My first guest blogger, how fantastic! Not only do I finally get a recommendation to check out, but I can share it with you too. Toni is a fellow yogi at Living Yoga Center who is regular enough that we're finally striking up conversations... which I find to be a wonderful blessing. Thank you for sharing your experience with us Toni!
LOCATION: You can find Jiva Yoga Center on (Route 278) and Arrow Street Route in Hilton Head, South Carolina. If you are staying on the Island, it is really easy to find. Parking is easily accessible, just steps from the front door. The studio is on the ground floor of an office building. There are rectangular windows, looking out you can see the tops of palm trees. That is pretty cool if you’re from Illinois.
COST:The drop in fee is $15 for yoga classes. JYC has online registration through their website. The website is easy to navigate. When I arrived, I just gave them my name, that was it.
STUDIO:When you enter JYC, the front desk is immediately on your left. Then there is the boutique, I found a really nice Lululemon yoga top, they carry blocks, straps and lots of other fun stuff. The best part was the bag for my purchases. It is reusable, and big enough to carry yoga clothes if I am on my way to class. The Jiva Yoga Center logo is on the front.
Opportunities are waiting for you when you visit a new yoga studio. I had never seen a small pump organ in class before. The instructor used it to chant OM while another instructor sang a Sanskrit meditation at the beginning and the end of class; it was beautiful. There are two rooms for yoga. The larger studio has space for about 30 people. The floor is marked to show you where the front edge of mats should be lined up. It eliminates the awkwardness of finding a space in a crowded class.
CLASS DESCRIPTION:The 9-10:30am Vinyasa Flow classes are based on Baron Baptiste’s vision. Our signature class! A dynamic blend of strength, sweat and spirituality that will detoxify, heal and alectrify. This sequence will strengthen and tone the muscles of your body and mind, and is sure to take you to your edge. Modifications are offered. Please bring your own towel and water bottle. Jiva will still provide water at no cost.
The cues from all of the instructors were excellent. Clear and concise without useless chatter, it was incredibly helpful to a mindful yoga practice. The sequencing of poses was creative and thoughtful. One instructor threw in mountain climbers and Shakti kicks. Jiva Yoga also has a 200 hour and 500 hour Yoga Alliance sanctioned Teacher Training program.
There were many devoted and very strong yogis in the classes that I attended. It is fair to say it was an intermediate to very experienced class. The warm-up was challenging in a good way. We did at least four rounds of Sun A and Sun B to warm up. Then a standing sequence of poses, several balances, and floor work. There were lots of opportunities to do Chaturanga. I held poses a little longer, took some familiar poses a little farther and when I got tired did a short child’s pose and got up and tried again.
I visited in July, during my stay on the Island, and it was about 90° every day. I signed up for three power yoga classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The room was warm before class and got really warm once it started since they did not turn on the air conditioning. That really surprised me at first, I wasn’t used to sweating quite that much (hint: buy a yogitoes for your mat). Being hot and sweating is really distracting; but I learned to put that aside and concentrate on my practice. The pace was much faster than my normal practice, but that’s good. Adapting is good.
Toni is a self-described Yoga Junkie who runs, swims and lift-weights all to support her physical practice. Her mental practice comes from trying to consistently bring the lessons learned on the mat to her daily activities. Now that’s a challenge.
This give away thing is pretty great. I love being able to take part in giving a gift to someone and seeing people get excited about the contest. So rewarding!
Cue round two of give aways! I was playing on facebook, as one does, probably more than one should... and there was an ad for I AM MARYANN. I'm so glad I clicked on it—what a wonderful surprise. Maryann's jewelry is an empowering and beautiful reminder of our personal mantras, and we're lucky enough that Maryann is happy to share her talents with you!!
Here's how you can win!
1. Visit Maryann's site to be inspired (for your necklace, for future gifts, for words of wisdom). What you will win is a sterling silver chain and charms necklace ($95 value). The winner can pick whatever word they want (8 characters or less)!
COST: around $15 (when you're catching their sales)
DESCRIPTION: Escape from it all with our 100% silk aromatherapy eye pillows. Made in India from ceremonial sari designs and solid colors. Filled with flax seeds and dried lavendar, these soft and cooling eye pillows work as a mood tonic, antidepressant, headache remedy and detoxifier. The shape of the pillow contours to your face adding gentle pressure and blocking out light, relieving tension and calming active muscles around the eyes. Used for deepening relaxation during Savasana, meditation, and afternoon naps. The pillows are hand-washable, refillable, and adjustable (zippered opening). Just surrender...
I have a habit of squinting my eyes shut when I try to close them, not so helpful when you're trying to relax in savasana. So I tried using one of the silk pillows the yoga class offered up back when I was taking classes at The Refinery. Heaven! It's cool on your face, smells fantastic (usually lavendar), and blocks out that light without me having to squint at all.
I think they're so great it's one of my go-to gifts for friends I haven't gotten one for already. My instructor tells me they're good for calming children down when they're upset too; the lavendar relaxes them almost instantly. I know I feel better when using one after I throw a tantrum (what? don't act like you stopped throwing tantrums!).
Anyway, I daydream of having Barefoot Yoga's eye pillows as one of my giveaways for you, but I wouldn't wait and check out their current sales.
When I was up at the Yoga Journal Conference Midwest I happened across the vendor I bought my mat, block, strap, and bag from online... I introduced myself and was just seeing what other products they had, since I love what I have now. And then, duh, I realized we should connect over the world wide web!
Well, shortly after that first conversation Jane emailed me (hi Jane!) about coupons, give aways, and product reviews (oh my!). I'm happy to introduce my first product review because of it: the Natural Fitness yoga mat! My current mat is great, but a little thin (I double it up with a studio mat for thickness), but it's natural and has held up great for the past couple years since I started taking classes (and I average about 5 classes/week). Jane told me they just released the Divine Mat (sounds amazing, right?), and Natural Fitness was kind enough to supply me with a mat to try out and review, woot!
COMPANY:Natural Fitness PRODUCT LINK:Divine Mat in Red Rock/Moss COST: $80.00 DESCRIPTION: Green your practice with a Natural fitness Divine Natural Rubber Yoga Mat. Made from natural rubber, a sustainable and biodegradable material, these mats offer superb traction and a high-rebound dense cushion. The Divine Mat provides extra cushion for those who need it. Our mats are longer than traditional yoga mats and each has two colors. 5/16" x 24" x 75". Red Rock/Moss color.
DAY ONE: <cue choir of angels singing AHHHHHHHH> The name is quite accurate, as I rolled out my new mat today and stepped on it for the first time. It is firm yet squishy. It has the perfect amount of give to be kind to my knees, but solid enough to make balance poses more about the pose and less about the mat. And the space! We went to do our seated forward fold (Paschimottanasana) and my mat just kept going on and on in front of me, this will be great for savasana! So far, I'm in love. Stay tuned, I plan to check in after a month—and again as time goes on—to let you know how it handles five classes a week after some amount of time. Thank you Natural Fitness, for this wonderful experience!
DAY THREE: ok, it's only been two more days, but I wanted to add something that I noticed in class today.... this mat does not move. It sticks to me AND it sticks to the floor. I don't know how many of you practice on hardwood floors, or are as particular as I am... but I like my mat to line up with the lines. I'm a dork, whatever. But my old mat (the generic purple mat you see regularly, I would layer underneath my old Natural Fitness mat) would move around, and I was constantly adjusting it. Drove me crazy. Today, I rushed into class and set up in a hurry... when we finished our three Oms and started the asanas, I realized my mat was crooked. I went to go slide it with my foot... I almost fell over the damn thing was so stubborn. That's. Awesome.
SIX MONTHS: Why hello! Thought I forgot about this review, ey? I may have, until I looked at the two little worn out areas where my hands go (or feet go in tadasana). Indeed, the mat does break down a little bit, but these areas aren't falling apart or hindering practice in anyway... they're like little reminders that you've been practicing. And that, well, makes me feel good. So I'm not complaining about it. The important part of this review... it's still as squishy as day one and it still sticks to the floor with the strength of 400 hundred body builders (too dramatic? ok.). I find myself slipping a little bit more, depending if it's an on day or not—you know those days, when you hit every pose in asana with grace and what can only be the work of magic yoga elves. But regular (non-elf days), I have no issues. Needless to say, still very happy with my mat!
ONE YEAR LATER: I'm still using this mat, and love it. It's kept it's buoyancy all this time! The only concern is where my feet usually hit for downward facing dog, it's starting to crumble. I tried flipping the mat over, but that seemed to be worse than the side I normally use. All in all, still very happy with my yoga mat!
ONE + A HALF YEARS LATER: It's official, I'm retiring my mat. I loved it, but I've worn a hole into it that my toes keep getting stuck into. I wanted it to just be a sign character, but unfortunately it's getting in the way of my yoga.
Holy first blog contest, batman! That's right, you could win an ENTIRE yoga kit ($50 value) from Natural Fitness. What more inspiration do you need to practice yoga?!
"How do I win this fantabulous prize, Anni?"
1. Visit Natural Fitness page to drool over the kit (and see if there are other things you like, because there's a coupon on my blog for 25% off $25 or more in eco-gear you can take advantage of)
2. 'LIKE' Natural Fitness' facebook page
3. 'LIKE' No Expectation, Only Intention's facebook page
4. Leave a comment below telling me why you love this kit (seriously, the strap acts as a yoga sling too, genius!)
That's it! Then check back next week to see who the winner is!
Giveaway open until Sunday, July 24th at 10pm CDT
Before I can even attempt to wrap my brain around this amazing weekend, I have to start with thanking Yoga Journal... for having the conference, but also for allowing people to volunteer so they can attend the conference. I couldn't afford to go to this conference, but after choosing the itinerary I couldn't have and researching the instructors I couldn't learn from (read: dreaming)... I found a page about volunteering for the conference. I had to post a certain number of posters around Champaign-Urbana, and get (quite a bit of) information about those places I posted at... I'd do that a hundred times over for the experience I had this weekend. So, thank you Yoga Journal, especially Gabi, who answered my random (many) questions. I also need to thank the Melby family... for just being the Melbys, for one, but also for sharing their wonderful home to stay in while I attended the conference. The gift you all gave me, I appreciate more than there are words to express my gratitude. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And love.
Before I get into the classes I took, let's start with those basics I like to use to get the "facts" out there... LOCATION:Grand Geneva Golf Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva, WI. Uhhhhh, wow. Talk about spoiling yourself in all the ways I believe you deserve. The resort is ginormous, I know I only saw the conference section of it, but driving past what I'd call a small village of the Grand Geneva to get to the conference. Big. I guess there's a water park, golfing, a spa, much much more... but I experienced the conference center. And, with the help of many YJ volunteers, it was a relaxing experience that can only be the result of meticulous organizing (congrats GG and YJ). Parking was free, and up til the last session that I returned for after a quick lunch, parking was easy to find also. I didn't have a room there, so I can't comment on those facilities. COST: Free. Short of the gas it took me to drive to Wisconsin... and the conference shirt I "had" to buy. Oh, and I did have to pay for food, but they provided a discount for the conference, so I had a $5 veggies sandwich for my meals. I hear they're not organic, which was a big part of the discussions all weekend (eating organic, not that the hotel's food wasn't organic—although it was brought up). If you were to attend this conference sans volunteer work... it would cost this. STUDIO: The rooms surprisingly worked well for yoga classes. I say "surprisingly" because they were all carpeted. Balance poses were a tad bit more challenging. My mat did move a little bit. But for the most part, success. They also marked off the rooms so you knew where you could take up space. I didn't experience a class where it was mat to mat to mat, so it wasn't too bad. But even on the couple occasions I had one person directly next to me, still plenty of space to yoga it up. Lecture rooms were great too, set up like small classrooms with stadium seating, it was easy to see the instructor and quaint enough to hear them too. SCHEDULE: Choose your own adventure, my friends. In two-hour intervals there are over 10 classes to choose from. Crazy! They do recommend beginner tracks and teacher tracks, but I learned quickly that there was every type of yogi in my classes. If something was too difficult, I was in no way fearful of coming out of pose or doing a modification. Meanwhile, it was SO exciting to see all these people going into the poses. I love watching yogis gracefully go into what most would think is contortionism. Not only for the beauty of what the body can do, but also because that's where I'm going! That's part of my journey! Someday I will do what he or she did, and hopefully inspire the newer yogi next to me. I know, I know, I'm suppose to keep my practice on my own mat... but I don't find peeking at others destructive, quite the opposite. But I digress. For the full schedule, go here. My schedule started at 7am, had a lunch break for about an hour and then continued on through 8:30p on Saturday and Sunday. Monday I had an all-day intensive that was from 9a-4:30p. INSTRUCTORS: Details are below, since I was blessed with MANY instructors this weekend. If you want to know all the teachers that were there... here. CONTACT:Yoga Journal Conferences
Saturday • 7-7:45am • Walking Meditation with Paul Weitz
The simple act of walking is so common to daily life that we can forget we are doing it. In fact, the mind is often far away as we put one foot in front of the other. In walking meditation, we'll slow the process down and focus on breath and tactile awareness of movement and sensation. This practice helps to develop everyday mindfulness, and serves as a reflection of how we move through life moment to moment.
I learned a new form of meditation! Walking (very) slowly, constantly being aware of lifting, moving, and placing my foot. Recognizing when my mind wandered, but bringing it back to my step. This is probably the first time I've been able to hold my focus for this long. To the point I didn't realize he had chanted Om to call us back to the group.
Built around Sri Dharma's formidable Shiva Namaskar vinyasa posture practice, this class is designed to bring the highest radiant physical and mental health. As always, Sri Dharma will introduce spiritual and practical everyday topics to the session, which can be applied to your daily life.
Brazilian catholic who teaches hinduism including vegetarian lifestyle. Yep. He is wisdom and love and humor. His warmth was inspiring. I tried to take notes, but sometimes you just need to be sucked in. I'm a bit speechless in describing my experience, sorry, I can only say... please, take the time to listen to him, read about him. Engage your brain with him.
Here are some of my notes:
• Everything is perfect. If there are problems, it's from your past life. Reincarnation is so you can do right by past mistakes.
• Don't consume animals. You eat cow, you act like the cow (insert him pausing to chew his cud). You have their energy inside of you when you consume them, and they're not as evolved, so they clog your body and keep you from reaching enlightenment.
• We are all an equal part of god... You, me, your dog, an insect. Bring no harm to anything.
Saturday • 10:30am-12:30pm • Shodhana: Yogic Purification with Jim Bennitt
Tantric yoga emphasizes inner purification of the physical, energetic, and psychic bodies. When deep inner purification happens, we spontaneously choose to act with compassion and see the world more clearly, which affects every decision we make. Come practice a strong sequence of postures, breathwork, and meditation that will leave you feeling a deep sense of cleansing but without exhaustion, and being energized but also centered. You will be challenged physically, but in an intelligent and holistic way that will build prana rather than deplete it.
Jim Bennitt brought a different energy to the room (which was the same room I just happened to be in with Sri Dharma). Young, energetic, but equally meaningful. What I remember most, I hope I can find a video for... because it was crazy. My instructors have talked about certain breathing techniques, but to see it is a whole other story. This whole video is beautiful, but to see a little bit of the breathing, jump to 6:35.
Notes from this class:
• Slow down the body and mind enough to detach from both, because we are more than just those two pieces.
• Prana (energy). Slow the prana down, your mind will follow. This allows you to flow energy through the channels and be healthy. Think chi, like in acupuncture.
• Asana. Purify the body through poses. If you are happy and healthy, you will treat others with happiness.
• Tejas. There is a divine light in each of us. Yoga is a process to see that light more clearly. Move away the darkness and bring out your radiance (for yourself and others).
• Energy always follows awareness.
• Visualization. Your mind can't separate what is real and what is thought. So the more you visualize doing something, the more you'll be able to do it for real.
Saturday • 1:30-2:30pm • Panel Discussion: The Yoga of Food
What does it mean to eat like a yogi? Is there such a thing as a yogic diet? Join Seane Corn, Cyndi Lee, Steve Nakon and Aadil Palkhivala, as they discuss how the practice of yoga affects our food choices.
This discussion actually rubbed me the wrong way, a little bit. I agreed with what everyone was saying, but saddened by this finger-pointing at agri-business for why crops are grown the way they are or what is being grown. I know there are people close to politicians, with money, helping make decisions. But at the end of the day, if everyone stopped buying fast food and brought lunch to work... how quickly would we see change? If everyone stopped eating processed foods and opted for organic... how quickly would we see change? We are smarter than the marketing we are bombarded with, and we are stronger than the habits we turn to. We can't get mad at a farmer for growing food we ask to eat.
Saturday • 3:30-5:30pm • Lotus Postures and Hip Openers: A Pathway to Freedom with Maty Ezraty
Open and flexible hips are the path to all Lotus poses and many other important postures. Learn to open the hips safely with standing poses, seated poses, and supine poses—especially helpful if you have knee injuries or tight hips. Be prepared to go deep and find a satisfying sense of freedom.
Maty Ezraty is a character. I can still hear her voice in my head. It was almost abrasive to me, at first. But her sense of humor softened her instruction. Plus, she jumped right in, it was a FULL two hours of hip openers. Yowzers! There was no time to even consider what was abrasive, because I had some hips that were going to be opened. I did not achieve Lotus, but I learned so much more about how my body should work to get there. She explained things that made my muscles relax, so I could open up. It was probably the most effective class for my body and the poses, this weekend.
Saturday • 7-8:30pm • LUNAFest Film Festival
A film festival by, for, and about women brought to you by LUNA (whole nutrition bars for women).
Each season, films tour 150+ venues and screen in fromt of 20K people across the US and Canada. 100% of LUNAFest proceeds go to nonprofit organizations—15% are donated to the Breast Cancer Fund and 85% to local community nonprofits. To date, LUNAFest has featured over 83 women filmmakers, raised over 363K for the Breast Cancer Fund and over 570K for nonprofit organizations.
Yoga meets movies meets women... Uh. Anni's practice meets Anni's old job at That's Rentertainment meets herself. Sweet! To say the least, this was right up my alley. It was unfortunate that more people weren't there, but it was a big day of yoga... so understandable. I'm glad I didn't pass up the opportunity to see these shorts.
Sunday • 7-7:45am • Morning Meditation with Renee Fussner
I woke up... stiff, sore, physically tired, mentally tired. This was the perfect class to kick-start my day. Renee walked us through a few different forms of meditation. Focusing on breath, then guided, then silent meditation. I was a little worried about behaving through the silent meditation, but I think I was tired enough to only focus on one thing... and I'm really glad it was me.
Sunday • 8-10am • Ganesha: Secret Symbolisms of the Self with Manoj Chalam
The little-known text called the Ganapati Upanishad elevates the primordial form of Ganesha to symbols of consciousness. Vedanic meditation on Ganesha consists of shravana (listening), manana (contemplation, and nidhidyasana (taking a stand in consciousness) and is an intuitive way to realize the Self. Discover how these nondualistic teachings of Vedanta can add great insights into your yoga practice.
A lot of the Indian stories go over my head... not because I don't understand the meaning behind them, that is quite beautiful, but when you're hearing the stories, you're also being taught what a lot of the words mean. Then there's always a tangent story to the meaning of the word, which is equally interesting. It's just a lot of information for one brain to take in during two hours. I wrote down as many notes as I can, but now looking through them... I have no idea what I was writing. It's ok, the more classes I take, the more this will sink in.
I learned about Shiva and Shakti and their two kids... obviously, with focus on Ganesh. I liked the duality of creator and creation... or masculine and feminine (which Aadil later pointed out in another class, doesn't mean man and woman—we have both qualities in us)... never changing (I am) and always changing (your surroundings). As always, finding the balance in ourselves and all that we do.
Fun fact... did you know the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance is based on the Bhagavada Gita? Here's an article explaining all the correlations.
Sunday • 10:30am-12:30pm • Yoga for a Broken Heart with Seane Corn
In the course of our lives, we will experience heartache—whether it is through unforeseen setbacks, the ending of a relationship, or the death of a loved one. Often these experiences are hard to move through because of the lingering effects of grief on one's soul. In this inspirational class, you'll learn to see beyond the grief, loss, and confusion. We'll work on being in the mystery of life so that we can stand powerfully in this journey with gratitude, reconciliation, understanding, and peace of mind. A wonderful opportunity to shift your resistance into surrender, your judgment into compassion, and your fear into faith.
Yep, break out the kleenex. Seane started this class, bringing us all forward, closer together, gathered around her. She told us how her father asked her to teach a class on dealing with grief after he died. Obviously, her father had passed away... only 11 months ago. I'm still dealing with the effects of grief from my father dying in 1998. Today, I learned a lot more about that... why it's ok to experience that grief, but to not define yourself by it. And to learn that when we suppress these very natural, human, and rewarding emotions... we store them in our body to create physical and mental disease. The beautiful stories that Seane shared and asked others in the room to share were healing. She said that grief is the one thing we ALL have in common, but none of us experience the same way... that's how complex it is. And the more we open up spaces to talk about this grief, the sooner we can all heal and move forward in our lives. After this discussion (and many tears) we returned to our mats to move our body and release this tension. She asked us to offer up these emotions in our practice, with every sun salutation. To feel how our body changed when we let them go. Downward facing dog is hard when tears are rolling up your forehead and there is nonstop sniffling, but this was possibly the most empowering class I've had all weekend. So very grateful for those two hours, I plan to continue what I learned when faced with new obstacles and dealing with some old ones too.
Sunday • 3:30-5:30pm • The Yoga of Relationships with Aadil Palkhivala
Our life becomes harmonious when there is a feeling of connection and peace in our relationships. Indeed, all of life is nothing more than the building of our relationships with our own Self, with the people that we surround ourselves with, and with the context in which we are placed—our homes, our cities, and our earth. Understanding the philosophy of Purna Yoga is essential to building and maintaining these three critical relationships and to bringing harmony and fulfillment.
I was excited for this class, because I knew I had my all day intensive with Aadil the following day, so to get a small two-hour dose of what was to come was comforting. Aadil is happy. You look at him and you can see he enjoys life. He was warm, knowledgeable, confident but not arrogant, unassuming, and... happy. It was fantastic.
I took more notes with Aadil than with any other class... filled a little pad of paper with Aadil's words. Crazy. I will not share all of those with you, because looking at how much there is to read in this blog entry is overwhelming enough. There are a few points I will share, that I think were really important:
• If we are not participating, we can't expect things to work out
• we always have a choice between having harmony and being right
• the person you are living with reflects you (think about that one in the middle of a fight, yikes)
• when the relationship is a priority—then, only, will it work
• creator needs it's creation... with out it, it is unmanifested
• judgement has ego... learn discernment
• there are 196 sutras... not one says this is right or this is wrong. Instead, they say, if you do this... you will get this.
• the body is the home to your soul. take care of it.
Monday • 9am-4:30pm • Mastery of the Mind and Body with Aadil Palkhivala
The art and science of yoga begins with the integration of the mind and body. For this process, the asanas (postures) are our primary focus, since the physical body is the most tangible part of us. Using the poses to develop awareness in the body and using the breath to deepen the poses, we begin to refine our bodies and minds and cultivate the ability to witness ourselves. This exploration of the mind-body connection eventually leads to the revelation of the more subtle parts of our nature. With practice, we begin to move every closer to our dharma, our unique and individual reason for living, and the true aime of yoga: wholeness In Purna Yoga, the control of the mind and body leads to self-empowerment and the acceptance of responsibility for the events in our lives. Come examine your body through various asanas and your mind through deep meditation, all culminating in self-empowerment and joy.
Six hours with one teacher. What did I just get myself into? A friend of mine sent me my horoscope for last week, it asked that I try to do something that was impossible but fun. I wouldn't say six hours with Aadil is impossible, nor is being able to achieve what he's teaching. But walking into that room, I wasn't sure what I could do... and walking out I was excited for all I did, am doing, and will do. I'll spare you the pages and pages and pages of notes. For a small dose of what it's like to listen to Aadil, I'd check out his website, specifically his interviews.
Recap of our class:
• we learned a morning series to wake up our bodies
• we learned a classical namaskar (sun salutation)
• we learned Tadasana, Mountain Pose, to stand... this was an eye opener to how we've trained our body to stand incorrectly all these years.
• we learned how to prep for Siriasana (headstand)
• we learned the proper way to roll our shoulders back in Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose)
• partner exercises (yay to Alexis, the only person I met during the weekend... thank you for taking the time to chat with me, that was a valuable lesson in itself)—learning to take responsibility for your actions
• mental centering
• body of light meditation
Reading that list, that Aadil went over at the end of class with us, looks ridiculous. Possibly because I learned something very valuable this weekend. The poses aren't important. Necessary. But not important. Which is why that list looks so empty to me... it was the teachings in between all these poses that were most valuable. Thank you Aadil (and Alexis) for an amazing Monday.
There is so much more I should be sharing with you, but honestly, I'm pooped. And I assume if you've read this far (wow, thank you), you are too. I think it goes with out saying, you should try out a Yoga Journal Conference as soon as possible. I hope for it to become a yearly thing for me.
