new auspicious beginnings begin 8/18

My Students always ask me how did you find yoga.
Yoga found me - and it saved my life, literally!

I reflect back when I first started practicing yoga here in Austin.
I took my very first class @ Yoga Yoga South. Then I remember taking my first Hatha
Flow class with Mike Matthews (who is an amazing Ashtanga teacher in town!)
I was in college and could care less about me and my spiritual walk but yoga was soon to change all of that.

I thus found myself becoming hooked on Bikram Yoga. I loved it and still think it is an amazing practice but agree it is not for everyone. BTW - the new YogaGroove space they redid looks amazing! Can't wait to go try the practice out again.

Moving along (as it is easy to rant while blogging).... I have always tried to find a way to marry my passions in life: yoga + marketing + account services + graphic design.
Hard to do at times but I am VERY persistent and won't stand to do just any job. I pour my heart and soul into what I do.

It has almost been a year and a half since I left nFusion, an amazing local interactive firm. There was only so much of Nokia Global e-communications that I could handle;) I do miss working with the people there. I specifically remember finding a company online called Namaste Interactive. When I find something I love, I research the heck out of it. I believe my horoscope says that people born on October 30 (the week of intensity, might I add) make great detectives. I love researching. Needless to say, I research Namaste Interactive from start to finish. I thought to myself, how incredible would it be to work with a team like that. WOW!!!! Along the path, I have met many amazing teachers, artists, etc. through the global yoga community.

A few months back, an acquaintance of mine was traveling through Austin and was wondering if she could play live music in someone's class. Gosh the beauty of Facebook. I love it so!!!! Daphne Tse ended up coming to Breath & Body Yoga to sing her angelic tunes during shavasana. Some of her friends ended up coming to class, including the beloved Chris Roy, CEO and Spiritual Entrepreneur of Namaste Interactive. I knew exactly of him as I had thought they lived in LA. Well, come to find out Namaste Interactive relocated to Austin, Texas. Double-take...did I hear that right?

After some emails, resume sending, conversation, more conversation, and meeting with the founding partners, I am SO pleased and SO thrilled to announce that I am hopping on board with the Namaste Interactive team as Client Services Guru to help spearhead their new email client, Namaste Light. Namaste Interactive works with amazing clients such as my yoga teacher Shiva Rea, Acacia Lifestyle (new site just launched), Yoga Tribe & Culture, Energy Muse, and MC Yogi to name a quick few.

WoW! I get to jump in the deep in and marry it all together, starting 8/18.
Cheers to new auspicious beginnings and working with a sweet, talented, creative, technologically-advanced team. I am deeply humbled and honored to be a part of this
movement.

Thank you sweet Jesus!

Interesting and up for discussion....

Yoga Instructor: Signs That Speaks for the Skills of a Yoga Instructor

Posted: May 20th, 2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 294 |

Yoga has been declared as an excellent method to combine meditation and exercise in order to attain the maximum benefits for physical as well as mental health. The art helps you to bring your body and mind in good harmony.

Joining a Yoga class is extremely beneficial. These classes are beneficial when it comes to learning certain challenging poses.

If the yoga teacher plays an important role in learning the postures in the best and most beneficial way, you need to be really careful when it comes to choosing one for yourself. There are bad instructors as well as good instructors. You need to take certain points in to consideration when choosing the best for yourself.

Remember that a yoga instructor will always show you certain signs and hints. These signs will let you know about the abilities and experience of the coach. Here are some signs to watch out for:

- Signs to watch out for

a) A good teacher will observe and then welcome the students prior to starting the class. The instructor would appreciate the student for who they are, their unique skill and abilities. In general, you would find a positive attitude toward the yoga class.

b) There are several challenges one needs to face while learning yoga. Some of the postures of the yoga class would be quite challenging. Hence, people suffering from injuries, including minor ones should be extremely careful. These questions are usually put forward by a yoga instructor at the beginning of the class. The instructor would also check for the injuries of other problems prior to beginning the class.

c) Once, the physical examination is over, the teacher will keep in mind, the poses that are opt for the students who are well, for those who have certain injuries or health related problems.

d) A skilled instructor will definitely explain and demonstrate a particular pose. He or she would specially emphasis on the challenging ones in order to make the students understand about these poses from the starting till the end.

e) If your coach is skilled and veteran, then he will make it a point to explain you the poses clearly and in a variety of ways. Sometimes, students are unable to perceive a pose correctly in a particular way.

f) A good instructor will know exactly how to teach. He or she will notice even subtle weaknesses and errors and know how to correct them gracefully. If the teacher is skilled enough, he or she will definitely understand that you are putting in your 100% to the class and will encourage you gently to perform in a better way.

g) Once the class ends, a yoga instructor will definitely ask the students about how they are feeling.

h) Make sure that your yoga instructor ends the class with Savasana or Dead Man’s pose. Good meditation poses will enhance yoga.

i) At last, the instructor will thank the students for attending the class just as he welcomes you in the beginning.

Do you have HYDE in your closet?

I love the unexpected.
A couple weeks back, I received an email from the lovely Hyde.
The make fabulous organic cotton yoga pieces.

Somehow in cyberspace, they found my blog and offered to send me a couple
of pieces of their clothing. The marketer in me was like AHA! Yes, what a great
way to market yoga clothing. Go to the source: yoga teachers. We do afterall
get to wear lovely yoga clothes daily and get to show them off in our classes.

Sure enough a week or so later, I received two pieces in the mail.

I LOVE ORGANIC COTTON! It breathes well and it is so soft to the touch.
And now I am more familiar with this line from the kind gesture from Hyde.

I recommend you try some today!!!!!
Great stuff.
I can't wait to have more to add to my yoga gear line-up.

And they keep giving.....
Visit their website today and enter promo code "MALIA" and receive 20% your next order.

Thank you Hyde.
Thank you yoga community.

Namaste!