Coming Out of the Refrigerator

I’m crouched in a corner, knees to my chest. The floor and walls are freezing. I feel my hot breath blow back into my face. I’m curled up in my kitchen’s Frigidaire. I wiggle one of my legs from underneath me and force a kick.

A bright light suddenly slices through the darkness.

I jerk awake. My dream might as well have been real. I’m crouched on the floor with my knees to my chest. I can’t move, can’t call for help. Even a whimper steals my strength. I’m weak, my throat hoarse.

This is my reality, my rock bottom, my living nightmare.

The only thing colder and lonelier than waking up on a chilly linoleum bathroom floor is being trapped in a refrigerator. But today, I’m coming out of it. I need help…

The Mayo Clinic defines an eating disorder as “a group of serious conditions in which you’re so preoccupied with food and weight that you can often focus on little else.”

Edie’s not the ideal friend. She’s self-centered and tactless; the person that uses her cell phone at the checkout counter, who kicks the back of your chair at the theater. She’s always changing her look or coming by unannounced and she always overstaying her welcome.

Did I mention, Edie’s my eating disorder?

The first time I saw Edie, she was standing outside my high school cafeteria. Her thick blond hair and tanned skin made her every guy’s dream and every girl’s frenemy. She was everything I wasn’t; so naturally, we became fast friends.

During this time I was bullied for my weight and depressed, I tried losing weight. Weight Watchers was great, I loved the structure and solidarity of it. Celebrating “losing” with others was inspirational, and I worked so hard to get the ribbons and trophies for my weight loss. But life happens, plus Edie had a plan.

She told me I would lose weight faster if I tossed my lunch. Brilliant idea! I dropped thirty pounds the first month. It didn’t matter that my periods stopped or that my hair started falling out. Edie became my sole companion, and she made sure to keep me focused on my path to skinny.

Then one day I saw him, the cutest boy from school, running with his Walkman. I decided to catch up with him. Surely it would be love at first sight.

Instead, it was love at first step. I never did catch the guy, but I ran, oh boy did I run. Edie couldn’t keep up. I even joined a team. The only thing more exhilarating than running was hearing the crowds’ cheers as I ran. I was high from the energy. I never wanted to let go.

I regained my appetite and found a hunger for something healthy – exercise. I felt strong, empowered, and motivated. Edie became my past.

Only one in ten people with eating disorders receive treatment. Only thirty-five percent of people receive treatment for eating disorders at a specialized facility for eating disorders. (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, anad.org)

College proved to have its own challenges. My friends happily gained their Freshman 15, and I didn’t want to be left out, so I indulged. Some people countered their eating by throwing up. Me, I purged in miles.

I saw Edie a few times while I ran along the Charles River. She looked so collegiate with her fuzzy hat and mittens, but I never stopped. I just kept running.

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. (anad.org)

All was well until Los Angeles. I lost my job and the following week was injured in a major car crash. I couldn’t physically run and was in a rut. I got a temp job in an office. This time, Edie took shape as my real-life boss, a 40-year-old knock-out in a tailored power suit. When I ask the age-old question, “What’s your secret,” she reached into her Birkin bag and pulled out a bottle of pills.

“Take one a day,” she said. “They’ll change your life.”

And oh did they! I dropped weight like crazy and had so much more energy. “Doctors” would supply them to me out of their storefront offices. When the pills were banned in the U.S., I found them online. They quickly lost their euphoric effect. I upped the dosage from one a day to fifteen. Anxious, breathless, and paranoid: I almost reached the old high with every additional pill… almost.

It was a cold, fall afternoon when the red flyer with the tear-offs at the bottom caught my eye. It advertised a new yoga studio. I had no mat or yoga clothes, just the T-shirt, leggings, and sneakers I donned after a long day at work. I was intimidated but intrigued.

Every class, I left a little more pain on the mat and gained a little more happiness. A sweet salve covered my wounds. I felt a kinship with my classmates as we moved and breathed together. I fell in love with this new me and became the person other people wanted to be around… the person I wanted to be around.

Yoga was the place I could feel safe, and though it took a while, the pills disappeared. Some days were hard. Some were effortless. But, it was conscious, and I wanted to break the cycle.

Encouraged by my teacher, I became one myself. I had found my peace and my purpose; to help others find healing through yoga.

Happily Ever After…

Or not… The Shakti hit the fan nine years later. I lost a dear client, broke up with my boyfriend, and watched cancer take my father. I was broken in body and soul. Money stopped coming in. Food became a luxury I couldn’t afford. I lost MY yoga.

Experts estimate that between one and three million adult women suffer from anorexia or bulimia and that ten percent of all eating disorder patients are over the age of forty. (eating-disorders.com)

I escaped by running.

When life got too painful or too quiet, I would run. I obsessed over every calorie and removed all food from my house, everything but coffee and tea. I fasted frequently and for days at a time. “Fasting is a common practice in Yoga.” That’s the lie I told myself, but I knew I was abusing the word.

I found rock bottom on the bathroom floor of the yoga studio. In the place that was my home, my salvation, my body finally gave out, and it took every bit of strength I had to call for help.

When I got home, I weighed myself… a good number. I looked in the mirror… a sad person. I was alone. There was no one… not even Edie. I called my mother in NY, and she told me to eat something, anything.

My superhero drove an ’86 Mitsubishi Mirage and arrived in thirty minutes or less. This man held my life in a Domino’s pizza box. It took me two hours, but I ate every bite of that small, thin crust, light-on-the-cheese pizza. I ate a whole day of calories in two hours… and lived.

Googling, “How do you know you have an eating disorder?” brought up article after article that reflected back to me the years of pain I had put myself through. I never sought help nor felt I had the tools I needed to deal with Edie. This mental disorder, this disease that had gone untreated, it’s progressive: triggered by trauma, loss, depression, and a so much more. Ironically, controlling food and the size of my body was my coping mechanism for loss.

The first time I attended a twelve-step meeting, I was struck by how much of myself I saw in the other men and women there. They repeated my story back to me. I was understood and I learned to pull from the strength of that support. Edie wasn’t my only friend anymore.

When I look back at the history of my disorder, I find yoga to be the starting point of my healing.

As a teacher, I see hesitant newcomers all the time. The first class can be terrifying, but it can also be liberating. The poses are a method, a means of centering oneself. Being a witness and supporting students when they fall, cheering them when they succeed, that is my calling… life finally makes sense.

I live amicably with Edie now. We’ve re-negotiated the terms of our relationship. I don’t try to get rid of her and she doesn’t try to sway me. Sometimes I want to challenge or change her, but she’s a part of my life. For me, that’s the deepest understanding of yoga – acceptance: to live peacefully in both the ebb and flow of life.

Every day I know I need to nourish my body to do all the things that I love. This body I’ve been given is the only one I have, and I’m lucky no matter what my scale or Edie says. Yoga reminds me that, trials and all, life is one breath, one vinyasa, and one day at a time. That keeps me rooted in my purpose – my intention – of coming out.

So, it’s time… get help, get out, and you will find the support to heal, float, fly, stand on your head, grieve, and manage your disease. Namaste.

Eating Disorder Recovery

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is February 22 – 28. Follow #NEDAwareness and learn more at the National Eating Disorders Association.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Coming out of the Refrigerator: Yoga and Eating Disorder Recovery appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Addressing the Mental Chatter During Silent Meditation

“Ok, just breathe.”

“Wow, it’s quiet in here.”

“Seriously!!?? That’s it….”

And, scene.

This is my brain on silent meditation.

Whether I’m sitting in a hall with a hundred people or alone with a hundred thoughts, meditation is a discipline. It’s difficult, challenging and rewarding. And, I’m just getting started.

Pregame

I drive winding roads and sing along to every song on the radio. It’s a ten-hour drive from Santa Monica to the Dhamma Manda Vipassana Meditation Center in Kelseyville, Northern California. After a few hours, everything fades into a blur of sleepy towns and asphalt. I’m relieved when I finally pull through the gates of the Center.

Popularized by S.N. Goenka, this ‘retreat’ is offered to all walks of life as a gift and teaches the technique of Vipassana meditation. Vipassana is defined as a meditation technique where self-observation is the key to purifying the self and seeing things as they really are.

With 4AM wake-up calls, up to 10 hours of meditation a day, and nightly lectures, the schedule is quite rigorous. Plus, all of this is done in complete quiet as the participants have taken a vow of silence for the entire retreat.

Goenka teaches that there are two things that create all misery: craving and aversion. I want this. I hate that.

I feel like I wait a lot in my life. I wait for the highs of achievements and for the lows to dissipate. I have high expectations of myself and need validation that I’m on the right path. I blame myself, overcompensate, try to please and end up on a wheel of disappointment.

Yoga has taught me to manage the ebb and flow, but it has been a long road.

We will first learn the technique of Anapana. We focus only on our breathing and the subtle sensations around the nose and mouth. Our goal is to witness without reacting. The sooner we can detach from the feelings of daily life, the more balanced or equanimous (as Goenka repeats) we can remain towards the ebbs and flows of life.

At night we return quietly to our rooms. I hear the beautiful sounds of crickets outside my temporary home. It’s dark and quiet and lovely until…

Tick tock, tick tock… I lay awake twitching in time to the clock. I turn on the light (to my roommate’s surprise). I try miming to her that her clock is too loud. She speaks, “Can we just talk like adults? Let’s just use your clock.” “Of course,” I say. She apologizes, I feel bad… I wasn’t planning on breaking the number one rule of silence my first night here.

Day 1

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho it’s off to the hall we go… Half past 4AM and I know, this ain’t gonna work. The numbness in my feet is unbearable. “Just breathe.” The technique is easy enough… for about two minutes until I start thinking about how I haven’t pooped in two days. Hmmm… how often are you supposed to poop anyway?

His voice gritty and rumbly, Goenka chants words in Hindi from a loudspeaker. At every pause, I think he is done, and then he continues with more phrases. Finally, after what seems like a decade, it ends…relief!!

Nope, he’s still going. What is this torture I’ve signed up for??

We move to the dining hall and swarm the buffet, piling food atop our plates. Meditation makes you hungry…who knew?

Later while exploring the grounds, I find a nice bench and watch the sun as it moves past the trees. I forgot about that… that the Earth is constantly in motion. How surreal.

That night I dreamt. A LOT. It was all lucid dreaming: places and people I knew from childhood.

Day 2

The bell rings at 4AM, and I’m up in an instant. Time for more meditation. I open the hall’s door cautiously and find a seat in the sparsely populated arena.

When I stop fidgeting someone else starts. The more I focus on the little space around my lip, the more I think I may need Botox after this. My eyes open to half-mast hoping no one will see as I peruse the rest of the gang.

Mouth Breather to my right and Acid Reflux to my left create a musical beat in my head. I can’t help but rock along, and I sail away into the story of ‘Vipassana The Musical’ where every bodily noise and yawn is a cacophony.

“Start again,” I hear Goenka say. Start again.

This may be my new password for everything – start again.

By lunch, my roommate has stripped the room of her belongings and has moved into a tent in the forest.

She must be rebelling because of the clock incident. How ruuude.

Back to the hall.

…

The Kardashians all have names that start with a K. I can’t keep up with them. What are their names? Well, there’s Kim, Kanye, no, that’s her husband, but how convenient, am I right?

“She take my moneeey, when I’m in neeed,” I sing in my head. “Now I ain’t sayin’ she a gold digger!”

Kanye becomes the soundtrack of my day.

Day 3

“She take my moneey, when I’m in neeeeed!!” Oh, Kanye.

Each day, fewer come to the hall for the early morning sit.

I keep my eyes closed: focus on my nose like the paparazzi on Angelina Jolie.

I like my nose. My mom and sisters have this nose. Ok, come back to the nose, not your family.

The time passes. The pain passes. The bell rings. I give myself a mental high five for being such a good student.

I drift slowly from the hall. It’s lovely out. I feel open and balanced. I’m finally getting this whole thing!

My phone rings in my pocket. Nope… just a passing bird. I meander down the path feeling amazing even though there is STILL no movement in my nether regions. Can constipation get you out of a meditation session?

Day 4

I use breakfast time for another walk. Desperate to hear the sound of any voice, even my own, I try out a few of my new jokes on the pine trees.

“Hey guys, thanks for comin’ out, although it looks like you haven’t gone anywhere in a while!” Ba Dum Tss… I’m pretty sure I laughed harder than they did. And… I’m obviously going insane.

Today we learn Vipassana, becoming aware of the sensations in other parts of our body and how to view it with non-attachment.

I ride a rollercoaster of craving and aversion, hating the person next to me and shopping on Amazon in my mind. And then, my brain gives up, she just lets it all go.

At night, I awake screaming. No one answers and I stand absolutely alone in the darkness. Wait… nope, still dreaming. “Hi, Dad,” I greet my father. I wake up with soft tears on my cheek.

Day 5

You know, it doesn’t matter how many cushions you put around your body, sitting on the floor hurts. My mind literally, is over it.

We learn to sweep the body rather than going bit by bit. We search for subtle sensations. I feel physically and emotionally great, then horrible to the point where I just bore myself with it.

Lunch is vegetarian tacos.

I decide that the best domestic terrorist idea is to feed a bunch of people beans then have them sit in a quiet, closed room. I leave the hall early if only to save the group from my “wind.”

Day 6

I notice a woman in one of the tents is moaning with sadness. I hear her cries for hours and wonder what could have happened to her.

I hear a man yell at another for sneezing too loud.

Day 7

Today there is one cushion under my bum. I tuck my knees under me, one either side of the cushion.

I equalize, balance, equalize. I scan, get distracted, start again.

This morning a man has a breakdown. He cries and exclaims and wanders around like he’s hallucinating. He’s taken out of the hall.

I open my eyes a bit. No one in the front row reacts. I close my eyes and return to breathing.

At lunch, I see a tree stump. I take colored stones and write a message, LOVE, and a little smiley face.

During a break, I see the words have changed to hope and the smile has turned to a sun.

Day 8

The man who had the breakdown leaves. The gates open up and swallow his retreating car. I can still hear the gravel under his tires, when…, “Another one bites the dust… And another one goes and another one goes, another one bites the dust!” I’m a horrible person for thinking these thoughts during silent meditation.

Start again.

Day 9

At lunch, the word on the tree stump reads “chance.” I make the c into a g. “Change.”

Day 10

We learn the final silent meditation – Metta. We offer love and happiness, forgiveness and balance, to ourselves and others.

We’re set free to speak, to go back to our lives. But instead of jumping for joy, I find myself sobbing like Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone when she uses the post-it stuck to the fridge that says, “Buy more tissues,” as a tissue. The episode passes, and all I can think to say is, “I’m exhausted.”

Every face held down by silence is revealed and they come alive with animation. I get to know their names and abandon the ones I nicknamed them. I was amazed at how their voices sounded and how similar our experiences were.

I made it. I hated and loved and let it all go. Free of spirit, my body was finally able to lighten its literal load too. Finally, sweet detached from my physical and mental torment, it was my last letting go…my final detachment. Now I’m ready to accept the ebbs and the flows.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Vipassana: Deconstructing 10 Days of Silent Meditation appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Why has YogaToday’s Stay at Home Free Spring Yoga Challenge been the antidote for my stay-at-home torpor and quarantine quandaries? The Spring Challenge is a curated selection of 10 online classes offered free of charge on the online platform YogaToday.com. One of the things that I’ve appreciated about the opportunity to engage with these classes is that they are completely free—I didn’t have to sign up for a trial, but after this experience, I’m ready for more.

In the midst of how the pandemic has put some parts of the world on pause, I’ve found myself doing web searches for islands I’ve not yet seen and going on mini vacations in my mind. I see what I’m wearing, where I’m walking, attempting to feel the breeze or sun on my skin and fill up my eyes with the new wonders around me. It’s my new guided meditation within my stay-at-home environs.

10 Classes in the Stay at Home Spring Yoga Challenge

One of the great things about these 10 classes in the Stay at Home Spring Yoga Challenge is that they completely fulfill my personal meditation and my desire for indulging in dreaming of beautiful destinations–while keeping up with my practice. The practices were all filmed in gorgeous outdoor locations around Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, and more. While I usually love the motivation of going to the studio and sharing the space with the camaraderie of fellow yogis, I’m having to find another source of motivation for movement. If an island jaunt is not on today’s itinerary, I can fill my screens with National Parks, canyons, stunning mountain views, and flower-filled fields for practice with Yoga Today. And I can easily imagine the wide-open spaces, expansive nature, and the grounded feeling of the earth beneath me.

I found that I could choose a practice by tuning into what I needed in the moment. Too much time binge watching TV on the couch? “Healthy Happy Hips” is a mellow solution that helped me hit the internal reset button. After hunching over to return endless texts messages? I found relief in “Backbending” with teacher Simon Park instructing a progressive series of poses that focus on spinal extension and decompression. “Creating Space” with Mona Godfrey helped me tune into subtleties. After indulging in that second helping of boxed mac n’ cheese (no judgment, please) “Yoga Sculpt Full Body Exhaust” with Bea Whitton combined invigorating standing poses with weighted repetitions.

No matter what is happening in our lives these days (or any day), we can use our practice to continue to be comfortable in an uncomfortable, changing world. “Embrace Change” with Sara Clark gave me the chance to flow through all the feels right now. Rather than take this time to learn a new language, it feels to me that self-healing is one of the best uses of my time. Amanda Botur offered a powerful reminder for this to “Explore Self-Healing.”

Engaging with all of these practices, I love the fact that if I wanna bust it out, I can do a hardcore practice, like that “Yoga Sculpt”. If I’m feeling inspired, I’ll go Pro and try a pose I’m usually nervous to try in a studio filled with expert yogis (the tripod headstand in “Embrace Change”). Feeling blue and introspective, I can find some relief in “The Power of Presence” with Neehsa Zollinger. Sarah Kline’s “Kundalini Kriya for Elimination” is invigorating with focus on the core and a bit of detox.

I also loved the opportunity to cross-train with a refresher of Pilates’ fundamentals. These classes not only help with the physical practices, but they’re great for managing to build resilience with encouraging words and inspiring thoughts to embrace change, heal, and “spring back” from setbacks.

Connecting through Practice

Connecting online has become the new normal and has reinvented our definition of the word “connection”. And instead of memes or getting sucked into political conversations or pandemic mania, why not spend time with others in the beauty of nature and let yourself go there, move with the breeze of your breath and connect with others in this new way. In this space of connection, a friend and I did a class at the same time – she was in LA while I practiced in Atlanta and chatted about it later over a glass of Rose. We’re reinventing connection in real time.

Learn More about YogaToday

YogaToday offers a comprehensive subscription service covering a range of yoga, perfect for everyone from newbies to pros, people looking for pain relief as well as prenatal yoga, and weight loss along with hardcore training. Its $15 a month and $119 for the year. But for this special time in history, you can take part in the Stay At Home Spring Yoga Challenge for free and connect with other yogis teaching and practicing in breathtaking locales. Bring new meaning to the term binge watching by creating a home yoga retreat, or practice one class per day for ten days at home alone or with your quarantine buddies. You can always skip a day. And practice any class in any order.

Yogatoday.com combines great yoga practices with beautiful visuals that make you happy and keep boredom at bay. Aside from the great classes, they also provide informative weekly Blog posts (archived on the site) to help support your lifestyle off the mat.

And, it’s accessible on multiple devices. If you have Roku, Fire TV or Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and Android or iPhone, you can find the YogaToday app.

Feel the breeze, move your body, take a shower and namastayathome.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Stay at Home Spring Yoga Challenge: Free on YogaToday appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Kate Duyn Cariati Light on Lotus photo by Luke Fontana

There’s a bright little light arising from the diverse Mar Vista Neighborhood on Grandview Boulevard, just off Venice.

Light On Lotus is a colorful urban chic new yoga space founded by Kate Duyn Cariati. The dedicated and popular teacher with nearly two decades of experience has taught classes, helped open studios, and has taught and led teacher trainings everywhere from New York to San Francisco to Los Angeles.

“At this point in my life as a teacher and a mother, I couldn’t continue to teach at seven different locations anymore. I like to be involved in my local community in a meaningful way and I’ve wanted to create a home for Lotus Flow since moving to LA in 2009,” notes Cariati. It took time and nurturing for Cariati to manifest that vision.

Read LA YOGA’s teacher profile of Kate Duyn Cariati written by Ally Hamilton. 

Lotus Flow comes from the famous Laughing Lotus studio in NYC where Duyn Cariati trained in the early 2000s. Her dance background led her to yoga and the playful, creative, and intelligent sequencing of Lotus Flow drew her in instantly—which makes sense as she is also playful, creative, and intelligent.

Although Light on Lotus is an affiliate of the Laughing Lotus Studios, it stands on its own with a community of teachers Kate has mentored. The staff, space, and all of its accouterments from the little garden and boutique to the amazing art was carefully selected with Cariati’s precision, detail, and spirited energy. The sunny and airy studio with skylights, a gold graffiti wall by DJ Neff, deities, also has a retail storefront hosting local artists, designers, jewelry, home decor, and of course, yoga apparel and supplies.

Kate says, “I’m excited to host the Lotus family and have hired teachers based on their character and integrity. Our teachers are trained in the Lotus Flow style and sequencing based on the chakra system. It’s the unifying through-line that gives us a sense of cohesion.”

Light on Lotus’ mission is to “provide an uplifting and soulful space that nurtures all walks of life and offers workshops and trainings in other healing modalities in addition to yoga.”

For more information on Light on Lotus visit lightonlotus.com
3807 Grand View Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066. 310-295-1125

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Light on Lotus in Mar Vista appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Author and Teacher Ally Hamilton Surrenders into a Forward Fold Yoga Pose. Photo by Josh Nelson.

You know the magic that occurs when you find the right book at the right time? Yoga’s Healing Power by Ally Hamilton is one of those books. It that offers such accessible wisdom that any time you pick it up feels like the right time.

When I took my first class with Ally Hamilton, I was a new teacher. I was struck by the immediate accessibility of her voice and her connection with each and every one of her students. I also remember feeling impressed by how she shared a perfect balance of personal stories, philosophy, brilliant physical alignment and humor—without missing a beat, breath, or cue.

Two decades later she’s the founder of the popular Santa Monica and online studio Yogis Anonymous and the author of Open Randomly – Fortune Cookies For The Soul.

Her latest–Yoga’s Healing Power–combines the best of all her classes bound into pages. It offers a life-altering yet realistic approach for dealing with the day-to-day while helping you feel okay to fall, fail, and find freedom in getting up, trying again, and moving on. And I don’t just mean on the mat.

She’s a true master and the best friend and mentor-next-door we all want to keep close. Fortunately, this book allows us to do so. These 14 chapters are filled with personal experiences intricately interwoven with deep but un-intimidating philosophy related to the of the eight limbs of yoga, as well as thoughtful contemplations for journal writing, physical postures, and meditation exercises that inspire and challenge.

Hamilton is an expert who steeps herself in the humility and surrender of imperfection, which is what makes this read a gem. It is no easy feat dealing with whatever heavy weight you may carry with you that covers up your brilliant truth or highest purpose – be it the pain of childhood, a break up or loss of a loved one, or managing your relationship to family, career and even with yourself.

One of the simplest definitions of yoga is unity; this book reminds you that you are not alone in your struggles. Open any chapter to find nuggets of truth and some hints for finding peace amidst conflict. Now is the right time.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Yoga’s Healing Power Book Review appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

I remember the first time I stepped into Whitney Allen’s class in Los Angeles 14 years ago. I was a relatively new yoga teacher from NY, an actor and a journalist; little did I know that Whitney was also a new teacher, as well as an actor and a singer. She had the air of a master with years of teaching under her mat. Perhaps it’s the fact that she had a performance background with the ability to command a packed room, or the warmth of her welcoming smile. Maybe it was the ease in which she communicated the flow of postures with a killer soundtrack that effortlessly matched the flow of her words and pacing of her class.

Today, I scroll through myriad Instagram photos of beautiful, bikini-wearing women doing postures I still can’t do after 20 years of practice, and I almost always settle on the photos of yogis I identify with, like Whitney – smiling broadly, doubled over in laughter, hair whipping around her face or streaks of sun enveloping her as she smooches her pup, Bowie, or hugs a friend. Her photos, like her teaching, are always in flow. They’re real, accessible, authentic, and… musical.

It makes sense that Whitney would take on the new title of Music Supervisor at Wanderlust Hollywood, the yoga studio inspired by the festival of the same name and steeped in a mission that fosters creativity, community, connection, and most of all, music. Music taking center stage is a way to deepen the yoga experience, which is what Whitney Allen is committed to in the yoga room.  

“It makes a difference when the music is supporting what’s happening on the mat.  Besides safe alignment and postures, it’s part of the spirit of what’s coming through you while practicing,” Whitney says.

She says, “One of the most exciting things I can do as a teacher is put together a playlist followed by postures. When I hear it all come together, I think, ‘Ooooh they are going to be moving to this song and they are transitioning to this pose when that song comes on.’ It’s inspiring to take staple yoga poses and make them a new discovery for a seasoned practitioner or exciting for a new student who thinks yoga is only about touching their toes.  Even the pauses between songs are conscious – creating a feeling when we balance or hold. That is yoga.”

Yoga wasn’t something that Allen necessarily chose but rather, it chose her.

She was born and raised in Chicago, the older of two kids who caught the acting and singing bug at the age of seven.

“I was never the girl who could do cartwheels. I was a voluptuous early bloomer at 10 and it was hard for me to accept. I never felt comfortable in my body but I could embody a character.”

Whitney majored in musical theatre at the University of Michigan before moving to NYC to pursue big Broadway dreams.  She achieved them swiftly in Manhattan, performing eight shows a week and joining the cast of major productions like Jekyll and Hyde on Broadway and The Full Monty—in which she was an original cast member on the first national tour.

Her eventual draw to yoga was much like how many people came to yoga.  “I got into some abusive behaviors of not eating and taking diet pills. The acting world is fierce and life always felt like an audition of who looks the best, who IS the best.  I’d audition during the day or go to the gym before a show and one day I just happened to take a yoga class and liked it.”

“Yoga got me out of my head and into my body.  It’s the only body we have; when you are on the mat, you can’t escape it.”

Allen started practicing daily as both a means of stress relief and as a workout. When on tour, she would practice in her hotel room or sign up for a yoga studio package. “I would practice with these amazing teachers who were experts in their home towns and take it with me where ever I went.”

In 1998 she found Bhava Yoga in NYC, one of her teacher Schuyler Grant’s first studios in the city. That’s where she truly fell in love with yoga.

“I never felt graceful, not in yoga or life.  But when I took Schuyler’s class, I thought – now THIS is what I love about yoga. The way she used music and flow together felt so innovative. She woke up my brain and that was it; I was hooked.”

After a tour that brought her to LA and a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat, she knew teaching yoga was the next step in her life. She signed up for the teacher training at Center for Yoga in Larchmont in 2002 and continued to teach there when YogaWorks took over the Center in 2004.

“I felt open to any possibility. I couldn’t believe there was something in my life I could love other than theatre.  It was a scary decision to move in that direction and it took me about seven years to step fully into teaching and let go of any other pursuits.”

And the moment came. In 2009 she had a single performance as an understudy of the role Gertrude in God Save Gertrude in Pasadena where she performed in front of all of her friends, singing punk rock and playing a bass guitar as her character lost her mind.  “That final bow and performance was one of my favorite moments, and I made the decision.”  

That decision allowed Allen to shift into a place where she couldn’t hide behind insecurities or another persona. Her experience gave her something to say and she wasn’t afraid to share it. “It gave me so much peace. Teaching is my best practice. As a teacher you have to be your highest self every time. It’s in your own self-acceptance that you can be compassionate with everyone in the room. I feel good when I practice but healed when I teach.”

“Yoga has given me access to my emotions and a purity of music I never felt with performing. Instead of being technical and result-oriented with hitting a high note, music became more about freedom and letting go.”

Whether singing in class or kirtan, or playing the harmonium that her yogi brother gave her, music became a form of creative expression and feeling. Her current musical resources are KCRW, Spotify, and a variety of blogs. Her musical influences include David Bowie, Van Morrison,  Peter Gabriel, Bon Iver, Stephen Sondheim, Patti Smith, R.E.M., and Queen.

Soundscaping yoga practice

In September 2015, she joined Schuyler Grant at Grant’s latest studio, Wanderlust Hollywood, to oversee the quality of music in classes at the studio, and to mentor the teachers and teacher trainees that want to develop the skill of using music to enhance their sequencing. She teaches a module in the teacher training program focused on how to use music effectively in class. “There is a hole in teacher training when it comes to using music.  It’s the soundscape to an unfolding practice.”  

Allen also collaborates with her boyfriend, Josh Andrews, who produces remixes and mashups, to put together the set playlists for The Fixx classes at Wanderlust. “It’s a 45 minute full body, mind, and spirit class. We breathe together and build energy together. The playlists are set to BPM (beats per minute). It’s challenging and meditative. The teacher creates the sequence based on the soundtrack we provide.”

The discipline of putting together a creative and innovative program with such a thoughtful process behind the intention of what is being created definitely can be drawn from her years on the road and on the stage.  

“In a class I am trying to set a tone, a meditative mood with temperature and lighting, so in a way the yoga room becomes like a set for the experience of the practice. Primarily, music is used to support the energies of my sequences, and I like playing with music to create an emotional tone. Sometimes in the flow the tracks I choose will be more reflective, or I’ll specifically choose a song with certain lyrics to bring the mood up. In a sense it does remind me of theatre, in that the students are soaking up the music the way audiences do during the performance of a song– a poignant connection to what they’re hearing. There’s a similar emotional resonance that I’m trying to bring in with the music I choose to play, so that the physical experience of practicing yoga taps directly into the feelings in the heart when the right track drops in. The walls come down.”

Perhaps that’s why someone with such a strong performance background was led to yoga and why someone like me, also a performer and creator, was led to Whitney’s teachings.

Like a bright theater filled with an excited audience, the studio fills with harried students settling into their spaces and letting go of the day. We all sit united in anticipation and wonder, open hearts and minds ready for the lights to dim and our souls and bodies to be moved.

For more information on Whitney Allen visit: whitneyallenyoga.com.

Laurie Searle is in international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school.  She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Jeff Skeirik: rawtographer.com

Hair and Makeup by Dawn Sorenson: dawnsorenson.com

Clothing by Akrovita: akrovita.com

Turquoise mala by Silver and Sage Jewelry: silverandsagejewelry.com

Crystal necklace by Vega: vegajewelry.com

Rock mala by Mary Katherine openheartwarrior.com

Rubber B MAT yoga mat by B YOGA: byoganow.com

Photo shoot location Wanderlust Hollywood: wanderlusthollywood.com

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post A Musical Journey with Whitney Allen appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Maitri Yoga store provides accessories to enhance the yogi who wishes to deepen their practice.

In February, 2015, Maitri Yoga Store opened their doors to create space both for people to enhance their yoga lifestyle and to come together in community.

Owner Ellina Kim had the vision for Maitri (pronounced “my tree”; it means loving-kindness in Sanskrit) to be a resource for beginning and seasoned yogis alike for deepening their practice, asking questions, and shopping in one place for all the latest trends in clothing and gear. According to Kim, “Maitri Yoga Store is the place to go to grow your yoga practice and enhance your lifestyle, exuding the essence of Maitri from the inside out.”

Whether people are looking for the latest music or a nonslip mat, or simply want to connect with fellow yogis in the reading lounge, Kim says, “It’s for like-minded individuals to explore, rest, learn, and have fun.”

Maitri carries clothes, props, mats, books, and accessories including one-of-a-kind merchandise and local brands. In addition, Maitri will soon be holding workshops and lectures and offering massage and other healing modalities such as Reiki and spiritual readings.

The store offers a respite from overextended days or schedules and provides yoga retail therapy without having to rush to the make it on time for the mat.

Maitri Yoga Store
11160 Washington Blvd, Unit C, Culver City, CA 90232
310-730-6168

Laurie Searle leads Yoga Alliance Approved teacher trainings at the 200/300 and 500 level with Sphota Yoga School. She is currently seeking publication for her first book, Superhero Yoga – Above and Beyond The Mat.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Maitri Yoga Store appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Keep Your Guard Up” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Yoga with Weights” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Happy Hour at the Barre” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “It’s Cool to be Hot” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Summer Stretch 4 Two” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Discover Undercover Yoga” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Lady of the Night…Club” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

“Hot 8 is committed to offering a truly unique yoga experience; each of our heated classes is designed to heal, detoxify, strengthen and exhilarate the mind. We ensure that the air quality in the yoga rooms is well oxygenated, properly humidified, and disinfected. Our rooms have fresh air constantly circulating which passes through germicidal ultraviolet lights that kill 99.98% of all harmful bacteria. This circulation system allows for fresh air and an environment that doesn’t have a lingering smell,” says yoga director, Deanna Ainsworth.

Their new location features clean facilities with lockers, showers, a fresh juice bar, two hours of free parking, three large yoga studios, towel service, yoga mat and yogitoes rentals, eucalyptus-scented cold hand towels, and cucumber lemon infused drinking water.

According to Ainsworth, “Hot 8 Yoga is truly a sanctuary to cleanse, heal and rejuvenate with diverse experienced teachers who are dedicated to evolving your practice.” Class styles offered include Hot Yoga, Hot Power Fusion, Yoga Sculpt, Power Yoga (beginner to advanced levels), Yoga Barre, and Yin Yoga. The new student introduction is $45 for 30 consecutive days.

Hot 8 Yoga

8383 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Hot8yoga.com

By Laurie Searle, who is the writer and creator of LA YOGA’s monthly comic strip, Lady Yoga Superhero; she teaches and trains throughout Los Angeles: yogandfitnesstogo.com.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Hot 8 Yoga: Beverly Hills appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Working the Poles with Lady Yoga!” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “The Bee’s Knees and Injuries” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Relieve Stress with Malas” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Let the Music Move You” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Bud to Bloom” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Chakralyn” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Fear of Flying” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Healthy Hands and Wrists” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

The post Lady Yoga Superhero “Yoga the Musical” appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.