365 Yogini

Although I had lost my summons, I knew I had jury duty this week...it has been in my calendar for months, like a big black X forcing me to refuse job opportunities and vacation invitations during this holiday week. So without my summons, I had no Jury ID number, and therefore when I called 1800 SRV JURY, I couldn't get any information about when and where to go.

So I decided, heck, I'll just show up early to the same courthouse and try to figure it ou. In order to get to Downtown L.A. before rush hour, I thought it might be a good idea to take Andres' 5:30am class at Santa Monica Power Yoga West. I had always wanted to but now I had a good reason.

My alarm went off at 4:50 am and I promptly hit snooze. I was debating whether or not to go, and my cell phone chirped from the living room: "Message Received." I wondered if it was my sweetheart, who's on the east coast right now, and then again: "Message Received." So I got out of bed to check my phone and sure enough, it was him. So I quickly replied, to which he asked: "Why are you up at 5am??" At that point, there was no turning back.

When I arrived at smpy, it was still pitch black outside and all I could see in the studio was the harmonium in the candlelight. We started with some mantra Kirtan chanting and the harmonies were incredible. I couldn't really decipher what we were supposed to be saying, but I just made the sound and enjoyed the energy.


We warmed up our bodies slowly and Andres reminded us that yoga is not about ego: "Don't take your body for granted," he said (I'm definitely going to use that!). He also reminded us that "Love is the best medicine in the world."

Our flow didn't last very long, and I didn't sweat very much, but it was fun and rewarding. I was proud of myself for actually showing up and although the class was listed as an hour long, when it was all said and done, it was a solid 75 minutes. Not bad. Now I'm using WiFi at Jury Duty and trying to stay zen.

This was the last day of my second session teaching YoYoYoga at Peace4Kids. We only had two of our 10 students present today to demonstrate what we had learned during the session and luckily, they both did an amazing job.

The two girls, LaShon and Yohanna, explained the definition of Yoga (union of breath with movement) and explained to the audience that we were going to demonstrate a sun salutation with warrior I, II, and III...and then do a Double Downward Facing Dog for our Grand Finale.

And sure enough, it went off without a hitch. The audience loved our performance because it was beautiful and challenging, and I think the girls felt really proud of themselves.

With only a couple weeks until the Karma Yoga Tour, I'm definitely getting excited and wrapping up all my loose ends.

For more information about...
July 19th - 25th NEW MOON RETREAT
with Yoga, Adventure & Volunteering in Montezuma
visit: http://gigiyogaretreats.wordpress.com

For more information about...
August 2nd - 8th FULL MOON RETREAT
with Yoga, Adventure, Spanish & Salsa Dancing in Manuel Antonio
visit: http://www.laescueladepuravida.com

I used to be uncomfortable with the idea of going to classes with new teachers because I never knew if I was going to like the class or not. But nowadays, I love going to new classes because I tend to always learn something new and come out of the class feeling energized and glad that I went.

Today, that was not the case.

Even though I wanted to go to Alex's all levels class at SMPY W at 4:30pm, I let myself be talked into going to YogaWorks on Main Street for a Level 2 Community Class taught by Hazel Patterson.

I literally had not been to that studio in over 10 years, and after this community class, I'm not sure when I'll go back. Not only was the teacher over 10 minutes late, but once we got started, it felt nothing like the YogaWorks method that I know and love. We warmed up with strange externally rotated preparation stretches on our knees and hardly got into a flow. We didn't even do any core work, inversions, or twisting poses before savasana. So strange.

For the first time in a long time, I was bored.

I felt terribly, though, and took responsibility for my boredom. I tried to convince myself this was the greatest class ever, but at the same time I was eye-ing the door and considering slipping out. I know, not cool, but it was THAT bad. However, I was with a friend, and I didn't want to offend the teacher, so I suffered through the class that seemed to last forever (even though we started 10 minutes late).

When we came out of the class, a mass of yogis crowded the door, anxiously anticipating Vinnie Marino's famous class. HELLO!?!? Why hadn't I gone to THAT class??? I looked at my friend and she shook her head and apologized.

"That was NOT what I was expecting..." Tara said. "Sorry."
"It's OK," I replied. "Yoga is Yoga, right!?!"

I've really come to love Travis Eliot's 1:30pm class on Tuesdays (and Thursdays...) at Santa Monica Power Yoga West. The Kirtan chanting really opens my heart and puts me at ease with the other people in the room. My favorite part is the OM we chant together in the end of class after savasana. Compared to the 3 OMs we chant at the beginning of class after the Kirtan chanting, the last OM after flowing together is a lot more resounding and harmonious.

Today (Summer) we chanted Namah Shivaya:

Namah/Namaha: Adoration, homage, respect. Nothing is mine (as an individual person); everything is thine (as the Absolute Reality).

Shivaya/Shiva: That Absolute Reality that is the ground out of which the others emerge; being one and the same with the Absolute Reality.

Together we honored change and enjoyed a new series that incorporated more twisting and felt delicious!

By far the most magical hike I've ever been on, this secret mission in the Malibu Creek State Park blew my mind. Led by my friend, Ray, I followed as he hopped from mossy rock to rock, shimmied along rock walls above water, scrambled up rocky hillsides, squeezed between tight spots in caves, and swung around a chain link fence...

and it was incredible! Absolutely beautiful. This was a landscape that I kept comparing to the Grand Canyon, Honduras, or quite possibly, the moon...and I just kept reminding myself: This is Malibu.

I fell into waist-deep water about a quarter of the way up the hike, dripping wet at first, then collecting dust the rest of the way up. After we returned to the swimming hole, where Maya had been sunbathing while we hiked, I eventually jumped off the big rock into the cold water fully clothed. It felt great.

Back at the car I had no dry clothes, so we said "thank you" and "goodbye" to Ray, and I drove across Mulholland to Topanga, where I took Maya to my favorite vintage clothing store, Hidden Treasures. I bought myself a new outfit to wear at that moment (a white dress and an old turquoise sweatshirt that said: "I'm behind the bulldogs") and a 1940s lace dress that I wore to theStream.tv on Monday.

Since we were right there, Maya and I crossed the street to Abuelitas and enjoyed margaritas y comida on the patio.

I have one month before I leave for Costa Rica and I've been going to a ton of classes in Santa Monica with Sarah Ivanhoe, Travis, Anaswara, and JayCo who are ALL hosting yoga retreats this summer :) Great minds think alike.

Can you believe how close we are?? We only have a few spaces left so if you reserve your space this week you'll get $150 off.

Gigi Yogini's EcoAdventure Yoga Retreat
Montezuma, Costa Rica
Sunday July 19th to Saturday July 25th 2009

Retreat Price Includes:
7 days 6 nights at Hotel Los Mangos
10 Yoga Classes with Gigi Yogini (6 Vinyasa Flow and 4 Restorative)
2 Organic Vegetarian Meals per day (Breakfast and Dinner)
2 Guided Waterfall Hikes
1 Adventure Excursion (Choice of Zip Line, Surf Lesson, or National Park Tour)
2 Goal Setting Workshops
2 Beach Clean Ups
1 New Moon Ceremony

Retreat Prices Per Person (tax included):
RESERVE BEFORE June 15th and get $150 OFF
Shared Room ~ (3 people) with private bath –
$850 ($700 before June 15th)
Bungalow Double ~ with private bath and hammock -
$950 ($800 before June 15th)
Bungalow Single ~ with private bath and hammock –
$1250 ($1,100 before June 15th)

email GigiYogini@yahoo.com to reserve your space

The countdown continues...FIVE WEEKS until I depart for the Karma Yoga Tour in Costa Rica. In honor of the "June Project," I'm writing about Yoga, Adventure, and Volunteering in daily life.

Become a FAN on Facebook
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Or sign up for a full moon retreat
or a new moon retreat

On Wednesdays I teach Performance Arts to "at-risk" middle school youth in Venice, CA, with the non-profit organization, Inside Out Community Arts. I love the work but it can be trying, so I wanted to incorporate some yoga and meditation into my days before working with the kids. So 3 months ago, when we started the Neighborhood Arts Program with Inside Out, I rented the small movement room in the building from 1 - 2 on Wednesdays and have been offering free yoga classes to anyone interested.

Due to the small space, the classes are usually 3 ppl, but there have been more and less. Really, that hour is most important for me, but I opened it up to others because I wanted to practice teaching and it's a great way re-energize midway through the day. So naturally it's created an intimate Inside Out Yoga space for artists, staff, friends, and volunteers. Now that we're getting closer to the end of session, I'm going to miss my weekly class. Hopefully when I come back from the Karma Yoga Tour in Costa Rica this summer I'll be able to start teaching a class there again!