Take Class Anywhere with Yoga Download

Trying to do yoga by yourself is not always easy.  When I begin a self-guided session three things can happen.  

1.  I'm super in tune with my body, feel completely at peace and have the opportunity to explore exactly what I need that day.

2.  I fall into a patterned flow that I have done a thousand times.

3. The list of things I need to do that day feels like it's taped to my forehead.

If issues 2 and 3 arise my favorite solution is to get a little help from Yoga Download.  This site provides audio yoga instruction that is awesome!  There are a ton of classes in many different types yoga and lots of free ones as well!  Each class even has a PDF file of the pose sequence so if you need a visual tool you are all set.  Check it out and get a great class in, anywhere!

The light in me recognizes the light in you! Namaste.

Dianna

Bikram

I like the heat. I ran cross-country at the University of Tampa. I went to Bonaroo and complained little (if you've been you understand this great feat). I rode horses through the summer months for many years. I left New England to fly south for college (I think that winter had a personal vendetta to freeze me out). I don't even mind going off for a nice jaunty jog at noon in August.  A little perspiration?  Whatever.   All these things made think that bikram and I would fall madly in love with each other.   But instead, I found myself in corpse (feeling like a corpse) 15 minutes into my first class.

I took my first class before I got really into yoga and thought I would just give it a try, no big deal! Big deal.  Between my low blood pressure (thanks years of distance running!), my ability to burst into a full sweat on command (thanks super efficient body!), and my inability to sip water slowly (I usually guzzle it down and then deal with my sesame seed sized bladder ) I just really wasn't ready for what bikram was dishing out.  

I really needed to learn how to properly lift my head before my heart when standing up , breathe into my body heat so I properly warm up from the inside out (I didn't fully appreciate why we all sounded like dark vadar at the beginning of class), and I certainly didn't hydrate properly. (Luckily, with three of my very athletic rugby teammates beside me I new that I could get carried out of the studio should I die)

No one died. In fact, after I corpsed it up for a few long minutes, surrendered to the class environment and expectations, torture slowly turned to appreciation.  I slowly rolled over, rose, and positioned myself in one of my best Warrior I. Ever. With tight runner hips and bad knees I would normally rather hold a crescent lunge for 3 hours than warrior I for 3 minutes.  But that day, my leg was properly rotated from the hip, my feet firmly planted and everything just felt good.

This experience happened only a year after I stopped running competitively and my brain was still trying to figure out what other athletic mind sets existed. Though intense, yoga should never be forced and it took getting my butt kicked to understand that. It was this experience that launched me into my yoga practice and eventually to become an instructor.

Let me know what kind of yoga has whipped you into mental and physical shape! What clicked? Shoot me an email at darlingdrishti@gmail.com or post your answer on facebook or twitter!

The light in me honors the light in you! Namaste.

Dianna

Finding serenity is best done with a friend!

A few days ago I posted a link about the Montreal Botanical Garden on facebook and it got me thinking. Why do we do yoga in a studio? Logically, I understand the convenience, the controlled environment, the privacy. But, my best yoga experiences have been beyond the studio walls.

Imagining yoga in the Botanical Garden reminded me of an outdoor yoga experience with my roommate and friend, Erin. Erin is the kind of girl who never breaks a sweat and has perfectly gorgeous bob at all time (but loves the outdoors. She has a rockin body but I rarely see her workout (though she did share with me her killer morning core workout) . She's naturally super flexible (and worked hard to refine it with years of dance and color-guard).  She lives a pretty serene life.  Whether or not her life is really so serene (no one's is) she is fantastic at making it look like it is.   Erin is good at yoga because her mask of serenity isn't a mask; it's her intrinsic way of life that is simply visible to onlookers in her external appearance.

So, when Erin said "Let's go to park and do yoga!", I said "Yay! Let's go look serene!".  

Public yoga sounded a little uncomfortable but I had a feeling if I did it with her I could harness some grace and try to act natural.  Once we began, I realized I didn't have to act.  She and I did different flows but fed off each others energy, focus, and pose improvisation.  We positioned ourselves in a little alcove of trees and totally embraced every minute of our practice.

Erin and I are good yoga buddies because we encourage each other with words and vibes that are always positive and never competitive.  Even if we are very different people, yoga is a common ground between us and we meet here completely uninhibited. We can glance at each other during our practice not to see how far we're stretching but to see how we're stretching; it's to look for a new idea, not a better one.

Do you and a friend have a favorite place to do yoga? Shoot me an email at darlingdrishti@gmail.com or tell me on facebook or twitter!

The light in me honors the light in you! Namaste.

Dianna

If only we all felt like this during class!

I once had the deft grace and sublime mobility to run full speed at a stationary bar, fling myself over backwards (head first with  eyes to the sky) and pray diligently (for all of 1.34 secon) that the 6 by 12 ft cloud of a landing mat hadn't disintegrated (along with my hope of not plummeting to my death) all while smiling. What is this wild activity, you ask? High jump. The body flinging, back bending, knee twisting, blind and careening jumping event of track & field (NOT pole vault).

I once could stand with my heels just two feet from a wall, gently gaze toward the ceiling and walk my hands down that wall till my body looked like a golden archway leading me to olympics. Okay my high school high jump career never got me anywhere near the olympics but during it I DID break a school record (in an unofficial meet) and dated a future olympic competitor. So all that pretty much counts for a lot.

Now as a college student, dancer and yoga instructor I occasionally contort my body in some gold plated arches. I'll gracefully hoist my hips to the sky in wheel. I'm not bitter about my reduced flexibility. I'm happy to let this gal show me what's up. Maybe next time I move towards king pigeon I'll try make my face not look like it's responding to all oxygen has been leaving the studio!


The light in me honors the light in you!  Namaste.

Dianna

Music to My Ears

When I teach my classes I love to use a mix of culturally rich, contemporary music. I've certainly appreciated the twinkling pan pipes, water falls and flutes (and I've tolerated when these fairy dusted tunes are modernized with a funk lounge beat). I enjoy a silent class every once in a while (which is never really silent when your gym also offers zumba...as the floor vibrates to PitBull from down the hall).  I also like how teachers are now throwing Mumford and Sons into class, along artsists like Jack Johnson or Kings of Leon. I've even heard a perfectly times "Come on Eileen" grace yoga studio speakers! 

My favorite tunes usually provide drum rhythms with a driving pulse that remain even when calm. Here are some songs that have made my classes and I smile:

Elation (wet mix) Yogafit - Music for Active Yoga Vol 3
Ringa Ringa Slumdog Millionaire
Latika's Theme Slumdog MIllionaire
Raks el Kholoud George Abdo

Momento Bebel Gilberto

What kind of music do you love?  Let me know at darlingdrishti@gmail.com!

The light in me honors the light in you! Namaste.

Dianna

What's in a Name?

In every yoga class I teach I always love asking people to find their drishti.  I ask people to find a place in the room that is still and quiet and from which they can draw stability from (always good for a leg trembling tree or thigh burning eagle!).  I then ask that they bring this external stability inward and allow their gaze to be soft and relaxed.  For me, harnessing ones drishti is a perfect exercise to become one with ones environment and practice harmonizing internal and external elements in the body.  

I chose to use drishti in the name of my boutique because it speaks so strongly to me in my own practice.  It seemed natural to use it when creating a shop inspired by yoga!  I added darling to show the more playful side of my practice.  The word also comes from my sweet love a beautiful baubles and enchanting jewelry. 

The light in me honors the light in you!  Namaste.

Dianna

It's Just the Beginning!

My name is Dianna, the owner of the yoga inspired boutique Darling Dristhi!  I believe that confidence and beauty comes from the inside, it's internal, intrinsic and so powerful.  But, whether your a diehard yogi,  a once-a-week practicer or just love the simple charm of the yoga world, Darling Drishti has something for you!  In the shop you'll find tons of hand-picked jewelry and accessories from emerging designers and on-trend house brands.  I am all about simple lines, rich colors and gorgeous metals.  I think that how we present ourselves on the outside should reflect how amazing we feel inside and I know you will love exploring the boutique for the perfect piece. 

The light in me honors the light in you!  Namaste.

Dianna