Jul 3, 2013 |
The Daily Downward Dog is seeking a dependable and cheerful certified yoga instructor to lead weekly yoga classes on the beach. Please read the job description below and leave a comment if interested.
Job Description:
Beach Studio Maintenance. The beach is your yoga studio, so you will be responsible for keeping it maintained. This duty includes raking the beach to prepare your beach studio floor, and may also include removal of debris, the occasional dead fish, and at times large sandcastles built right in the middle of your beach studio. Basically, you will need to arrive early and be prepared for just about anything; you never know what unexpected delights a storm, heavy wind, or beachgoers might have left the day before.
Meteorologist. Knowledge of weather patterns and a degree in meteorology or experience as a storm chaser is preferred. You will need these skills to determine if a class should take place or be cancelled due to inclement weather. This is Lake Erie, Ohio, so you have to go with the flow and at times teach a class when it is a bit chilly, or when the heat feels more like a Bikram yoga studio, or there is a slight drizzle of rain, or huge gusts of wind threaten to blow your mat away. Sometimes when there is heavy rain class will wind up under the cover of a pavilion. No matter what, always keep the safety of your students as a number one priority! Your students are dedicated yogis, so even if you think the weather is not going to cooperate, they will be there ready to practice yoga come rain, snow, or sizzling hot temperatures.
Strong Voice. You will need a voice that can project over soaring winds and crashing waves. Some days you can deliver your cues in a whisper, and other days you will need your voice to carry like you are delivering a speech in a huge auditorium.
Adaptability. The ability to stay calm, be in the present, and think on your feet is a necessity. You will encounter many distractions: eagles soaring through the sky, dogs running into your practice area, fish jumping out of the water, rainbows, small kids that pull up their beach chairs to watch the class, and at times noisy boats or beach tractors. But none of this will bother you, of course. You’ll teach through the distractions with the sheer focus of guiding your students to a place of bliss.
Expandable Heart. At times you will be so full of joy from the sun shining down on you, the smiles on your students’ faces, and nature’s playlist of wind and waves that your heart will feel like it is going to burst wide open. At these precise moments, your expandable heart will need to kick into full gear so you can share this incredible joy with the entire class.
Benefits: We provide a benefits package that includes sunscreen to keep your skin protected, lots of water to keep you hydrated, plenty of sunshine, and smiling faces. If you are lucky you will also get to pick up a few pieces of sea glass and make many new friends!
Ok, truth time: I’m not really looking for instructors. I just thought it would be fun to share my summer beach yoga job description with all of you. Even on those days when I show up at the beach and have to bury a dead fish, I still pinch myself that I get to do what I love and that I get to do it in such a beautiful place – with such awesome yogis!
I’m sending out a big thanks to everyone who has come to a beach yoga classes this summer! We still have two months to go, so if you have not made it out for a class, please check the schedule and join me soon for a little beach yoga bliss.
Feb 4, 2013 |
I’m not a fan of all-you-can-eat buffets. Don’t get me wrong, I have a big appetite, but I just don’t like gorging myself on what is affectionately known as trough food, and for the most part, I have yet to find a buffet that is vegetarian friendly or reasonably healthy.
But, when it comes to all-you-can-eat (AYCE) yoga, I am a huge honking fan. What do I mean by that? AYCE yoga is that coveted unlimited monthly pass at a yoga studio where you get to take as many yoga classes as you like for one set fee. Granted that fee can be exorbitant depending on the studio, but if you can afford it, it is so, so worth it and the cost per class goes way down if you use your pass as much as I do!
And, I have a little secret confession to make. Once you finally give up paying for drop-in classes or something like a 10-class pass and go for that AYCE pass, it will change your life.
It changed my life!
Back in the day, I was a regular 10-class pass purchaser, applying self-imposed limits on just how much yoga I could do per week in order to extend out the life of my class pass. Even though my body and mind was craving more yoga, my schedule and my wallet weren’t quite ready to commit to the AYCE concept. And then it happened: the studio I was attending at the time ran a special on unlimited monthly yoga that I couldn’t resist, and I finally hunkered down and purchased my very first unlimited monthly pass. It was love at first taste. At this buffet, I could go to class as many times per week as I wanted, try new and different styles and levels of yoga, and try classes with each of the instructors. I could go in the morning, I could go in the evening, I could go two days in a row, and if I really got a little crazy, I could go twice in one day.
All of a sudden, my yoga practice took flight. I got stronger and more flexible, I learned how to meditate, I started doing asanas I never thought I’d do, I became part of an incredible community of yogis, and I grew deeper into the spiritual side of yoga. Once I bought that AYCE pass, my love of yoga grew into what I like to call a healthy addiction. Yep, once that AYCE pass was activated, there was no stopping my craving for more yoga, and I knew I would never go back to the restrictive 10-class pass.
I have students ask me all the time, “How many times per week they should practice yoga?” My answer is never the same because it really depends on what the student is seeking from their practice. However, I like to recommend that, when ready, everyone should go for the AYCE yoga pass so they can practice more than just 1–2 times per week. I can’t tell you how many times I have had these same students come up to me later with a big grin on their faces telling me I was right, that the AYCE pass is what got them totally hooked on yoga and what made their practice blossom.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that yoga can become very addicting, but I can’t think of a better (more natural) high that I’d like to have than a yoga high.
Do yourself a favor if you can and try out your very own AYCE yoga pass and get ready to enjoy endless helpings of yogaliciousness.
Have you had a similar experience with the AYCE yoga pass? If so, please leave a comment below and share your experience at the yoga buffet.
AYCE Yoga Pass Suggestions
Yoga Bliss Akron offers a new student special of $50 for one month of unlimited yoga and also has unlimited monthly yoga passes. I teach a lot of yoga classes at Yoga Bliss, and I highly recommend the new student special it is a great way to get that first taste of all you can eat yoga!
If you don’t live near a studio or need a more cost-effective method for buying an AYCE yoga pass, try out these online video services that offer unlimited yoga for free or for monthly fees starting at $9.99.
My Yoga Online by Gaiam TV provides a wide variety of class videos and offers support groups and forums for their students.
Yoga Download offers a ton of classes you can try for free and has a variety of pricing options (order a class à la carte, or get unlimited streaming on a monthly or yearly basis). Sound good? Read my full review here.
Do Yoga With Me One word: FREE! Do Yoga With Me offers yoga online for all levels, hundreds of streaming videos absolutely free of charge with high quality video and sound. Read my review of this awesome service!
Dec 10, 2012 |
Over the last few days, I took a little break from work and was blessed to be able to do what I love: hang out with my husband and family and practice yoga not only outdoors, but on a BEACH!
Before I left, I fooled myself into believing that I still needed to work while I was on vacation and packed up my computer so I could spend a few hours each morning at work. You would think after all these years I had learned the lesson about taking the time on vacation to truly decompress, but my ego mind was not having any of that nonsense.
The universe, however, had other plans for me. I arrived at my vacation destination, went to unpack, and realized with a sense of horror that I have left the plug for my computer at home.
What? – Gasp – F*%#!
After frantically searching through my suitcase numerous times, I sat for a moment weighing my options. Perhaps I should go buy a new cord, or find a location with computer workstations. I let myself calm down with some deep breathing, and as I did, I came to the realization that the universe was lovingly sending me a message, “Maria, relax, you need this mental recharge. Your body needs this escape from the clutches of your computer.” I packed the laptop away, put on my yoga clothes, and went outside to practice and breathe under a brilliant blue sky.
Aaahhhh, yes, be present, let go, enjoy this time with family, this chance to let your shoulders drop and relax. Thanks, universe, I needed that swift little kick in the ass.
A few days later I got the chance to practice yoga on a beach. You can see from the picture below that I found a beautiful space for my beachfront yoga studio that day. The sand was white, the sound of the waves was magical, and I quickly fell into a state of pure beach yoga bliss.
I’m a fan of hot yoga, but I have to tell you that hot yoga on the beach is the best. With the sun shining down on me, my body temperature was rising, but there was just enough cool in those ocean breezes to keep me from overheating. The combination of all the elements – blue sky, puffy white clouds, idyllic breeze, waves rolling up onto the beach, and a flowing yoga practice – it couldn’t get more perfect!
After I finished my first sun salutation, I stood in tadasana, heart soaring as I gazed out over the magnificent horizon soaking in the beauty of that moment. Just then, a woman walked by with her dog. The dog stopped, crouched down, and proceeded to do his bizness about six feet in front of my yoga mat.
What? Gasp, OMG, Sh&*!
What the hell kind of a message from the universe was this supposed to be?
After my initial horror subsided, all I could do was laugh to help ease the tension of the woman who was clearly horrified that her dog had found his bliss right in the middle of my bliss. Her husband quickly came to the rescue and scooped up the mess as we all laughed together.
I’ve had some funny and memorable experiences when practicing or teaching yoga on the beach, but this one is definitely going down in the records. I’m still trying to figure out what the universe was trying to tell me that day, but I’m sure it was along these lines: Even when you’re doing what you love, shitty things can happen, but you’ve got to let it go, laugh, clean up the mess, and move on.
I did just that and was rewarded with one of the most perfect beach yoga practices ever. I held my crow and headstands longer than I ever had, I meditated for close to thirty minutes after my asana practice, and I truly found my bliss.
Thank you, universe, and keep sending those messages. I’m listening!
Join me in Aruba this coming April 2013 for Beach Yoga Bliss!
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.
Apr 12, 2012 |
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 was fortunate to visit my first yoga studio that is not only totally donation based, but that also offers yoga hammocks that provide an anti-gravity asana-based experience aptly named FLYoga. Ra Yoga, in the heart of downtown Phoenix, offered the perfect setting for my virgin aerial yoga experience. The studio is just a few blocks away from the US Airways Center and is housed in a cool warehouse building that looked to be inhabited primarily by artists. After walking up some stairs and a maze of hallways following the ra Yoga signs, I finally stepped inside the urban-chic studio with an exposed brick back wall, hardwood floors, and windows overlooking mountains kissed with a gorgeous pink sunset, all offset by the ominous flowing red silk hammocks hanging from the ceiling. Only one thought crossed my mind: what the hell was I thinking when I signed up for this class?
As with all my virgin yoga experiences, I have a confession to make: I was pretty damn intimidated when I walked into that studio and saw a group of energetic yoginis flying from the ceiling performing a few warm-ups. Hell, these were not warm-ups; they were full Cirque du Soleil acrobatic moves. My hyperactive imagination kicked into full gear, and all I could picture was my ungraceful crash, how loud the thud would be when I hit the floor, and if the embarrassment on my face would be redder than the color of the aerial silks. There was no way those silks were going to hold me, and worse than that, I had invited my awesome editor Dominique* to attend the class with me, so there would be someone I knew to witness my yoga demise.
It didn’t help that the waiver you have to fill out at ra Yoga is about ten times longer than any waiver I’ve ever filled out at a yoga studio! On the upside, the fact that they didn’t require me to wear a helmet or any protective gear gave me a small sense of comfort.
As the fear was starting to get to me, I heard this funny voice in my head, the voice of Kathryn Budig gently prompting me, “Maria, are you going to approach FLYoga from a place of fear, or a place of love?” I figured if Kathryn could overcome her fear of jumping from a plane at 20,000 feet, I could handle climbing up into the aerial silks for a yoga pose or two.
DeLene Kettleson, Flight Instructor Extraordinaire and Maria
DeLene Kettleson, the FLYoga instructor that evening, did an awesome job of easing my fears and getting me set up for the class. Thankfully, she started us off seated with some breath meditation that was aimed at calming the nerves of newbie white-knuckled flyers.
We then proceeded to go up into the hammocks and just hung out for a while. It seemed like an inordinate amount of time to just hang there, and not knowing what to expect, I was having a bit of a hard time letting go and adjusting to my anti-gravity state. In fact, I started to get a tad bit of motion sickness, so I was really glad when we put both feet back down on the ground and did some asanas with the assist of the hammock to allow us to get deeper into the stretches. The motion sickness subsided, and I’m told that when you become a frequent flyer it goes away completely. I’m very prone to motion sickness, so I was not surprised that it had an effect on me, especially in light of the fact that I had not drank enough water that day.
Like my experience with wall yoga, downward dog with the assist of the hammock allowed me to go deeper into the pose than I’d ever been. We went through a really cool flow of warrior poses, triangle, and then half moon pose to warrior 3. In those last two poses, I typically have trouble keeping both my balance and my hip from screaming at me, but those silks magically supported me and transformed the vinyasa flow into a flying dance. If you want to see a few pictures of what the poses look like with the aid of the silks, check out the Pictures page on the ra Yoga website.
Want a great workout for the abs? Plank and reverse plank with the aid of the silks is awesome. The ra Yoga website states that the class is centered to work your whole body, to develop strength, flexibility, motor dynamics, spinal alignment, endurance, reflex sharpness, and balance, and that it does! What they don’t tell you is that the class is a hell of a lot of fun. I really loved the sense of play that was evoked during the class, like when we just swung in our hammocks like kids on a playground. I don’t think I have ever laughed more during a class and felt totally comfortable doing so. We all need to embrace our inner-child a little more often, and FLYoga is an excellent way to get you to the playground.
I think that being a FLYoga instructor might be one of the most challenging yoga teaching positions. You need to possess a great deal of strength and confidence to assist students into the poses, especially the anti-gravity feats. Let’s just say that DeLene more than earned her due that night, and I can’t tell you how grateful both Dominique and I were for her help. I actually felt a little sorry for the rest of the students because she was in the back corner (yeah, I picked the back corner of the room to place my mat, imagine that) throughout most of the class to help us newbies.
About halfway through the one and a half hour class, we got to one of the first truly aerial poses. It was a pose where you hang upside down with your legs wrapped around the silks to hold you up. I tried it once, chickened out, and just figured I would wait out the pose for the next one. DeLene was not having any of that and channeled just the right amount of chutzpah to build my confidence. After three attempts (she has patience of gold), she finally got/hoisted me to this place.
DeLene explained to me after class that she can tell by the student’s body how tense they are and how she can best help them into the poses. I was afraid to ask her what my body was telling her. I’m sure it was laced with fear-based obscenities, but once she got me upside down there was no stopping me…
Maybe I’m not quite ready for the Cirque yet…
One of the most unique poses of the night was Dracula pose. I can’t quite remember how we got to this place, but basically you are hanging face down with a red silk cape flowing back behind you like a fierce-flying Count Dracula.
No, my feet are not touching the wall, I'm flying like a bad-ass vampire!
Savasana, aka Cocoon in FLY-speak, was quite simply sublime. We climbed back up into our silks and wrapped them around us to form a tight cocoon. As DeLene came around to still the hammock so we wouldn’t be swaying, her playlist just happened to land on my all-time favorite savasana song, “Be Here Now” by Ray LaMontagne, to perfectly set the mood (BTW DeLene’s entire playlist was kick-ass, and I’m gonna have to get her to share it so I can post it here on The DDD Cool Yoga Music page). During cocoon DeLene gently placed her hands on our shoulders, temples, and our third-eye, which made for an incredibly grounding experience.
We were gently awakened from our cocoon and found a comfortable place on the floor for the closing of class, which DeLene delivered with one of the most touching and heartfelt messages I’ve ever heard at the end of a yoga class.
I got to chat up DeLene after class, and after thanking her profusely for her support (literally and figuratively) throughout class, I asked about her yoga story. She explained that she was at an unhealthy stressful place in her life when she found yoga. After only two classes, she was hooked enough on the practice and the benefits it was bringing to her life that she signed up for yoga teacher training. She worked full-time for five more years as she began her teaching and has just recently taken on yoga teaching full-time. Her yoga story was definitely an inspiration to me as I hope to get to a place someday where my work is totally centered around yoga.
I have to say that I am totally in awe of ra Yoga. The fact that they provide their classes for free or donation blows me away. They suggest a $5 donation for the FLYoga classes, and from the website, it appears that they donate the proceeds to benefit local Teen Program charities and for their own non-profit Feed the Homeless Program where they get up bright and early every Saturday morning to feed the homeless.
This is the quote you will find on the homepage of their website:
Guruji: “Yoga is possible for anybody who really wants it. Yoga is universal. Yoga is not mine. But don’t approach yoga with a business mind, looking for worldly gain. If you want to be near God, turn your mind toward God and practice yoga.” (Anderson, Yoga International)
If you live in the Phoenix area, please check out and support ra Yoga (follow ra Yoga on Twitter and Facebook) and maybe even become a frequent flyer! If you are interested in taking one of their FLYoga classes, you have to sign up in advance through the website as space is very limited. If you live in the Cleveland, Ohio area and want to take flight, I’m happy to report that The Studio Cleveland offers aerial yoga classes and Synergy Sports Massage in Berea has just started aerial yoga classes as well.
Thank you DeLene and ra Yoga for helping me take my first yoga flight and for all the seva work that you do! I’m truly inspired by your efforts.
Is your yoga Super Fly? If so, let me know and leave a comment below.
*Dominique is a talented editor that I can highly recommend. If you would like to get in touch with her for assignments, you can reach her at dominiquechatterjee at gmail or check out her profile on Elance.
