Bronson Canyon Yoga Hike
Saturday, December 17th
8:30 – 10:30 AM

Join Nicole & Chrissy for a yoga/hike excursion in the hills of Bronson Canyon.  This 90-minute journey will combine the cardiovascular elements of hiking with the mindful practice of yoga and meditation.  We will warm up with some breath work and sun salutations, then journey through nature and into the deepest parts of ourselves.  Throughout the hike, we will stop to stretch & release tension from the body.  Towards the end, we will cool down with some restoratives and meditation, concluding a well-rounded mind and body experience.

What to bring: Wear sneakers. Bring a towel & water. No mat required.
Where to meet: Just past the parking lot on the right. 3200 Canyon Drive
What if it rains: When you pay, I will email you to exchange # numbers.
You will be refunded or credited for your next hike.
Meeting time: 8:30a

RESERVE YOUR SPACE FOR THIS AWESOME FUN!

VISIT US “BRONSON CANYON YOGA”

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The Gold I Gleaned from Wanderlust

The Wanderlust Festival this year was nothing short of incredible. Not only was this festival an opportunity to practice yoga and hear great music, but also it was a chance to collect valuable information from top-notch Yoga teachers around the world and get exposed to yoga modalities I had never tried before.

I think the most important thing that I took away from my Wanderlust experience this year was the importance of being Authentic.  Yoga becomes an expression of who we are as students, teachers and human beings.  The practice is beautiful, ancient and revered. Also, it is a highly creative and expressive art, science and philosophy.  It draws people out of their shell, breaks them down into little pieces and builds them back up into the most powerful expression of Divine love they can be.

We are all unique and it is that uniqueness that develops the Yoga that we teach or practice.  Students will follow whatever expressions they resonate with on a vibrational level and all forms of Yoga are awesome for this reason.

After 12 classes in just four days, I extracted a ton of great ideas and information from the workshops that will improve my practice and my teaching.  Below are some nuggets of information that I wish to pass along from some of my classes.

Rod Stryker
I was fortunate to be able to take three wonderful classes with Rod Stryker of ParaYoga. I could write a few blogs about what I learned through Rod, but will just highlight a few.

Class One – Hatha Yoga Pradipika
He made a point that resonated strongly with me -  a reminder -  that Yoga is not just about the muscles, asanas and breath, but also its about the Endocrine System, our organs.  It’s our organs that give us longevity and we use the breath and the bandhas to change the health of our organs.

Class Two – Treta Bandhas
Udiyana Bandha is the master key to Yoga.  This is where the fire (agni) burns up what Rod Stryker calls our “landfill”, the emotional stuff that resides in our second chakra that we need to burn up to get our spiritual Kundalini energy rising from the base of the spine.  He says Mula Bandha gets all the press, but it’s the Udiyana Bandha that we need to stoke.

Class Three – Prana Viyus
He was masterful in explaining the Prana Vayus. We watched our breath as it relates to the five Vayus. As teachers, we could watch our students’ breath through the five subsets and as it got shaky or stuck somewhere, we could relate that directly back to the physical and psychological blocks they were encountering in their lives.  This exercise was poignant for those participating and a real learning experience on the connection between breath and subtle energies.

Rod’s funny response to our discussion on the Apana Vayu and the importance of elimination on a physical and psychological level….“Spirituality goes out the door if you haven’t crapped in four days!”

I would highly suggest checking out Rod Stryker. His new book the “Four Bodies” was just released and I would bet that it’s nothing short of amazing!
This is his website:  http://parayoga.com/

CorePower Yoga
CorePower Yoga was an expression of Yoga rooted in physical training and fitness. It was a high-energy class filled with lunges and Utkatasanas.  We used weights to sculpt and sweat a bunch.  I could see this form of Yoga doing really well for the gym devotee and was very happy that I got to experience it.  I could see myself hitting one of these classes once a week to really get the heart rate up and challenge myself on a physical level. CorePower Yoga teacher Becky reminded me that, “there are seeds of transformation at every turn.”

Seane Corn
Seane is epic all the time!  I don’t even know where to start other than to say that I find her to be one of the most empowering individuals on the planet.  She always has a huge message and it calls you to do great things. When I leave her classes I want to be her – a badass – ready to save the world, raise money and do something great!

I could write a book of favorite quotes from Seane, but this one was particularly funny and it stuck out in my mind…(it’s paraphrased)… “Wow, I just whiffed the alcohol some of you are sweating out. I’m getting high off your sweat. Luckily, Yoga is a practice of detoxification!”

Shiva Rea
I walked out of Shiva’s class with Random Rab and Steve Gold and found myself walking around completely stoned off her energy. It’s Shakti -  its sensual and mystifying.  I don’t even know if we did much asana, but we sure shifted our consciousness quick.  What I love about Shiva is her willingness to be spontaneous, her ability to hold space and allow people to dive into their sensuality. I get high off her love of music and dance. It’s a breed of Yoga that’s just plain … Shiva.

Off the Mat and Into the World – “Finding Your Voice” with Suzanne Sterling, Kerri Kelly and Hala Khouri
A revealing and empowering experience!  We worked with our fifth chakra, Vishuddha, to enhance our ability to communicate.  In our society, many of us are told at a young age that we can’t sing or that we shouldn’t say something when maybe we want to.  From these mini traumas we close down in this center.  We are dying to express ourselves! We learned the power of singing as a tool to heal, express and release the tension we’ve accumulated at the throat.  Together, we practiced opening this chakra through asana, moaning, groaning, shouting and above all singing as a large community.   I realized that we are all amazing singers and have tremendous voices when we can sync up as a community and feel safe and supported! Beautiful.

John Friend, “Creating Potent Themes”
All heart, all the time.  John Friend is a devotee to Bhakti – devotional being and practice. He embodies Yoga as a prayer. In his workshop, Creating Potent Themes, we discussed the importance of language in creating an experience for students of Yoga.  He taught us how we can call upon themes as they relate to the Universal Divine and how themes draw upon heart characteristics. As an example, we analyzed the ‘Five Elements’ and how they relate to actions in our bodies, characteristics of the heart and ultimately express the Divine.  I love Anusara and its intention to open to grace and love!

Kathyrn Budig
I knew Kathryn was beautiful as I see her in Yoga Journal all the time, but I had no idea how down to earth and absolutely adorable and funny she was until Wanderlust.  She’s hilarious and promotes fun and joy! She also has a sick practice and is really great with analogies, simple instruction and making really hard poses achievable.  I look forward to taking many more classes with her in the future.

Michael Franti
I captured part of a story he was telling and thought I’d share it. It’s a little cut off at the end but you can just see his sweetness! He is astounding. Michael is a family man, a musician, a Yogi, a businessman and a spiritual guy.  His energy is profound and intoxicating.  He’s got a heart of gold and a real purpose on this planet to help transform it.

Overall, Wanderlust Festival was amazing and I look forward to next year and all the related events they are hosting around the U.S.

Yoga is a conscious practice that is raising the vibration of this planet one breath at a time on a massive scale. I feel so blessed, honored and grateful that I am able to get on my mat every day and experience this gift of breath and transformation.

Great thanks to the Wanderlust Festival founders for having this vision and manifesting it into our reality!

Wanderlust Festival Yoga Aid California Is One Week Out!

Join the California Wanderlust Yoga Aid Challenge!  Who doesn’t want to get front row access to Michael Franti and Seane Corn or win a free 4-day Wanderlust 2012 pass? It Should Be You.

The top fundraisers are up for some pretty awesome prizes. And your efforts make a huge (we’re talking seriously big) impact on charity partner Off the Mat, Into the World’s work in leadership development, local youth projects, and global humanitarian initiatives.

Not signed up over at Yoga Aid yet? It’s not too late. It’s easy. And you still could win those prizes. Vermont’s top challenger signed on just days before the deadline. Her secret: emailing her friends and family. It’s that simple. Don’t wait. Get Started: Register here for Yoga Aid. Send a personalized email to your friends and family. Acknowledge how awesome you are for making an impact. Check out how much fun you’re going to have in Tahoe. For more info on Off the Mat’s efforts around the world, check out their site.

For tickets to the Wanderlust Festival click here.

I launched a discussion last year on Linked In with various Corporate Wellness and Yoga related groups asking people how to tap into the Corporate Wellness space in Los Angeles. Until recently my questions went unanswered.  Interestingly enough my discussion is now generating eyeballs and things are getting juicy! I wanted to share some of the insights coming through.

First of all, I see a few things happening in the marketplace resulting in this shift of interest.

On the Yoga side of things…

1) Yoga is a huge business and growing rapidly

2) Teachers are graduating teacher trainings at a rapid rate and can’t find work in studios anymore

3) Studios aren’t paying well so Yogis are turning to Corporations with larger budgets

4) Yoga instructors are getting more business savvy and joining Linked In and other social media platforms to help them grow their business

On the corporate side of things…

1) Employees are generating more demand for wellness since they spend so much time at work

2) In general people are becoming more aware of their health and wellness

3) Health care and sick days are expensive for the employer so it benefits corporations to keep their employees healthy

4) Yoga is now an accepted, respectable and understood practice, which helps the HR department to sell it

According to leading wellness industry consultant and prolific writer John Bates, “most people spend more hours at work than anywhere else in addition to the time they spend commuting each day. In fact, the typical American works approximately 47 hours a week which is at least 164 hours more than the average 20 years ago.”

If we are spending so much time at work, don’t we want to feel good? I ask my friends every so often if their companies would support a wellness program. Usually, I get these answers:

1) I don’t know

2) It’s not my job, maybe…

3) They are too cheap

4) They don’t know what Yoga is

5) I don’t think anyone has much time

Maybe my friends don’t care much about Yoga or maybe they don’t care much about their bodies. Or, if they do care about their bodies and Yoga perhaps they prefer to get the hell out of work and go to the studio for some peace and quiet!  But, my friends may not have kids, play dates, partners, and countless other things to rush home to that keep them from exercising.

I’ve decided now when I go to a party I am going to ask my friends for the name and number of their HR Director.  You ask, “Why should an HR person care about all this?” and I respond with more of John Bates’ great information!

“Given these statistics (referencing 47 hours a week average time spent at work), it is easy to see why maintaining a healthy work / life balance is becoming increasingly important. Corporate wellness programs are important tools to establish this balance. Programs that emphasize the benefits of corporate wellness can be implemented in a variety of ways.

However, they all share a common goal – to promote the well-being of their employees, employers and organization in general. Many companies are starting to realize the tremendous benefits of corporate wellness.

One of the primary benefits of corporate wellness involves a reduction in the rates of illness and injuries among employees. Unhealthy employees experience a wide range of work-related injuries such as muscle strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, stress fractures or back pain. These individuals are also susceptible to developing complications such as diabetes, heart disease or a stroke. Employees without the opportunity to participate in corporate wellness programs may develop serious illnesses. Consequently, they could find themselves on long-term disability for an extended period of time or be forced to discontinue working entirely.

In addition, …corporate wellness programs also lead to a reduction in employee absenteeism. Employees who are stressed, unhealthy or overworked tend to become sick much more often than healthy employees.

When programs that focus on the benefits of corporate wellness are implemented, this rate can be drastically reduced. For example, Coors Brewing Company experienced a remarkable 18% decrease in employee absenteeism after implementing a corporate wellness program within their workplace.

Another benefit of corporate wellness programming is a reduction in the cost of healthcare. When employees are healthy and less stressed they tend to rely less on costly programs such as disability insurance and sick leave.

Companies will notice a significant decrease in healthcare costs once they incorporate wellness programs into their workplace. For example, after implementing a fitness program in which only 60% of the employees participated, Coca-Cola was able to save $500 per employee every year.

Increased productivity is another benefit of corporate wellness. Employees who are happy and healthy tend to produce a greater volume of work at a higher quality than unhealthy employees. Employers need to realize that implementing programs that lower fitness and stress levels will increase the overall output of their employees.

Corporate wellness programs also contribute to the enhanced retention of key employees. Companies that implement wellness programs normally experience a much lower rate of employee turnover. Recruiting, marketing and advertising for vacant positions are very costly, not to mention time-consuming. If your employees are happy and healthy and enjoy working at your company, you will be able to focus more time and energy on actually getting the job done.

The bottom line is you should take advantage of the benefits of corporate wellness. Make it a goal to implement a program as soon as possible – don’t wait until most of your employees are stressed, sick or applying to other jobs. You will experience a reduction in employee injuries, illness, absenteeism and healthcare costs, as well as an increase in employee retention and productivity. Assuming responsibility for establishing a healthy, harmonious working environment will allow everyone to enjoy the benefits of corporate wellness.“

There are great websites out there like John’s that provide HR leaders with presentations, information and proposals for download that will help sell these programs to their company!  Can it get any easier than that? If the HR Director doesn’t have time to put a presentation together then as Yoga Instructors we can be proactive and create one for them.

For the HR leaders out there, Yoga instructors can be flexible with any working arrangement.  Not only are we flexible on the mat, we are in the mind!

Now, I want to share some of the great feedback that I have received on this discussion just to get the wheels turning for both Yogis and HR Directors!

From a member of the Linked In Group who is an ex HR Director:

1. Be very clear about what you can offer and what it can do for individuals and therefore, the company. Find and sell benefits – not just features! Don’t take on more than you can effectively deliver, so find companies with a head count that you can properly manage, evaluate and report back on.

2. Determine what kinds of problems companies need to resolve; some will just want to comply with regulations: some will be running employee engagement programs – some may have issues with absenteeism, sick days, low morale – find the problems that you confidently feel your offering addresses and align with those.

3. Create ways of delivering your work that will be acceptable to the client at an operational level, (e.g. flexible timings, a mix of delivery options) and also find ways of showing results. This is usually very important to organisations – not always of course – some will invest for pure altruism – but most will find your services easier to justify when they can easily justify what they have spent on you.

4. Align yourself with professional bodies in your specialist field to increase your credibility.

5. Budget – well, you’re the one who has to determine how much money you want to make. Once you’re clear about this, you need to calculate how much your programs will cost and then you can more easily identify who can afford your services. The best thing is always to ask – “How much have you in your budget for this” – once you get face-to-face with a potential client. Ideally, you are probably looking at organisations who have a legal duty of care to their staff, and there is no doubt a minimum headcount for that in the U.S. as there is in the U.K. which would at least give you a criteria to search on, when you start to identify your potential clients.

Another great participant in the discussion:

“It really helps having a business background as you can relate to the needs of the business and deliver something that fits in with a busy, buzzy office world.”

A Linked In member offered this:

“I teach regular weekly classes at a health club and a community center. From time to time I mention to my students that I am available to come to their companies or organization for a private class. Even without mentioning it often, I have had students approach me asking for it. Once you develop loyal students who appreciate your teaching style, they will want to share you with others.

I have found teaching in the corporate environment very rewarding. As a former corporate person myself, I can relate to the stress levels. You can see a visible difference in the energy they bring into the room, versus how they leave the practice. Yoga is for everyone, but especially needed in this environment. And, it is a nice way to be well compensated as a teacher. Win-win.”

I love this idea too:

“What I think would be great is some sharing of real-world “case studies” and examples of how the disciplines of yoga have been successfully integrated into a corporate environment, with evidence of the benefits [ideally in terms of increased productivity, improved relationships and collaboration, improved organizational performance, etc.].”

Thank you to everyone for participating in the Linked In group forums.  I really find the discussions to be so rewarding, purposeful and enlightening.

On a final personal note, I have an interest in this topic because I started my Yoga practice as a result of being overworked, stressed and in lots of physical pain while in a corporate environment.  So, I get it!  I really want to help people find the peace, happiness and joy that I did. That is why I got my teaching certifications.  I want to give back what I so humbly have received from this amazing Universe!

Thank you to John Bates for your wonderful information!  John is a leading wellness industry consultant and prolific writer about all aspects of health and wellness programs. His work can be found on numerous wellness websites including his own: Wellness Proposals, Infinite Wellness Solution’s and Infinite Health Coach.

Blessings!

I am incredibly inspired to write this evening after watching a new movie called Y Yoga that was handed to me yesterday by its filmmaker Arthur Klein.  I am so thrilled Arthur that our eyes met at Exhale studio in Venice at Maty Ezraty’s workshop yesterday.  Her workshop, “Moving From the Outside In: Winter Holiday Intensive for Teachers” has been intense and incredibly amazing. It is so Divine that you handed me your film during this weeks’ experience as I have been so touched at the core of my being about the importance of our jobs as Yoga teachers and how we always will be doing the work.  But most importantly, how incredibly rewarding it is to discover yourself in this process.  As much as I am humbled to be sharing the room with teachers that are in your film like Seane Corn, Vinnie Marino and other influential teachers like Kia Miller, Annie Carpenter and Jeanne Heilmann, I have a strong sense of equality in the understanding that we all started in the same place and through our steadfastness and dedication to Yoga we have let the Yoga do us!

As I watched this film I got goose bumps (called “truth bumps” by a friend) all over my body, a sure sign of its resonance that I am on my life’s path with Yoga and Spirit.  I am on a journey of the Soul and Yoga has touched me at the core of my being and has enveloped my heart.  Each day my pains, habits and past untruths get revealed and unearthed toward a state of true healing.  I see this same discovery of light emanating from every being interviewed on camera.  This film has simply captured the pure essence of why we get up and practice Yoga.  It shows the illumination and the vision that ensues as a result of its practice. It celebrates the “Y” of Yoga.

I say the timing is Divine too as I sit here thinking about my upcoming three month journey to the Amazon jungle in Peru. I have chosen to listen to what Yoga and the Universe is unveiling to me and  I am embarking on a journey of self discovery and healing. I am taking advantage of an opportunity to embrace Self-Love and Acceptance and to gain a deep understanding of the concepts of Allowing, Trust, Surrender and Love.  These are concepts that Yoga has been re-introducing to me bit by bit over the last several years.

Maty said brilliantly this week two things that are just many of the millions of gorgeous incites I’ve learned since my Yoga journey began that I wanted to expound upon. The first is that “compassion doesn’t always look sweet” and the second is “what shows up on your mat is what shows up everywhere in your life.”

Compassion doesn’t always look sweet.  Yoga isn’t a quick fix or a pill that cures you over night.  It’s a long, steady and in some cases arduous process that challenges you because its helping you discover  your capacity for dedication and gratitude.  Yoga allows the mind and body and soul to align over time.  Sometimes a class can be fast, hard and sweaty and other times it can be slow, still and tearful. There are huge lessons in all forms. Yoga is not a trend, although some try to argue that’s the case today, but if you are like me, and almost every one else I know, once you start Yoga gets ya.  I know very few people who stop practicing once they feel that first “wow”… the Soul connection.  The learning process never ceases and the Spirit grows stronger and the joy more astounding.

When Maty said “what shows up on the mat is what shows up in your life” I decided to test the theory. Boy…was she right on!  All those lovely old friends from my past showed up in spades on my mat that day and say a big hello.  I saw my need to be noticed by authority figures, my drive for perfection, my constant comparison to other people, my self doubt and worries that I’m not good enough.  I almost laughed out loud on my mat in Savasana because I was so glad that the class was finally over! The lesson though was huge and exactly what I asked for.. an opportunity to observe the mind and see how these things show up in my life time and time again preventing me from receiving things I desire.  Thank you Yoga and thank you Maty for allowing me this space for discovery and for showing me that I am at a place through Yoga where I can separate my mind and its misconceptions and see my Soul.  I no longer need to believe those old friends.

It is amazing to me that it took me until my late thirties to start to release all the negative patterning and distortions of the mind, but I know its unfolding perfectly the way that it was intended.  So as I wind down for the evening tonight I feel nothing but gratitude, grace, compassion, dedication and forgiveness and a bit of muscle soreness from this week!

Thank you Arthur for your movie and inspiration. Y Yoga is fantastic.  I recommend getting a copy at YYogaMovie.com

In closing, I wanted to share something that my YogaWorks teachers gave our Teacher Training class this past June upon graduation.  It’s a compilation of excerpts from essays from every student in our class that explains the “Y” in Yoga.

“Yoga is breathing. Yoga means union. Yoga is communion with God.  Yoga is a great health care plan.  Yoga is union of the mind, body and soul. Yoga is about process, not perfection. Yoga is a great tool of transformation. Yoga creates a space in which to open. Yoga is a hand to hold when you’re lost. Yoga is a way of creating oneness with my body. Beginning a Yoga class is a like a re-birth of the body. Yoga allows one to understand how to realign the pieces. Yoga. It is such a small world that yields such a great meaning. Yoga is any methodology strictly practical that leads to Samadhi. Yoga is the world around me and state of full awareness in being. Yoga is a way of life and my definition of Yoga is always evolving. Yoga is truly seeing and learning myself…all of myself without labels. Yoga is about letting an asana practice move me closer to my real self. Yoga is going home. Home to my soul, where its safe and warm. Yoga is a journey to find our truest self and to light up the path we should take. Yoga represents the conscious and unconscious melding of mind, body and spirit. Yoga is universal, for everyone, young, old, religious, non-spiritual, men and women. With Yoga we can separate from Ego and connect with our bodies and a greater whole. Yoga is seeing God in everything. It’s being comfortable in an uncomfortable situation. Yoga is a physical prayer…to move the staleness out and the possibilities in. It is a blessing.  Yoga is about connecting with my Inner self, knowing me completely and respecting who I am. Yoga means balance. Balance in life, balance in body, mental balance, and emotional balance. Yoga is a never ending journey as well as an endless body of knowledge to be learned.  Yoga isn’t just one thing – it’s several – it’s the acceptance of growth as well as the acceptance of limitations. Yoga is the most intimate relationship that I have. It is the relationship I have with myself. The one that brings me home. Yoga serves as the chance for me to connect to the roots of what is important and attempt to let the small stuff go.  Yoga is a meditative experience that challenges me to try new things with my body and release old ideas about myself and the world. Yoga is a collection of ancient practices and postures designed to heal ailments and maintain perfect health and well being by realigning the body, mind and soul into perfect alignment and harmony. Yoga is healing and calming for the mind and body encompassing divine enlightenment in simple small everyday things in realizing, “I can do this,”  “life is good,” “wow. ” Some people come into our lives and quietly stay. Others stay for a while, leaving footprints in our hearts and we are never the same.”

Thank you Yoga!

Namaste.

The Wanderlust Festival

As my dedication to Yoga grew, the perfect event was bubbling in my mind. How cool would it be to have a festival that combines all of my passions – Yoga, music, nature, and yoga clothes?  I am forever grateful to the Wanderlust Festival founders for making this dream in my mind’s eye a reality two years ago!  The Wanderlust Festival has combined everything I love so well.

Yoga and music are entwined.  They are equally inspirational practices. They share the common goal of elevating one’s spirits. They offer liberation and can elicit strong emotion from the heart.  Both can help one dive deeper within themselves.  Powerfully, they can create a platform for community involvement and spread a message to a large audience in a profound way.  In cooperation, they can bring one closer to themselves and to others. Music and Yoga will take you on a journey.

Wanderlust is a German word for the irresistibly strong desire to travel or wander. All of us festival-goers, Yogis, musicians and artists are all travelers.  Seekers.  Searching for a way to connect to others and to Self and to the Divine. We have been built creatively to ask the questions and when we find the answers, to share our journeys.

Last year, for me, Wanderlust was an opportunity to explore the myriad of Yoga practices and teachers offering their various Yoga styles on a physical plane.  This year, I left with a totally different experience, way beyond the Asana and so much more about the Spirit.  The messages all around me were bottled with love, devotion, sharing, community, consciousness, action, grace, dedication and leadership.

I was imbued with a sense of the Universal, the Divine and really understood the word dedication and how it is embodied.  The “Yoga Superstars” as I like to call them, are major Spiritual leaders. They offer us gifts that are so precious and incite in each of us a call action to help others. The masses are truly moved by their energy and enthusiasm. I wished that I had a voice recorder for every class I attended.  Each one contained a plethora of beautiful, eloquent messages.

The Wanderlust Festival is an opportunity for like-minded conscious people to gather and remind each other of who we are.  The natural beauty of Tahoe is a recharging environment. In it’s magnificent we are shown that we are not our fears, our challenges and our bodies. The message was clear that we are all conduits of the Divine and that we all share the responsibility to raise the consciousness of our planet and to help each other transform.  Through helping each other, we’ll find our own Divinity.

It was a great gift to be able to bask in the glory of the mountains, soak in the crystal clear skies and gaze out to one of the most gorgeous lakes in the US.  In the distance you could feel the Eternal energy of over 5000 people sharing in the collective OM. This was a majestic experience.

There were so many highlights.  I can’t recount them all, but I’ve listed a few of the wonderful moments that I am grateful for this past weekend (aside from the fact that I love all the friends that I got to connect with old and new!!!):

THURSDAY

Rusty Well’s Bhakti Flow Class
Message:  Everything is Yoga. Life is Yoga. Love. Devotion. Humor. Joy.

Shiva Rea’s River Rafting Trip
Message: Friendship is all around you. Live music is so fun while rafting. Thank you to the Manipuris and Steve Gold for breaking out Proud Mary and all the other river songs and for Shiva being the eternal Prana.

DJ Dragonfly
Message: Great music is always a great way to end an evening, especially while hula hooping!

FRIDAY

Baron Baptiste
Messages: Transformation. Community. Sharing. Empowerment. The importance of spreading love and giving. Thank you to the Africa Yoga Project for spreading your love of Yoga to Africa and being an inspiration.

Sianna Sherman
Message:  Grace. Beauty. Inspiration. Love. Light. Eloquence. Prana. Sharing. Circularity of energy and its relevance to the lovely hoping class that followed. Divine play. Humor.

Sean Corn, Shiva Rea and Baron Baptiste

Off the Mat and Into the World and YogaAid Challenge class!  We raised money and got to practice in the front row!

Message: Serving is sharing. Empowerment. It’s not about pity, but empathy and compassion. Send your love into the Universe. To give is so much bigger than us individually. Thank you to David Stringer and Suzanne Sterling for amazing music!

Pretty Lights and Moby

Great energy.  Awesome music. I hadn’t either live before and they seriously rocked out!  Dancing is so epic when you are full of juicy energy.

SATURDAY

Seane Corn

Messages: Speak the truth.  Empowerment. What are you are going to do with your inspiration? How can you take this off the mat and into the World? Purpose. Value. Dignity. Grace. Light.

Shiva Rea

Message: Be playful. Get loose. Let the Prana move you. Be fluid. Feel the flow and rhythm and the pulse. Tribal connection. Ecstatic dance. Thank you to Rara Avis and Shamans’ Dream for incredible music.

Moby Acoustic Set

Family. It was a moving experience listening to his partner sing so beautifully and then watching her sing to her son.

Yard Dog Road Show & Bassnectar

I love the Yard Dogs and their creativity and sense of humor.  Inventive and crazy.  Bassnectar is just electric. What more can I say? He’s one of my favorite DJs.  Passionate. ;)

SUNDAY

Les Leventhal
One of my greatest teachers and personal friend!

Message:  Come to Yoga as a beginner often. Teaching is joyful. Breathing is really joyful.  Your mat is your sanctuary.

Notable Quotables:

“You got to root down to get down” ~ Baron Baptiste

“If you give a little more bhakti, you get a little more shakti”– Sianna Sherman

“What are you going to do with your inspiration?” – Seane Corn

“The ocean of devotion” – Shiva Rea

“Swimming in the Cosmic Soup” – Shiva Rea

“Movement is the excavation and you are the site” – Shiva Rae

“I don’t have to do anything it’s already doing you” (talking of Nature as Yoga) – Seane Corn

This is a fantastic article about the power of twisting poses that I came across in my Yoga Teacher Training at YogaWorks.  Love all the benefits of twisting. Take a look!

Let’s Twist Again

By Julie Gudmestad

Try asking some nonyogis what they think happens in a yoga class, and at least one will answer that people get “all twisted up like a pretzel.” In fact, we yogis do twist a lot in a well-rounded yoga practice: We twist while sitting, standing, and standing on our heads. Because there is such an intriguing variety of twists, you might guess that twists provide an abundance of benefits. And they do. There are physiological benefits to the circulatory system and internal organs, structural benefits to the musculoskeletal system, and focusing benefits to your consciousness.

Indian yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar describes twists as a “squeeze-and-soak” action: The organs are compressed during a twist, pushing out blood filled with metabolic by-products and toxins. When we release the twist, fresh blood flows in, carrying oxygen and the building blocks for tissue healing. So from the physiological standpoint, twists stimulate circulation and have a cleansing and refreshing effect on the torso organs and associated glands.

While these physiological benefits are undeniably valuable, this column will focus primarily on the functions of and benefits to muscles and joints used in twists. Yoga twists involve the spine, as well as several major joints, including the hips and shoulders. In fact, full range of motion in spinal rotation is essential to many yoga poses. Unfortunately, many people lose full spinal rotation in the course of living a sedentary lifestyle. Some losses can occur if joints fuse due to trauma, surgery, or arthritis, but most range of motion loss comes from the shortening of soft tissues. If you don’t lengthen the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia (connective tissues) to their full length at least a few times a week, they will gradually shorten and limit the nearby joint’s mobility. In the case of twisting, the limitation is usually in soft tissues around the spine, abdomen, rib cage, and hips. If you regularly practice yoga twists, there are some clear benefits to these same joints and soft tissues. Not only do you maintain the normal length and resilience of the soft tissues, but you also help to maintain the health of the discs and facet joints (the small pair of joints on the back of the spine where each two vertebrae overlap).

A Twist a Day
To maintain or restore the normal spinal rotation, I recommend that you practice a simple spinal twist once or twice a day. (Note: If you have a spinal disc injury, consult your health-care provider before practicing twists of any kind.) A variation of the twist Bharadvajasana (Pose Dedicated to the Sage Bharadvaja) done sitting on a chair is an excellent option because it is so easy to integrate into everyday life.

Even in such a basic twist, however, there are a few anatomical points to keep in mind. Most important is to elongate the spine; a slumped-over posture significantly limits spinal rotation. So begin by sitting sideways on a stable, armless chair, and take a moment to ground your sitting bones and draw your spine straight up toward the crown of your head. Also, make sure that your spine is perpendicular to the chair seat, neither listing to the side nor to the front or back. The second important point to remember is that each section of the spine has a different rotational mobility. The cervical (neck) vertebrae, for example, are the most mobile in twisting. Because the 12 thoracic (midback) vertebrae have ribs attached, they can’t twist as freely as the neck vertebrae. And because of the orientation of the lumbar (lower spine) facet joints, the rotation of these five vertebrae is the most limited. So to ensure that you don’t overtwist in the more mobile parts of your spine, begin your seated twist by bringing your awareness into your lower back and beginning the twist from there. Let the twist gradually unfold up your spine, as though you were walking up a spiral staircase, so that each vertebra participates in the twist. If instead you twist quickly and without awareness, your neck will likely do most of the twisting, and whole sections of your spine can remain “stuck” and unmoving.

Once you’ve begun to rotate toward the back of the chair, you can use your hands on the corners of the chairback to deepen the twist in your spine and rib cage. Pull gently with the hand on the near corner and push with the hand on the far corner. Continue to sit tall, and don’t work so hard with the pulling hand that you draw that shoulder forward. As the twist unfolds all the way up into your neck, your head will turn, but be sure to keep your eyes and gaze soft. Hold the twist on each side for a minute or so, and use your breathing to help deepen the twist: On one exhalation, draw yourself taller; on the next exhalation, twist a bit more. With regular practice of this and other simple twists, your spine will regain its full potential for twisting.

Criss-Cross Action
Now that you know the basics about restoring your spine’s rotational range of motion, let’s take a look at muscle activity in twists. Many, many muscle groups are involved in twists, contracting and shortening or stretching and lengthening. There are several groups of back muscles of varying length-the rotatores, semispinalis, and multifidus-that contribute to spinal rotation. Some of the muscles that actively rotate the torso are quite small, like the intercostals, the layers of muscle between each two ribs. And several sets of muscles contribute to your ability to turn your head; the easiest to see is the sternocleidomastoid. The two SCMs sit on the front of your neck, forming a “V” starting at the top of the breastbone and running to the base of the skull just behind each ear. Look in a mirror: If you turn your head to the right, you’ll see your left SCM contract, and vice versa.

Probably the most important muscle group in active twisting is the abdominal obliques. The obliques form two layers of muscle on either side of the better-known rectus abdominus, the “six-pack” muscle that runs vertically up the center of the abdomen from the pubic bone to the rib cage. The two internal obliques, left and right, originate primarily from the pelvis and travel diagonally up across the abdomen, while the two external obliques originate primarily from the lower rib cage and travel diagonally down across the abdomen. All of the obliques have strong attachments to the substantial fascia of the lower back and to the abdomen.

Taken together, the four obliques form a diagonal cross that girdles the abdomen, and they have important functions in supporting the lower back, pelvis, and internal organs. The diagonal lines of the muscles also give them strong leverage in rotating the torso. When you turn to the right in Bharadvajasana, for example, the left external oblique will team with the right internal oblique to rotate your torso. At the same time, the opposite pair of obliques will have to lengthen. And so your twisting range of motion can be reduced by the inability of one pair (one external oblique and the other opposite internal oblique) to lengthen, while weakness in the opposite pair could limit your ability to actively draw yourself into the twist.

The obliques have a big part to play in yoga poses, and sometimes that role can be extremely demanding. Twisting arm balances such as Astavakrasana (Eight-Angle Pose), and Parsva Bakasana (Side Crane Pose) require big work from the obliques. If you’re not quite ready for the difficulties of arm balances, you can still challenge your obliques in standing poses like Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose), Parsvakonasana (Side Angle Pose), and Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose). Each of these poses requires a strong rotation of the torso against the pull of gravity. For example, when you perform Trikonasana to the right, your muscles actively twist your trunk and neck to the left so that your heart looks straight ahead, not at the floor, and your eyes look up at your left hand. But when you do Parivrtta Trikonasana to the right, your torso and neck twist strongly to the right, requiring strong contractions of the obliques, the spinal rotators, the intercostals, and the left sternocleidomastoid.

In addition to the regular practice of standing poses, you can help keep your obliques strong by practicing the full or modified versions of Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved Abdomen Pose). For the modified, milder version, lie on your back, with arms stretched out to the sides at shoulder height and knees pulled up toward your chest. Exhaling, smoothly drop both knees to one side, keeping your knees pulled up toward your arm. On your next exhalation, lift your legs back up toward your chest, flattening your back waist into the floor. For the full pose, lie on your back, arms outstretched again, and stretch your legs straight up toward the ceiling. Lower your straight legs toward the floor on one side (for the maximum challenge, don’t quite touch the floor). Keep stretching out through the soles of the feet; also, when you lift the legs back up to vertical, be sure to press the lower back flat. Since this can be quite a challenging pose, you may want to consult with your health-care provider before trying this if you have lower back or sacroiliac problems.

Now that you know how to reap the physiological and structural benefits of twists, you might also notice the centering benefits to your consciousness. As the layers of muscle and bone revolve deeply, your attention is drawn into the stable, unmoving center of the pose. And this ability to stay centered as the hubbub of the world swirls around you will pay obvious dividends in the yoga of daily living.

A licensed physical therapist and certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, Julie Gudmestad runs a private physical therapy practice and yoga studio in Portland, Oregon. She regrets that she cannot respond to correspondence or calls requesting personal health advice.

Wanderlust Festival
July 29 – August 1st
Squaw Valley, Tahoe

Wanderlust is a one-of-a-kind festival bringing together the world’s best yoga teachers and best performers in rock & roll, all in a setting of breathtaking natural beauty.  It is a place to relax, unwind, bend, dance, revel, and contemplate. It’s a community of like-minded people who share a common set of interests and values.  It’s a chance to escape the mundane and dwell in the extraordinary. It’s healthy hedonism and spiritual exploration. Most of all, it’s a long weekend of satisfying, stick-to-your-ribs fun.  Join us.

Wanderlust 2010 will offer a number of high-traffic opportunities for exhibitors at our Pulse main stage and in the Kula Village.  Instructions and information are available in our Exhibitor Application, which you can download in PDF format.

Simply type your information in the fill-in fields in the application. When you are done, click Submit Form and follow the simple on-screen instructions to complete your submission.

Applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.  Please email any questions to: exhibitor@wanderlustfestival.com

DOWNLOAD EXHIBITOR APPLICATION HERE: http://www.wanderlustfestival.com/vendors

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS JUNE 1, 2010

GENERAL INFORMATION BELOW

Squaw Valley
Squaw Valley provides the perfect natural setting to meditate, contemplate, or just get away from the concrete and crowding of our large cities.  Take the cable car to the top of the mountain and you can wander for hours across ridges and meadows where there aren’t even any trails.  Or go for a five minute hike out of the Village and you’ll find yourself on an immense network of paths interspersed with streams, rock climbs and wildlife.  Come get away.

Yoga Classes
Wanderlust will offer yoga classes at nine separate venues Thursday, July 29 through Sunday, August 1, 2010.  Most classes are located in the Village, but there are a number of classes at High Camp as well.  You’ll need one of our yoga + music tickets to practice.  You can schedule your classes in advance through our website beginning March 29, 2010.

Meditation & Lectures
For those interested in exploring the mind, Wanderlust will offer meditation workshops, lectures, and demonstrations covering topics of importance to our yoga + music ticketholders. You can schedule these events using our scheduling app beginning March 29, 2010.

Stay tuned because we will have a ticket giveaway in a future newsletter!  Sign up for our newsletter!

Have you heard? The annual gathering of world-class yoga instructors and top-notch musicians is going on this summer and advance tickets are on sale now! Gather your energy on the yoga mat and burn it dancing under the clear Tahoe skies. Meditate on the mountainside, hike Squaw Valley USA’s winding trails, and taste our organic foods & wines. Whether your focus is practice or play, Wanderlust Festival is for you. Your pass gets you:

• Three yoga classes per day led by your choice of our gifted instructors, including Seane Corn, Baron Baptiste, Shiva Rea and more!
• Unlimited access to all music at Wanderlust, with shows by Moby (DJ Set), Brazilian Girls and Pretty Lights, to name just a few!
• Access to the Cable Car and High Camp Resort & Spa (with restaurants, a hot tub and swimming lagoon).

If you already got your pass, good for you! Spread the word to everyone at your studio. If you haven’t secured your spot yet, purchase a pass today before advance pricing runs out!

WANDERLUST AT THE FILLMORE
Imagine hundreds of people practicing yoga in the venue that launched artists like Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead. To give Bay Area folks an early taste, Wanderlust will stage a festival teaser on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco. Wanderlust at the Fillmore will recreate the spirit of the summer festival on an intimate scale. The all-day & night event will be filled with yoga, music, hooping, juggling, poi, flow arts, community and fun. Yoga teachers include Shiva Rea, Yoga Tree’s Janet Stone and Kula Yoga’s Schuyler Grant. The music line-up will be led by Rupa & the April Fishes , DJ Dragonfly and MC Yogi. Tickets are $25 (music only) and $55 (yoga + music) and go on sale March 14, 2010 here.

BECOME A FAN AND WIN!
We want to make sure everyone knows about Wanderlust, so we’re asking everyone to help by doing two simple things: (i) becoming a fan of Wanderlust on Facebook and (ii) suggest that your friends to become a fan of Wanderlust. When you’re done, just write anything at all on Wanderlust’s Facebook Wall and you’ll automatically be entered in a contest to win a free pair of Sage tickets. The contest will close at the end of March, with the drawing to take place in early April. Instructions are below — thanks for your help!

1. Log into your Facebook profile.
2. Type “www.facebook.com/wanderlust” into your address bar.
3. Click the “Become A Fan” button (top of the page in the middle).
4. Share the experience by clicking the “Suggest To Friends” link (on the left directly under the Wanderlust Festival profile picture).
5. Select all your friends by profile picture and click “Send Invitations.”
6. Write a comment on the Wanderlust Wall to enter the contest!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Repost Wanderlust

February is Love Month!

*****Special Discounts for Couples Through February 28th!****

Grab a friend or your significant other….it doesn’t matter, it’s all about sharing love, music, fun and positive energy! Share your love and spirit.

Breath, movement, and touch is a powerful way to connect with another being, especially in a beautiful space with great music!

Dance and yoga master instructors Val Cunningham and Nicole Doherty are joining forces to offer a unique opportunity to work with your partner one-on-one.

At the Dance Loft, begin with Nicole’s 45 min energizing Partner Yoga class to warm up the muscles, free the mind and align your body in preparation for Val’s 45 min fun and exhilarating dance class in partner movement.

“It is through our intimate relationships with others that we come to know and love ourselves.”

Email Us:
nic@nicolepresents.com
http://wellness.nicolepresents.com

Val@valcunningham.com
http://valcunningham.com