Wall Street: Yoga, Wine and Fireworks

My weekly group class on a rooftop terrace of a gorgeous luxury high rise was such a new experience. A small intimate group, with gorgeous sunny weather. Three amazing women April, Michelle, Iysla. Two in the group had been relaxing on the lovely lounge chairs with wine after a long day of working. When they noticed the yoga, the decided to participate. While many yoga instructors would shy away from alcohol in a yoga class, this sunset class is meant to be relaxing. They politely asked if they had to throw it out, and I asked that it just be put aside. We progressed into a joyful yoga class with the amazing view of the water and sunset behind us. These gorgeous ladies had better flexibility than they were aware of. Before and after the session we had had a wonderful conversation, so I was invited to stay a little longer with them on the rooftop. With some yummy food, drinks, and relaxed bodies we concluded our session watching a fantastic display of fireworks across the water. Most likely in preparation for the upcoming Memorial Day celebrations.

On a side note: Red Wine has an antioxidant called Resveratrol which is found in the seeds and skins of grapes. Since wine is fermented grapes, it has a high concentration of resveratrol. This prevents the oxidation process which promotes a healthy heart, can fight off cancer, and prevent heart attacks. In moderation, red wine can be very beneficial to your health. One glass a day for women, and two for men. Cheers to your health!

Pilates Evolution Training

This past weekend, I was diving into a fantastic Pilates Workshop at the Physical Mind Institute. Aside from personal mat work with various trainers and videos, my knowledge of Pilates was in my opinion limited, which is why I decided to deepen my understanding with some training. Years ago, I supplemented my yoga practice, and love for fitness with some Pilates Mat work and I experienced why people enjoy this form of exercise. Much like yoga, it is mind centered, involves focus on the breath, and tones the body nicely. It is also great for rehabilitation which is why many athletes, dancers and celebrities are referred by their physiotherapists to begin Pilates work. From my experience with Pilates, I would asses that many of the poses/exercises are yoga inspired. The wonderful aspect of this training was the Tye 4, which is considered to be the evolution in Pilates. While many would debate the need for the Tye 4, I would say that it is a great assist. The Tye 4 was developed by Joan Breibart (a wealth of knowledge in the Pilates world) and it basically is bungee cords that attach to your hands and feet which provide support for those who may need assistance and increased resistance for those people who require a challenge. The reason why I loved this portable apparatus, is that it helped my balance issues. Due to an injury on my foot, balance has been an issue, and the Tye 4 actually helped me to find better balance and most importantly decrease the pain. The reason for this is simple, my injured ankle causes pain when I stand on it, the Tye 4 gives additional support, lifts the arch of my foot, which eases the pressure off the injury! I am excited to try it out with other yoga poses. Using the Tye 4 for a Hatha yoga practice would be ideal, it reminds me of the attachments that one would find in an Iyengar studio (only portable). I think this equipment will be ideal with mine and any Instructors clients who are elderly, need extra resistance, and those recovering from injuries. Everyone at the Physical Mind was a delight to work with. Along with Joan Breibart, we had June who is featured in this month's Pilates Style Magazine highlighting BEAMING, and Lauren Piskin & Ryan the creators of the Physical Mind Studio on the Upper East Side. Thank you to the Instructors and participants for making it a lovely experience! The weekend was a great opportunity to learn and grow. For those of you interested in supplementing your Yoga practice with experts in the Pilates field, head over to the Physical Mind Institute. The instructors have a lovely positive energy and tremendous knowledge of the body.

Pictured: Lauren Birnbaum, Ina Charles, Ambria, Magan Sipe

Movie Night - Shrek

The Bamboomoves Yogi of the Month, Jaleen, aka Ladybug decided that we should go see the film Shrek this month. The movie was 3D fun! We began with Pizza at the studio and headed to the theatre. Last time when we saw Alice In Wonderland the theatre was packed, but luckily this time it was not such a madhouse. Special thanks to the parents who came along to chaperone and enjoy the film (Milta's dad and Jaleen mom and dad, and Julissa's dad for driving) This was a lovely movie, and the kids were wonderful! Each week these kids demonstrate positive progress with their yoga practice, and encourage each other to maintain focus in class. While we do a lot of fun stuff in class, it is great to reward them with Yogi of the Month and a movie treat! Each and every one of the kids is a yoga star! Thanks girls for making movie night so fun!

Picture: Julissa, Imergen, Milta, Jaleen, and Ladybugs little brother.

Yogi Yummy Cookies

Since many yogis are vegan or vegetarian and observing the principal of Ahimsa (non-harming), it is important to find veggie friendly snacks and eating places. I came across the most delicious cookie ever! It actually tastes too good to be healthy! The Alternative Baking Company Inc. makes absolutely delicious treats. No Dairy, No Eggs, No Trans fats, and agave nectar is the sweetness. While it is good to maintain healthy choices in our diet, we should never deprive ourselves. If you are a chocolate lover and want a cookie, go for the "Double Chocolate Decadence". This cookie is sooooo delicious, I have been using it as a gift for gratitude to the folks I want to show my love to. Nothing says love like a chocolate yummy cookie! As the package states, it is wonderfully addictive. This yummy cookie can be found at most health food stores like Whole Foods, Westerly, and Trader Joes.

The Law Of Attraction

For sometime now I have been yearning to have a gig, more gigs etc. Many people have invited me to perform at their venues, where I was a regular performer last year. Unfortunately, due to my current yoga schedule, I have been unable to gig as I would like to. I decided to meditate and pray on the desire of having more gig opportunities. I believe our minds and faith have a lot to do with our journey. With firm faith I wrote out my desires in my journal. Very soon, a fellow musician contacted me with, you guessed it...a gig. Not just any gig, a pretty amazing gig! I was invited to play for 3 months (summer vacation) in a 5 star luxury hotel in Asia, getting paid $4000 a month. Six nights a week, 4 sets (which is kind of a lot), full promotion, free room & board as well as transportation costs. The Law of Attraction in the Universe allows us to manifest our hearts desires when we believe. I share this blog, to let all know that our Universe is abundant and generous. Every faith in the world has beloved words that inspire faith. Whether you are a Christian believing "Ask and you Shall Recieve" (Matthew 21:22), or "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24), or a Quantum Physics fan believing in the law of attraction, a Kabbalist believing in "Kavanah" (putting it out there and following with actions), A Hindu believing in Mantra (MAN=mind, TRA=Free, therefore an instrument of thought), A Jewish person, believing in the famous Hebrew saying "Don't tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how great your God is", a Muslim believing in the words of Mohammed "Actions are judged by intentions, so each man will have what he intended". The Law of Attraction is a common aspect of faith in most religions. Be mindful of your thoughts, and put your plans into action because our Universe is abundant. For a whole host of reasons and obligations with Shiatsu classes, Yoga, and my family I decided to stay here in NY and not take the gig. With tremendous gratitude in my heart and excitement to revisit my desires for deeper detail, I hope to share more beautiful instantaneous blessings of our Universe. Have a lovely Day! Peace & hugs, Ambria

Bamboomoves goes Cherry Picking

Every week the Yoga-laties groupies join together to moan, groan, sweat, sweat, and sweat some more with me. This class is a high energy class packed with yoga, pilates, Indian wrestler moves, football core work, JOKES, and much more! While the class is only 1 hour long, within a half an hour people feel like they have been there for at least 2 hours! Despite the fact that some of my regulars could not make it due to "a date", "need to sleep" and "the gorgeous weather", (which are not entirely justifiable excuses as it lacks collective consciousness, but I will let it slide LOL ) the room still had a good amount of folks ready to sweat out the core! This past Saturday we rocked out with Pearl Jam, Nickleback, Madonna, and had three new people in the class. I love new students because they enter with excitement and joy and leave with both, along with sweat! One punctual lovely lady, (who I later found out was the boss of a regular yogi at Bamboo), and two gentlemen (one regular "yoga" student and his buddy) who entered in a little bit late, who I quickly deflected the blame to in advance for the challenging class that we were about to progress into. I like to tease and rib the participants, deflect blame, and make jokes as often as possible in order to distract participants from the grueling workout that they are joyfully participating in. It is no secret that week by week, the class increases the challenges and works the muscles to screaming fatigue. The whole process is bliss and joy. While many participants refer to the class in a loving way, as "torture" and often call out for divine intervention by moaning "Oh My God" they return every week. Some may ask why they return, and the answer is simply, results! Most of the group has admitted to seeing physical changes in their bodies, and new found strength for their regular yoga practice! I admire their dedication, and it inspires me to come up with new fun variations, and new songs for our play list. One of our beloved exercises is "Cherry Pickers" which involves a variation on "Navasana" or boat pose. We imagine we have a gorgeous bushel on our backside, and cherries on our toes, then alternate hand to foot we go picking! This is usually done after doing a lot of other exercises, so the divine intervention "Oh my God" moans are generally echoing around. I love to encourage the faith building! Last Saturday, Our gorgeous April Yogi of the Month (Milta) stepped in just in time to capture the brilliant yogis "smiling" in the middle of "Cherry Picking"! Thank you Milta for getting the group in full smiles, mid pick with glistening sweating bodies! You Rock! I bumped into a few students two days later and the responses/gossip was "I felt it everywhere", "I couldn't walk up the stairs without feeling it in my butt", "You tortured us", "I couldn't take class on Sunday because I was too sore from your class", "the two new guys really felt it", "my boss took your class and said it really kicked her butt"! Your feedback is always appreciated! Thank you Michelle for treating me to the delicious Vegan Carrot Cake after class! You Rock! Two more Wednesdays will be covered by Wendy, and this Saturday will be Mary, as I am completing my Pilates certification. Love you all, See you soon!

Yogi Beans makes Yummy Mandalas

One of my favorite yogi bean groups to work with is on Friday, with Zane and Laura. These two kids have amazing energy, tremendous love for both yoga and all participants in the class, and they are both a joy to work with. While my every yogi bean class is special, this one is really really special. These two brilliant kids have special needs (down syndrome) and prove how beautiful yoga is to every child. I have watched as Zane has learned new words, and reacted to the music doing all the physical poses to the best of his ability. I have enjoyed watching Laura recount poses that she had done weeks prior. These two enjoy Toga so much! Laura will demonstrate how she can pick up more than three pom poms in her toes and Zane is grabbing the tiny ones every chance he gets. The lovely Laura is a teacher in training. This past week, she led us in a brilliant Sun Salutation and Zane decided we would create a mandala with food. His food of choice was "apple". While Zane is generally quiet, except to giggle at the songs he loves, and say a few choice words related to some of my yoga songs, it was so thrilling to hear him share "apple" for our mandala. So healthy and Yummy. This class is truly joyful! One the best things is to witness how involved the parents and baby sitters are with regard to encouraging the progress and even participating in the yoga! What a wonderful class to share in!