Category Archives: 2019 TOUR STOPS

This Meditation Helps You Overcome an Overactive Mind

Learn how to discern your thoughts through this mantra and mudra practice.

The Live Be Yoga ambassadors visited Priya Jain, founder of Seventh Chakra Yoga in Huntington Beach, California, who shared a mantra and mudra meditation practice to help discern your thoughts, so you can calm (and avoid fueling) an overactive mind.

Live Be Yoga ambassadors Lauren Cohen and Brandon Spratt are on a road trip across the country to sit down with master teachers, host free local classes, and so much more—all to illuminate the conversations pulsing through the yoga community today.

Ancient yogic texts said that we have one thousand thoughts for every blink of the eye. Many of these thoughts are unconscious, meaning we are completely unaware of them. However, many of the ideas that flicker through our minds certainly stick out and linger. Which ones will we attach to or identify with? Which ones serve our expansion and evolution? Which ones are self-sabotaging and distracting?

These are all questions that help us build awareness so we can make well-rounded decisions about what to pay attention to—decisions that can benefit our own lives as well as our collective humanity.

When we can make decisions from a place of empowerment, stability, authenticity, and compassion, we begin to do our part in co-creating a more harmonious world. It may sound too good to be true, but all necessary change starts with this simple process—evaluating the thoughts that come and go.

That’s what we learned while visiting Priya Jain, owner of Seventh Chakra Yoga, a studio in Huntington Beach, California. Jain, a Kundalini Yoga teacher and my mentor, said that when your mind can learn to discern the difference in thoughts, you can actually say “thank you, but no thank you.” Or you can welcome certain thoughts with more awareness …

Balance the Body, Mind, and Heart with Practices from Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor

Get grounded, and then open your heart with two practices from the master Ashtanga Yoga teachers.

At the start of the tour in Boulder, Colorado, we had the privilege of meeting master Ashtanga Yoga teachers Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor, who led us through two powerful practices to balance body, mind, and subtle energy. The short sequences explore a range of poses—from grounding postures, such as forward folds, to expansive postures, including heart openers. Ready to give them a try? Check them out below. These two practices are meant to be done after a full warm-up that includes Sun Salutations and simple backbends and inversions, such as Bridge Pose.

Follow the tour and get the latest stories @livebeyoga on Instagram and Facebook.

http://dogdewormer.net …

Why Your Spirituality Shouldn't Define You

Kundalini Yoga teacher Priya Jain talks about building your identity around the practice you love.

Yoga can be such a life-altering experience that it drives you to schedule your day around the practice you love. What happens when it starts becoming who you are? Here, YJ ambassadors Lauren Cohen and Brandon Spratt sit down with Priya Jain—Kundalini Yoga teacher, founder of Seventh Chakra Yoga, and Brandon’s mentor—in Huntington Beach California to talk about yoga and identity.

Live Be Yoga ambassadors Lauren and Brandon are on a road trip across the country to sit down with master teachers, host free local classes, and so much more—all to illuminate the conversations pulsing through the yoga community today. Follow the tour and get the latest stories @livebeyoga on Instagram and Facebook.

http://dogdewormer.net …

Got Sore Muscles? Meet Your Next Favorite CBD Topical for Relief

The Live Be Yoga ambassadors go behind the scenes at ShiKai in Santa Rosa, California.

Feeling sore from your last vinyasa flow? Dealing with chronic inflammation in your joints? Well, thanks to a new line of products from ShiKai—a brand that has been developing natural skin and hair care products for nearly 50 years—relief may not be out of reach!

While in Santa Rosa, California, LBY ambassadors Lauren Cohen and Brandon Spratt stopped off at the ShiKai factory to teach a yoga class and sit down with owner Jason Sepp to learn more about the company’s new CBD topical line. Here, watch how it unfolded!

Watch also 30-Second Advice for Every Yoga Student

http://dogdewormer.net …

So You Found Peace Through Yoga—Here's Why the Practice Doesn't Stop There

A trip to Salt Lake City reminds YJ ambassador Brandon Spratt of how one teacher’s goodwill transformed his life.

YJ ambassador Brandon Spratt was homeless for a year, until a yoga teacher introduced him to the practice and get back on his feet. Now, visiting Yoga for People founder Santosh Maknikar in Salt Lake City, he remembers why it’s necessary for teachers and students to practice seva (yoga service).

Before I dive into my experience with Yoga for People and Santosh Yoga Institute Santosh Maknikar in Salt Lake City, I have to share a short story about my spiritual teacher and guide, Priya Jain. It will all come full circle at the end, so, please, stay with me.

For about a year in 2014, I was homeless. (You can read more about that here.) I was living on a beach when a strange and synchronistic series of events transpired. I met a woman on the beach, who recommended that I visit Seventh Chakra Yoga, a Kundalini Yoga studio in Huntington Beach, California. I’d never even heard of Kundalini Yoga before. But a voice within—a whisper in my heart that was clear and firm—told me I had to go there. At the time I was completely confused about what I was going to do to get out of my situation, so receiving any intuitive guidance was a blessing. So, I listened and made my way to Seventh Chakra Yoga.

An Aura of Devotion

Walking up to the studio, I remember that my heart was racing, and I …

Stephanie Snyder’s 30-Second Advice for Every Yoga Student

The veteran vinyasa teacher offers advice for all yogis and a sage reminder for instructors.

During their stay in San Francisco, Lauren Cohen and Brandon Spratt couldn’t resist swinging by Love Story Yoga for a practice and chat with co-founder and vinyasa teacher Stephanie Snyder. With more than 20 years of teaching experience, Stephanie shared her sage advice for modern yoga practitioners and instructors.

Live Be Yoga ambassadors Lauren Cohen and Brandon Spratt are on a road trip across the country to sit down with master teachers, host free local classes, and so much more—all to illuminate the conversations pulsing through the yoga community today. Follow the tour and get the latest stories @livebeyoga on Instagram and Facebook.

Watch also “I Never Paid for Yoga Until I Came to This Country”

http://dogdewormer.net …

The 4 Questions That Gave Me a Fresh Perspective on Teaching Yoga

You don’t have to measure your success based on your social media following.

Tiffany Cruikshank (pictured), founder of Yoga Medicine, sat down with Live Be Yoga ambassador Lauren Cohen and shared key questions that yoga instructors can ask themselves to reinvigorate their teachings.

About four years ago I quit my full-time job in public relations and dedicated myself to teaching yoga full-time. Amidst the ongoing attempts to perfect my schedule and avoid getting lost in social media mayhem or a comparison trap, I’ve worked hard to remember what it is I love about the practice, what it is that got me hooked. At times it can feel competitive, especially in San Francisco, where so many teachers are teaching full-time, hustling to fill their classrooms, hosting retreats, and seeking those “prime-time” classes.

Now that I’m on the Live Be Yoga tour, the time away from my day-to-day rhythm and regular class schedule has offered me distance, and in that distance I have gained a ton of perspective already. Yet it wasn’t until I sat down with Tiffany Cruikshank that I felt invigorated and inspired to go back to the drawing board and ask myself some fundamental questions about why I practice and why I teach.

Tiffany is the founder of Yoga Medicine and a teacher trainer whom I’ve had the privilege of studying with over the years. I’ve also watched her build an amazing brand and business that is thriving in so many ways. It was an honor to chat with her about yoga’s evolution, hear her enthusiasm and …