dare I say perfect) one’s proficiency. Throughout my life, the word “practice” has taken on many meanings and evoked many different...
Cirque du Soleil, I’m Ready!
Just putting it out there to the folks at Cirque du Soleil: when you need an aging, experienced aerial acrobat, I’m available! And, I’m here to tell you that you may just feel the same way after you attend your first aerial yoga class. On my recent visit to Phoenix, I...
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
I’m always searching for new ways to demystify yoga and find definitions to some of the key Sanskrit terms to help new students understand and feel at ease with the practice. One of my favorite posts I’ve ever written is Namaste 101, which provided an awesome...
50 Life (and Yogic) Lessons
When I first picked up Regina Brett’s book God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours, I have to admit I was intrigued but also a little put off that it might be too religious or preachy. I gave it a chance, and I’m so glad that I did because this little...