When choosing personal care items to use after hot yoga, a session at the gym, or just for everyday cleanliness, read labels carefully. Choose grooming products that nourish the skin rather than leave a harmful residue on the surface of our largest organ. Here are a few faves that support health—and looking and smelling good—from the inside out.

Yuli Mr. Incredible Shave Oil

Mr. Incredible is an elixir crafted using the same methods as cold-pressing juice or oil. This allows for the most intact form of the active ingredients in the jojoba and grape seed oils to nourish your skin. As a beard oil, it absorbs quickly to add moisture to your beard and the skin beneath it without being too heavy. Added bonus: the blend of sandalwood, chompake (yellow orchid), and black calla lily, creates a scent that can be a stand-in for your cologne. This is one of the most luxurious, all-natural, and possibly most nutritional items for a man’s face and beard. $29 for one ounce; yuliskincare.com

Jack Black All-Over Wash

This all-in-one wash is a must-have for the guy-on-the-go; it’s made without parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, petro-derived chemicals, phthalates, GMOs, or triclosans. What it is: a rich, gentle soap that washes clean and smells masculine. $15; getjackblack.com

JASON Thin to Thick Extra Volume Shampoo

This shampoo is full of ingredients great for the scalp and hair including: plant-based proteins to nourish scalp and hair, biotin to strengthen the hair, and aloe vera to moisturize. A dab will do. $11; jason-personalcare.com

Giovanni Wellness System Conditioner

This antioxidant conditioner delights with the scent of green tea, tingles with Chinese herbs, and moisturizes with grape seed oils. $9; giovannicosmetics.com

Every Man Jack Deodorant

The sandalwood and other essential oils drive away the grunge from sweat while reducing inflammation and soothing sensitive skin.

$7.49 for 3 ounces; everymanjack.com

Aubrey Men’s Stock Daily Moisturizer

Clear, comfortable, and lightweight, this daily moisturizer derived from flaxseed oil balances oil production, reduces razor bumps, soothes and hydrates, and improves skin tone and texture. $14.55 for 2 ounces; aubrey-organics.com

Nardos All Natural Body Lotion

This creamy combination of organic aloe vera, shea butter, and coconut oil hydrates dry, cracked, and damaged skin. Perfect for any climate or weather conditions. Guys also like soft subtle skin. $13.99 7.6 ounces; nardosnatural.com

ECO Logical Skin All Natural Sunscreen SPF 30+

Protect face and body with this hypoallergenic, fragrance-free sunscreen which uses potent antioxidants (green tea and grapeseed oil) and anti-aging ingredients (shea butter and jojoba) to protect and hydrate. ecofriendlyskincareandcosmetics.com.au

Photo by: Nathan Worden

Beyond Products/Pampering in a Man Cave

Try some self-care at Hammer & Nails in West Hollywood. Imagine walking into a sleek man cave with oversized leather chairs, personal TVs, and complimentary beverages. Sit back and treat yourself to a manicure, pedicure, hand and foot massage, or a great facial. Book your appointment at visit hammerandnails-salon.com.

Mito Aviles

Mito Aviles is a seasoned designer based in West Hollywood with over a decade of design/styling experience. He considers himself an artistic entrepreneur lending his talents to different publications. Instagram: @mistertreat 

The post Skincare for Men appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

BUTI Yoga

“The cure to something hidden or kept secret,” is the translation of the Marathi word “Buti.” This is the name dynamic trainer, fitness maven, and mother of two Bizzie Gold has given to her creative brainchild, Buti Yoga, the invigorating style she and her family practice and share with the world.

Buti takes yoga to another level—a bit of a leap into the air—where Gold embraces yoga as a personal practice and adds a twist that involves integrating tribal dancing and plyometrics into the practice for a fun, invigorating, and empowering take on the yoga we know and love. Gold’s feet are firmly planted in the foundation of yoga: her background is in Anusara, she’s been a student since 2001, and has been a certified yoga teacher now for over 14 years.

Gold knows something about the need to find a cure and the journey of healing. She initially found yoga at a time in her life when she was, as she said, burning the candle at both ends then leaping into a dark abyss, a feeling that may be familiar to many of us. Gold’s career began as a PR exec, founding a company in LA meant she was working around the clock. Yoga became both escape and release. Yet, while bogged down by the stress of an intense professional career, she was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic, autoimmune systemic disease that can damage any part of the body (including the skin, joints, and/or internal organs).

Receiving this diagnosis led to a time of soul-searching and the realization that something needed to change. Her next move was to regroup and retreat on the Hawaiian islands where she immersed herself in teaching yoga and in the practice of healing herself physically and emotionally. She became pregnant, but on day that in many women’s lives is the most joyful—birth—Gold experienced heartache. During a complicated homebirth, Gold’s midwife delivered what Gold refers to as “her dead baby” and placed it on Gold’s lap. Seeing the shock and trauma Gold had endured from the delivery, her then husband began to administer CPR to their baby girl, while Gold was being tended to by a friend. Gold recalls, “After 20 minutes (which seemed like a lifetime) of my baby receiving CPR, she let out a cry and began breathing. Our baby had come back.”

Gold’s infant Sarai was airlifted to a Honolulu hospital, rushed into emergency care, and was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. She knew that she must take her life back and heal from the inside out—so through a combination of energy work in conjunction with yoga, she found spiritual, emotional, and physical healing, the ability to shed the past in order to be present in the present.

While in Hawaii, Gold taught yoga at Ginger Hill Farm and Yoga Hale in Kailua Kona. It was there that Buti was born. While her students were in malasana (squat) pose, Gold had a revelation, took a leap of faith, and added free-spirited elements of tribal movement to the practice. The students joined in and left wanting more.

What began in a moment has become a movement. Currently, there are over 1,300 certified BUTI yoga teachers worldwide, in 15 countries and 45 states. Gold spent the first three years of the brand criss-crossing the world training all the teachers herself, now she leads 25% of the trainings and has has a group of master teachers certified in the Buti technique teach on her behalf. They teach the trademark methodology of the spiral structure technique (SST), toning the core using a spiral instead of linear movement to address both the large outer muscles that move the body as well as the inner stabilizing muscles. This is combined with strength-building plyometrics and uplifting tribal dance moves. It’s a recipe that encourages students to take a leap of faith and commit to their own empowerment. As Gold describes, “This movement methodology taps into a person’s deep-rooted confidence, allowing for better decision-making, in life,  in relationships, and in nutrition.

Gold has often been coined a hybrid of Jane Fonda meets Chelsea Handler, a crusader with a sense of humor.  She fondly refers to her growing fanfare as her “tribe of women who support each other on their journey of health and happiness.” When considering why the tribe is growing, Gold reflects, “When in the Buti setting, it’s the first time many women look at themselves not from a place of ego but from a place of beauty and confidence. They are surround themselves by other beautiful women, and they all uplift and motivate one another to want to strive for greatness and achieve it. Connecting with other women and allows everyone to elevate each other by boosting each others’ confidence and achieving results collectively.”

While Gold is the go-to trainer for women around the world that she has trained directly, indirectly through her certified teachers, or through her DVD series, close to home, Gold is a celeb trainer known for transforming the bodies of A-list celebs including Julia Roberts and Jennifer Love Hewitt, with whom Gold has used a combination of her signature spiral structure technique and a series of nutritional guidelines to support long, lean muscle.

It’s also a family practice. Gold along with her husband and two children, are committed to an active and healthy lifestyle that includes the practice of Buti Yoga along with an emphasis on nutrition. The family is dairy-free and grain-free; this led to a development and launch of the supplement line, The Golden Ratio, a protein blend consisting of grass-fed collagen, amino acids, organic pea protein, and  sweetened with coconut sugar. Gold is also working on a clothing line as well as a 7,000 square foot fitness women’s social club in Scottdale aptly named the B-Tribe.

As Gold has experienced in her own life and shares with her tribe, “When doing Buti, everything comes into alignment and everything has intention. It’s an experience for the mind, body, and soul.

For more information about Bizzie Gold and Buti Yoga, visit: butiyoga.com; bizziegold.com.

Bizzie is wearing shorts and white and blue long-sleeved shirts by Queen of Hearts Clothing: queenofheartsclothing.com; tops are Bizzie’s own.

Jeff Skeirik’s photography can be found at: rawtographer.com

Mito Aviles

Mito Aviles is a seasoned designer based in West Hollywood with over a decade of design/styling experience. He considers himself an artistic entrepreneur lending his talents to different publications. Instagram: @mistertreat 

The post Teacher Profile: Bizzie Gold appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Its 9:30am on a Wednesday morning as I make my way into the class of a yoga teacher who aficionados say can transform outlooks and, more profoundly, lives.

As I enter Aura Yoga Studio in West Hollywood, I can feel the pulse and the heart in the room. As I enter the space, my ears are welcomed by, “I Wanna Sex You Up” by Color Me Badd, setting the tone with the musical stylings of 90s pop. I chatted with other students as we waited for class to begin.

Here are a few things I heard:

Tino DeMartino said, “Some teachers tell you what you want to hear, Aree tells you what you need to hear.”

Allan Fanucchi affirmed, “Aree gives students no choice but to confront their ability to achieve greatness and work hard.”

Janet Crown’s testimonial offered a glimpse into the transformational: “I am not a yogi. I am impatient. I like to run and move fast. Less than 24 months ago, I thought yoga was a slow, boring, painful stretching class for people who didn’t really like to work out. And then I took Aree’s class. In 60 minutes, Aree obliterated every preconceived notion that I ever had about yoga. She offered an experience beyond the normal or physical level. Her classes have changed my body and my perspective.”

Then, Aree Khodai herself walked in, the leader of Aree’s Army, a transformative nouveau practice of yoga, which begins with the core fundamentals of yoga, then adds a twist (on both sides).
Like many of her students who take to the mat to find solace and themselves, more than a decade ago Aree found refuge in yoga at a time when she was unhappy in a corporate job, unable to quit, and weighed down from a chip on her shoulder. “Yoga was my safe haven.” Formerly a finance executive, Aree went through a time when she loved her career, “I was the first person in the office and the last person to leave.” But Aree hit a point when, “I lost who I was. Through the practice of yoga I was able to find my true authentic self again,” Practicing yoga every chance she could, she realized what made her most grounded and connected was her practice. While still in her career, she began teacher training to take her practice to the next level, and began looking at all areas of her life differently. She reached the conclusion that it was time to take a leap and pursue her passion. Yoga.

Along the way, Aree acknowledges important mentors. Jason Winn (who is no longer with us) was her first teacher in Laguna Beach. “He instilled so much in me when I was a student, and then later as a teacher. He was a voice in my practice. One that still very much lives in my voice and spirit.” Kumudini was another important mentor encouraged and empowered her to teach when she didn’t think she could. Aree says, “Her positivity and magnetism are truly powerful.”

When Aree talks about David Ezekiel, she laughingly refers to him as her yoga husband. “He continues to make me realize to practice what I preach and not to be complacent. He reminds me to always live a life without fear or doubt.” She continues, “He challenged me to have a sense of balance between my personal life and professional life. I was the type of person that had a hard time finding that balance and partly it was because I was not being authentic to myself.”

In her quest to find balance, Aree regularly joined people lining up mat to mat for Vinnie Marino at YogaWorks. “I would drive from Orange County during rush hour traffic to take his class in Santa Monica.” She admires Vinnie and names him as one of her mentors. “His focus on alignment, technique, and presence are magical to me, and I appreciate his musicality and sequencing.”

Music plays an integral role in how this vibrant teacher leads the charge for her army. She refers to the movements and transitions from pose to pose in yoga and cites how music plays a complementary role of telling a story to increase immersion in the experience and that just the right song becomes a motivator to stay focused in the pose. “I love looking over at a student who is in a pose and they begin to sing or dance while in class. I just live for it.”

Aree finds her musical inspiration in all facets of life and creates her playlists through numerous avenues. Her musical selection is then put to work to support a themed class, a specific mood, the students, or the environment, and sometimes she’s just plan spontaneous. “I could be sitting in my car from class to class, and I listen and search for music as my inspiration.” Music is her therapy and yoga is her outlet. “My musical range stems from me loving all types of music. I can mix in some hip hop, soul, funk, and transition into electronica, and finish with love songs.”

The playlist works for the students; Aree relates to people whose journey mirrors her own. People looking for inspiration who are ready to dance. People who are looking for empowerment and the transformation that they may not even realize they are seeking. Aree sees herself as being a bridge between the conventional and unconventional.

Just as yoga helped Aree find happiness, she holds the intention while part of her teaching to help her students find happiness and success on and off the mat. She cares about how people handle their personal challenges and integrates these ideas in her intentions, themes, and creative sequencing. Aree maintains her inspiration with gratitude, particularly for the commitment, willingness to change, demonstrated accomplishments, and emotional vulnerability that her students bring to class. I understand what her students shared with me before class.

Everyone with an open mind, an open heart, and a willingness to work on their optimal self is welcome to enlist in  #AreesArmy. Aree Khodai currently teaches at Hot 8 in Beverly Hills, Aura Yoga in West Hollywood, and the Soho House, Worldwide. Find Aree and her Army at: www.areesarmy.com
Facebook: Aree Khodai
Instagram:  @revolutionaree
Twitter: @areesarmy

Nir Livni is a Los Angeles-based yoga and portrait photographer with more than a decade of experience in photo and video. Currently, Nir works with prominent yoga teachers from around the world: bigcameraman.info.
Instagram: @bigcameraman

Mito Aviles

Mito Aviles is a seasoned designer based in West Hollywood with over a decade of design/styling experience. He considers himself an artistic entrepreneur lending his talents to different publications. Instagram: @mistertreat 

The post YOGA TEACHER PROFILE: AREE KHODAI appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.