Did You Celebrate Earth Day?

I might not have specifically celebrated Earth Day, but I am celebrating the fact that it's been 2 weeks since my husband and I have been to a gas station . . . And today we passed the 500 mile mark on our first tank of gas in our "almost" new VW Golf TDI. Last month we decided it was time to trade in our thirsty SUV to a much more fuel efficient solution. Convinced we needed a truck for all our hauling of 'stuff', carrying two large dogs, kayaks, bikes, etc. we got very used to having a big vehicle and a big gas bill. But upon closer examination, we realized that we could downsize and still keep our dogs, haul the 'stuff' that we need, and keep our sport hobbies.

I am positively thrilled with this solution of a small diesel car and I just can't figure out why they are so rare here in the USA. Just about all the cars in Europe run diesel. Why can't the Americans figure out that this makes a lot of sense? It’s too bad that our choices here are so slim, but I'm hoping that the idea will catch on.

Driving a fuel efficient car makes me feel good. Here are some other things that we can all do to help out our environment:

Shopping and Cleaning
Ecobags -Bringing your own bag when shopping saves plastic bags. Visit www.ecobags.com.
Method Home - Method offers some cleaners that are dye- and perfume-free, nontoxic, biodegradable, naturally derived and never tested on animals. For more information, visit www.methodhome.com.
Seventh Generation products - Seventh Generation is one of the leading brands of nontoxic household products. For more information, visit www.seventhgeneration.com.

Energy
BITS Ltd. smart power strips - Even after turning off a computer, power continues to flow to computer peripherals like printers and scanners. This power strip ($32.99) stops the energy from being wasted. For more information visit www.bitsltd.net.
GE Energy Smart lightbulbs - GE Energy Smart bulbs use 70 to 75 percent less energy than incandescent lightbulbs and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. For example, by using a 26-watt compact fluorescent lightbulb—equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent lightbulb—users can save up to $59 on energy costs over the life of the bulb. Saving energy saves money and is better for the environment.

Dead Bug Pose

I just love that pose name! Who comes up with these things? I think I may start my own YogaDudes pose names . . . imagine how much fun that will be.

I recently found this pose and it's supposed to help combat the effects of slouching at a computer all day. I am very guilty of that. By the end of the day I'm practically laying in my chair. Here's a little clip that may help that problem . . .

Sitting at a desk all day, glaring at a computer screen causes you to slouch. That man-made curvature of the spine speeds up the natural degeneration of the discs. The species known as "office workers" have backs that are beginning to resemble our humble predecessors—Cro-Magnon man. To counter feeling (and acting) like a caveman after a brutal week, try a few stretches for the muscles and bones in your back. And while you work toward standing upright again try the poses that calm your nerves. This at-home triage will make you feel like you've really evolved.

Spine Soother

Dead bug pose feels a lot better than it sounds. Even if you have the flexibility of a steel rod, it's a universal spine pleaser. The benefit of this passive stretch: the pose works out the back, butt, and hip kinks while you lie there. Give in, it works its magic when you are in a completely relaxed state. Watch this video and try it yourself before hitting the sack.

A Great Recycling Solution

I recently discovered a very interesting website for those recycling conscious folks. Last month, my husband and I had the horrible task of packing up our house and moving. It is amazing how much stuff you realize that you own and don't need. We made several trips to Good Will and donated lots of other larger items to another local charity. That felt GREAT. I realized that I truly enjoy donating things. I HATE the thought of wasting things and I often hold on to things that I know I don't need, only because they are too nice to just throw away. Well, here's an organization that can help me and probably lots of other globally conscious yogis.

The Freecycle Network™ (http://www.freecycle.org/) is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by clicking on "Groups in your local area." You may then go directly to your local group by clicking on "Go To" or you may immediately joining by clicking on "Join." It will generate an automatic e-mail which, when sent, will sign you up for the local group and send you a response with instructions on how it works. Can't find a group near you? You might want to consider starting one (click on "Start a Group" for instructions). Have fun!

The Freecycle Network was started in May 2003 to promote waste reduction in Tucson's downtown and help save desert landscape from being taken over by landfills. The Network provides individuals and non-profits an electronic forum to "recycle" unwanted items. One person's trash can truly be another's treasure!

Desk Yoga

Have you been too busy lately to make it to yoga class? Or maybe even too busy to change your clothes and do yoga at home . . . That has been my crazy life for the past month. I'm sorry for the lapse in blog posts. I don't even know where to begin to explain . . .

I seem to be doing more desk yoga these days than real yoga, but every little bit helps. Today I actually made it to the gym to walk on the treadmill. The weather here in Connecticut is still dreary. I blame myself. I already packed all my winter clothes, and therefore, winter is dragging on endlessly. While on the treadmill I was reading an article about yoga. It talked about how yoga shouldn't just be about achieving a nice butt. It should be the process that rewards, not the result. I was thinking how that sounds lovely, but I wouldn't be too upset with the nice butt either!

Until my life settles down, I will be reduced to desk yoga. In case you can use it too:

Release the muscles in your back with this twist -- While seated, cross the right knee over the left knee. Place your left hand on the outside of the right knee, and brace your right palm against the right elbow rest. Twist to the right, keeping your left sitting bone firmly grounded. Look over your right shoulder. Switch sides.

There, now doesn't that feel better?

New YogaDudes Long Sleeve Tees Now Available

We are just squeaking in before the end of winter with the introduction of our brand new, colorful YogaDudes long sleeve tees. These 100% cotton fitted Ts feature a colorful YogaDudes display. The three different poses are labeled Balance, Harmony, Strength. Great for on or off the mat. You can view and purchase these new shirts online here.

Free Yoga MP3 Download

Have you checked out a web site called www.itrain.com? Seems to be pretty cool. They offer MP3 downloads for a variety of different workouts including: yoga, dance, cycling, running, etc. Want to try one yourself? Get a free download on iTrain.com when you enter the promo code YL2007 at checkout. Choose from their library of 45 and 60-minute multilevel yoga classes.

Where is Your Peaceful Place?

When you meditate, where do you go? Do you have your favorite peaceful place? Is it a real place . . . somewhere that you have been do . . . something that you already experienced? Or do you go to an imaginary place? Do you even have a special place?

My husband told me about his special meditation spot and it made me realize that I don't really have one. When I meditate, I try to clear my mind. I try to see nothing but a blank white canvas. This is very challenging for me, so I imagine that I'm surrounded by snow. Then to make it more interesting, I pretend that I'm sliding down a never ending hill on a white inner tube. There are no trees (of course) so there is no need to be concerned with obstacles. I just slide and slide down the hill of snow.

I was happy sliding down my snow covered hills until my husband explained his special spot. He told me that his feelings, when he goes there, are more powerful and peaceful than when he originally expereinced it. His special spot is 3,000 feet above the ground with his hang glider. He can perfectly describe, in detail, what this flight was like for him . . . what he saw, what he felt, what he was thinking about at the time. He explained the difference between the real thing and his meditation spot. During the real flight he still had to be concernded about the real dangers - where would he land, turbulent air, the commercial jet that was flying below him. But when he goes back there now, there is no stress. He just relives the longest and best flight of his life and he will never lose that.

So I'm jealous. I decided that I also need a peaceful spot. I don't have anything that compares to my husband's flight and now that I think about it . . . I have very few quiet and peaceful times to go back to. A favorite peaceful exerience that comes to mind is our lazy hours on the swing in our backyard. So many weekends we would go out and bike for 30 or 40 miles on our hill training rides and then come home to lounge in our swing and watch the sun go down. The feeling of complete exhaustion and complete relaxation (and relief to be off the bike), together with the warm sun on my face and the gentle glide of the swing. Ahhhhhh, that is about as relaxed as I have ever been. So this will be my new meditation spot. That is where I want to go when I need some tranquil time. So do you have yours all picked out?

Free Yoga E-cards

Brand new to the YogaDudes website . . . Free yoga e-cards to send to your friends. This is a brand new feature and all the kinks may not be worked out yet, but please give it a try. Send a yoga-inspired message to brighten your friend's day. There are 8 different cards to choose from and it's completely free. Just visit http://www.yogadudes.com/posty.htm and follow the instructions. Have fun!

Video Game or Workout Routine?

I was just flipping through an issue of YogaLife magazine and I ran across an ad that drew me in. It reference a web site called "Body by Playstation" and I just had to check it out. You should too!

On the web site you will see videos explaining this game. You not only need PS2, but also the Eye Toy camera. If you happen to have those two things (like I do) this looks too good to be true. It's a full work out system, including a 12 week training program that appears to be a blast to play with. I just researched it online and read as many customer reviews as I could find. Everybody says it's terrific. I was preparing myself for a big price tag, but I also found it as low as $40 at Walmart and even lower, used on Amazon. I'm gettin' one!!

Here's the site to check out. The product is called Kenetic. Go have yourself some fun while getting in shape.

20 Things To Do In a Lifetime

In my quest to be more organized this year I recently found my old Palm software. I have no idea where the actual PDA is, but the software lives on in my hard drive archives. I stumbled across some old memo notes that I wrote years ago and found them amusing. I thought I would share them, or at least one of them. I have three, and they are:

20 Things To Do In a Lifetime - This is a collection of some of the noteworthy and fun things that I have done in my life time. Things I would recommend to anyone.

Things That I Just HAD To Do - another list of silly things that I have done, just because I had to do them. Do you have things like that in your life? Things that you've done for no other good reason, but you always wanted to do it?

Wish List of Things I Still Want To Do - Well that is self explanatory. Everyone should always have a wish list.

So here is my list of things to do in a lifetime (in no particular order):

1. Bike a Century (100 miles in one day)
2. Ride a gondola in Venice
3. Dance or perform on stage
4. View Paris from the Eiffel Tower at sunset
5. Hang glide
6. Ride a tandem bike
7. Rescue a greyhound
8. Make something special with your own two hands and give it to someone you love
9. Hike Yosemite in the Spring
10. Eat sushi & drink sake in Tokyo sitting on the floor
11. Overlook the Hong Kong bay at night from Victoria Peak
12. Drive a motorcycle - not riding on the back - driving!
13. Find your soulmate and fall in love
14. Own a jeep and take it off-road
15. Go for walks in the pouring rain
16. Slow dance in the middle of a crowded city street
17. Walk through the Roman Forum and marvel at the history
18. Watch a meteor shower while laying on the beach at 4 AM
19. Experience the real meaning of "cold" on a dog sled ride in Canada
20. Get lost for the fun of it (but bring water)

Yoga and Toe Cramps

What is with yoga and toe cramps? Seems they go together like peanut butter and jelly and I can't figure out why. I thought it was just me . . . getting terrible toe cramps during yoga, making it nearly impossible to do the poses correctly. But last week, my friend reported having the same problem. OK, maybe it contagious since we take yoga classes together. Who knows?

I did a search online for toe cramps and learned that:

• The most common cause is ill-fitting shoes. Hmmmm, I'm not wearing any shoes during yogs.
• Another culprit is high heels . . . which I very rarely wear . . . especially in yoga class!
• Also to blame could be deficiencies in calcium or potassium - Now this is most likely my problem as my diet is pitiful.

I did find one tip to help prevent the terrible toe cramps, so I though I would pass it along:

To alleviate toe cramps, you can do special exercises designed to strengthen the muscles. Try standing on tiptoes and raising your body up and then down repeatedly, using your toes to support you. Hold each position for five seconds. Another good one is to pick up marbles with your toes and relocate them to another spot on the floor. Walking on sand strengthens toes, massages feet and exfoliates the skin … a great workout for feet!

Save a Greyhound

Click on cartoon above to read.

Ok, this has nothing to do with yoga, but it's just too cute to keep to myself. Since I have personally adopted two greyhounds that I love to pieces, I wanted to spread the word about how wonderful they are. If you are looking for a new pet, please consider adopting a greyhound. Not only will you be saving their lives, but you will also make a "Fast Friend." There are lots of greyhound rescue organization all over the US (and Europe too, I think). Check them out. You just might fall in love.

Fun New YogaDudes Product

Introducing a fun new YogaDudes product - a tin of yoga pose magnets. Not only are they cute, but they are useful too. This new product was inspired by my crafty friend Lisa. She gave me the idea and I just couldn't wait to make it a reality. I'm very excited to add these adorable yoga magnets to the YogaDudes line-up. Imagine all the places you can stick a small yoga pose magnet . . .

You can find these in the YogaDudes store online here.

Please check them out and drop me a line to let me know what you think.

What’s Your Yoga Personality?

Last night I discovered that my “on the mat” yoga personality completely matches my “off the mat” personality. In the middle of my class last night it occurred to me that I am just as uptight and neurotic in class as I am all the time. For instance, no matter what pose we are supposed to be in, I’m neurotically straining my neck to see the instructor. I need to see her to verify that I’m in the right pose. “Am I doing this right? Do I have the correct arm in the air? Do I look foolish? Is the instructor looking at me? Am I sure I’m doing his right?” Yes, that’s me. How many times should I need to LOOK at down dog before I’m confident that I know what I’m doing? I could ask the same question to myself about cooking pasta. How many times to I need to cook pasta before I STOP reading the instructions on the box and setting the timer to 10 minutes? It’s official. I’m sick.

When I caught myself peering across the room at the instructor last night to verify that my basic yoga pose was correct, I happened to glance over at my friend Lisa. That’s when it hit me. What a difference between me and Lisa. Lisa is a laid back, free spirited artist. While I’m worrying about if my knee is at a precise 90 degree bend, Lisa has her eyes closed and is fully immersed in the moment of yoga. She didn’t seem to have a care or worry in the world. She was completely confident in her poses and didn’t need any visual verification.

Now isn’t yoga supposed to be all about your own pace and whatever feels comfortable for you? Why am I so neurotic? I guess you can take a wild animal out of the wild. But they are still a wild animal and just because they are not in their normal habitat doesn’t mean they have changed their disposition. Once a wild animal, always a wild animal. Is there any hope for me?

YogaDudes Ad in New Yoga Magazine

Have you seen the new yoga magazine on the book stand shelves? I have a couple of issues and I do like it. As a matter of fact, I liked it so much that I decided to advertise in it. Only problem . . . I don't think there are many people out there that even know about this book, let alone subscribe to it. Although my advertising dollars got wasted, I do want to still promote the magazine. If you haven't already seen it, please check it out. It's called YogaLife and you can see them on the web here: http://www.iyogalife.com/index.shtml.

And if you DO happen to find the magazine and look for the YogaDudes ad, you will find a 20% off coupon code. Happy hunting!

Free Exercise Podcasts

Have you tried downloading podcasts to your iPod or other mp3 player yet? It's a pretty neat concept. Yes, we all have worked out to our favorite music, but what about combining the music with actual fitness instruction? I found a page where you can sign up for a FREE 30 day trial. Please note, that they take your credit card and will charge you $19.95 after your 30 day trial ends. You can cancel at any time.

Cyndi Lee is one of the participating instructors , and in addition to yoga, they have all different kids of cardio training. You can check it out at: www.podfitness.com/yogalife.

What Are We Saving For?

I read this article today on Daily Om and it really hit home. The person they descibed is ME. I am always saving things, rather than indulging myself and enjoying the things I own. For instance, my husband will buy me fancy chocolates and rather than just eating them and enjoying them, I have to savor them and only allow myself one every once in a blue moon. Well, it never fails, they either go stale or get eaten by my husband (or accidentally by the dog) before I ever get to enjoy them. So why do I insist on sacraficing and saving for a rainy day? The article below helped me realize that I need to stop this nonsense. Maybe it will help you too.

We all know someone who keeps plastic covers on his or her couch in order to protect it. The irony is that many of these people may live their lives without ever having actually made contact with their own furniture! This is a poignant and somewhat humorous example of the human tendency to try to save things for special occasions, as if everyday life weren’t special enough to warrant the use of nice things. Many of us have had the experience of never wearing a particular piece of clothing in order to keep it nice, only to have it go out of style in the meanwhile.

It’s interesting to think of what it would mean to us if we let ourselves wear our nicest clothes and eat off the good china on a daily basis. We might be sending ourselves the message that every day we are alive is a special day and a cause for celebration, and that we are worth it. There is something uplifting about treating ourselves to the finest of what we have. It is as if we rise to the occasion when we wear our best clothes and set the table beautifully, as if for a very special guest. We are more mindful of where we place things, what we are eating, and who is with us. Using the good china, eating in the dining room, and taking the plastic off the sofa might be an invitation to be more conscious of the beauty and grace inherent in our everyday lives.

If there are things you’ve stashed away for a special occasion—a bottle of special wine, a gorgeous pair of shoes, an antique lace tablecloth—consider taking them out of their hiding places and putting them to use tonight, just because you are alive now to enjoy them, and that’s a great cause for a celebration.

Femail Creations

Have you ever heard of a wonderful catalog called "Femail Creations?" Well, if you haven't . . . let me introduce you. This is a catalog packed full of the most unique and inspiring creations, made FOR women, BY women. If you looking for something really special for a friend or you want to treat yourself to something that you probably won't find anywhere else, then you have to check it out. You can visit their website here, and request to be added to their catalog mailing list.

And the best part? . . . Femail Creations is featuring a pair of YogaDudes earrings! To see the Tree Pose earrings on their website, click here. Be sure to check out all the wonderful products in their catalog. It will be a catalog that you just can't throw away.

Merry Christmas

Me and My Sheltered Little Life

Last night I watched "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" . . . you know . . . the one with the Heat Miser and the Cold Miser. I have always loved this show since I was a kid. And ever since I was a kid, I thought it was completely fictional. I mean WHO would ever want to prevent Christmas from happening???

Well, last night was an eye opener. After 30 'something' years, it gets brought to my attention that the story is based on facts - not fiction. OK, I know there isn't really a Santa that comes down the chimney. And if there is . . . he has some explaining to do because he obviously has me confused with some 'bad' folks. Anyway, my husband laughed at me last night when I so innocently showed my complete ignorance to the evil ways of the world in the past.

You see, my husband grew up in Hungary - behind the Iron Curtain. Not that he lived through much of this himself, but his parents got a taste of what it's like to live with restricted freedoms. He explained to me that his parents lived through this period of time when Christmas was not "sanctioned by the government." In other words, they were not allowed to openly celebrate the holiday. Any Christmas spirit had to be kept under wraps in the privacy of their own homes. In fact, they felt like criminals for celebrating the holiday.

So as we watched my favorite little show, things kept dawning on me . . . the evil police man with the German accent (never thought twice about that). The whole tradition of hanging stockings by the fireplace. I didn't know that people actually did this to DRY their socks!! My husband had a ball laughing at me. He asked me "Where have you been?" and my answer was "Right here in the sheltered USA, living my sheltered little life." Makes me realize how lucky we are -even without any presents under the tree. Sometimes it's hard to understand how good you have it until you see things from a whole different perspective.

By the way, one other thing I learned last night was that December 5th is the day that many Europeans celebrate "Father Christmas" or "St. Mikulas". On the night of the 4th kids would shine their shoes and leave them by the door. The good kids would get presents in their shoes. The bad ones would get coal. My husband knows all about the latter part! So I got up this morning and checked my shoes . . . nothing. But I guess that's better than coal.