Give-Away! $150 Green Beauty Starter Kit from Beautorium

June 10th, 2009 . Posted in Giveaways!, Products, green | 1 Comment »
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MommyOm is so delighted to be partnering with beautorium, the natural and organic beauty emporium. So delighted, in fact, to kick off summer, a very lucky MommyOm reader could win a Green Beauty Starter Kit with over $150 worth of top green beauty booty!  As well, continue reading to see how all MommyOm readers can enjoy some beautorium goodness!

newgreen-beauty-starter-kit

Beautorium takes the guesswork out of going green:

  • Choose from 20 brands and over 600 products—each hand-picked and carefully screened according to 5 strict criteria to ensure you get the most ethical and effective experience.
  • Unique “Good –to-Know” Guide gives you the low-down about each product. Shop by brand, category or beauty issue.
  • Free beautorium natural tote bag and samples with every order over $50; Free shipping over $100!

Satisfaction Guaranteed or your Money Back!

To enter this great prize draw, simply email mommyom and leave your name and e-mail address, or leave a comment below, to enter the contest and sign up for the beautorium newsletter.  Note:  only US shipping addresses will be eligible for the draw.

As a wonderful bonus, MommyOm has agreed a unique coupon code that will give you 15% off your first purchase at beautorium*.
Shop at www.beautorium.com and simply type the coupon code mommyom at the checkout page to receive your discount!

The give-away is only happening for the next couple of weeks, ending June 30, 2009, so enter today!

*Offer valid against full price stock through to end June 2010.

New Yoga Ticket Added to Wanderlust Festival

June 9th, 2009 . Posted in Events, Spirit | No Comments »
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Festival also introduces outdoor rock-n-yoga classes taught by John Friend and Shiva Rea

For those looking forward to their weekend at Wanderlust, the festival just got even better.  With the additions of a new ticket option and two new free classes, there is even more action to schedule during the three-day event, happening July 24-26 at Squaw Valley USA in North Lake Tahoe.

Bringing together the world’s leading yoga teachers and a top-tier music line-up, Wanderlust boasts two days of music with Michael Franti & Spearhead, Spoon, Andrew Bird, Jenny Lewis, Gillian Welch, Broken Social Scene, Girl Talk, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings and more, all from a stage perched atop the Sierra Nevadas.  Yoga enthusiasts can take classes taught by renowned instructors Shiva Rea, John Friend, and others from the Bay Area, New York City, and beyond.

The new ticket option, called Pilgrim, will extend the Seeker Saturday/Sunday music + yoga experience to include a day of VIP-level yoga on Friday.  For those looking to practice in an intimate setting with the likes of John Friend and Shiva Rea without purchasing the full-blown VIP Sage pass, this ticket is the answer. The Pilgrim ticket will be available Tuesday, June 9, priced at $164.50.  It can be used in combination with a previously purchased Seeker ticket, or on its own as a one-day yoga retreat.  More ticket options and information is available in the Tickets section at www.wanderlustfestival.com.

By popular demand, Wanderlust has also added two large outdoor classes that bridge the music and yoga experience at Wanderlust.  John Friend will lead a devotionally rocking class accompanied by fantastic live music with Jai Uttal, and Shiva Rea will team up with Michael Franti to teach On Fiyah: Energetic Vinyasa for All Rebel Rockers.  Located at the festival’s Globetrotter Stage in the Village, this venue has space for up to 1,000 people and is a great opportunity to have a mass communal yoga experience.  Both classes are free to all music + yoga ticketholders and will not count toward each day’s class maximum.

Also added to the Seeker yoga schedule are two Anusara classes.  Rock Your Heart Out is a tandem taught by Elena Brower of New York City and Christina Nones of Miami. This class will emphasize backbends, arm balances, hip openers, and forward bends, and will be paired with the haunting layered strings of Garth Stevenson.  The second, titled Got Soul: Arm Balances and Backbends is a tandem taught by Sianna Sherman and Kenny Graham with MC Yogi providing music for the journey.

Wanderlust is produced by Velour Music Group, in conjunction with C3 Presents (Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Music Festival) and Starr Hill Presents (Bonnaroo, Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival).

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Shake, Shake, Shake! Utkatasana…

June 8th, 2009 . Posted in Postures, Practice, strength | 1 Comment »
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utkatasana-yoga-art-chris-carter-020908-137x255

Chris Carter, Artist

This is a posture I really do like…  oh yes.  In fact, it’s a posture I play with a little to give the old thighs something to really scream about!  As I near the end of my series of Sun Salutation A, I’m already anticipating the bliss in the delicious agony that is Powerful Pose… or to some, Awkward Chair Pose.

It’s a posture that challenges your focus.  Not unlike other postures, there’s a lot going on at once.  Utkatasana requires- no, demands- attention to everything happening in your body, with muscles calling out in unison, in synchronistic pleasure and pain, from nearly head to toe.

I really couldn’t describe it any better than the lovely Shiva Rea does here, so I’ll let her do the honours of offering the posture step-by-step.  I’ve included a little video supplement too…

Credit for watercolour yoga imagery goes with thanks to Chris Carter, watercolour and ink artist.

Yoga For Kids? You Bet!

June 4th, 2009 . Posted in Blog | No Comments »
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Those of us who know, understand and feel what yoga does for our own mental and physical health certainly agree that yoga can do the same for our kids… maybe more.

So Angry I Could Spit… Where’s My Mat?!

June 2nd, 2009 . Posted in Meditation, Spirit, health, surrender | No Comments »
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angryThere are moments in this life… work-at-home husband, homeschooling the kids,  large dog, three new kittens, impending spousal unemployment (read: formerly work-at-home husband somewhere-on-the-golf course)… where the tension just seems to mount.

In mere moments, fear, frustration, and just the build up of stress and anxiety, plain and simple, yanks you by the sharp tongue, unwillingly of course, to that place where all bad energy resides and manifests in bad attitude, negativity and sometimes- ahem- just nasty, toxic interactions with those close to you (read: husband).

We’ve all heard the sage advice to ‘count to ten’, of course.  But my question, as the aspiring yogini I profess to be, is how can my practice enhance my ability to manage my frustration… retard my tendency to fly off the handle… or ease my propensity to suffocate on my anger in seething silence.

I meditate.  I practice.  But sometimes… sometimes… in the heat of the moment… is there something, yogically, I can draw on, to provide me with much needed support to get me through it without letting my anger undermine that which I am working so hard to control?

Or should there be?

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Etsy: Fun Yoga Blanket for Baby!

May 29th, 2009 . Posted in Kids, Products | No Comments »
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There…. I said it!

It’s a mouthful, but baby is sure to love this cute little blankie… perfect for any little yogi-to-be!

Made in the USA, this lightweight, fun yoga monkey kiwi cotton print/organic french terry baby blanket is made with a single layer of 100% cotton printed dot and the softest, natural certified-organic french terry cotton. The perfect size for swaddling, cuddling, traveling and burping.

Generously sized, they measure approximately 28 x 33 inches and comes with a natural, eco friendly, 100% recyclable kraft gift box with tissue papers which make the gift look great.

The perfect gift for baby shower or first birthday!

Downward Dog-gin’ It!

May 27th, 2009 . Posted in Meditation, Trends, strength, surrender | No Comments »
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Adho Mukha SvanasanaWould I be in danger of being stoned… or possibly flayed… right here on my yoga mat if I admitted I don’t like Downward Facing Dog?

Occasionally, in the heat of Sun Salutations, I find some solace in taking the posture… sighing into it… but then, remembering my form, back to work.

Unlike Savasana, where the work is largely mental, with a hint of the spiritual, for me, Downward Dog requires considerable effort on all fronts: the mental, spiritual and just downright physical.

More often than not, the sigh- upon recalling there is proper form involved- is replaced by an “Ugh!”, uttered through the exhausted heave of my exhale… followed by shallow, inadequate breaths… until, finally- yes, finally- I embrace my last inhale and take my steps, depending on my level of energy, my hop forward to the exalted release of forward bend.

But, here’s the thing:  Downward Dog is supposed to be a posture of rejuvenation… of healing and renewal!  If this is the case… then why, why, WHY do I dislike it so?!

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An Afternoon Nap… My Guilty Little Secret

May 25th, 2009 . Posted in health | No Comments »
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It’s certainly not something I let my neighbors in on.  I think my sister knows…. My dad occasionally drops in at ‘inopportune’ times in the afternoon and discovered my secret…. My friends?  I think I may have referenced the occasional Saturday afternoon indiscretion.  The inlaws?  NOT!

But, in considering outing myself publicly here, I figured, “what the hell… I’m tired of the sneaking around, the secrecy… the SHAME!

I am a napper.  If I can swing it… I’ll do it.  At about one in the afternoon, after a morning of school with the kids and lunch… I’ve about had it.  If I’ve no demands or plans for that time in the afternoon, my body, in no uncertain terms, makes clear its needs… and I search out my favourite chair… my favourite blankie… and, if they’re in the mood, a kitten or two to snuggle with… sometimes even my youngest child… and I embrace a short date with dreamland.

It is nothing short of heaven.  I lay back my head onto the cool inviting leather, curl the blanket more securely around my shoulders… and in moments, I there I am… the sweet spot:  that delicious space where you can actually feel your mind and body falling into the soft, welcome reprieve of suspended consciousness.  I often think at that moment I must be smiling.

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Work Your ‘Guns’: Yoga… Model Style

May 21st, 2009 . Posted in health, strength | No Comments »
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Combined with some form of cardio, yoga is without a doubt and effective choice if you are interested in an alternative to conventional strength training.  I, for one, have never been very good at sticking with a routine of dumbbells and free weights.

If you are looking for a great routine to target the ‘guns’, toning and developing strength in one sha-bang, check out the video below.  Sure, I know that the lovely Miyuki Fox is a model.  Yes, I’m aware that for whatever reason she has about 7 percent body fat, tops.  And OK, so in all likelihood the girl is eight feet tall.  So… I guess I have to admit, those facts alone set her apart from the rest of us in her ability to show off miles of bicep-ial sinew with little to no effort… but please, keep an open mind.  Take a gander… even better, give it a go.

I’m willing to bet, that model or no model, you’ll feel it… and maybe, with a little consistency, you too might be boasting model worthy ‘guns’… OK, perhaps not model worthy, but perhaps a little less chicken wing worthy.  How ’bout that?!

Karma Kids Yoga… Rockin’ Tunes!

May 18th, 2009 . Posted in Kids, Products | No Comments »
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15 original songs, rockin’ yoga music for kids for tons of yoga fun!

Folksy, rockin’, funky and fun, Come Play Yoga! features an eclectic mix of musical styles, including rock, reggae, disco, country, new age, and rhythmic chanting.

Kids can practice yoga along with popular songs from the popular classes at Karma Kids Yoga, or they can just chill out and enjoy the yoga groove. Each track playfully aims to inspire confidence, strength, imagination, and inner-peace, as well as bring a smile to your child’s yoga practice.

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