Welcome to lovepeaceyoga.com's Winter 2009 Newsletter Live it..Love it..Down Dog it..

Namaste and welcome to the first newsletter of lovepeaceyoga.com. We welcome you to journey with us into the beautiful world of yoga, health and wellness. We look forward to sharing the unique and fascinating information we have put together for you. Look for global workshops, teacher training, retreats, yoga studios and health & wellness information on our site.

We invite you to share your own personal journeys with us by emailing info@lovepeaceyoga.com. Entries will be posted in our "A yogi's reflection" section of lovepeaceyoga.com and can also be highlighted in our newsletter as well. We will be sharing product reviews, recipes, yoga studio reviews and so much more..

We look forward to exploring this evolving journey together.

Get Inspired..A goal without a plan is just a wish.. Live it..Love it.. Down Dog it.. with lovepeaceyoga.com Om Shanti.. Jill & Michelle

YogiChocolate Paves the Way for Donation Yoga A Delicious Way to Practice

YogiChocolate is a delicious way to practice yoga right on your iPod and is the brainchild of Sara & Marcus LeVere. It's downloadable donation-based yoga at its chocolatey best. We sat down with Sara and asked her a few questions about her life in Yoga and where the "chocolate" came from.

Sara, tell us how you started in Yoga?

I have a background in Yoga, having lived in an East Indian spiritual community in Iowa as a child - I grew up that way. Shortly after I moved to Santa Monica in 2001, I came across a Bryan Kest video...I was totally blown away. Power Yoga fit my lifestyle, my style of working out. It turns out Bryan had a donation based Yoga Studio just blocks from my house and I ended up working for him for a couple of years. I learned the business end of how a studio is run and I immersed myself in Yoga practice.

How has your own style of Yoga practice evolved?

First I was into sweat and Power - you know, getting in a "good workout", and then the practice naturally evolved into exploration of more restorative and subtle body opening practices. Now I've transitioned to what I would call a more balanced practice - a little bit of many different styles; I love Anusara...there's something about the instruction and alignment cues that I love. Now when I practice Power Yoga it's a new experience for me; There's a cohesive integrative feeling of all the practices into one. I also enjoy running outside - it frees my spirit.

How did you get the idea for YogiChocolate?

My husband and I were taking a walk to the beach with our meditation teacher. Marcus had just completed his vedic meditiation course and our minds were wide open. We started kicking around the idea of online donation-based yoga. I was feeling inspired by the success and happiness of the teachers at Bryan Kest's studio and the downloads he offers on poweryoga.com. Marcus is just naturally really futuristic. He comes up with the wildest ideas that make my head spin. It was one of those conversations that just didn't end. We kept getting more and more excited the more we discussed the potential of an online donation-based yoga studio and the words led to action. It was one of those magical moments where the idea seems like it births you rather than you birthing an idea, you know?

And where did you get the name YogiChocolate?

Well I was researching starting a luxury chocolate company that would involve Yoga asana and symbols. I had the domain name reserved, but I never ended up pursuing that path. As we were brainstorming a name for the online yoga company we realized that the name YogiChocolate just fit. The chocolate iPod logo was also one of those things that just came to us and worked out magically. We have the amazing photographer, Jasper Johal, to thank for that beautiful and unexpected image.

Go to " A Yogi's Reflection" for the Full Interview with YogiChocolate

Explore Bali This Winter In Yoga Style Shiva Rea's Teacher Trainings and Workshops Enlighten

Shiva Rea's Bali Mandala Retreat with Optional Training ModuleLiving in the Sacred Flow: Bali Mandala Retreat Open retreat with optional teacher training module: "The Sacred Flow: Alchemical Rejuvenation Retreat for Teachers" March 20 - 27, 2009.

Immerse yourself in one of the most sacred cultures of the planet - where the art of flow is a living experience. Our prana flow yoga retreat is dedicated to transmitting the process of living the sacred flow of yoga through healing relaxation, natural meditation integrated in every action, creative and deep vinyasa flow yoga, and personal healing tools for purifying and awakening one's embodiment, voice, vision, heart and soul. From the first coming together, we will create a ritual mandala in which to realize, awaken and cultivate to deepen our connection to the mandala of the body, life and the universe.

The ritual center of Bali in Ubud will be our base for exploration of the magical inner world of the spiritual culture dedicated to the balance of Great Dance in the form of Siva. Our retreat takes place during the preparations for Nyepi, Balinese New Year, and a day of fasting and reflection where even the airports of Bali shut down to observe the ritual opening to a new cycle. A Hindu island for over a thousand years, Bali is a unique opportunity to receive a deep transmission of the art of bhakti yoga devotion.

Find Out More About Shiva Rea's Bali Retreat

Spotlight On...Desi Bartlett Yoga Instructor and New Mom Desi Bartlett These days, you can find Desi Bartlett in a studio full of mommies and babies doing "Kiss baby Pushups" or "Boat Pose," with baby acting as resistance for Mommy, at her Mommy & Me Yoga class at Pump Station in L. A.

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Desi (and baby) to talk about the transition in her own life as a new mom and the evolution of her Yoga practice.

Desiree, tell us about your beginnings in Yoga? How long have you been practicing?

I have actually been teaching Dance, Yoga and Fitness for 18 years, but Yoga for the last 12 years. My Mom was a hippie and I learned about Yoga and meditation at a very young age. I studied classical ballet for 15 years, but taught Latin Dance. When I lived in Cabo I learned Salsa and Meringue and then put out a DVD teaching that form of Dance. I also developed DVDs for fitness and body sculpting.

But I came back to focus on Yoga 12 years ago when I studied Yoga in Mexico. While living in Cabo, I owned a small fitness studio. A wonderful Yoga teacher from Mexico City visited and taught Yoga at my studio. His name was Tonatiu, which is a Mayan name for the Sun god. As we started with meditation and pranayama, all of the training that I had as a little girl came rushing back. By the time we got to our first down dog, I knew that I had rediscovered the tremendous healing power of Yoga. I began to practice a few days a week and made numerous trips to LA to attend conventions and take teacher training courses. This led me to study under Shiva Rea and Leanne Carey. I found that Yoga kept me both strong and balanced.

Who was your biggest influence?

Besides Shiva and Leeanne Carey,Saul David Raye is a highly recognized teacher in the Bhakti tradition. I also studied under him and currently teach at Exhale in Venice, CA, where both Shiva and Saul teach.

How did your Yoga practice evolve when you became pregnant?

I was teaching Body Sculpting, a hard body meltdown class and I wasn't feeling right. I went to the Doctor, found out I was pregnant, and was advised to ease off that regimen. So I turned to Yoga and even developed a Prenatal DVD for expectant Moms. I taught and took Yoga classes during my pregnancy and it helped keep me strong and balanced n body and mind.

What do you like about using a 360 degree mat?

In flow classes I wanted to do more practice in four directions , providing more freedom, so designed the360 mat. With my Mommy & Me Yoga instruction, the 360 Mat has more room for Mommy and baby, it's more feminine and has a better range of motion than a traditional mat.

What inspires you?

My baby...reminds me to play every day, to be joyous and treasure the simple things in life. Babies are in the moment and helps me stay present with my work and my life.

Find Out More About Desi Bartlett

Health & Wellness Tip from Phuong Le, CEO of ONO Tea

Trying to lose 5 lbs ? Keep in mind that diet products use aspartame so that they can claim that these are good to help you lose weight. The exact opposite is true. These chemically altered products make your body crave carbohydrates. When you are eating or drinking diet products using aspartame you are almost assured to gain weight. The poison in aspartame stores in the fat cells particularly in the hips and thighs.

When the poison stores in the fat cells, the fat cells need to dilute the poison by retaining fluid. This is why people who drink lots of diet sodas have bigger hips and thighs. Aspartame is also extremely dangerous for diabetics because it drives the blood sugar out of control. This also causes the body to convert food to fat much more easily. Check out www.theteachick.com for more information.

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Handstands Around the World

About handstandseverywhere.com

The purpose of this website is to celebrate the fun of doing handstands everywhere. To capture this sense of fun, the website facilitates community-oriented spaces that explore the themes of physical activity, travel, photography, and writing. By documenting original and personal acts of human movement and expression, this website and its participants endeavor to promote health and wellness for both the individual and the Earth.

The website was created by handstand enthusiast Eugene Ahn and appeared on the Internet in the fall of 2006, about two years after Eugene tried his first handstand in a yoga class at Yoga Works' Center for Yoga in Los Angeles.

We Thank You for Your Support To send your comments or suggestions to us via snail mail, please send to the following address:

Jill Friedfertig lovepeaceyoga.com 16 Chelsea Drive Livingston, New Jersey 07039

Namaste,

Jill Friedfertig & Michelle Zudeck lovepeaceyoga.com