Jun 25, 2014 |
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 song.
Get ready for some happening harmoniums, musical mantras, and soothing savasana serenades perfect for your home yoga practice or to put together an awesome yoga class playlist.
Because I’m Happy!
I started out my yoga classes a few weeks ago with a few poetic lines from one of my favorite songs these days.
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth.
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you.
Because I’m happy!
If you have not heard these lyrics – you must not have turned on your radio in the last few months because “Happy” by Pharrell Williams has been a big hit this year.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/y6Sxv-sUYtM[/youtube]
I especially like the second verse of the song where Pharrell starts singing about bad news. He says, “Give me all you got, don’t hold it back, because I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine. No offense to you, don’t waste your time. Here’s why: because I’m happy.”
Hummm, I wonder if Pharrell practices yoga because he obviously is really in touch with the concept of santosha, or contentment.
Santosha is part of the eight limbs of yoga and is one of the niyamas. From the translation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda, the definition of santosha is being content with what you have and where you are at, instead of wishing for things you don’t have, or daydreaming of the future. Santosha is living in the present and feeling true satisfaction. And, here’s the kicker: When you have this kind of contentment, supreme joy is attained. In other words, living in the present leads to HAPPINESS.
In his hit single, Pharrell is basically telling the bearer of bad news, “Hey, I’m not ignoring the issues of my life. What I’m doing is practicing santosha so that even in the midst of all these challenges, I can be content. I can be happy by practicing happiness and contentment with what I have right here, right now. Don’t try to bring me down, because I am HAPPY! Woo Hoo!”
Yes, even Pharrell likes to bust out a big Woo Hoo when he’s happy.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t help but feel happy when I hear this song, and for that very reason, it has become my new favorite yoga theme song. I’ve used it as a theme for my yoga classes, on my yoga class playlists, and to dance around the yoga studio while I set up for classes (i.e., while I’m raking the beach for beach yoga classes). I bought the song from iTunes and have it on my phone and listen to it whenever I need a little fix of santosha happiness.
It reminds me to think about what happiness means to me, to bring a little dance and smile to everything I do, and that being happy is what life is about. I was really touched when a few people sent me links to “Happy” and told me it made them think of me 🙂
Pharrell, you got it right: Happiness is the truth.
Here are a few more of my favorite yoga theme songs:
Today is Going to Be the Best Day of My Life
A Lovely (Yoga) Day and awesome song parody!
You Just Got to Believe – Believe in Yourself
Or, head on over to the Cool Yoga Music page on The Daily Downward Dog for all my yoga theme songs, cool yoga playlists, and featured yoga musical artists!
Click to find out more about upcoming Daily Downward Dog yoga retreats! Come join us!
Jun 18, 2014 |
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 by the end of the summer, or how at times I have been teaching yoga classes on the beach in the rain with gale force winds, or my thrill of getting into salamba sirasana on a standup paddleboard, but I’ve got an even better adventure story to tell.
Last April I taught my very first yoga retreat in Aruba. At the time I announced the retreat, I had no idea if anyone would sign up. It had always been my dream to combine my love of yoga and travel, so I took a leap of faith, followed my heart, and booked a ticket to Aruba. Then I invited anyone and everyone who wanted to join me, and 10 awesome yogini goddesses came along. You may not agree, but I think that took some big yoga-lovin’ balls!
My first Beach Yoga Bliss yoga retreat in Aruba!
I have been blessed to lead three more yoga retreats since then (Firefly Beach, SKIASANA, and Beach Yoga Bliss II). And I’m not stopping now!
Getting adventurous on the ski slopes in Stowe, Vermont during SKIASANA
My biggest yoga retreat adventure is now official. In September 2015, I will be leading the I Am Love Beach Yoga Bliss retreat in Santorini, Greece!
The mantra for the week will be “I Am Love,” and together we’ll learn how to live that mantra, letting go of fear, stress, or whatever else is keeping your from living out your intentions and opening your heart wide open to love. So this announcement comes with a big honking WOO HOO!
I can’t wait to practice yoga and meditate on this deck overlooking the sapphire blue waters of the Aegean Sea. There will be twice daily yoga sessions. The morning sessions are reserved for a spirited, all-levels asana and meditation practice, and the late afternoon sunset classes are restorative with more time for sweet meditation. A few of the evening sessions will include therapeutic myofascial release with Yoga Tune-Up® Therapy Balls (see I really do have balls) and yoga nidra for deep relaxation.
We are going to have plenty of adventure exploring the island and enjoying the picturesque red and black sand beaches, trying out the Vinsanto local wine (I can speak from experience that it is yummy), visiting ancient ruins, and chillaxing at one of the hotel’s many pools, which also sport gorgeous views of the sea.
This is the farthest I’ve ventured on any of my yoga retreats, so grab your passport and come along! You can read more about the retreat here including testimonials from the yogis who have attended past retreats, and reservations can be made through The Travel Yogi. Space is limited; book early to save a spot for your yoga mat on that gorgeous seaside deck!
Speaking of having balls, I have to say the folks at Icebreaker Merino have big kahunas to make yoga wear that is made out of wool. I don’t know about you, but wool is not a fabric that comes to mind when I’m thinking about getting dressed for a beach yoga class. But this is not your mother’s itchy wool; this is lightweight merino wool that naturally keeps your cool. If you are unfamiliar with merino wool, here’s a little Merino 101. Icebreaker is dedicated to sustainability and ethical business practices and I’m thinking I may just have to plan a future yoga retreat in New Zealand because it looks gorgeous there!
To me, having balls is the same thing as letting go of fear and opening your heart to go after your dreams. I’d love to hear how you exercise courage either on or off your yoga mat. Leave a comment below to let me know the most adventurous thing you’ve done lately.
I’ll keep you posted on my quest to get into handstand. If you can’t wait until September 2015, my next yoga retreat will be on the beautiful island of Aruba – April 11-18, 2015 and you can book it now through The Travel Yogi.
Click to find out more about upcoming Daily Downward Dog yoga retreats! Come join us!
May 22, 2014 |
I cannot even control the excitement over here at DDD headquarters because the Beach Yoga season is about to start in just 2 days! Wootie Woo Hoo! If you thought winter would never end, well it has baby, and we are springing our way right into summer! It’s time to roll out your beach yoga mat on the sandy shores of Lake Erie, bask in the sunlight, listen to the waves, and go from stressed out to blissed out.
Firefly Beach Yoga classes begin this Saturday, May 24 at 8:30 AM. The following weekend the full schedule kicks in with classes on Saturday, May 31, Sunday, June 1, and the first Wednesday night sunset beach yoga class on June 4 at 7:30 PM.
Linwood Beach sunset beach yoga classes begin on Tuesday, June 3 and run through August 26.
Main Street Beach Vermilion classes begin on Monday, June 9 and run through September 1. This year I’ve added a Friday morning class at Main Street.
And…there will be Full Moon Yoga Classes in July, August, and September!
Click to find out more about upcoming Daily Downward Dog yoga retreats! Come join us!
Hope to see you on the beach this summer!!
Kelleys Island Beach Yoga & Wellness Retreat * September 11-14, 2014
Please join us September 11-14, on the idyllic Kelleys Island, for a weekend of beach yoga bliss and wellness. The festivities begin on Thursday, September 11, with a weekend reflexology workshop, and the yoga kicks off Friday evening with a sunset yoga and meditation class and continues through Sunday with lots of time to explore the island, have a chakradance experience, and perhaps indulge yourself with a Thai massage. There’s nothing better than doing your daily downward dogs basking in the sun, with a yoga class playlist courtesy of the rolling Lake Erie surf, and cool breezes brushing across your face. Come breathe, stretch, dance, relax, and find your bliss on Kelleys Island!
Beach Yoga picture by Laura Watilo Blake and taken on the gorgeous Linwood Beach in Vermilion, Ohio!
Apr 16, 2014 |
I have to say that these last few weeks of teaching yoga have been an absolute delight and full of creativity. Even though it was cold and snowing like crazy on March 29, a packed house at Yoga Bliss Akron heated it up so it felt as hot as Jamaica, and the picture was complete with their reggae mat dancing during my Yoga of Bob Marley class.
Last Saturday, I got to hang out with the coolest group of dead-icated yogis doing deadhead downward dogs during my Yoga of the Grateful Dead class. And, it has been a blast putting together all of the inspirational classes I will lead during the Beach Yoga Bliss II retreat in Aruba (woo hoo, can’t wait to get on that plane and head to the Caribbean on April 22!).
Putting together these special themed classes has been challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding to spread my wings and combine three things I’m really passionate about: yoga, music, and travel. Here are just a few highlights that have made these classes so cool to teach!
1) Reggae Dancer. When I was planning the Bob Marley and Grateful Dead classes, part of the flows included dancing. For both classes, I worried whether or not anyone would dance. I don’t know why; I guess it’s something an author or musician tends to worry about – whether or not what they’ve created will be infectious enough for people to let go and give into the rhythm. I’m happy to report that my worries were for naught. All the yogis danced and flowed on their yoga mats, and it was awesome to see and to dance along with them.
2) Dead-icated. At the beginning of the Grateful Dead class, I asked the attendees how many of them had been to a Grateful Dead concert. One gentleman had been to 3 shows, another 80, and unbelievably one woman announced that she had been to 200 shows. Wowza! I was just a little intimidated and in awe of the knowledge of the Dead she must have. I wonder if I could convince her to travel around the world to all of my Yoga of the Grateful Dead classes*? It made me stop and think about how dedicated I am to my yoga practice.
3) Deadhead Confessions. I admitted to the class that I had never been to a concert or been a huge fan of the group until I started to put together this class. But when I really started to listen to their music as I put the set list (aka playlist) together, I found myself adding song after song to the point where it really became a struggle to narrow down my top choices. With all the recorded live versions of their music available, the exploration of Grateful Dead’s creations could go on and on. Being the confessed new fan that I am, I’m planning to keep on truckin’ and listening (and flowing) along.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/8lCMUkqpI7o[/youtube]
One of my new Grateful Dead favorites “Shakedown Street”
Love is Shaking on Shakedown Street!
4) Masters of Improvisation. Every Grateful Dead concert had periods where the band improvised, and that is where the magic and freedom began. We did the same thing on our mats, giving ourselves permission to deviate from the flow and let loose into improvisational or freedom-style yoga. I told the group they could start by plugging into the flow I had just taught them, or they could improvise their very own movement – to let themselves loop in, feel the vibe, tune into the music and into the asanas, and let their vinyasas and their breath dance. I was first exposed to freedom-style yoga by Erich Schiffmann, and it is always a treat to get to share this liberating practice with others.
5) Hubby Yoga. I just had to smile when my husband showed up for the Grateful Dead class since he does not have a regular yoga practice. Not only did he show up, but he came to the studio with his Vernice Vita yoga mat and NamaSTAY Yoga Towel so he could be dead-icated to his yoga flows with slip-free comfort!
6) Listening to the Universe. Sometimes you get an idea to do something and then just sit on it. The idea to create the yoga classes tied to the yoga teachings of Bob Marley, the Grateful Dead, and the Beatles came to me over a year ago, but I didn’t act on it right away. Fortunately, there were a few people in my life who lit a fire under my ass and encouraged me to put them together: sharing song suggestions and concert experiences to relay the messages from the universe I needed to keep the dream of these classes alive. Thank you, Joe, Vernon, and Mike!
Image via tumblr.com
7) Encore! I am super excited that I have one more class to go in this music series. The Yoga of the Beatles is coming up Friday, May 16, at Yoga Bliss Akron from 6:30 – 8:30 PM. *After that I’m ready to take these classes on tour, so if you would like more information about the series or would like to book them at your yoga studio, please contact me at maria @ dailydownwarddog.com or (330) 289-7026.
I’m feeling blessed, energized, and grateful to Bob, the Beatles, and the Grateful Dead for the inspiration, incredible music, and for living their yoga off the mat through their music and the way they cared and showed compassion for all beings.
Mar 14, 2014 |
Well, the 2014 movie awards season may have come to an end, but it’s not too late to get dressed up (in some snazzy yoga pants from Onzie), roll out the extra-long red yoga mat, and hand out the 2014 YOGAR Awards!
What are the YOGARs, you ask? Just a groovy little award presentation I’ve been doing since 2010 to recognize the cool yoga experiences, music, and people who have made the last year completely yogalicious.
In 2013, I added a new twist by asking my yoga students to nominate their favorite asanas, and then I themed my yoga classes around their picks during the week of the Oscars. This year, I’m skipping the nominations and going straight to the awards! 
BEST ASANA
Adho mukha savasana (downward dog) is always a big contender, followed up strongly by savasana (corpse), but this year I’ve got to give the award to eka pada rajakapotasana (one-legged king pigeon). Eka P. R. and I never experience drama – only a sweet, long, juicy release for my hips, thighs, shoulders, and low back. Thank you, Eka!
BEST SCENERY (Cinematography) for YOGA
Wow, the competition was tough in this category as I got to practice yoga on the Caribbean beaches of Aruba, the mountains of Colorado, the shores of Cinque Terre in Italy, and in Mykonos, Greece. But, nothing beats a hometown sunset, and the YOGAR award goes to the stunning views on the beaches of Lake Erie at Linwood Park, Main Street Beach Vermilion, and Firefly Beach in Huron, Ohio. During the evening sunset classes in particular, you could not ask for better cinematography while looking out at the colors of the sunset painted on the sky and water as the waves crashed up on the beach. The picture below beautifully captures one of my favorite scenes from the summer Beach Yoga Bliss retreat held at Firefly Beach.
BEST YOGA MOMENT
It was a big year for yoga in my life, and some of the top moments included having a swarm of yogis show up at Firefly Beach for a full moon yoga class I taught over the summer, attending a live music class with Girish,
Blissed out at Yoga Bliss with Girish!
and practicing yoga with over 1,600 yogis in front of the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland as part of the Believe in CLE event. The best yoga moment, though, goes to how incredible I felt when practicing yoga on the beach in Aruba right after I finished teaching the last class of my very first Beach Yoga Bliss retreat. It was a combination of sheer exhaustion and utter delight when I realized that one of my dreams had just come true, and the accompanying feeling was both exhilarating and moving as it brought me to tears of joy.
Teaching yoga in Aruba!
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Hands down my favorite yoga wear this past year has been from the colorful and unique prints and designs from Onzie. I just got to try out their new spring line, and it rocks.
These capris in the Meadow print have a waistband that fits really snug, stays put, and is super comfortable.
Onzie’s All in One Tank Top completed my YOGAR winning ensemble with free-flowing jersey fabric that has all the right moves: snug and secure in the lined built-in-bra, loose fitting around the belly (love that), longer length to cover the hip area, and a really cool looking back!
Head on over to the Onzie website to check out their new collection, but make sure you have more than a few minutes because their array of 15 creative and playful fabric designs for their capris makes it hard to pick just one style.
BEST DIRECTOR
Yoga teacher, storyteller, and really funny guy David Rominelli at Studio Oxygen in Canfield, Ohio
Best Director. My teachers last year included stand-up paddle-boarding and inversions with Rachel Brathen in Aruba, and wine and chocolate after a vinyasa practice with lots of great storytelling and laughter from David Rominelli.
Full of Bliss after practicing with Rachel Brathen in Aruba
But I have to give this one to yogini goddess Angela Farmer, who I had the privilege of studying with for a few days in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Angela taught me a lot about listening and trusting my body. To remember to look deeply into ourselves and when we do we can go on a journey where new things will open up for us.
BEST MUSIC
As great as it is, Pharrell William’s catchy feel-good song “Happy” did not win the Oscar, and it didn’t win the YOGAR. But it definitely has a fond place in one of my yoga class playlists. “Best Day of My Life” by American Authors also was nominated, but the award this year is going to one of the coolest albums for yoga class playlists, Jahta Beat The Lotus Memoirs by DJ Drez and, in particular, the song “For What It’s Worth,” which graced my yoga class playlists countless times.
BEST SHORT FEATURE
Well, of course, the Hang Ten Meditation videos completely swept this category. If you have ten minutes, take a break and enjoy a guided meditation with me and the sound of the waves. In my acceptance speech, I’ve got to thank Greg and Candice Slawson of GC Creative Studios for their expert work in bringing these videos to life. Maybe this year I’ll try an animated version. 😉
[youtube]http://youtu.be/DWXo8klEqVo[/youtube]
BEST SUPPORTING ASANA
This one goes out to the City of Vermilion and the Vermilion School Board for giving me a home for my yoga classes throughout the summer and winter months. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Got a special moment from 2013 you would like to share, or something or someone you want to give a shout-out to? Please leave a comment below to join in the YOGAR celebration! I can’t wait to see what yoga in the year 2014 will bring!
You can catch up on the last few years of YOGAR winners here…
1st Annual YOGAR winners
2nd Annual YOGAR winners
3rd Annual YOGAR winners
