Posts Tagged ‘yoga tips’

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TONE YOUR ARMS WITH VINYASA. YOGA TIPS TO GET YOU TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

Tuesday, March 5th, 2013

If you’re looking to tone your arms, a good Vinyasa flow is just what you need! Here is a simple flow that will work your arms and you can do it from the comfort of your own home!

  • Start in mountain pose. Take a deep breath in and deep exhale
  • On your exhale, bend at the waist and go into a forward fold. Take a deep breath
  • Exhale and step back into plank position, grounding your hands shoulder-width apart on your mat
  • From here go into chaturanga; lower yourself down from plank, keeping your arms next to your body (don’t let your elbows bow out) and flow into upward dog
  • Hold yourself in upward dog for 1 cycle of breath and on your exhale, tuck your toes under and push yourself up to downward dog
  • Repeat the cycle

To increase the workout you get in your arms, hold yourself in plank for 30 second intervals and then really concentrate on slowly lowering your body down to the mat.

Remember to always breathe through every movement and listen to your body – it’s up to you to monitor when you’re pushing yourself too far verses pushing yourself to the next level in your practice.

Check out our new Mat Mates activity section to find perfect styles for yoga and pilates. 

Here are some of our favorites!

  • Booty Burner – Keeps you cool with the bare cut, and cool performance fabric technology.
  • Spirit Bra - Gives you versatility with lingerie-inspired straps and comfortable support with lightweight and regular performance fabric.  Ruched under the armhole for ease in movement.
  • Draped Low Impact Tank - Has a regular performance bra for support and a blousy silhouette with lightweight performance fabric. This is where fashion meets function.

Find more yoga tips throughout the Zobha blog.

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The Benefits of Yoga

Saturday, March 2nd, 2013

Yoga has been practiced for more than 5,000 years and millions of people are enjoying its health benefits.

 

  • Builds strength
  • Improves your posture, flexibility and balance
  • Creates longer, leaner muscles
  • Speeds up your metabolism
  • Helps with injury and chronic pain recovery
  • Reduces stress
  • Increases energy and productivity
  • Heightens emotional calm and mental clarity
  • Inspires process of transformation

 

Enjoy life and embrace your peaceful oasis within.

Join us for FREE yoga every Sunday (11AM-Noon) at our Zobha store located in Mill Valley, CA.  Click here for more yoga and upcoming events!

 

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Back to Basics!

Monday, February 25th, 2013

3 Tips to Simplify your Workout:

1.       Grab your sneakers and embrace the outdoors.  (And soak up some sun at the same time.) There’s nothing more basic then lacing up your sneakers and taking a run around your neighborhood! Try sites like mapmyrun.com to help you find the best route from your front door.

2.       Find a comfortable spot in your home to do a 30-minute circuit of wall squats, abs, push-ups and jumping jacks.  All you need is open floor space and 30-minutes of motivation. Here are a few options for circuit workouts you can try today: http://bit.ly/X7D3Jv

3.       Lay down your yoga mat and take yourself through this sequence of poses and hold each pose for one minute.  (Downward Facing Dog, High Lunge, Chair Pose, Eagle Pose, Half Moon Pose, Revolved Side Angle Pose, Dolphin Pose).  Repeat three times.

 

With just 30 minutes you can fit a quick workout into your day without leaving home!

 

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100 Days of Yoga: Yolanda’s Inspiring Journey

Friday, January 18th, 2013

The Zobha Team first met Yolanda at our Yoga In The Square event to celebrate the Mill Valley store opening. She had just begun her long journey to complete 100 days of yoga. Today marks her 100th day and we were able to take her final class with her, which proved to be emotional for all of us!

Below is Yolanda’s inspiring story that reminds us to never give up, and always aim higher!

 

“100 Straight days of Yoga”

Hello,

My name is Yolanda Bradby. I am a childcare provider living in downtown Mill Valley. I have been a resident for Thirty years. In March I will be 58 years old!

A year ago I was overweight and depressed. I felt as if I had lost real purpose in my life and I didn’t know which way to go, but in reality I was sinking!

Thanks to friends and family, I am climbing my way up the ladder through yoga and meditation. A very good friend had told me about this amazing yoga teacher and the powerful benefits of power yoga practiced in a heated room. So I did it for the first time and so far I haven’t stopped!

My brother mentioned to me once that if you do something for 100 days it becomes ingrained in your mind and body. It takes less of an effort and it becomes habitual. What a magnificent habit to have!

So here I go! I’m on an amazing journey of yoga practices that’s opening doors for me inside and out! I do not weigh myself, but I have gone from a size 12 to a size 8! Most of all, I’m happier, more peaceful, and I see a very bright future in 2013 and beyond.

I cannot thank my wonderful yoga teacher (Susan Hauser), and my new found friends at Zobha for their love and support. I am eternally grateful! 100 days of yoga! :)

- Yolanda Bradby

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3 Common Mistakes People Make In Yoga Classes

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

You are never too young or too old to gain the physical and mental benefits of yoga. Yoga is all about the union occurring between the mind, body and spirit and honoring the grace within you. With that said, you’re not going to feel very healthy if you accidentally injure yourself when practicing it. To help you in doing yoga the right way follow, Zobha Circle of Grace Member and amazing yoga teacher, Mercedes Ngoh’s advice.

How do you prevent injury in a yoga class?

Yoga

(Mercedes is wearing the Grace Tank and the Straight Leg Capri.)

1. Listen to your body

As for my experience with injury and alignment in yoga class, I can share with you something I learned that really changed my teaching as well as my own practice and that was first and foremost to work with your own body’s alignment rather than trying to fit your body into a “universal” alignment. The fact that there is no “universal” skeleton makes “universal” alignment an impossible task and a belief that can lead to injury and unnecessary frustration. Not listening to the maximum edge of resistance of one’s body but rather forcing oneself into a picture perfect image of a pose can not only lead to injury but to a practice void of self-awareness. This lends to the old adage of “use the pose to serve your body not your body to serve the pose”.

2. Don’t try to fit in

A second common thing I often notice that can lead, not only to injury, but to a disconnection from one’s practice is to slip into what I refer to my students as “Watchasana” – the habit of constantly “watching” others and comparing oneself. It is so important to get out of the practice of “watching” to see if a fellow student is doing a pose “better” or looks different and then trying to make one’s own body do what the person next to them is doing so as to not be outdone. This is a sure recipe to eventual injury as everyone’s body “resonates” in the postures differently. Instead, to avoid injury, one needs to keep the focus on their own mat and stay connected and aware of their own practice and keep constantly aware of what their body is telling them.

3. Practice in the now.

A third common mistake I notice is that some people have a tendency to do “yesterday’s practice” rather than practice in the now. In other words, there is a tendency to feel like one has to constantly do better than what they did yesterday (ie: harder poses, deeper backbends, deeper twisting, longer balancing etc) as though if this is not achieved then somehow it is a statement on their yoga practice as a whole. I constantly tell my students that every time they get to the mat it has to be fresh, and they have to check in with themselves and honor the state that they are in today. Not just physical but emotional and mental state. Then once they’ve ascertained where they are, they need to then tailor that day’s practice to match them in their present state. This then allows yoga the opportunity to become a real tool to heal, strengthen, purify and support them, rather than just be a task on their to-do list or daily exercise. If one stays true to practicing in the now rather than just trying to do better than “yesterday’s practice” they can avoid injuring themselves.

Mercedes Ngoh, has been living yoga for over a decade. She is a trained dancer, gymnast and athlete. As her practice deepened, Mercedes took the natural progression into teaching. To learn more about Mercedes, we invite you to visit her website here.

 

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Yoga Teacher Training Diary – Yoga for Desk Jobs

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

This week Emily Tsay, 2011 Zobha Grace of Giving Scholarship recipient, is sharing with us the benefits of yoga on your health and posture. We are all busy, that’s a given and it’s easy to forget how much more great life is when we feel energized by working out, practicing yoga or incorporating meditation into our daily life. With great weather, now is the ideal time to get back to feeling great about ourselves and learning how to improve our well-being.

How has yoga improved your health?

We are now accepting applications for candidates in the Pure Yoga Teacher Training program this Fall at any participating Equinox or Pure Yoga through August 5, 2011. Apply now!

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Yoga Teacher Training – Blog Diary

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

Yoga

This week, we are sharing a diary post from Emily Tsay, Grace of Giving Scholarship recipient, from her second 2 weeks of yoga teacher training. Zobha awarded the Grace of Giving Scholarship to Emily Tsay to study in the Pure Yoga Teacher Training at Equinox in Summer 2011. Over the next several weeks, Emily will be sharing her experiences with us.

A few months ago, I thought I would be spending the next year traveling between the mountains and cities of Taiwan. I would be doing research on the various tribes of the Taiwanese Indigenous People (TIP) and working with a non-profit to provide support for these people, who face many economic and social barriers. I was so excited to receive the Zobha scholarship because I wanted to share with the TIP everything I could, especially yoga. I was a finalist for the Fulbright Scholarship, which would have allowed me to carryout this mission, and when I passed the US selection round, I really hoped Taiwan would choose me too. I just felt so passionate about it and there was a real sense of urgency in providing support for this marginalized group.

The day I found out I was not chosen for the program was also around the first day of yoga training. I had spent a year planning what I would be doing in Taiwan and organizing ways to channel aid from the US to Taiwan, so when I walked into the first day of yoga training, I had such mixed emotions. I was incredibly excited to start the yoga program, yet I was feeling a little bummed about the news of the Fulbright Scholarship. The first day of yoga training, my teachers gave me something that helped me release this mental uneasiness I was feeling. I felt this incredible sense of connectedness to be part of such a long lineage of yoga teachers of this ancient practice. Also, my teachers taught us about the 5 yamas or abstentions, which is part of the 8 limbs of yoga. It was a good reminder of my own ethics code, which gave me confidence to continue on my journey despite setbacks. The 5 yamas include:

Ahimsa: non-violence
Satya: truthfulness
Asteya: non-stealing
Brahmacharya: abstinence or moderation in intimate relationships
Aparigraha: non-hoarding or letting go

I had been so invested in working in Taiwan that remembering aparigraha, letting go, helped me move on to the next page in my life. So I started thinking about what I would do next, which I am incredibly excited about! Since I had been a high school teacher through Teach for America and am also passionate about teaching and working in under served communities, I thought it would be great if I could share yoga with these students. My students faced a lot of stressors in their life, which definitely affected their academics, so yoga could help them with their physical and mental well-being to reduce the affect of the stressors. I remembered seeing on Zobha’s website an organization that was a perfect combination of these passions of mine. Headstand, founded by Katherine Priore, is a non-profit organization that integrates yoga into the classrooms of economically-disadvantaged communities. Currently, Katherine and I are working on raising money to start a yoga program at a school in Los Angeles for the 2011-2012 school year. If we can manage to raise enough money, these students in LA will be doing downward dogs and pigeon poses along with solving math problems and writing stories (not at the same time of course, they will have their own special yoga classroom!). What I love about Headstand is their belief that just as important as it is for the students to learn how to solve math problems and write grammatically correct sentences, teaching them how to do asanas and to calm their minds can truly give them a holistic educational experience.

Emily

For more information on Headstand, please go here.

Zobha also supports Headstand with 10% of sales from the Zobha Grace Tank. Buy a tank and send a child to yoga!

Zobha is  now accepting applications for candidates in the Pure Yoga Teacher Training program this Fall at any participating Equinox or Pure Yoga through August 5, 2011.

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How do you learn Ashtanga yoga at home?

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

Today Kino MacGregor, Zobha Circle of Grace Member and Ashtanga yoga expert, gives tips on the best Ashtanga yoga techniques and at home practice. What is your favorite style of yoga?

In this video, Kino is wearing the Jayne Halter available on zobha.com.

Kino is a co-founder of Miami Life Center, where she teaches daily classes, workshops and intensives in addition to maintaining an international traveling and teaching schedule. Kino founded Miami Life Center to build a community around yoga, holistic health and consciousness. For Kino’s schedule, click here.

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Yoga Teacher Training – Blog Diary

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

This week, we are sharing a video diary from Emily Tsay, Grace of Giving Scholarship winner, from her first 2 weeks of yoga teacher training. Zobha awarded the Grace of Giving Scholarship to Emily Tsay to study in the Pure Yoga Teacher Training at Equinox in Summer 2011. Over the next several weeks, Emily will be sharing her experiences with us.

We are now accepting applications for candidates in the Pure Yoga Teacher Training program this Fall at any participating Equinox or Pure Yoga through August 5, 2011. To apply, go here:

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Meet new Circle of Grace Member – Maeve McCaffrey

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

Yoga Teacher

Maeve McCaffrey found her way into yoga as a way to find balance in her body and heal overuse injuries. She believes the worlds of fitness and yoga can co-exist as complementary lifestyle necessities. We are very excited to have Maeve as a new member of the Circle of Grace and for you to get to know her through this interview.

Zobha: How did you start your yoga journey?

Maeve McCaffrey: I was first exposed to yoga as a pretty young child. Until I was six, I lived on a small organic farm in Vermont. My parents had a natural food store and, as you can imagine, in that circle, yoga was fairly mainstream. My mother had a regular self-practice and I would often “play” along with her as she practiced. In my early 20s, I found Hatha yoga as a way to stay healthy after years as an athlete, and at that time, I was teaching multiple group exercise classes each day and really putting my body through a beating. You remember, step, kick boxing, etc. I had severe pulls in both hamstrings, plantar fasciitis, on and off again rotator cuff pain. I looked like I was in the best shape of my life, but couldn’t walk when I got out of bed!

I think like many practitioners, at that time, I didn’t know why I needed yoga. My initial intention was to stretch, but I was hyper-flexible and what I really needed was the joint, muscular and overall structural stability the practice provided me, not to mention the mental benefits, which have carried on. In addition to the physical benefits of the asana practice including happy feet, happier hamstrings (that’s still a work in progress) and healthier shoulders, yoga helps me to be kinder to myself and others. I love being a student and adore teaching yoga. For me, yoga, whether teaching class or practicing, is as good as a warm hug.

Zobha: Do you practice a particular style of yoga?

Maeve McCaffrey: When I have the liberty of choice (I often practice based on the time of a class rather than the style) I practice primarily Vinyasa Flow. I love the orchestration of posture and breath together. For me, it feels artistic. Like music, dance, or literature, there is a beauty to it that can evoke different emotions. I love to feel the transitions between the postures which feel the way well-played notes sound, relishing the moment of the sound or the feel of the posture, word, movement or sound, then gliding through the space between the next posture, word, movement or sound. There are moments when I’m teaching Vinyasa Flow and the beauty of my students’ practice makes me want to sing or dance. It’s ridiculous, but true.

Zobha: What is your favorite yoga pose and why?

Maeve McCaffrey: I love Virabhadrasana 3. It is forever challenging and equally rewarding. It is such a strong pose, yet in all that work, it allows you to feel like you are flying, which is a truly liberating sensation. I have odd physical metaphors when I’m practicing, i.e. in Warrior 2, I feel like an arrow heading toward a target, and Warrior 3 makes me envision I am coasting over a body of water the way birds do.

Zobha: What do you do in your free time when you don’t teach yoga?

Maeve McCaffrey: When I’m not working, I love to cook and enjoy good food, and dance, whether in class or around my house. I recently took up golf which is a good test of my patience, but hands down, my favorite activity is to spend endless amounts of time with my cat Tia. Her purr feels like a good dose of yoga.

Zobha: What is your favorite Zobha piece?

Maeve McCaffrey: Of the Zobha gear, I love the Evolve Capri. They come in a multitude of colors, hit at the perfect length and have just the right tightness to stay put, especially when I am flying in Warrior 3! They are seasonless and look great if I need to slide a pair of boots on and look presentable.

Zobha: Where can we attend your classes?

Maeve McCaffrey: I teach for YogaWorks in Tarzana, CA and El Segundo, CA as well as The Sports Club/LA in West Los Angeles. In addition to teaching, I am the Director of Specialty Programming for YogaWorks. My role, in part, is to bring Mindful Fitness classes, Private Yoga and Introduce Yoga to students. How great is that? Helping people be more in tune with their bodies so they can have years of yoga and fitness in their future. I will also be teaching a Summer Solstice Yoga Mala, 108 sun salutations at The Sports Club/LA on June 21st. It’s pretty powerful. I love summer and all that goes along with it, and this is the second year I’ll be welcoming it in this fashion.

For Maeve’s class schedule, click here.

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