Celebrate!

Happy holidays!  Enjoy celebrating the beauty of the season with friends and family.  Most of all, celebrate YOU. 

Take time to fully enjoy the holiday parties, gift-giving, story sharing and other festivities that mark this time of year.  More importantly, take time to celebrate you and your practice.  Whether you do 60 minutes of asana or simply 10 minutes of meditation, celebrate the gift you’re giving yourself…practice. 

Remember to receive your practice and all your holiday cheer to the fullest by giving yourself the gift of ”presence”.  Allow your mind and body to fully “hang out” together both on and off your yoga mat during this time of celebration.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and joyful New Year!   Namaste. 

To eat or not to eat?

Should you practice yoga on an empty stomach?  Many say YES stating that your last bite of food should be at least two hours before starting your yoga practice.  Eating too close to class time can cause cramps, nausea, etc.  This is especially true in twists, forward bends/folds, inversions (including downward-facing dog), etc.   Though for many of us living a hectic lifestyle, the timing of eating vs. taking a yoga class is not always perfect.  Often we find ourselves eating several hours beforehand and then an hour or two prior to class we’re starving. 

So the question really is “should you eat or starve your way through?”  For most, a small snack such as fruit, a light nutrition bar or yogurt at least 45 minutes prior to the start of class should be fine.  Keep it light —under 200 calories. As always, listen to your body.  If you’re starving and light-headed, eat a little.  If you do eat and are feeling cramps during class, drop to child’s pose.  Only you know what is best for you.  Listen to the teacher within you for the answer to “to eat or not to eat?”.        

lululemon athletica is coming to Washington, DC

For you DC yogis who keep up with the latest in yoga apparel, the Canadian-based company lululemon athletica is opening up in the DC market in 2007.  Locations in the works include a mini-store in Georgetown Park Mall and a storefront in Clarendon Commons.  And if you weren’t aware, Down Dog Yoga in Georgetown already carries an awesome selection of lululemon.See lululemon for more info about the company, clothing, jobs, etc.  While you’re there, be sure to check out their manifesto.  For easy reference, I’ve pulled part of the list from their site and pasted it below.       

• Drink FRESH water and as much water as you can. Water flushes unwanted toxins and keeps your brain sharp.
• Observe a plant before and after watering and relate the benefits to your body and brain.
• Coke, Pepsi and all other pops will be known as the cigarettes of the future. Colas are NOT a substitute for water. Colas are just another cheap drug made to look great by advertising.
• Be yoga. Breathing has you live in the moment and stretching releases toxins from your muscles.
• Do yoga so you can remain active in physical sports as you age.
• Listen, listen, listen, and then ask strategic questions.
• SWEAT once a day to regenerate your skin.
• Compliments from the heart elevate another person’s spirit and will often result in an encouraging word for someone else … a domino effect.
• Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself.
• Life is full of setbacks. Success is determined by how you handle setbacks.

For those of you already living a “yogic” lifestyle, the lululemon manifesto is nothing new.   It’s a nice touch to their website.  More importantly, in speaking with some of their employees, the company actually promotes this within the organization.  So though the clothing is pricey, their proprietary fabrics (i.e., luon & silverescent) are excellent and it’s nice to know that the designers/sales people/other employees are living a life that is consistent with what you believe.  At least this is the impression I have received thus far from personal interactions with several lululemon employees both in Canada and in the U.S.  Happy lululemon shopping in 2007! 

A Word on Rolling Up Your Mat

Students periodically ask me if it matters which side of the mat gets rolled inward.  It actually does.  If you store your mat rolled up in between sessions, roll it so the surface you use is to the outside. This keeps the corners of the mat flat on the floor when practicing.  

abellaYOGA.com revamped

If you haven’t been there lately or ever, where have you been? Check out abellaYOGA

Use the new form added on the “contact” page to send me your feedback and questions; or just post them here on the blog.  

Coming soon to abellaYOGA: client testimonials, video clips of classes and reveiws of yoga books and resources