Heart Shape Mandals for Valentine's Day

Mandalas allow kids to meditate, focus, quiet the kind and create!

Here are the lovely group of young ladies at Bamboomoves working on their Heart Mandalas for Valentine's Day.
Picture: Jaleen (Ladybug), Milta & Mia

Kids Valentine's Yoga @ Bamboomoves

Usually we have a wall to wall Kids Yoga class at Bamboomoves, BX. Somehow this year for Valentine's Day/Presidents Day weekend we had a small class with my veterans. We did Valentine's Mandalas, my "Yoga Tree" song with a Linden Tree as our pose (a Linden tree has heart shaped leaves), and we worked on headstand. These ladies were so excited to show me their newly developed headstand practice as taught to them by the brilliant Yoga Instructor Monica. One of the little girls brought treats for everyone and a cuddly little teddy bear for me. The kids at Bamboomoves are growing in their Yoga practice and encourage each other. The growing community at Bamboomoves is wonderful to be apart of, and the generosity of spirit in the kids yoga class is a direct reflection on some amazing parents. Happy Valentine's Day!

Picture: Mia, Milta, Ambria, Jaleen (Ladybug)

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day! May you give and receive avalanches of Love in your life! This Valentine's Day I will be teaching some yoga sessions, and hopefully enjoying some delicious Indian Food with my beloved friends from my favorite South Indian Restaurant in Tuckahoe, NY, Spice Village. In celebration of Valentine's Day, I posted a new Valentine's video. Often times when you are working so many sessions, you wind up dating your Yoga mat which has been the case for me. Thankfully I love my Yoga practice, so I love that my Valentine's Date (this year) is my yoga mat and it has inspired the opportunity to poke fun at myself in a new video. Hope you enjoy your valentine's day and embrace Love. Give someone a Hug and most importantly give yourself a hug! Enjoy the video! ~ My Love to you

Blizzard Yoga

With my new You Tube channel I have created "Yogalosophy" I have another opportunity to be creative and fun. This channel is a fun way for me to bring a light hearted perspective to a practice that ultimately is aimed at finding enlightenment/joy. Last week NYC was hit with a huge snow storm, which forced me to cancel all my yoga sessions. On a snow day there are many things we can do from making a snowman, to staying in cozy in doors, but we all have to eventually get out the shovel and clear the snow. Did the snow stop me from doing Yoga myself? Well you have to watch the video to find out. Blizzard Yoga....Remember to Smile at life and it will smile back :) Subscribe to the Youtube channel and be ready for more updates. Be sure to share the smiles with your friends, and leave comments. ~ Peace & hugs

Toga Friday

One of my greatest joys is to do Yoga with Kids. I work with kids of various ages and abilities/disabilities. It goes without question that Yoga calms the mind, and heals the body, so to introduce kids to yoga is an amazing opportunity. In turn, kids have an amazing ability to remind you of the joys of life, and the hidden joys of a yoga practice. Kids have a brilliant way of approaching asana (yoga poses). When teaching adults Yoga asana (poses) is focused on alignment, while with kids, they find joy in wobbling in and out of alignment. This joy is just the enlightenment, and liberation from our own tendencies to judge ourselves, and our world around us, that many of us need in our lives.

The hands down game of choice for kids is "Toga". On Fridays I have the wonderful chance to work with a group of kids with Down Syndrome. Being apart of their yoga experience is life changing for me. These kids improve their speech with my songs, gain confidence with the poses and learn to calm their minds with meditation. Along with the benefits of yoga they continue to amaze me every week. One week, I introduced Toga to them, which is Yoga with your toes. This involves picking up pom poms using only your toes. Kids Love Toga! It improves flexibility in the arch and ankle, improves concentration and like I said before it is FUN! The part that amazed me, was when one of the kids picked up four pom poms with one foot! After refereeing dozens of Toga games, it was amazing to see this brilliant little girl pick up FOUR pom poms with her tiny toes. She is the record holding champ of Toga thus far.

Superbowl Yoga!

Namaste! It's game day....Superbowl XLIV, the Saints vs. the Colts! While taking a break between classes at Bamboomoves, I set up my camera on top of some yoga blocks, busted out my football and did some Superbowl Yoga. Although it is not so visible, I was wearing a blue top (Colts) and black pants (Saints). Both football players and fans can benefit from the many benefits of a yoga practice. My right knee bears the scar of a surgery from many years ago which was a result of a football injury, and my yoga practice has strengthened that knee tremendously....I won't get into the details, except to highlight my beloved battle scar. Check out the video at my YouTube Channel "Yogalosophy". Ironically, some of the students at Bamboo heard the loud music that was in the studio while I was filming, and were surprised to know it was from me, as most of my classes tend to be more on the peace, love and happiness musical styles. But this Rockstar Yogini, (that would be me) has love for all styles of "good music". Along with that it is my belief that all people can benefit from a Yoga practice. So the purpose of my newest Youtube channel is to inspire a light hearted approach to Yoga and a zest for life. Enjoy life and your yoga practice! keep watching the channel for more fun videos. I now know that I may need to invest in a new camera. ~ Namaste

Thank You Yogis!

Today after teaching my regular full day of classes at Bamboomoves, my lovely ladies (Margie & Maritza) of Bamboo brought me delicious Vegan Red Velvet Cake from H.I.M in the BX. This was an amazing Yummy treat especially after my 30 day fast. I took two bites and tasted heaven. After my 30 day fast, 2 bites was enough to remind me of the joy of tasty sweetness. Afterwards, Margie & Maritza made my mouth water for the Vegan Chocolate cake, so I made plans to venture to the H.I.M bakery in BX. We progressed into our Yogalaties class and sweat our core away. The Yogalaties class was full, wall to wall, and a recent petition for an additional weekly class tells me that the ladies love the class, despite the occasional groans and moans during the class. After Yogalaties class another two lovely yogis of Bamboomoves, (mother and daughter, Doris & Milta) brought me a gorgeous bouquet of yellow roses. So beautiful and sweet - a lovely belated birthday gift. Bamboomoves is truly an amazing Yoga Studio that is full of loving people who create the essence of community. Finally after class Michelle (my devoted 6:30am yoga student) & Sandy decided to head to the H.I.M bakery to explore all the other healthy items the store offers. After a day of Yoga, vegan chocolate cake is the only way too go! Thanks to Michelle, all three of us left with a Vegan Chocolate cake to enjoy, the name of the cake "death by chocolate" and they are not kidding! It was delicious!!!! So delicious, I placed an order to have a cake made for our "Heart Chakra/Valentines Yoga Workshop" which is next Saturday February 13th. Thank you again ladies (Margie, Maritza, Doris, Milta, Michelle, and Sandy) for bringing such joy, love and yumminess to my day. ~ Peace & hugs, Ambria