so remember, no matter what your religion, your wardrobe or your location on the globe - you can do yoga! 

the yoga lesson:  explore your practice and make it your own :) and sometimes it helps if you upside down to flip your perspective.

yogmata, aka yoga mother, is in nyc this october to host two days of meditation workshops.  she's pretty amazing, being she's the first woman and non-indian person to have achieved samadhi (yoga enlightment)! 

check out my examiner.com article for more on her nyc workshops. Her workshops are said to calm and purify the mind, creating balance and recharging the mental, physical and spiritual energies. Yogmata also incorporates breathing techniques in her workshops to help renew energy. She leads each workshop with a mantra known as "Diksha" which allows attendees to receive her blessings.

who's in?!

if you are in or around nyc, here are some fun outdoor yoga events happening in your near future - and of course yogadeal-budget-friendly.

I'll admit it - as a yoga teacher and a yoga student myself - part of the perks of going to yoga class in a studio setting vs. living a solitary home practice are the adjustments made by the instructor and the occasional massage of your tried/stressed out body with some great smelling cream, lotion or whatever it is that 'teach' slathers all over you. 

This magical cream is the cue for my worlds to collide.

By day I am part of team that stresses the importance of natural beauty products that are good for you while still getting the job done.  And then here I am in yoga class, when I'm supposed to be at ease, preparing my body for meditation, when all I can think about is what toxins am i now bathing in and breathing in after my lovely teacher anointed me with something soothing.

After some Googling I found the ingredients of the China Gel, which is the go-to topical pain reliever for many well known studios.  Often it gets slathered on students throughout class to help release muscle tension and make one feel good, here is the full list of ingredients.  

Menthol 5%, Camphor 3% Formulated in a specially prepared base containing water, aloe Vera gel, isopropyl alcohol, lavender oil, witch hazel, triethanolamine, carbomer, ginseng extract, angelica extract, polysorbate 60, DMDM hydantion, imidazolidinyl urea, blue 1, yellow 5

The list starts off on a positive note with healing and soothing natural ingredients, but then just goes downhill.  Here is the breakdown of the good, the OK and the downright terrible ingredients. 

Sidebar:  Before we get started, you might ask why is ingredient safety so important?  Well unlike food in the USA, there is no cosmetics version of the FDA that regulates beauty and lifestyle products. There is no one policing this mega-huge industry and the sad truth is that many companies are more concerned with if the product looks pretty (artificial colorants), feels good (they add stuff like petroleum and dimethicone) and smells good enough for people to want to buy it (hello there, toxic, hormone-altering artificial fragrances).  Sure we can't live under a rock and hope nothing bad will ever happen to us, but we can take the time to make a conscious effort to care just as much about what we put one our bodies as much as what we put in them.  Afterall, the skin is the largest organ of the body and when it absorbs all of those beauty products, what do you think happens?

*spoiler alert*

They enter our blood stream and affect our entire body, including vital organs, fertility... the list goes on.  If you really wanted to have a great understanding of how it all goes down, read No More Dirty Looks (the blog and the book), it's an interesting, eye-opening reference guide for anyone that uses beauty products and prefers have information in a language they can understand even if they are not a scientist - yeah, that's right, pretty much everyone.

The GOOD:

• menthol - a natural ingredient that gives that tingly feeling, helping to reduce the feeling of aches and pains
• camphor - see menthol above
• aloe vera gel - a natural ingredient that has a myriad of benefits, but for this product it provides the gel base/consistency
• lavender oil - a natural essential oil that is a skin soother which also helps alleviate stress, headaches, depression and insomnia - basically it helps you mellow
• witch hazel - a natural astringent that helps to tighten pores, reducing inflammation
• ginseng extract - a natural tonic that helps the body rebound from mental and physical stress
• angelica extract - a natural antispasmodic, in other words a muscle relaxer

The OK:

• isopropyl alcohol - a pain reliever, among other things, that can be drying to the skin
• polysorbate 60 - a preservative, a safe one, but it's still a preservative (which most products need or else they either turn rancid, stop working effectively in a short time or both)
• triethanolamine - a surfactanct/emulsifying agent which basically helps the ingredient mix together and then stay together otherwise over time they will separate

The TERRIBLE:

• carbomer - a polymer - yes, as in a plastic - that helps to create the appearance of a thick creamy gel
• DMDM hydantion - a 'formaldehyde donor' preservative - that's right, the same formaldehyde that is linked to bad things like oh... cancer.
• imidazolidinyl urea- an antimicrobial perservative that helps to activate the dmdm hydantion, and some cases this ingredient is derived from animal urine - definitely not vegan.
• blue 1 - an artificial dye, linked to all sorts of bad stuff, like cancer (yes, another cancer-friendly ingredient) and hyperactivity (attention deficit disorders, oh the irony)
• yellow 5 - see blue 1

Ok, now for the light at the end of the tunnel.  If you like the effects of the aforementioned gel, there is good news, there are safe alternatives out there!

1. SHE Sore Muscle Balm
2. Badger Sore Joint Arnica Rub
3. Mama Mio Lucky Legs Cooling Serum

here are a few short videos of me playing around on my yoga mat in some 'hippie' (as in hip opening) arm balances that i've been sprinkling into my asana practice recently.  

and now for the other side...

and a flying pigeon...

about the videos:

i'm wearing one of my favorite onesies, designed by prancing leopard and made with organic cotton so it's breathable and super comfy, plus it gives me lots of room to move around in. 

i shot these videos on my android phone (htc one), using the paper camera app (also availalbe for iphones) - because I've always wondered what it would be like to be a cartoon or a drawing.

qual·i·ty

: vividness of hue (among many other definitions via merriam-webster.com)

“quality begins on the inside... then works its way out.”
― bob moawad

it's probably the olympics that has triggered this recent focus my thoughts have had on the concept of quality.  in my yoga practice, i've been focusing on the quality of my breath, not necessarily how many or how few breaths i've actually taken, but how each breath is on its own.  when talking on the phone or checking my inbox, it's not about how many texts or emails i get, but the quality of them - a text from an old friend vs. 25 sale emails. 

paying attention, setting time aside to focus on one thing at a time, to ensure its 'vividness of hue' or qaulity is really something i am trying to do more consciously. 

the yoga lesson:  everything is connected, the quality of how you brush your teeth reflects the quality of how you might prepare an important presentation at work.  are you paying attention in yoga class, or have you checked out and are already creating your next to do list?  i know i say it a lot, and i'm not apologizing for saying it again - come back to your breath - strive to have the highest quality breaths - breathing deep and consciously - for from the breath, everything else stems.

com·pas·sion

: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it (merriam-webster.com)

compassion. 

this words keeps popping up in conversation and in my head this week, so i thought it was a sign that i should share it.  in order to have compassion, you must first be aware of others, which is often hard to do when you are so caught up in your own stuff.  however, once you are able to be truly present, you may just discover that others around, whether your bestie or your 'worstie' could really use your support.  now this doesn't mean that you have to agree with their choices, but rather try to understand and accept what they are experiencing and where they are coming from. 

the ol' 'put yourself in their shoes' is totally real. 

the yoga lesson:  when you can be truly present, then you can also have compassion for others. compassion will help us let go of grudges and move the 'f' forward.

how life pans out and the vision you have created in your mind aren't always the same. so make your vision your reality by looking around and experience your present moment, you might even like how the story turns out better than the one you made up in your mind.

embrace the now.