My Inner Oprah

Channeling my inner Oprah

It's been a while since doing this, but each year I like to put out a morsel size offering of  some favorite or my "best of" list... mostly of "all things yoga".

My hope is that this list can be a useful tool for practitioners and ideas for intentional giving or sharing so that we may all further our studies on the beautiful life path that is Yoga! Here goes...

Mat Cleaner- Dr. Bronner's liquid concentrated soap in Tea Tree (disinfectant). I discovered this when I lived on the Big Island of Hawaii and found my practice of yoga. It can be purchased in tiny travel sizes to gallon sizes. This is VERY inexpensive costing about $3.50 for 6 oz (approx) and the best I have found yet. I put about a teaspoon in a spray bottle and fill it with water being sure to shake it before each use. Spray your mat generously (really people, if you don't clean your mat, you don't want to know what kind of fungus and LIFE that could be living and growing on your sacred space!!) and use a rag to clean. We use to pass the bottle around after each class and made a ritual of cleaning our sacred space after each practice. These can be found at the newer H.E. B. stores locally or at your local health food store such as Whole Foods or Wild Oats.

Yoga Mat- Madara by Hugger Mugger. http://www.huggermugger.com/ (Yoga Yoga sells them locally in Ausin as well). I actually own two of these mats. One that stays in my car for teaching, practicing and travel and another that stays at home for personal practice time there and they retail for under $60 which is not bad considering an "over the counter" mat is $25-$30. There are SO many mats out there that do the job. What I have found is that if you practice any flowing style which means there is usually more wear and tear on the mat itself, pay a little more money and get what is referred to as a "high performance mat". HPF mats are longer, wider, thicker yet more dense so that the thickness is also sturdy. Another option is the same mat by another brand very well known and respected, Manduka- http://www.manduka.com/.

Clothes!- Be Present (http://www.bepresent.com/), Shiva Shakti (http://www.marika.com/), Lululemon (http://www.lululemon.com)-/ I chose these three for different reasons. Be Present is my new favorite when it comes to casual, comfy, everyday pants to practice in and they come in a variety of colors and length. These pants are excellent for practice of yoga hiking, rock climbing etc in that they have a stretch factor but look fabulous with a simply everyday t-shirt as well, Stylish but different in that they are the traditional "tight" spandex option- also quite reasonable in price when it comes to yoga clothing. They are available for men and woman. Shiva Shakti is a favorite (and also the love child of my teacher, Shiva Rea) because this line is very pretty, comfy and the quality is getting better and better. It can be a little more pricy than "be present" line but they also beautiful tops in my opinion. Lululemon, athletic inspired clothing- perhaps the most expensive of them all but the quality surpasses most other clothing lines. I know several people who say they have had their pants for 5+ years and the quality and color is still 100%. They way I see it is like this: you can pay $25 at target for a great pair of pants but after a year (if not sooner) they will fade or shrink (not sure which is worse!), or start to unravel etc. Luu pants might be around $100.00 per pair but to consistently hear that they are the same 5 years later, that's inspiring! To date, they have created the most stylish top I have ever seen (or owned) that can easily be worn with a pair of jeans. The almighty V-neck cross top J An excellent top with wonderful support for all bust sizes with an option to use or not use padding support. They also carry plenty of clothing for men.

Books- "Light on Yoga" by BKS Iyengar is a must have for the teacher in particular and is considered a top yoga asana reference book without a doubt. "Living your Yoga" by Judith Hanson Lasater is a favorite because this wonderful read is a reminder of just that, living your yoga everyday of your life! I cannot say enough about this book as there is just so much wisdom, knowledge and practice for the beginner and the seasoned practitioner. Really, we are all just beginners anyway... "Eat, Pray, Love" - step away from the computer RIGHT NOW (or go to www.amazon.com) and go to your nearest book store and become the owner of this book immediately! Jack Hawley's translation of "The Bhagavad Gita, a walk through for westerners" is hands down, a personal favorite as well! "Meditations From the Mat" is a great read with a daily dose of lessons from the yogic wisdom of the Yamas and Niyamas. This book was written by Rolf Gates,  a former alcoholic and Military Officer so the perspective is truly a unique one. http://www.amazon.com/

Meditation Centers- www.dhamma.org/  I recently spent 10 day in complete silence of body, speech and mind over the July 4^th holiday this year practicing this amazing method of meditation. It's 100% experiential so if you ask me, there is only so much that I can actually share but I will share this: This is THE closest one can get to living a monk lifestyle without actually being a monk. The way this whole experience is set up is with this intent in mind. There are a few other lineages but this is THE Vipassana method. Hint- if you see one that allows for ANYTHING LESS than 10 days of complete silence the first time, it is not true to the method. After you have experienced the 10 day intensive (the silence is NOT the meditation method itself by the way...) only then can you participate in a shorter 3 day weekend. By the way, after attending 3- 10 day sessions, only then can you go on to experience a 30 day stint... I am presently looking into my 2^nd 10 day possibly in 2008. This will change your life as you know it; mark my words. Ps- the location that I attended can be found on this link: www.siri.dhamma.org

Daily Inspiration- www.tut.com . This wonderful website allows you to register by entering in your name and goals or dreams and 5 days a week you get a very personal (and often spooky in the best way!) message ‘from the Universe'. This is one of the first things I do when I wake is read my daily message. http://www.dailyom.com/ is another daily bite of wisdom that can be emailed to you daily as well.

Jewelry- "Me and Ro" www.meandrojewelry.com makes a wide variety of yoga jewelry of very good quality. I own a piece myself. A little expensive (it was a gift!) but very nice. I do believe they have a website and I have also seen their pieces at Neiman Marcus in the Domain here in Austin. I do know that there are a few free standing stores in the LA area as well. Of course there are many  other lines such as the beautiful "Satya" as well which can been googled as well.

Movies- "Fierce Grace" by Ram Das. This documentary on his "being stroked" is very telling/ A very detailed story with live footage of this Guru's transformation from Harvard Professor to meeting his guru Mahara-ji and  dedicating his life to service becoming an ultimate yogi and devotee. It is a must see and would be a gift to be shared.

 http://www.yogalifestyles.com/ - they have all kinds of stuff from clothing, the jewelry, to posters, you name it!

http://www.gcast.com/u/zenisstupid/main - This is a great pod cast on very contemporary means to practicing Zen Buddhism. To say that it's entertaining as well is an understatement! Oh and Gwen, the female co-host, was my roommate at our very first yoga teacher training...seems like 5 lifetimes ago...

http://www.shivarea.com/ - my teacher, bless her a hundred times over. Pranams...

http://www.yogateacher.com/ - my friend Charles always has so much going on with retreats, seminars, mind mapping etc! Here is part of a trio who lead a local teacher training (the very first TT I ever attended) which brings in future teachers from all over the world! Check him out here!

Music- this could go on forever so best to put up a few links! I adore http://www.soundstrue.com/ because you can sample the music and on some, you can same several minutes of each song! They have a pretty loose return/exchange policy although I have never had a need to do so. http://www.shantiommusic.com/ is also a good one, based out of Canada. It's been a while since ordering, but their prices were a little less but it takes a little longer to get the order, not bad though. www.amazon.com- you'd be surprised what you can find here when it comes to new unopened CDs. By the way, I hardly ever buy a new book- I much prefer to spend less, wait a few days more, and recycle by ordering through amazon. While I'm on my soapbox, I encourage everyone to pass on, share, or trade books with students, teachers, and friends. We can all make such a difference doing our part in this way... Itunes is also excellent and a cheaper way to go about music in that we save all of the packaging materials and you get it immediately. One last thing, and I mean this is the most kind and loving way; I do not copy music so please do not ask. It was one of my first lessons from my very first teacher in the practice that is yoga, Satya; truthfulness. I asked her if I could make a copy of a cd and she so sweetly looked at me and said, "but that would be stealing". Thank you Cori.

Local Sites: I have a confession. I have only recently returned back to Austin and given that I never explored the local thing when I lived here before, I am slowly working my way into this now. Next list, I hope to have more to share!  http://www.genuinejoes.com/ a very local Austin Coffee house open late with free wireless located on Anderson Lane. Although I have yet to attend, they have open mic nights and live music as well. http://www.eatzen.com/ - I cannot say enough about this place! Local eats, delicious and so healthy and they are growing with 4 locations working on their 5^th! I remember the owner back in the day when he was a waiter at Sullivan's!

Local Studios where I teach yoga:

http://www.saniehyoga.com-/ What? Did you think I wouldn't include my own business?! Of course I teach locally but on my schedule page you will see upcoming workshops and national travel schedule etc... so check back! I also offer corporate yoga classes and workshops as well as private and semi-private lessons.

http://www.dharmayoga.com/ in Hyde Park. A small yet beautiful meditative space, check out the teacher line up of about a half dozen to find the style and method to best suite your needs. FYI- where you see "Vinyasa" listed as class title, regardless of who is teaching, the name at this particular studio indicates and more vigorous and intermediate to advanced practice.

http://www.pureaustin.com/ - I don't dare call this a "gym" since it's far more prestigious and upscale (the only way any of us yoga teachers are afforded the opportunity and incentive to teach there in the first place if I'm being REALLY honest!). The 2 facilities located at Town Lake and the other at Quarry Lake are designed to be state of the art indoor facilities for outdoor sports/athletes with a huge percentile of clientele training (some professionally) for any number of outdoor sports such as mountain climbing, triathlons, marathons, etc. FYI- where you see "Power Yoga" on the schedule, this is NOT "power yoga" in the style of Bryan Kest or Baron Baptiste. This is an indication of a more vigorous practice that has a disclaimer attached requesting that students who attend have an existing ongoing practice.

http://www.yogayoga.com/ with four locations, 2 north and 2 south. With many classes and teachers to choose from, the only real challenge is determining what style, method, or tradition is which or if you know what you are looking for, how to identify which class if your ticket. The secret is this; go the "teachers" link and begin searching and reading bios. Wit so many classes and different styles offered, most classes fall under Ashtanga (due to the set sequence, there is need to identify), Kundalini, Hatha, or Hatha Flow. In generic terms, my classes fall under that "flow" category but we all know how the term can be overused and misused! I am a student and teacher studying in the Krishnamacharya lineage that is the love child of Shiva Rea called "Prana Vinyasa Flow" tm... and this is sooo much more than your commonly called "vinyasa flow" class ;)

Ok that's all I've got for now! This list is always changing and always growing... like all things.

LoveLoveLove

Sanieh

www.saniehyoga.com