Dec 4, 2011 |
If you missed the Daily Downward Dog’s holiday yoga gift guide, you’ll want to step, hop, or float on over to that post and check out the great deals on gifts for the yoga lovers in your life. Each of the products are made by yogini goddesses, and some of them happen to live right here in Ohio (buckeye yoginis rock!).
Wherever you shop this year, please support local small business, spread the love, and support your local yoga studios by purchasing a gift certificate. Take it a step further and consider donating time or money to a charity like Street Yoga.
In the spirit of spreading the love, The Daily Downward Dog is giving away two awesome yoga holiday gift packs. Special thanks to Cherie of NamaSTAY Yoga Towels and Rachael of Vernice Vita Yoga Mats for offering up these yogalicious treats for Daily Downward Dog readers. It’s super simple to enter; all you have to do is share the yoga love!
Prizes!!
Holiday Prize Package #1: A NamaSTAY Yoga Towel + a bottle of Indu Nectar of the Gods Lotion (Yoga Crack)
Holiday Prize Package #2: 1 Over the Shoulder Yoga Mat Strap + a $30 off gift card good for a Vernice Vita Three Layer Memory Foam Yoga Mat + 1 bar of Lavender & Lemongrass natural handmade soap from Zuddha
How to Win!
Did you know that when you share a message or leave a comment, it’s the equivalent of giving a hug to the recipient? You get a hug back in the form of one entry each time you share the love with a message like:
Twitter friendly: Share the #yoga love with awesome holiday gifts & a #giveaway from @downwarddog http://bit.ly/DDDholiday Support @streetyoga
Facebook friendly: Share the yoga love with awesome holiday gifts & a giveaway from The Daily Downward Dog. http://bit.ly/DDDholiday Support Street Yoga
Or choose Google+, another social media method of your choice, or good old-fashioned e-mail.
Get bonus entries when you follow these awesome yogini goddesses or sign up for their e-mail newsletters:
NamaSTAY Towels: Twitter Facebook
Vernice Vita Yoga Mats: Twitter Facebook
Omala: Twitter Facebook
Zuddha: Facebook
Cheryl Hall Sanskrit Lessons: azvedicchant at gmail.com
Most importantly, leave a comment below and be sure to specify each way you spread the love. In the same holiday spirit, you’re more than welcome to leave comments about local yoga studios or yoga products that you would like to promote this holiday season.
This giveaway will run until 12/12/11 at 11:11 AM (EST), when two lucky love-givers will be randomly selected to receive one of the holiday gift packs. I’ll post the name of the winners in the comments here, on The Daily Downward Dog Facebook page, and on Twitter. This contest is available to everyone – the DDD will foot the bill for international shipping!
Christmas Bulb Image by Christian Ferrari
Jul 14, 2011 |
“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day—unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.”
–Old Zen adage
I’ve had a crazy couple of weeks. I’m not complaining, because they have been filled with lots of wonderful summer activities, family visits, and good, fulfilling work. Summer is a busy time for many people, and the problem is that when we get busy, our regular yoga and meditation practices get pushed to the side, and that is precisely when we need it most.
We need to step away from the notion that we don’t have enough time and just carve out at least 10 to 30 minutes for a little breath meditation and yoga. You may not think this is enough to get the benefits, but your body and your mind will thank you for giving it a little respite from the incessant chatter and stress of your day. Just spending a few minutes sitting still, closing your eyes, and breathing deeply can be highly therapeutic. I can testify that the time I spend each morning meditating helps me stay focused, alert, and ready to take on the day with a joyful spirit.
One of the best places I know to get the instruction you need when you don’t have time to make it to the yoga studio is the web site My Yoga Online. The cool thing about My Yoga Online is that you just dial in the amount of time you have (under 15 minutes, 15–30 minutes, 31–60 minutes, or over 60) and shazam! a whole list of online yoga video classes come up in the search results.
My Yoga Online co-founder Michelle Trantina, courtesy MyYogaOnline.com
I just did a search for yoga videos that are under 15 minutes in length and found an 8-minute guided meditation focused on contentment, a quick 10-minute yoga class video that focuses on stretching and releasing your lower back and limbs, an 11-minute session great for people who sit at school or work all day, and an 8-minute routine to open the heart and the shoulders, just to name a few.
My Yoga Online has hundreds of videos covering different yoga styles from beginner to advanced, Pilates and dance, meditation, workplace wellness, and workshops that cover topics like anatomy, breathing, and the chakras. If you would like to learn more, read “My Top 10 Reasons To Try (and Love) My Yoga Online.”
One of my favorite videos on My Yoga Online (and I have a long list) is “Morning Yoga Flow,” with Neil Mark. Neil starts out the class in savasana and progresses to sun salutations, with a special emphasis on the lower back and sacral spine. The class takes just 36 minutes, but when it is done, my body is tingling, and that yogalicious feeling stays with me throughout the entire day.
There is nothing better than attending a live yoga class at a studio (or a beach!), but when you are short on time, don’t rob yourself of the benefits of a daily yoga practice. Just turn on your computer and spend a few minutes nourishing your body and your soul.
WIN A FREE YEAR OF MY YOGA ONLINE!
My Yoga Online co-founder Kreg Weiss, courtesy MyYogaOnline.com
Aren’t you glad you kept reading this post?! Yes, it’s true; because the yogis at My Yoga Online are so cool, one lucky Daily Downward Dog reader will win a free year of online membership to My Yoga Online. Here’s what you need to do to win: Visit My Yoga Online and take the site tour of all they have to offer. Maybe like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter if you’re feeling a little love in your heart, and leave a comment below just letting me know what you would be most excited about trying if you had your very own membership to My Yoga Online. You will get an extra entry if you tweet or share this giveaway on Facebook (just be sure to let me know in the comments below). The contest is open until July 25, 2011, at noon, when I will pick one person from the comments below in a random drawing and they are going to feel like it is Christmas in July! Woot Woot!
If you already subscribe to My Yoga Online you can still enter. Just leave a comment below and let me know your favorite videos, so I can check them out too!
All images courtesy of My Yoga Online.
Jun 30, 2011 |
“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” –Erma Bombeck
I do love America! And I really love the Fourth of July. I think one of the best inventions ever was the summertime three-day weekend from work. It is the savior of nine-to-fivers nationwide who are yearning for just a few more hours of summertime fun and freedom.
This year the Fourth of July is going to be very special, as my home gets a friendly invasion of out-of-town family, and I’m going to take a few days off to relax and hang out with them, play in the sand, and do a few downward dogs on the beach.
I’ll be kicking the weekend off on Friday with a waterfront yoga class at the Vermilion Boat Club and beach yoga classes at 9:30 am on Friday and Saturday in Huron, Ohio. If your yoga studio is closed on the fourth and you want a special yoga treat, cruise on out to the Firefly Beach Resort in Huron, Ohio, this Monday for a beach yoga class at 9:30 a.m. I’ll be leading both of my outdoor yoga classes on Monday morning and hope to see lots of friendly faces.
Most of my life it has rained for some portion of the Fourth of July weekend, so here’s hoping the holiday weather gods look kindly upon Ohio or wherever you live and bless us with an amazing weekend of food, fun, family, friends, fireworks, beach yoga, and lots of sparklers (sparklers may just be the second best invention ever!).
If you log on to The Daily Downward Dog over the next few days, you won’t find any new posts, as I’ll be officially commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the glorious gift of the federal holiday three-day weekend. Enjoy the fun and I’ll be back at some point next week, sunburned, bloated, and happy.
You can find all of the details about The Daily Downward Dog summer beach yoga classes at http://bit.ly/beachyogarocks.
Apr 21, 2011 |
Hey, New York and Paris don’t get to have all the runway fashion fun in the spring. The Daily Downward Dog was sporting some hot new spring fashions at the most glamorous yoga studios in Ohio last week. Forget the runway; my trusty yoga mat served as the best place to show off Mondetta Performance Gear’s (MPG) spring 2011 Collection.
I Think I May Have Found the Perfect Yoga Bottom
I have been wearing my long yoga pants all winter long, so last week, when the weather got up above 50 degrees, I was ready to start showing some leg again and pulled out the MPG Stance Capri legging. I am a huge fan of Capri pants, but I have never worn a pair that was skin-tight. In fact, I have to tell you that I never thought I would ever show up to yoga class in a pair of skin-tight leggings. Well, not anymore; MPG has made a convert out of me. I’m just kind of kicking myself that I’ve been missing out all this time on the beauty of skin-tight leggings.
When I tried on the leggings, the fabric (a polyester-spandex-blended jersey) felt fabulous on my skin, stayed cool, and breathed as I went through a spirited vinyasa flow. The best thing about the Stance Capri was that I never had to reach down to pull them up at the waist once during class, which is always the case with my nonclingy yoga pants. The Stance Capri was super comfortable to wear and I’m planning on buying a few more pairs.
How cute is this little workout skirt called Leap? It’s hard to tell the detail on the skirt in this picture, but it has little flaps like a cheerleader skirt, and underneath there is a pair of built-in shorts (technically making it a skort), so when you do your downward-facing dog, no worries, you won’t be flashing the person behind you. Just like the leggings, the Leap skort is also incredibly comfortable and kept me cute and cool while I rocked my asanas. I can’t wait to wear this skort when I teach beach yoga this summer.
In the back of both the Leap and Stance there is a convenient zippered pocket that would come in handy for a key, gym pass, or money.
I was feeling pretty damn vogue when I put on the Aspire top (mine came in bright coral) and ventured out to teach a morning yoga class. I got a lot of compliments on this shirt that was not overly clingy, but, instead, had just the right amount of cling. This shirt has a built-in bra liner and a layered design with an inner racer-back tank. I did feel a few times like the shoulders were starting to fall down but they never did. I’m sure if you have a larger rack than I do, this will not be an issue.
Equal Opportunity Style
Calling all you male models out there. MPG has awesome yoga clothing and performance wear for men too!
Springtime SAVINGS
It’s time to put those winter yoga clothes away and strut down your runway mat with some serious attitude and style in MPG’s spring 2011 line. To help make the trip more affordable, MPG is offering Daily Downward Dog readers a 25 percent discount on all retail purchases through May 15, 2011. Just use the coupon code dddlovesmpg upon checkout to get the 25 percent discount.
Every Fashion Show Needs a Little Swag
One lucky Daily Downward Dog reader will get the chance to show his or her style this spring with the selection of any one product from MPG’s spring product line. You don’t have to fly to Paris or NYC in order to win; just leave a comment and complete two (or more!) of the items below. I’ll throw in an entry in the hat for each item you complete.
- Go to www.mpgsport.com and take a look at their awesome spring styles. Once you are there, scroll down to the bottom of the page and sign up for their newsletter.
- “Like” MPG on their Facebook page.
- Follow @MPGtweet on Twitter.
- Tweet this giveaway on Twitter with mentions of @MPGtweet and @downwarddog and a link.
- Post this giveaway with a link on Facebook.
If you are feeling a little love for the Daily Downward Dog and want a little extra credit, you can also score some additional entries if you join the DDD e-mail list, RSS feed, or follow the DDD on Facebook or Twitter.
This contest is open to all residents of the U.S. and Canada and will be open until Saturday, April 30, at noon, when one lucky winner will be randomly selected from all entries. The winner will be notified and able to select any MPG product from the spring collection in the color and size of his or her choice as long as the product is in stock.
Apr 14, 2011 |
For the past few months, I’ve been on the magical mystery tour of yoga. Not that I was sheltered or anything, but at the yoga studios I had been practicing at, we only were offered a few different flavors—vinyasa and hatha. Kind of like vanilla and chocolate—classics but I always want to know if there is something else out there like mint chocolate chip?
My foray into yoga-teacher training and the yoga community on Twitter (@downwarddog) has turned me on to many new forms of yoga, and now I’m like a kid at Baskin-Robbins; I want to try out all the flavors before I decide.
Not that I have to pick just one, but I would like to figure out my “major” or specialty of yoga, so to speak, and then pursue my 500-hour-level certification in it. I decided that I am going to take some time before I jump into the 500-hour and really do some extensive taste-testing to find the flavor that really turns me on. Here are a few yoga flavors I got to savor recently.
Kundalini. When someone tells me that a form of yoga used to be held secret, that you had to be worthy to practice it, and that it can give you an incredible high, you are going to pique my interest. I got a small taste of kundalini yoga as part of my YTT, and I knew I would need to have the full scoop. It used to be hard to find kundalini yoga in northeast Ohio but not anymore. Alecia Bernardo has formed a kundalini study group to meet, talk, and practice kundalini yoga. I went to the inaugural session, and we got our sat nams on well into the evening at Westside Yoga Studio. I also got to meet Colleen O’Rourke, who just recently returned to Cleveland and is a certified kundalini teacher, and am hoping to get to one of her classes soon (she is teaching locally at Acenda Yoga, Studio 11 in Tremont, The Studio Cleveland, and Agni Yoga Studio). There is so much to learn about this practice, and I definitely want to explore it more (and, yes, the breathing techniques and spiritual aspects of the practice will leave you feeling pretty damn good). If you would like more details about the study group, please contact me.
Chair yoga/Yoga therapy at Westlake Village Senior Center. I have to admit, yoga therapy is the front-runner right now for my 500-hour training. I never got into yoga teaching to do the power, flashy classes. Instead, I really wanted to help people who I know can benefit from yoga the way that I have. I attended a Saturday-afternoon yoga class taught to a group of women and men well over 70 years old. These students were rocking their chair and standing yoga poses, and the smiles were contagious. I got to practice Reiki at the end of the class on one of the students, and it was such a moving experience (even got me a little verklempt). Judi Bar, who led the class, told us how she has seen the students’ balance and movement improve over the past year she has taught the class, and the activity director affirmed what a positive impact the classes have had on the students’ well-being. It was a yogalicious experience for me!
Don't You Just Love Trying New Flavors of Gelato?
IAM-Meditation. Integrated Amrita Meditation Technique is a simple combination of yoga, pranayama, and meditation. You start with five minutes of yoga asanas to relax you, followed by a 15-minute self-guided meditation session that culminates in savasana. The whole practice takes only 20 minutes and is supposed to be done every day to reduce stress and bring peace of mind and mental clarity. IAM was created by world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, affectionately known to millions as “Amma,” the hugging guru. Amma has taught meditation to millions of people throughout the world and I’ve heard gives a kick-ass hug. I always thought it would be kind of cool to have a guru, and if my guru was a woman, even better, so I’m going to be doing a little more research on her (just picked up the documentary about her, called Darshan: The Embrace). Since I attended the seminar a week ago, I have managed to do it every morning. I want to continue the practice for a full month before I pass out any endorsements, but I will tell you that I have felt mentally clearer and focused as I go through my day. Thanks to my friend Pam for turning me onto this free workshop held at Core Essentials Yoga & Pilates in Canton, Ohio.
So, what else is on my list?
–Bikram. I’ve just heard so much about this hot yoga, I have to try it. Watch out, Cathy, I’m coming to Chicago this summer, and you are going to accompany me to my first bikram class.
– Laughter yoga. I have been to two laughter yoga classes and I love it! What a great workout for the abdominals, and, really, the whole body benefits from all those endorphins released when you laugh. I definitely want to get certified to teach laughter yoga in the coming year.
–Ayurveda. This one is a bit overwhelming to me because there is so much to it, but I really want to learn more and start practicing an Ayurvedic diet.
So, what is your favorite flavor? Which flavors do you want to try?
I guess the good thing about yoga is that there are so many flavors. I’ll never get bored and there will always be something new to try (which makes me incredibly happy).
