Unboxing #NDL01 from Quarterly Co.

In a flurry of small changes on the blog lately - you may have noticed the appearance of a link at the top of the page to Quarterly Co. You may wonder exactly what that is, but haven't checked it out yet.

"Quarterly Co. is a subscription service that lets you receive awesome things in the mail. You can subscribe to people you find interesting and, once every three months, they will send you a package right to your doorstep."

I signed up a while back, and yesterday I received my first package from Quarterly Contributor No More Dirty Looks

"No More Dirty Looks is a blog focusing on the best, prettiest, and most effective clean products on the market. With their mailings, founders Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt hope to reawaken a tradition of self-care while also showing that clean, organic ingredients are all you need to look and feel your best."

I love NMDL - the blog and the book, so I was quick to sign up and thrilled to receive this box in the mail. I urge you to sign up for these mailings too. The surprise element is so fun, and the products are totally worth my $25 every 3 months. Alternatively, you could just follow the blog for free - and still get lots of clean beauty info and deals on great products.

I haven't tried any of these products before but I've been wanting all of them, so this collection is perfect for me and I'm happy. Bonus: Smells great! Can't wait for the next package ♥  I can't say enough good things about them, so I'll just get on with the unboxing pictures.

Inside was this small packet/letter of info about the products and the people that made them.
Leaving me well informed and extra excited about my new stuff.

Leap Organics lavender with clove and orange bar soap,  Soapwalla
Kitchen deodorant cream, and Hydrea beechwood Body Brush.
Complete with use instructions.

Everything in quotes came straight from Quarterly Co.

You may recognize the NMDL book from the 2011 Yogi Gift Guide

This is not a sponsored post - I'm just excitable that way.

Trying Ashtanga

You all know I'm a big ol' Anusara junkie, but I tried something like 9 styles of yoga or more before I got all cozy with Anusara. There's plenty more styles around too so I'm making a conscious effort to branch out and try new styles in addition to my regular practice. Maybe I'll learn a few things.

I got this Kino Macgregor Ashtanga DVD for christmas and I've started following along with it once or twice a week. It's the primary series with beginner and advanced variations for most of the sequence. While I know that DVDs are far from being representative of the classroom experience - I have to say I was a little too scared to visit an Ashtanga class. Maybe later. Ashtanga is challenging. Not crazy difficult - just definite work. My hop forward to hover in handstand is getting stronger and my upward dog is getting more practice than ever. I'm enjoying it for sure.

Next stop - Bikram, Iyengar, and Aerial Yoga classes.
I'm especially psyched out of my mind about that last one.

Reminders on the Wall

Just some inspirational wall-hangings I found while looking for home decor inspiration.

Source: gypsyville.com

90 Minute Asana Practice in 3 Minutes

My Thursday and Friday were pretty well spent on making my first video ever. Made this on my phone. In the process I learned more about my phone, about how inept I am with video editing software, about how confusing copyright law is, and how much more nervous I am about sharing videos than pictures. I'm thinking I'll make more videos later, but for now I'll just let this one go out into the world and mature on its own.

So this video is a 90 minute practice that I did - and I then chopped it up into a million pieces and threw 95% of the pieces away. What's left is like a super speed highlight reel of that day's work. Hopefully you like it. If you do - share it around. If you hate it - show it around too. blech.

 

Asana Practice in 3 Minutes from April Armistead on Vimeo.

Some of you may have already seen this on Elephant Journal, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr, or on plenty of other sites I don't quite follow. Thanks to everyone who's been posting it. ♥

Rest to Cultivate Growth

As yogis we practice hopefully everyday. Except when we are resting. There should be some off-days scheduled in there somewhere. I took about a 2 month long rest in the fall. Some of it intentional, most of it not. Everyone has these little periods where we don't practice. Sometimes they're a couple days sometimes they're months long. During that time - I always worry that when I get back to the mat I'm going to be completely incapable. Not that it matters, but it's going to be uncomfortable. There's a little piece of me that whines when I'm in down dog for the first time after a week or more without it. That little piece whines about everything.

That's the inertia speaking. The longer something sits the harder it is to get it going again. This applies to anything. Objects, relationships, yoga practices, attitudes, good habits - Anything.

So when I came back to my practice I feared I had lost some strength because muscles are all about "use it or lose it". Turns out I lost a little but it was regained so quickly to be not worth mentioning. My build had grown only slightly softer.With that very mild softening though - came an ease in how I carry myself that's hard to describe.

Everything feels a little simpler and I have made a dozen breakthroughs. Both in physical and subtle practices. I guess our inner self and our outer practices can be like muscles. Muscles don't grow while you're lifting heavy things. Muscles grow later in the dark while they're being rested. Quietly sowing the seeds planted during the hard work.

So by all means - plant your seeds, do the work - but don't forget to provide the rest your system needs to really flourish.

Press to Handstand

So with the whole Briohny Smyth underwear video there's been a lot of buzz about pressing to handstand. No matter where you stand on the Too Sexy or Not debate - you probably agree that her handstand press abilities are solid.

Now everyone wants to know how to add this fun little number to their practice. Here are a few videos to help you out. Featuring Kino Macgregor, Briohny Smyth, and Ranil Kumara with a few different methods to get you floating tall.

Word of warning: Kino admits it took her 5 years to get this down - so expect to put forth some dedication and time into learning it.

The sliding thing Briohny does with the blanket I've done quite a bit. I picked it up from a Sianna Sherman workshop. It's work and I can definitely say it's helpful.

A similar method for the gym is with a stability ball. You'll either love it or hate it.

Readers via Email - Click Here for the Videos.

Oh, the Places You'll Go at Burning Man!

If you love Dr. Seuss as I do (and especially if you love adventures and colors and happiness like Burning Man) then you'll likely love this video that's been floating about. A Burning Man vision of Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go!

And a quote that I think pairs well with it:
"If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else." - Joseph Campbell

Readers via Email - Click Here for the Video