Eka Pada Koundinya II (One-Legged Arm Balance)
Melinda’s photo is stunning! Absolutely beautiful. Melissa was recently certified in Kundalini Yoga in Greece! Check her blog out her blog Melinda’s Yoga Blog. Thank you for sharing Melinda.
Entries from September 22nd, 2011
9.24.2011
Hugger Mugger Standard Bolster GIVEAWAY!
*** The winner of the bolster has been chosen! Congratulations Patty! Please email yogapeachblog @gmail.com by Wednesday, October 5 to claim the prize!***
Support your body, relax and rest better! Counteract bad posture, improve blood flow, reduce body stress, fatigue, and enhance yoga postures.
This is a really incredible FREE Giveaway this week offered to Yoga Peach readers! One lucky winner will win an original design plum Hugger Mugger Standard Bolster! This bolster’s oval shape provides a flat surface for stability with curved sides for comfort. The zippered cover has a convenient handle at one end to make it easily transportable to and from class. Hugger Mugger Bolsters are handmade in the USA in their Salt Lake City-based facility.
What are bolsters and who are they for? Bolsters are the perfect relaxation prop at the end the day, and you’ll especially appreciate it when you’re feeling exhausted or stiff. Bolsters can help counteract bad posture, improve blood flow, reduce body stress, fatigue, and aid in calming the breath. Bolsters support the body and enhance the ability to relax and rest. They also are a fantastic prop to use in many poses during yoga classes. Visit Hugger Mugger to learn more about their bolsters.
HOW TO ENTER (please complete all four):
1) Leave a comment below saying you want to win (and anything else you have to say) -easy!
2) “Like” Hugger Mugger on Facebook
3) “Like” Yoga Peach on Facebook and “like” this post at the top
4) Leave a comment on our facebook wall to complete entry
Additional entries accepted. One additional entry for each of the following:
- Follow yogapeachblog AND Hugger Mugger on twitter. Please mention in your comment below if you have done so.
- Tweet about this giveaway and include @ yogapeachblog- get the word out!
- Add me to your blogroll – I love making new friends! Please email me at yogapeachblog @ gmail (dot) com if you’ve added me to your blogroll.
* Contest will be open until 2:00pm EST on Friday September 30th. Contest winner must have a US or Canada mailing address.
* The winner will be randomly selected and announced on FACEBOOK & Yoga Peach Blog! Please check there to see if you won. The winner will need to contact Yoga Peach within 5 days to provide name and shipping address. Good luck to everyone!
9.23.2011
Happy 1st Day of Fall! It’s Pumpkin Time!
photo via www.elmstreetlife.com
Move over peaches, it’s pumpkin time! I’m thrilled it’s fall and always excited to make new recipes each season. I absolutely love pumpkin! It’s so yummy and satisfying as the weather gets cooler, and healthy too! Last week I found some new pumpkin recipes that I look forward to preparing. I just picked up my first pumpkin of the season this afternoon while strolling the Italian Market on 9th Street Philadelphia for $5.00.
Gluten Free Vegan Pumpkin Oat Scones, Spicy Pumpkin Fries, Pumpkin Jam, Pumpkin Chili, Pumpkin-Coconut Soup, and Pumpkin Crock Pot Oatmeal are all on my list. Someone sent me a pumpkin cookie recipe yesterday that I may add to the list too!
photo and recipe via Createlive: Spicy Pumpkin Fries
Philadelphia Magazine’s Be Well Philly published a list of outstanding Pumpkin recipe suggestions yesterday and I’ve added their Baked Pumpkin Pasta and Pumpkin Vinaigrette to my list of pumpkin recipes to try this fall. Their Healthy Pumpkin Pudding which calls for protein powder sounds quite interesting too. For more exciting pumpkin recipe ideas check out Be Well Philly’s “Peace Out Pumpkin Pie” Thanks for the great recipes Be Well Philly!
photo from Be Well Philly via chicagonow.com
Do you have a delicious pumpkin recipe you’d like to share? Send it to yogapeachblog@ gmail.com
9.23.2011
Photo of the Day
Hanumanasana (seated splits pose)
Ashanti Garcia (Airbender) of San Ignacio, Belize
Beautiful picture with the greenery and hibiscus surrounding her. Read more about Ashanti on Yoga Inspiration of “Airbender” Ashanti Garcia
9.23.2011
“Airbender” Ashanti Garcia of San Ignacio, Belize Shares Her Yoga Story
Ashanti Garcia, of San Ignacio, Belize, shares her passion for yoga with us. I am so happy we’ve connected and become online friends. Thank you, Ashanti, for sharing your yoga beautiful experiences with us. Namaste.
I was first officially introduced to the science and art of yoga at En-Lighten Up Yoga Studio on the Third Floor of JNC Mall in San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize. I will always treasure the memory of the wonderful union that was created with my body, mind, and spirit on February 23rd, 2010 under Hatha Yoga Instructor, Kate Devine. The simultaneous feeling of working my entire body and mind sufficiently and still feel an amazing sense of relaxation was unlike anything I had felt before. From that day, yoga became my latest love and I looked forward to taking at least one class per week with my instructor. However, I loved yoga so much that I would often practice what I learned at the studio at home daily. By March 2010, I was deriving so much joy from my yoga practice that it became literally impossible for me to keep the joy to myself. Therefore, by that time, I took my first Asana photo shoot and uploaded them on facebook. I wanted everyone (at least my list of friends at that time) to get a glimpse of the asanas I was learning. I also used photos to track my progress and growth in yoga.
Looking back, both in my mind and through the various asana photo shoots I’ve done so far, I am amazed at how quickly I grew in my yoga practice as a result of consistency. I entered the world of yoga with minimum flexibility, strength, stamina, balancing and coordination skills I had developed through my small involvement in dance and Pilates. Over the course of only three months, I saw a tremendous difference regarding my progression in these physical capabilities, including lung capacity and concentration skills. In addition, my unending dedication to yoga enabled me to overcome serious fears such as standing on my head. Consistent yoga practice enabled me to accomplish things I thought I would never accomplish. My rapid growth led many people to believe that I had either been practicing yoga for many years or that I was born this way. I did and still continue to do my best to encourage people that none of the two are true. In fact, it was due to the many asanas I had posted on facebook near the end of 2010 that made the nickname “Airbender” be dubbed on me by Joseph Stamp Romero, the Choreographer and Creative Director of Nu Generation Dance Company. I am very honored for the opportunity he gave me to offer his talented but small group of dancers a yoga session, which is scheduled for January 2012.
I want to spread hope and inspiration to others to let them believe that consistency is key to rapid growth and development in the unending yoga journey. I also deeply desire to become a certified yoga instructor by doing a home-study program offered by the Temple of Kriya Yoga in Chicago. Even though I am not certified yet, I have such a tremendous passion to spread the joy and benefits of yoga to others that I would offer to help anyone who wanted to learn what yoga was all about and was interested in starting to practice it. The first physical location where I began to spread the word about yoga was at Galen University in Central Farm, Cayo District, where I obtained my Bachelor’s Degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Anthropology with a minor in Archaeology. I gave two yoga-related presentations and even performed my first yoga-dance routine (a fusion of yoga and belly-dance elements) in a class on campus. Furthermore, I offered free fitness sessions four times per week that featured a 15-minute intense core workout called Ab Ripper X, followed by a yoga segment. Now I offer these same unique yoga sessions at Royal Wellness Center in Belize City.
(love this picture of her with the Belize flag behind her!)
In conclusion, I believe it is very important for everyone to know that I am always interested in learning and collaborating with other yoga practitioners, especially since I’ve only been practicing yoga for about a year and a half. Nonetheless, I plan on practicing yoga for the rest of my life. If readers are interested in learning more about my yoga journey, kindly visit http://wwwashantiairbender.tumblr.com or my new facebook page at www.facebook.com/AshantiAirbender2010.
Namaste,
Ashanti
9.23.2011
Violation Parking Ticket on my way to YOGA!
“A Real Patriot Is The Fellow Who Gets a Parking Ticket and Rejoices That the System Works” -Bill Vaughan
Violation Parking Ticket on my way to YOGA!
“Corner Violation @ 1:22pm: $71.00″ reads my ticket discovered one block after pulling away from my usual parking spot today. “CORNER VIOLATION? What the heck?” I thought to myself after pulling over to read my ticket. The funny thing is that I was considering heading over to Jersey today around noon. Sure enough I didn’t go and my ticket was stamped 1:22pm. So what is a corner violation you ask? According to Philadelphia Parking Authority (now I’m wonder if they have a Facebook page for me to thank them!) I was parked too close to the corner which is going to cost me $71. That’s double the cost of an expired meter ticket. The strangest part is that it’s impossible that I was too close to the corner. There’s a crosswalk with a large distance of space between the crosswalk and the corner. I fully admit that the back of my car was nearly lined up with the beginning of that crosswalk, but absolutely not past the line. I’ve taken a picture of the crosswalk and corner to dispute the ticket. To clarify again, the back end of my car just barely went past the green weeds. Here you go City of Philadelphia:
So what does this have to do with a yoga? It’s actually quite funny to me. I discovered the ticket on my windshield as I was driving to yoga and I’ve been parking in this spot for 2 months! “Corner violation $51″ actually made me chuckle as I thought to myself how counter productive it’d be getting angry and heated over this ticket in this moment. I was, of course, on my way to power yoga to detox and relieve stress so how could I possibly do anything more than just laugh at the irony of the ticket? I even reminded myself that it’s better than getting pulled over and being issued a traffic ticket! (knock on wood) Next, I thought of the man (or woman) who proudly issued my ticket and so powerfully placed it under my windshield wiper with a big grin on their face. It was probably their first day on the job and they were so excited someone was “boarder line” ticket worthy. (slight sarcasm, slight truth.) Just like the quote says, at least the system is working! I’ve only gotten two parking tickets in my life, both of which were this year in the city of Philadelphia. The city of Brotherly Love sure does not have loving parking authority employees! So there you have it…tonight’s parking violation ticket story and my reactions. Thank goodness I have yoga and thank goodness I have the ability to laugh. Namaste Philadelphia Parking Authority.
Photo of Yoga Peach by Debbie Mcgeorge Photography
Practicing yoga at Independence Hall. I call this pose “Asking for Forgiveness” Pose!
9.22.2011
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9.22.2011
Yoga Aid Challenge (Saturday October 1, 2011)
Saturday October 1, 2011 is the worldwide Yoga Aid Challenge. The challenge is a special opportunity for local yoga communities to come together and raise funds for charity. There is no charge too attend and participants fundraise for charity leading up to the event. It’s a 2 hour challenge lead by a series of yoga instructors from studios in the community areas.
Capital cities will feature some of the world’s most influential yogis: teachers include Seane Corn, Shiva Rea, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Baron Baptiste, Duncan Wong, Ana Forrest and MC Yogi, amongst many others.
I’m hoping to attend the Philadelphia Area Yoga Aid Challenge on Sunday, October 1 at Hot Box Yoga. I’ll be returning from international travels either the evening prior or the day of the event, so I’m crossing my fingers I return in time. If I make it back in time, I’ll be there! Either way, my thoughts will with everyone worldwide participating in Yoga Aid Challenge.
To find a Yoga Aid Challenge in your area visit www.yogaaid.com
image via yogaaid.com/usa
9.22.2011
Photo of the Day
Reverse Warrior
Gorgeous gorgeous photo from “Real Women Do Yoga” on Melinda’s Yoga Blog Check her blog out to see and read more!
9.22.2011
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