Nov 27, 2012 |
I’m a big fan of online yoga video websites. Of course, nothing beats going to a live yoga class, but when you get busy, especially during this hectic month of December, you may have a hard time making it to a yoga studio at the exact time when they offer classes (like those nights when taking a class at 10 PM seems like a swell idea).
The beauty of online video classes is that you can do them WHENEVER YOU HAVE THE TIME and wherever you have an internet connection. They offer flexibility in terms of length, yoga style, intensity, and an amazing variety of different teachers.
I’ve written about My Yoga Online and Do Yoga With Me, and now I’d like to share the top ten reasons why I’m digging Yoga Download.
1) Free pose guides (this is the coolest feature!) – If you like a class and want to do it again, each class has a pose guide you can download as a PDF. These guides show the sequence of yoga poses from the class, and under each pose picture is the name of the yoga pose. You can save these guides to your computer and print them out for a visual reference during class or to use again for your own home practice.
2) Try it out for FREE first – Yoga Download offers 47 classes that you can try for free. The free class is 20 minutes, and if you like it you can try out the longer versions of these classes. There is a huge variety of free offerings like Jivamukti, Power Baptiste, Forrest Yoga, Anusara, Yin, Prenatal, and Pilates, to name a few. If you’ve always wanted to try out these different styles of yoga, now you can for FREE.
3) Stream it or Download it – If you are one of those people who like to buy the DVDs of your favorite movies, Yoga Download has an option like this. Try a video first, and if you love it, you can download it and keep it forever.
4) Chill-out yoga music – There’s a whole section of chillaxing style yoga music you can check out and purchase. If you dig electronic and organic instrumentals and are looking for some cool new tunes for your yoga classes, you’ll find a great selection of new artists and styles here. For each featured album you can view the tracklist, listen to a portion of each track, and either buy individual tracks or the full album.
5) Community – Yoga Download gives a portion of their proceeds to these organizations: The American Cancer Society, Foundation for International Community Assistance Small Loans (FINCA), Big Changes, Plan USA – Helping Children Through Sponsorship, and Cambodian Children’s Fund. In fact they’ve developed a special class, Yoga for Cancer Survivors, and for every download, they donate 50% of the fee to the American Cancer Society.
6) Awesome pricing plans – For just $10, you can get unlimited streaming classes for a month. For $24, you get unlimited streaming for 3 months, and for $90, unlimited streaming for a whole year! If you want to add downloads to that, it costs just a little more. Don’t want to commit to a full month or year? You can stream most classes for a $1.99 a la carte price.
7) Stress release – Yeah, December is a tough month. Let yoga get you through this stressful time with classes like Yoga for Anxiety and Yoga for Back Pain.
Shiva Rea live at Tadasana Festival 2012
8) Shiva Rea’s Solar and Lunar Flow classes are available! – I got to attend a few of Shiva’s classes at Tadasana Festival, and they rocked! If you can’t make it out to one of her live classes, this is the next best thing.
9) Great gift idea – Yoga Download is the perfect gift for a busy friend or someone you know who doesn’t live near a yoga studio. Give the gift of unlimited yoga for a month or a year to someone you love!
10) Yoga for Peace –Yoga Download established the Yoga For Peace program to show support for American troops overseas and current members of the Peace Corps. In the true spirit of yoga, the entire Yoga Download catalogue is available FREE to active duty servicemen and women as their way of thanking those who have offered themselves to a greater mission.
If you or anyone you know is serving in the armed forces or Peace Corps and would like access to free yoga classes, please send an email to help@yogadownload.com for more information.
![When The Lights Go Out…In The Yoga Room]()
Nov 13, 2012 |
Don’t you just love that moment in yoga class when you’re a big sweaty mess and the teacher turns the lights down? It symbolizes that class is almost over, it’s time to slow down, and there are just a few more asanas until…savasana.
If it’s been a spirited yoga class, one where your energy is just about completely drained, this crossover from light to dark is an oh so welcome relief, almost a blessing in disguise. On the other hand, I have taken classes where I am so in the moment that the lighting cue has pleasantly surprised me, and I think, “Wow, I can’t believe class is almost over. Time flies when you’re finding your bliss; I don’t want it to end!”
I had both of these sensations last weekend in a one hour-and-a-half, hot and sweaty class led by Canadian kirtan and indie pop-rock musician and yoga teacher Wade Imre Morissette. Wade took the packed hot yoga room at Chagrin Yoga through a vigorous vinyasa flow class titled Summon Your Power. This humid room was so full of powerful intentions swirling about that, at one point when I took my camera out to capture a few pictures for the DDD, the lens on my camera was completely fogged up.
Wow – it was hot in that room! But, I still enjoyed getting an assist in a drop back.
Wade’s friendly, soothing voice and simple yet precise cues sprinkled with humor took me to a place of bliss, and when those lights went down, I got an overwhelming feeling of relief: “Aahhhh, class is almost over. You made it!” As much as I didn’t want the class to end, it couldn’t have gotten much sweeter than when Wade serenaded us all through the dark into a soothing savasana.
The Premature Lights Go Down
Those last few moments of class spent in darkness should always be peaceful, quieting the mind. A few more long, deep stretches or twists should be reserved for this moment, preparing the class for savasana.
Sometimes this is not the case, and the instructor pulls a premature lights go down. I know I’m not the only one who has experienced this. You’re in class, you’re tired, the instructor turns down the lights, you get yourself psyched up for savasana, and then the instructor gets the class back up into a standing pose or starts doing core work. My first thought is always, “What the heck? The lights are down; this is not the time or the place for stomach crunches!”
Call me old school, but seriously, when those lights go down, it should be followed by one to two mellow supta asanas that flow right into good ‘ole savasana and some soothing savasana music.
Setting the mood
Time for confessions: When I first started teaching yoga, I have to admit there were many times I forgot to turn the lights down. Yes, I was denying my students those blissful last few minutes of class in the dark. Thankfully, I remember to do so now, and I’m always mindful not to pull the premature lights go down.
I sometimes wonder what students who are completely new to yoga think when I turn the lights down near the end of class. I’m sure I’ve raised quite a few people’s angst levels when those lights take them from a safe bright place to a dark room full of strangers. When I first started practicing yoga, I don’t remember this ever catching me off-guard, but I would love to hear from any of you that have had an interesting first-time story about this. How did you work past the anxiety and sink into the experience?
Do you have a favorite when the lights go down moment? Please leave a comment and share your story!
And on that note, I’ll let Steve Perry and Journey take us out with his version of “When the Lights Go Down.”
[youtube]http://youtu.be/3RzgH9x4-Vk[/youtube]
Sep 27, 2012 |
With just a few weeks of summer left, it seemed like there was road construction and detours everywhere I wanted to go. These detours really hit home when the road into downtown Vermilion was shut down for a few weeks of repairs, leaving me with a big ol’ detour on my way to teach beach yoga classes in Vermilion.
At first, this detour really pissed me off. Why couldn’t they wait until the summer season was over? Why did I always forget about the detour, making me worry on the way to class that I would be late? After a few days of this unnecessary stress and angst, I decided to turn it around, put a smile on my face, and enjoy the scenery on my newfound path. I enjoyed the view of the vineyards along the way, took the time to stop at a bakery I’d never visited, and received inspiration for a yoga class theme.
Why not look at the detours in your life through a new lens, perhaps embracing them as an opportunity to try something new? I have to say that smiling and enjoying the scenery as you go sure as hell beats the alternative of getting pissed off.
We’re all faced with many annoying things that can detour us – judgment, fear, ego, failure. We can let what other people think about us detour us and keep us from our path, or we can be true to ourselves and let go of the judgment. I found a really great quote about this that I shared in my classes:
“If you let people break your spirit and detour you from your path, then you have not been true to yourself or those you’re here to touch, those who believe in you.” –Allison DuBois
We can beat ourselves up on the yoga mat when we fall out of a balance pose or struggle to touch our toes. Or, we can look at these detours through a new lens and approach our yoga practice from a place of love, knowing that each time we fall out of a balance pose, it’s not a failure, but simply another detour that will lead us to grow in strength and in balance.
I gave my classes a couple of examples of people I had encountered recently who had major detours in their lives and chose to smile and enjoy the scenery when they did.
Ginny Walters 200 E-RYT & 500-RYT on the Rollenator
One of those examples was Ginny Walters, a yoga teacher in Cleveland, Ohio. Ginny encountered her detour this summer when she took a fall down some stairs and ended up with a dislocated fracture that led to surgery and eleven screws in her ankle. To a yoga teacher who loves the outdoors, being restrained to a couch is pretty close to a death sentence. But this did not stop Ginny from doing what she loves. Just two weeks after the surgery, she found herself a contraption called the “Rollenator” (actually I think its called rollator, but I like rollenator better) that she could rest her knee on, and she rolled herself back into the yoga studio to teach classes! I’m sure she was in a great deal of pain when she did this, but I can tell you firsthand, you would never have known. I was lucky enough to attend one of her outdoor beach classes in August where she glided across the boardwalk, assisted students, and taught an amazing yoga class.
Ginny told me that she could never have gotten through the fracture without her practice of yoga. When she was injured, she took comfort in the fact that she could still breathe and could continue with her pranayama practice. This practice brought her stillness and peace to overcome her anguish. She is now enjoying getting back to her asana practice and learning new ways to modify all the poses to accommodate her injury. Again, she’s taking the detour and embracing it as an opportunity to learn more about her practice, how to help students with injuries, and to be patient with the body as it heals.
To quote Ginny, “Life is such a journey. We can only hope we find encouragement and enlightenment in everything we encounter.”
Ask yourself, are you embracing all of the detours life is throwing at you? Or, are you missing some of the opportunities they present? Open your eyes, rise to the opportunity, and enjoy the scenery that those pesky little detours provide. Your life will be sweeter and a hell of a lot more fun when you do!
Sep 11, 2012 |
Of course yoga always rocks, and this weekend it is going to rock Lincoln Park in Cleveland, Ohio!
If you’re not familiar with Yoga Rocks the Park, they are live music and yoga gatherings set in beautiful parks across the United States. The goal of the events is to bring together like-minded people to connect through yoga, wellness, and music to discover our shared enlightened nature. These events have been held this summer in Boulder, Denver, Milwaukee, Omaha, Phoenix and CLEVELAND!
The previous events this summer were on Saturdays when I was busy teaching beach yoga, so I’m super excited to announce that there will be an event this Sunday, September 16, at Lincoln Park in Cleveland! This Yoga Rocks the Park event will include an all-levels yoga class led by Linda Stevenson and Rebecca Tighe from 10:30 to 11:45 AM, which will be followed by all the music, food, and fun of the 14th Annual Tremont Arts & Cultural Festival. Jennifer Martinez Atzberger will lead a special FREE yoga class for children at 2:00 PM as part of the festival’s children’s village.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXCfwWO-QnQ[/youtube]
If you are new to yoga and want to give it a try, this class will be accessible to beginners. If you’ve never been to Tremont, this event is a great way to check out this cool Cleveland neighborhood.
The cost to attend the class is $10 if you pre-register at the Yoga Rocks the Park Cleveland webpage, or is $15 at the event. You can feel good knowing that 25% of your class fee goes to Colorado-based non-profit Yoga World Reach, which offers yoga and alternative therapy programs to those in need both locally and around the globe, and another 25% goes to Urban Lotus Youth Yoga, a non-profit organization that brings yoga to at-risk youth in the Cleveland area.
If you have never practiced yoga outdoors, do yourself a favor and get your yoga mats out to Lincoln Park this Sunday! As if doing yoga outside in a beautiful setting with a bunch of cool Cleveland yogis is not incentive enough, you can also look forward to free samples of Vita CoCo pure coconut water.
Thank You Andy Holland and Emily Miller for Bringing Yoga Rocks the Park to Cleveland!
I’m sending out a big yoga hug to Andy Holland and Emily Miller for getting the Yoga Rocks the Park events up and running in Cleveland! I’m so proud that Cleveland is represented and is part of this organization. Please join me this Sunday to support this awesome event, connect with nature as you practice yoga outdoors, spread peace, and help grow the yoga community here in Cleveland!
Enter to Win 2 FREE Passes!
Yoga Rocks the Park Cleveland has offered the Daily Downward Dog two free passes to this event, so if you want to go, please leave a comment below. I’ll randomly select one winner at noon on Friday to win both passes. The winner will be contacted via email and also announced here in the comment section.
Plans are underway to host some winter events, so stay in touch and support Yoga Rocks the Park Cleveland by liking them on Facebook or following them on Twitter.
Lincoln Park is located at Kenilworth Avenue and West 11th Street in Cleveland (Google Map link). Please arrive early to check in for the class by the main stage, and bring your own yoga mat or towel. If there is rain, the class will be held at Merrick House Gymnasium, which is around the corner from Lincoln Park.
Hope to ROCK the PARK with some friendly faces this weekend!
Sep 6, 2012 |
On Monday morning I rolled out of bed and prepared to go teach my very last beach yoga class of this summer at Main Street Beach Vermilion. I had a class theme planned, but for some reason this little voice inside my head inspired me to pull out an old favorite mantra of mine to share with the class instead.
I hopped on my bike and rode to downtown Vermilion to find that the cloudy weekend skies had dispersed, the sky was blue, and the lake was shimmering with the morning light. As I stared out at the lake, instead of taking in all of its glory, I was instead festering over the fact that it had not been as pretty over the weekend when I was shooting my very first yoga and meditation videos with GC Creative Studios. I was letting myself get ticked off that Mother Nature had graced us with such a stunning morning now. Why hadn’t she been more generous over the weekend when I really needed her to produce vivid sunsets and clear blue skies?
After a few minutes of obsessing, I finally got the honking kick in the ass that I deserved when my mantra for class popped into my mind, and I knew I needed to put these words into practice.
Attaining Serenity
I no longer let myself be swept into the turmoil of my mind and emotions.
From now on I let go of all stress, tension, and worry so I may attain harmony and serenity.
I will do one thing at a time and savor each moment.
I quickly realized that by worrying about the past, I was not doing the one thing that was most important: savoring the moment I was in and enjoying this gorgeous morning, taking in all of its splendor while preparing to greet my students and savor each and every moment of my last class with them.
I love it when my conscious nudges me down the path I need to go, and that morning it knew I needed the wisdom of these words.
These next few weeks are always tough for me as I transition from spending so much time outdoors on the beach teaching yoga to my fall schedule, and this mantra is going to come in handy as a reminder to not get swept up in missing the days of summer, to not multi-task, but rather to focus on the task at hand and fill up with the sweetness of what is happening right now. I have so much to look forward to, and I plan to savor each and every moment.
