Amy Wong’s Fave Five Experiences
This year, the the whimsical Ojai Yoga Crib, hosted by Kira Ryder, Alana Mitnick, Uschi Gibson and the twinkle-eyed staff at Lulu Bandha’s celebrates the seventh annual event. Attendees sign up for a selection of teachers who offer their experiential classes in settings throughout Ojai, such as Krotona/the Theosophical Society grounds and the Krishnamurti Foundation’s Oak Grove School, via bus, bike and foot. With kirtan, dharma talks, morning meditation and joyous farm fresh feasting, the unique event offers a yogi’s weekend playground. Last year, LA YOGA contributor Amy Wong sampled the fare (accompanied by Beth Thomas and Felicia
Tomasko). Here is her top five list (if it’s even possible to pick a top five):
1. Meditation Mount, Meditation Mount, Meditation Mount: I started and ended the Crib here, my favorite of the nine locations scattered throughout the Ojai Valley that I saw. What more can I say? A picture is worth a thousand words: meditation.com.
2. While the relatively long Crib sessions (two and a half hours) meant covering a lot of ground, it wasn’t quite enough to turn me into an Odissi Indian Temple Dancer like our gifted instructor, Revital Carroll. However, I did learn some cool Taoist-based “shaking” warm-ups along with the dance basics. (I especially liked the ankle warm-up and moving the torso while the hips stayed static.) shaktibhakti.com. This year, dance will be incorporated by Uma Goswami, Lulu Bandha’s esteemed bhakti teacher and Bharatanatyam dancer.
3. The Ojai Malas (ojaimalas.com), hand-knotted gemstone prayer bead necklaces, made by Michael Reidinger and found at Catherine Nation’s boutique Bhavantu at Lulu B’s, the retail store adjacent to Lulu Bandha’s. Bhavantu offers beautiful clothes, Yoga props, as well as devotional and divine treats, like the handmade malas made in a variety of glittering hues:bhavantu.com.
4. Going “online” and luxuriating in Buddha 4 with Eric Schiffmann. Just go take his class to see what the buzz is all about:
movingintostillness.com.
5. Working off the gourmet Coconut Curry Milk Chocolate bar from Theo Chocolate’s 3400 Phinney line (procured by Felicia for dessert) – these people are serious about cacao (theochocolate.com) via Diego del Sol’s core-crunchingly crazy tricks. Diego is an SF-based teacher, who in my opinion, is changing the face of power yoga one Russian Dancer Pose at a time: diegodelsol.com.
Bonus: The handcrafted colorful sage wands at the Ojai Certified Farmers’ Market on Sunday, conveniently located next to Lulu Bandha’s and the ultimate way to cap off the weekend after the closing Sunday morning class: ojaicertifiedfarmersmarket.com.
This year the ever-shifting Crib teacher line-up is: Erich Schiffmann, Sarah Powers, Chandra Easton, Patricia Sullivan, Kira Ryder, Laura Tyree, Jason Crandell, Jill Miller, Saul David Raye, Katchie Ananda, Sean Johnson and Uma Goswami. For more information about the Ojai Yoga Crib, visit: ojaiyogacrib.com.
Amy Wong won’t be getting out her Crib sheet this year since her travels are taking her to the Pacific Northwest to prepare for law school and life as an avowed foodie. She’s dreaming of Meditation Mount and the Ojai Farmers Market while dodging raindrops: pingwritten.com.
By Amy Wong
Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.