Free Online Yoga Resources

To qualify for this list pages had to meet a few "requirements":
Have at least some free stuff all the time and not just a free trial
Post more than just a couple times
Not set off my anti-virus software
Most have been widely recommended by others.

This is nowhere near an exhaustive list. Just a jumping off point.
Heart-felt thanks to everyone that is making all this magnificent yoga available to the world.

Asana Videos:

Youtube - Sadie Nardini, Yogatic, Tara Stiles, KinoYoga...

Vimeo - Kripalu
http://www.artofattention.com/videos/
http://yogayak.com/ - full classes, meditation, pranayama, etc.
http://www.learnitlive.com/
http://www.yogajournal.com/video/

http://www.doyogawithme.com/

http://www.yogatoday.com/ - some free

http://www.yoganonymous.com/take-a-class/ - weekly free class through GaiamTV

http://www.yogacards.com/

http://erichschiffmann.com/category/medium/audio/

http://pinterest.com/pin/267049452874333658/

Podcasts (mostly iTunes):

http://elsiesyogakula.com/
http://hillarysyogapractice.wordpress.com/

http://www.yogadownload.com/Resources/Podcast.aspx
Faith Hunter
Eoin Finn
Les Leventhal
Kinndli McCollum
TeriLeigh Schmidt
Sofi Dillof
Live Love Teach Yoga School

http://www.omlightphotography.com/2011/11/aubrys-class/

Free PDFs of major texts:

http://www.yogavidya.com/freepdfs.html

Meditation:

http://www.meditationsutras.com/
http://www.fragrantheart.com/cms/free-audio-meditations

Other:
http://bighappyday.com/ -short fun videos for philosophy, motivation, education, etc.

Covering a blemish

Adrienne had me do this painted necklace for her to cover an unhealed scar from a surgery. Can you tell where it is? Its under an orange paisley... This is a service I would LOVE to offer more!

Geisha shoot

Photographer/Designer Elizabeth Stoddert wanted to create a Geisha shoot so I helped accomoplish her vision. Beth and I collaborated on the make-up design which I painted and she did the hair and costuming. Coutney Elizabeth Ford, Heather Addley and I were the models.

Soliel as Avitar

This is one of my favorite models, Soliel Paden, painted as Avitar. Soliel asked me to paint her for her portfolio and I jumped at the opportunity. I also applied the ears and eyelashes. Rich Dunham was the photographer.This was so much fun!

Body Paint show with Brandy Page

I had an awesome opportunity to have a Painted Bodies show last Summer with Brandy Page, Make-up Artist.This is Britanye modeling hair decorations and painted accessories to match the outfit I designed for her. I'll be posting more from this show along with the other artists who helped us bring it all together!

Holiday and Updates

Monday is a Memorial Day here in the states, so I won't be posting, but I assure you I've got something good cooking for Tuesday's return. It's gonna be all about Free Online Yoga Resources. Think videos, podcasts, and books.

In the meantime I've got an update to last week's post on Pre-Run Yoga Stretches. Now it includes five more poses for your Post-Run Stretching!

Source: http://coffeeandyoga.tumblr.com/post/23603299370

Yamas and Niyamas

Sometimes we all need a little reminder of the Yamas and Niyamas. Maybe post this on your wall.

Kino MacGregor on Strength

This quote and picture set has been making the rounds lately, especially on Tumblr, and I thought it was worth sharing. Here Kino speaks about finding strength, but there are lots of other beautiful insights from her in this interview with Toronto Body Mind on the Spiritual Dimension of Yoga.

Source: http://fuckyeahashtangayoga.tumblr.com/post/23123206989/bestronger#

Every time that I reached a limit in my practice, Guruji and Sharath would say, “You have to be stronger,” and I got so frustrated. I was like, “Well, how do I do that?” Be stronger. I was like, “I don’t get it. You know, I don’t get it.” So my tendency is to quit. You know, like when things are rough, I want to quit. You know, when things don’t work out, I want … like in the practice, I reach my physical limit like “Oh, I can’t” and that’s what comes up for me. The notion is here is “Don’t quit. Don’t give up. You have to be strong enough to believe in yourself. If you don’t take a stand for your dream, no one will. You have to be stronger.” How do you be stronger? You DECIDE. You DECIDE. It’s a decision. It’s that Śraddhā that says that I know this to be true because I will work everyday to assure that it’s true. If I take five steps forward and I take five steps back, I will take five steps forward again. I will pick up the pieces and humbly put in the work no matter how low I need to start from, no matter how long it takes. I will work everyday to make this true. I will stand up for this because I believe in it ‘cause I know it to be true. 


 — Kino MacGregor

Not Flexible Enough for Yoga

A lot of people apparently don't get this. It's a little chicken/egg situation. 

Usually the yoga comes first and the fun skills follow. 

If you feel stiff and uncoordinated - start an asana practice. Don't use that tired excuse to avoid it.

Arlo Xan

This is Ali who is in the band Arlo Xan with her husband. I did this Asian inspired paint job for their show at Linda Matney Gallery in Williamsburg last week. She made the awesome head dress herself ;)

Summer shoot with Keith Ramsey

This is Veronica modeling a Luau costume I put together for this summer shoot with Keith Ramsey. I made the top and all of the flower accessories and painted little flowers on her skin to add to her over all cuteness ;) Keith Shot this photo.

Painted Accessories and Hair Decorations

This is Adrienne modeling some hair decorations and painted accessories I did for her dress. Keith Ramsey shot this for our 10 week photo/body paint project.

Full Body Paint!

This is the first body painting gig I got after I came back to Richmond. This is Jessie playing the part of a Bomb. I wanted to make her look firey and explosive for the Africa show. I did the paint, hair, costume aaaand the jewelry! Yay me ;) It was a blast...

Summer shoot with Keith Ramsey

 Wow! It's been a month since my last post! I've been gettin ready for the Cabinet of Cosmic Curiosities event at Gallery 5 tomorrow :) Until I recover from that, here are some photos of costumes and paint that I worked on over the summer with Keith Ramsey, Photographer/Graphic designer/Painter. Enjoy!

This is Elisa in a Water themed costume I put together for a 10 week project of shooting with Keith.

Know Your Sun Salutation

The Sun Salutation, aka Surya Namaskar, is the seed from which all vinyasa yoga is born. Everyone should know how to do a sun salutation. It's an excellent warm-up for a larger practice; or it can stand alone. Do it once, or do it 108 times, or any number in between. If you're running low on time, or have no idea where to start a home practice - this is all you really need. 

Jason Crandell - Demystifying the Home Practice

Jason Crandell speaks here about appropriate expectations of home yoga practices.
Start with what you like. Do it when you can. Simple as that.

Readers via Email - Click Here for the Video

Cardio for Hot Yoga Bods

It's about that time of year when the weather is warming up and people are realizing that swimsuits are just around the corner. This of course leads to an increase in cardio for so many people that want to burn off extra body fat.

There are lots of forms of cardio to consider:

• Jumping Rope
• Running
• Jogging
• Hula Hooping
• Yoga (yes it can be cardio)
• Plyometrics
• and tons of other combinations of fun things that get your heart rate up for a while...

Running is commonly chosen because it's one of the most effective forms of cardio there is. If you're running then you need to do more stretches both before and after your run (because it's also one of the roughest forms of cardio).

Lululemon offers a nice little article on Five pre-run poses for better running. Go Check it Out!

http://www.lululemon.com/community/blog/five-pre-run-poses/

Update: Lululemon came out with a 2nd article on Five post-run poses for better recovery!

http://www.lululemon.com/community/blog/five-post-run-poses-for-better-recovery/

Kundalini Sunshine Song

I've taken part in a fair amount of Kundalini Yoga, and this song has always been my favorite part.

Clean Nutrition for Yogis

I've made no secret of my love of cake and really all things delicious. I'd be one of those really lean muscley yoginis if I actually made a stronger effort to eat less dessert and snack food.

All that aside - I otherwise eat clean. In my house we've completely sworn off frying foods and as someone who grew up in Texas - that's kind of a big deal. I've wanted to write more about the topic of food for a long time. It's just such a deep topic and I'm sort of lazy about writing sometimes.

So when I saw this post called "Eat Clean: Nutrition for Yogis" over at Alive in the Fire - I figured I'd pass along this great article "on ways to maximize the benefit of the foods you eat before and after class in order to get a great yoga flow." instead of having to write my own. No point in reinventing the wheel.

Go read it.

Source: http://justwanttobehealthyandfit.tumblr.com/

Make Your Own Path

"Never follow anyone else's path, unless you're in the woods and you're lost." - Ellen DeGeneres

A Practice - Unlimited

This kind of creative practice is only limited and squashed by mats. Just saying. It's super fun. Full disclosure - I become insanely jealous watching her practice videos. My only consolation is that I notice it and I can work on that.

 

Readers via Email - Click Here for the Video.

Tara Stiles says Yoga Cures

I received this book to review. It's by Tara Stiles. In it she says that Yoga Cures... and in fact creates "Radiant Health" if you just practice.  How do I feel about this book? Ambivalent. I both love it and hate it.

I'll keep this review short by a simple list of things I do and don't love.

Hate:

• Overstated and dreamy. Maybe this is what selling books requires, but it feels disingenuous.
• Claims that practicing yoga makes you crave healthy foods instead of junk. Not really.
• The page on a "Hangover Cure" has a little grey box that sounds really preachy and judgemental.
• P.34 seems to imply that homeopathy is just as good as (if not better than) modern medicine.
• Chapter 2 cites no sources for a few research studies that could be made up for all we know.
• It's barely mentioned as a sort of disclaimer that - Yoga may not cure what ails you. 

Love:

• Zenspiration notes in the sidebar. Cute.
• The tone and language used is accessible and friendly.
• Tara Stiles loves yoga and believes it is life-changing. On this we agree very much.
• The sequences are short and simple which is perfect for Yoga Cures' primary audience.

Overall:
I appreciate the mission of this book. Yoga truly does help with many of the issues presented in its pages. Yoga Cures has a lot of good things in it surrounded by some baloney that makes it hard to take seriously. Lots of beginners could benefit from the sequences, and meditation/breath-work instructions in this book; but I would never buy this book for myself.

Monday Morning Motivation

This story is inspirational and it kicks all your excuses right in the balls.

 

Readers via Email - Click Here for the Video

Yoga Journal Out of Ideas

Yesterday I received my June 2012 Yoga Journal in my mailbox. Upon first glance I felt like I'd seen this picture before. Had it been a cover before? Why did it look so damn familiar? Even Adam said it looked familiar so I knew it wasn't just me. I did about five minutes of digging and while it doesn't appear to have been a cover - a photo that was obviously from the same photo session was featured in the 2010 Yoga Journal Calendar. I know there are plenty of yogis and photographers with the talent and drive to be on the cover of Yoga Journal, so why are they using old pictures?

Nothing against Sarah Tomson Beyer (frequent YJ model and current cover girl) because she has just as much right to be on the cover and in the mag as many times as anyone else. I applaud her. But two year old (or more) pictures? Really? They could at least take new photos of her. It's almost exactly the same pic from the calendar. I know it looks like I have no life to remember this and actually go look it up, but that's fine with me and Yoga Journal is clearly all out of fresh ideas. Or at least pictures.

Chakrasana - Working On It

By working on it I mean failing miserably. I spoke a while back about the Kino MacGregor Ashtanga DVD I received for Christmas. I haven't been using it for a long time now, but there's a motion in that DVD that's been haunting me still. I had never seen Chakrasana before, and for whatever reason I absolutely cannot do it without assistance. I saw this video that breaks it down, but it's no help. I just can't get over at all. Adam, on the other hand, just pops over like it's as easy as the video makes it look.

If there are any Ashtangi's around - I'd love some pointers.

Readers via Email - Click Here for the Video.

A Reminder for Every Day

Some wise words to pack into your bag: