9 Ways to Ten Your Heart Fire
E-News from LA YOGA Ayurveda and Health Magazine
DECEMBER 2013 | ISSUE 187
December 2013 Issue
Photo: David Young-Wolff
From the Editor
The Winter Solstice is the time of entering the deep space of darkness. The longest night of the year. The energetic void.
It is a reminder that we live in the constant rotation of ritual space, the energetic cycles of shifts in our lives. These ritual cycles are the subject of Shiva Rea’s long-awaited book, Tending the Heart Fire: Living in Flow with the Pulse
of Life. She’ll be celebrating the book’s release this Sunday, December 15, at Exhale in Venice.
We all have a fire that smolders in our hearts and lights the way within us and around us. How we stoke and cultivate that fire and how we take care of ourselves fully and deeply are necessary parts of our daily commitment to our practice.
As the days continue to darken and we sit in the virtual cave of the night, may we heed the call to connect more fully to our practice. Try one of the following suggestions:
• Find a friend to join for a hot yoga class.
• Meditate on your inner fire.
• Enjoy a cup of hot water with lemon in the morning.
• Sip on a midafternoon cup of tulsi tea.
• Add a new breath or pranayama practice to your seated meditation.
• Switch up your usual breakfast for a baked sweet potato with ginger (grounding and warming).
• Sing out loud: Christmas carols, Sanskrit chants, your favorite love song.
• Schedule a massage.
• Wake up and watch the sun rise.
As everything shifts in our lives, the more we embrace the fluctuations, the more we tend the flickering fire of our hearts, the more we take care of ourselves (body, mind, heart, and spirit), the more we can welcome the New Year with grace.
May your fire burn bright,
Felicia Marie Tomasko, RN
LA Yoga Magazine, Editor in Chief
Upcoming Events
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12
7:00 P.M. Shakti Naam Masterclass with Dr. Joseph Michael Levry. Light the candle of your heart with an uplifting and magical class that will leave you happy and smiling for days. Naam Yoga LA 1231 4th Street, Santa Monica. 310-751-7550.
4:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. V.I.P Shopping Night. Celebrate this holiday season with by partaking in exclusive discounts for one night only! RSVP MANDATORY – RSVP@MIEUSA.COM This is a private event. Password required for entry: “Happy Holidays MIE.” Made In Earth Jewely Gallery, 1506 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13
Yoga as Therapy with Doug Keller. Four workshops over three days on the hips, the breath, the bandhas, the low back, the shoulders, and more to fine-tune your practice. $55/day, $240/pass. TheraYoga 4105 Ocean View Blvd, La Crescenta-Montrose
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14
Psoas Release Workshop with Allison Linamen. Learn to release the iliopsoas muscle group, deepen the body’s structural integrity, improve posture, relieve back pain, aid digestion, expand the breath and more. $50 Mission Street Yoga and Pilates, 1017 Mission Street, South Pasadena
Yoga as Therapy with Doug Keller. Four workshops over three days on the hips, the breath, the bandhas, the low back, the shoulders, and more to fine-tune your practice. $55/day, $240/pass. TheraYoga 4105 Ocean View Blvd, La Crescenta-Montrose
2:30 P.M.-5:30 P.M. Pre-Holiday Treat: A Special Yin Yoga Workshop with Aaron Reed. This workshop is for yogis of all levels and ages; everyone is welcome and encouraged. Join Aaron for this holiday treat! $45 early registration; $55 after 12/7. InYoga, 5142 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Valley Village
Noon-5:00 P.M. EatingLA Inaugural Holiday Artisanal Food Market and Forum. Artisanal Food Bazaar w/14 vendors – noon – sundown. “Growing Cities” sneak preview screening. Attendance is Free. Bergamot Station. 2525 Michigan Avenue, Santa Monica. More info here.
6:00 P.M.-8:00 PM Film Screening of The Black Dahlia Ballet by Steven Espinosa at the Women’s Independent Film Festival. Showing at the Promenade Playhouse Theater, 1404 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.
8:00 P.M. The Beatles’ Yoga: How the Fab Four’s Passage to India Enlightened the West. Benefit for Meals on Wheels West. Presented by Phil Goldberg, author of the award-winning book American Veda. With audio, videos and live band led by Joey Lugassy. The New Center. 2014 Sawtelle Blvd. West LA 90025. Park behind building or on street. $75. Purchase tickets here.
Grand Opening of Be the Change Yoga, Orange County’s first donation-based Yoga studio. Orchard hills Village Center, 3943 Portola Parkway, Irvine, CA 92602. Schedule of events here.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15
6:30 PM Fire of Love: Soul Kirtan and Book Release Celebrate the release of Shiva Rea’s new book, Tending to Heart Fire, followed by Soul Kirtan with C.C. White. Shiva Rea opens with meditation. Enjoy Raw Cacao Delights, Herbal Elixirs, and more. Exhale Venice, 245 South Main Street, Venice.
Yoga as Therapy with Doug Keller. Four workshops over three days on the hips, the breath, the bandhas, the low back, the shoulders, and more to fine-tune your practice. $55/day, $240/pass. TheraYoga 4105 Ocean View Blvd, La Crescenta-Montrose
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17
7:00 P.M.-9:30 P.M. Naam Yoga Winter Solstice Celebration. During this powerful class, work with the power of Naam in a healing symphony of movement, laughter, rhythm and tones, leaving you energized and revitalized. Naam Yoga LA 1231 4th Street, Santa Monica. 310-751-7550.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20
8:30 P.M. Philippo Franchini “Resonate” Album Release Concert. All Welcome! The new CD will be included in the donation. Bhakti Yoga Shala, 207 Arizona Avenue, Santa Monica.
We’re honored to be the sponsor of Yoga Chat with the Accidental Yogist on killradio.net every
Wednesday from 1:00-3:00pm Pacific.
Here’s the link to this week’s podcast featuring eco-friendly gifts for kids, including paint, games,
and music: Gifts for Kids of All Ages
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by clicking here.
Tending the Heart: Living in Flow with the Pulse of Life
by Shiva Rea — Holiday Book Pre-release Party
“We are created in rhythm, kept alive in rhythm, evolve through rhythm. Tides, breath, and blood flow in rhythm. We are born into a universe of currents, and our heart is the great conductor of the body, orchestrating our flow.”
Tending the Heart Fire, Shiva Rea’s first book, is an invitation to embody our extraordinary potential at this turning point in time, to reconnect your life to the rhythms of your body and the natural world—to live in flow with the pulse of life.
Join Shiva Rea at Exhale Venice
Sunday, December 15th, 6:30 -10:00pm
$15—advance. $20—day of the event.
Creative Alter * Elixirs * Raw Cacao Rasayana * Inner Fire * Meditation * Mudra * Movement * Soul Kirtan with C.C. White
The Beatles’ Yoga: An Intimate Benefit
This is a rare opportunity to experience The Beatles’ Yoga: How the Fab Four’s Passage to India Enlightened the West in an intimate setting, benefitting Meals on Wheels West.
Presented by Phil Goldberg, author of the award-winning book American Veda. With audio, videos and a kicking 7-piece live band led by Emmy niminated, bhakti Rock artist Joey Lugassy.
Saturday, December 14th 8:00 PM (door 7:30 PM)
The New Center. 2014 Sawtelle Blvd. West LA 90025. Park behind building or on street.
$75. Purchase tickets here.
Grand Opening: Be The Change Yoga Studio
We are happy to announce the Grand Opening of Be the Change Yoga this Saturday, December 14th, Orange County’s first donation-based Yoga studio, located in North Irvine.
Offering over 60 donation-based Yoga classes per week at all levels, as well as teacher training programs and holistic wellness services, including Acupuncture, Ayurveda, Yoga Therapy and Life Coaching; Be the Change provides ancient healing solutions for the modern world. Find details about the studio and the grand opening party here.
Giveaway: Ten Neti Pots and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
We are thrilled to have ten Original Neti Pots™ to give away! We think these pretty pink Neti Pots make great gifts!
This simple cleansing action is ideal for everyday use before a yoga practice, especially in the Winter. Clear your nasal passages before you take deep, nourishing inhales and full, cleansing exhales on and off your mat.
Purchase your Himalayan Institute’s Original Neti Pot in Pink. Receive a FREE Neti Stik with purchase through Dec 15th.
To enter to win one Neti Pot, LIKE our Facebook page and emailus telling us why you want a Neti Pot.
This Weekend:
Women’s Independent Film Festival
Join us this weekend for another season of groundbreaking films atWomen’s Independent Film Festival. Women’s Independent Film Festival gives voice to diverse and unique perspectives of women from every part of the world. Saturday and Sunday December 14th and 15th at the Promenade Playhouse Theater in Santa Monica. Tickets and schedule available here.
Philippo Franchini Album Release Concert
Celebrating over ten transformative years on the Bhakti Trail ,Philippo releases his first devotional chant album, “Resonate,” rich with the sounds and flavors of gospel, blues, world rhythms and Sanskrit mantras.This CD brings to the forefront his heartful singing as well as the stellar guitar stylings for which he is renowned. Joining him on the journey is a long, rich list of Bhakti friends including longtime collaborator David Newman, Brenda McMorrow, the Kirtaniyas, Joey Lugassy, Gina Sala, Daniel Paul and others.
Philippo and friends will be presenting an album release concert on Friday, Dec 20, 8:30 pm at Bhakti Yoga Shala. All Welcome! The new CD will be included in the donation.
Chopra Center: “New Year, New You” Retreat
Start off the New Year with the Chopra Center at our brand new
New Year, New You meditation and yoga retreat, designed to expand your understanding of yoga’s timeless wisdom on and off the mat.
Led by the Chopra Center’s master educators and other world-class yoga instructors, this rejuvenating retreat will give you a profound experience of yoga, meditation, and community.
January 16–19, 2014
La Costa Resort & Spa. Carlsbad, California
Receive special pricing when you enroll by December 20.
Learn more here.
It’s Cold in LA. Help Keep the Homeless Warm.
Consider donating to The Share Necessities this holiday season! The homeless in LA are COLD and in need of very basic necessities. This project is a way for YOU to order supplies like cases of blankets, hats, and hygiene kits. The Share Necessities will distribute them.
DONATE NOW. A case of blankets will keep 36 PEOPLE WARM!
Shakti Fest 3-day Festival Pass for $200
The 4th Annual Shakti Fest will take place at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center, May 16-18, 2014. Three full days of kirtan, yoga, and workshops all in celebration of the Divine Mother. Join Jai Uttal, Shiva Rea, Saul David Raye, Kia Miller, Wah!, Sara Ivanhoe, Dave Stringer and many others at “The Spiritual Woodstock of the Millenium.”
Purchase tickets for Shakti Fest, Bhakti Fest Midwest in Madison Wisconson, June 20-22 and Bhakti Fest West, September 4-7 in Joshua Tree at discounted prices.
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