MahaMondo

Core Awareness Workshop : Kathryn Budig

This was another long week as I was visiting job sites in the OC plus we had a launch party on Thursday evening hosted in tandem with a magazine  . There's nothing like utilizing the yogic "role of the witness" as a tool to  plow through all that has to be done. ( And invoke Ganesha, the Detroyer of Obstacles, hah)

So much gratitude to Kathryn Budig for the email re her upcoming workshop @ YogaWorks Montana Ave. on July 12th.

" Join Kathryn for an afternoon of focused core conditioning and abdominal awareness in your everyday postures. Deepen your arm balances and inversions through the strength of your core."

Kathryn is a dedicated Ashtanga practitioner . She completed her teacher training with YogaWorks founders Chuck & Maty.

And K, MAHA props for supporting:

"hey hun! long time no talk!
i'm wearing my mahamondo tank tonight and thought of you "

Image via YogicLife .

Aras Baskauskas : Yoga for Health & Wellness

Been about 3 years now since the Baskauskas brothers, Vytas & Aras , inherited the Saturday & Sunday noon classes @ SMPY from Marc Lewis & Matt Crowder.

Aras went on to win Survivor and to hosting the monthly Yoga Potluck event with Psalm Isadora. Vytas B.has tendered & soldiered on with the burgeoning Saturday & Sunday slots. So it was MAHA to see Aras @ Vytas B.'s class today ; with both brothers rocking  full on Grizzly Adams beards. They must be the only Santa Monica born & bred FRATERNAL yoga teacher act on record. I am blessed to have studied with both of them.

TRP Yoga has released Aras' DVD , "Yoga for Health & Wellness", for the benefit of folks who can't make it to his new classes @ Tru Yoga in Santa Monica on Tuesdays & Thursdays , 7:15 to 8:45 PM.

My OG teacher of all time , Marc Lewis, also has a DVD release with TRP. Aras is still the same gentle guy that I met several years back. It is encouraging to know that some things will remain consistent ; that I'll still be able to practice & learn with the Baskauskas bros in the years to come.

Check out the newly relaunched Yogamates site for a vid of Vytas & Aras B.demoing asana -

Natural High Lifestyle : 10 Years After

" When challenged to  hold the breath, that is the time to BREATHE"

That was one of the insights that resonated with me from a conversation I had this afternoon with Frank Angiuli of Natural High Lifestyle . Natural High has an in-store pop-up as part of HOLLYWOOD TRADING COMPANY Santa Monica's Earth / Heal the Bay weekend event.

Ten years back, Alonzo E. of HTC was a buyer @ Ron Herman / Fred Segal Melrose ,and Frank cold called him to pitch his fledgling line of 3 hemp Ts. Turned out that Frank had contacted AE at the right time as "ORGANIC" was on their radar. Flash forward , & ORGANIC lifestyle has become mainstream with big box behemoths touting their eco-awareness.

NHL's range is inspired & informed by Santa Monica's ocean, yoga studios,the Venice drum circle  & consciousness. The palette of colors (earth tones) and hand of the fabrics (hemp& bamboo fibers) are consistent with the point-of-view of the line; & proudly "Manufactured in Downtown L.A."

Frank & initial founder Ira Rosen (Govindas) goal was to create a brand that inspired an aware lifestyle ;easy care garments which were comfortable to  move in. Its customer base is drawn to the fabric & palette + amped that retail distribution is kept to the boutique level. NHL has a Japanese fan base as well ( Beams & the legendary Hollywood Ranch Market Daikoyama ) who appreciate its So.Cali flavor.

The Main St.flagship store in Santa Monica serves as a showroom  for the NHL world of apparel, bedding,meditation pillows ,yoga mat carriers & more. The company has recently partnered with Wired to supply the magazine's "Sustainable & Energy Efficient" showcase house in Chicago.

On the horizon are new introductions inspired by a recent trip to Japan plus new eco-fabrics & experimentation for conscious creatives to contemplate in -

Fred Segal Santa Monica + Heal the Bay LTD. ED. /HTC

"Also our good friend Peter A. AKA MahaMondo (Pedro to friends & family) has kindly donated his limited edition t-shirts in partnership with "I LOVE YOGA". We will have a drawing for the t-shirts Friday through Sunday. Peter gives up the 411 on all info below:

Peter A. AKA MahaMondo is a sales & marketing guru in this incarnation; with a current emphasis on luxury & high-end lifestyle. Yoga & meditation has maintained his balance & focus .

The MAHA (great in Sanskrit ) MONDO ( as in "il mondo" ) blog was born a couple of years back as a vehicle to communicate to the world his ongoing personal journey of transformation, the amazing teachers & the growing conscious Santa Monica community.The global voice of the blog emphasizes tradition, inspiration & newness.

Because of the reach of the blog, he has made connections with fellow seekers & practitioners like the Miami based I LOVE YOGA www.iloveyoga.com. Subsequent conversations with ILY's Moses Love produced the MahaMondo / ILY Ltd.Ed.Tee. Followers of the blog have always commented on the banner graphic. And the T does catch people's attention , the most common question being,"What does MahaMondo mean?" And so the dialogue begins -

So here's a peep at the Ltd. Edtn. Fred Segal / Heal the Bay T available this coming Friday. Muchas gracias to the good folks @ www.hollywoodtradingcompany.blogspot.com for the amazing feature.

Please check in with Daryllynn Kaun of Fred Segal Zero Minus Plus as well.

& MahaMondo on www.yogamates.com :

HEY!

Thanks for the shirt!

You rock, it looks great, I can't wait to wear it.

I saw someone wearing one on Earthday! ( Wow, knock-offs already,heh heh )

SOO.....

the site is launching on Monday or Tuesday.

Please update photo and profile info and put up a blog for Monday.

THANKS!

Kasey Luber

Director of Yogamates

Heaven is Earth / Fred Segal Santa Monica

Please come and join all of us here at HOLLYWOOD TRADING CO / FRED SEGAL SANTA MONICA for our HEAVEN IS EARTH WEEKEND- APRIL 25, 26, 27, 28, WITH A KICK OFF PARTY APRIL 25/Friday 6PM-9PM supporting Earth Month, and HEAL THE BAY.

THIS IS A SPECIAL EVENT, AS WE/ FRED SEGAL SANTA MONICA, HOLLYWOOD TRADING CO, AND ALL OF THE STORES IN THE FRED SEGAL SANTA MONICA CENTER ARE SUPPORTING HEAL THE BAY IN THEIR EFFORTS TO BAN SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS. PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT THIS! WE WILL HAVE A PETITION TO SIGN, GREAT FRED SEGAL+HEAL THE BAY TOTE BAGS FOR SALE WITH ALL PROCEEDS GOING TO HEAL THE BAY, AND A PORTION OF SALES GENERATED THAT WEEKEND WILL GO TO HEAL THE BAY!

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!

WE GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT!

BEST

AE

Gracias Alonzo E. I am amped to see the ILY / MahaMondo Ts shortly on www.hollywoodtradingcompany.blogspot.com .  And those new HTC shirts ,so illin' -

and thanks to Zenator & Stacie Stukin of Yoga Journal's Samadhi & the City , for the features this week.

" Last, but not least, Mahamondo has a real knack for discovering original and entertaining music and asana clips "  As Mike Myers phrased it so well  : "I am not worthy!" heh heh -

& via Manduka :

"Finally got to unwrap the eKO MAT last week and try it out at several classes. It does not disappoint. The words "grip and comfort" truly apply ; no hesitations moving into Urdhva Danurasana now even after a torrential downpour of sweat has drenched it. Balancing poses like Virabhadrasana 3 are facilitated with that cushioned layer of matting."

MahaMondo
February 15, 2008

Jerome Mercier : Viparita Chakrasana

As David Swenson says, "It is best to learn , if at all, under the guidance of a TEACHER."

And this is one of the reasons why I endeavor to get up @ 5:30 AM on Sundays. Last Sunday was an opportunity to practice with Jerome M., as we were a small group. He got us to form a circular yoga mala ; the better to mirror his vinyasas & pranayam.

It was such a FOCUSED & MEDITATIVE atmosphere , that the sound of water dripping from the cooler was distinctly audible. The inspirational & motivational high point of the class was his fluid VIPARITA CHAKRASANA (I counted at least 3 cycles) ; the backward handspring into wheel from the Ashtangi 5th series.

Hard act to follow as none of us in the room could pull it off. So amped that I am looking forward to learning the dropback via a teacher's assistance at some point. As they say, nowhere to get to , just being in the moment.

Advanced asana serves the purpose of creating more space & opening up the NADIS in order to arrive at that meditative state. A good teacher will use ADJUSTMENT in order to fine tune access to these channels. After savasana, the sun was up ; but I felt like I had melted into Santa Monica Bay. Jai Ma!

(Image via www.exceplex.de)

Alonzo E : HTC & Fred Segal Santa Monica Goes Green

I first met up with Alonzo E. of Hollywood Trading Company @ Fred Segal after one of Vytas B.'s classes when he properly ID'd my Lucien Pellat-Finet kicks Finally made the connection as him being the boss man @ HTC when I would see him there. HTC, like most of Fred Segal SaMo, is a proponent of COOL but CONSCIOUS CONSUMERISM. Fred S., the man, has been  a supporter of HH the DALAI LAMA since back in the day.

ECO directional brands like Ever, Rogan + Wings & Horn from HTC will be staples of your wardrobe for years vs. fast fashion follies. ( And because we aren't going around cloaked in ashes & clad in dhotis in this Kali Yuga )

Seeing Alonzo at one of Jerome M. or Vytas B.'s classes is always a MAHA sign, as he brings his good vibes & soulful practice to the satsang. He is holding Travis Eliot's DVD & Govindas' CD above. Yup, we both knew him when he was still Ira.

Fred Segal Santa Monica, which has been involved with Heal the Bay for more than 20 years , is making a big splash for Earth Month. More than a dozen Fred Segal store owners, HTC included, have united to host a silent auction,raffle and party on April 25th from 6-9pm. The weekend will continue for the general public Saturday the 26th &Sunday the 27th. I will be posting an event flyer & pics in a couple of weeks.

Big ups pranam Alonzo , catch you @ class -

Brent Kessel :The Wanting Mind

  " May you be happy and free with any amount of money!"

That was Brent Kessel's dedication on my copy of his release " It's Not About the Money". I had introduced myself as a friend of Darlene D'Arezzo ,as they had been Ashtanga classmates from back in the day , with Chuck & Maty from YogaWorks. His response being , " She's the only Darlene I know.."

The book is a MAHA synthesis of finance & spirituality , containing massive chunks of guidance which followers of this blog know I am actively seeking. My days are spent in the realm of LUXURY / HIGH END sales & marketing,  which at this point in time appears impervious to the "R" word (RECESSION).

It is my mission to CREATE THE WANT , which is contrary to as Brent dedicates a whole chapter to, the Buddhist concept of the WANTING MIND aka in Vipassana CRAVING & AVERSION. How to  reconcile these seeming opposites / contradictions ?

" Wanting more is a universal phenomenon. If you pay attention, you'll find there is a whole lot you can do to stop this desire - you just go on wanting material things or better emotional states ..."

There is a lot of  candid wisdom in Brent's book which ultimately emphasizes  that the shift towards a relationship with the material world  & abundance must come from an increased consciousness of mind, body & spirit.

Darlene d'Arezzo : Prana Tokyo & Joshua Tree

It was good to finally catch-up (and, exchange gifts and eat, eat, eat! *** I can still remember the look on the face of  the bartender as she saw us inhale all the veggie food @ Buddha's Belly. And my look when I saw the coconut tapioca pudding had evaporated into thin air, heh heh : MM )!

I had just gotten in from hosting my annual (and, sold out, btw) family yoga/rock climbing/camping retreat, Yoga Rocks!, when you called.  This year, we had an Easter egg hunt in the rocks and through the campsite .

The I Love Yoga /MahaMondo tee fits perfectly -- it's a snug, comfy fit -- obviously designed for a woman's body.  It's also so soft.  I love it -- maha thanks again!

I know you asked for a tee from my travels to Prana Power Yoga Studio.  But, they did not have any men's shirts in stock.  Naomi (PPYS's owner) thought you might like the eco-bag instead. 
As for my time there, it was AMAZING and I'm loking forward to returning.  Naomi was so gracious and generous.  I fell in love with all my students, big and small. 

Maha blessings,
Darlene

Darlene D'Arezzo
Founder and Director
Santa Monica, CA 90404
www.kidsyogacircle.com

WellSphere & Yoga Dan @ Lululemon Santa Monica

    There are times when there is just not enough time to allocate or find sources of inspiration for this blog. So I really appreciated it when I received this email from Larisa @ WellSphere as I was waiting for my bags by the carousel @ DFW Airport:

"I came across your blog and think your postings are fantastic!  I love the
way you break down the various elements of yoga and meditation by providing
your readers helpful tips and videos.

  I especially liked your "The Dedicated Yoga Room" entry, and can relate to this because I look forward to someday having a dedicated meditation room.  I work for Wellsphere (www.wellsphere.com), a fast-growing online community for people who want to get active, eat better, and unwind.  I think your professional knowledge combined with your passion for yoga would be really helpful and inspirational to our members ! "

Thanks very much Larisa . Your email was a respite for my weary eyes at midnight Dallas time . The use of the word PASSION is key. Great reminder -

& the dude with the tats above isYoga Dan who I had the opportunity to practice with several times during MonthlyYogaDVD's vid shoot with Cindy Lee last December. YD will be teaching a free class tomorrow ( 03-18)  @ 7PM, Lululemon Santa Monica. You can visit his cool website, www.goodyogalive.com for more info.