Next week we are having a holiday gift SALE! Get 10% off gift certificates, malas, T shirts and our newly arrived semi-precious stone bracelets made by Jennifer. We have some really unique and meaningful gifts for your friends and family. Been eyeballing that mala? Send your honey in here to buy it for you as a Christmas present! Have a friend who always wanted to try yoga? Get your friend a gift certificate and bring 'em to class with you! The sale runs from Sunday, Dec. 18th through Friday, Dec. 23rd. Happy holidays to you all!




My friend posted this great little article about bone health on Facebook and I thought I would share it with you. Bone issues are close to my heart lately! There are some great tips on simple things we can do (including yoga!) to keep our bones in tip top shape. Enjoy!
View the article here.

My favorite new snack is crunchy, addictive, so healthy and even easier to make. I introduce to you – Kale Chips! Yes, that’s right, this vitamin powerhouse bakes up for the ultimate in guilt-free snacking. I have followed this recipe from Smitten Kitchen every time and it always comes out perfectly. I highly recommend the flatter Dinosaur Kale as it bakes up more crispy and evenly than it’s curly breathren which can tend toward the chewier side. For some added flavor try adding garlic granules or paprika to the mix.
1 Bunch Kale (dinosaur if you can find it)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Sea Salt & Pepper to Taste
Preheat oven to 300°F. Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle with salt. Arrange leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet (I needed two because mine are tiny; I also lined mine with parchment for easy clean-up but there’s no reason that you must). Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday!

Our very own Liz Belile has a poem coming out in the new anthology, "The Poetry of Yoga"! A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book go toward the editor's charity, One Common Unity. Along with Liz, the book has contributions from Seane Corn, Shiva Rea, John Friend, Krishna Das, Judith Lasater, and many many more! To find out more about this project, visit http://thepoetryofyoga.com. Go Liz!

Founded in 2000, One Common Unity is a grassroots, 501(c)3 non-profit organization—an inter-generational community of artists, educators and peace builders-supporting the building of non-violent culture and nurturing sustainable, caring communities through a variety of local and global arts initiatives, omni-media programming, and innovative social-emotional education services.

Don't forget that Liz teaches her amazing Therapeutics class on Tuesdays at 12pm at Sacred Streams!

You may already know that I geek out on Vedic Astrology. The science of Vedic Astrology was part of an integrative approach to healing and health in India, working hand in hand with Yoga and Ayuveda. Through Vedic Astrology, or Jyotish, one learned of the planetary influences affecting lifestyle choices, diet, career, family, wealth, health, karma and much more. Your birth chart holds vast amounts of information that can shed light on your life patterns and light the way to a more spiritual and rewarding life. The planetary influences in your chart are there to be learned about. By managing their influences, we can get the most out of our existence in this lifetime, and work our way to spiritual enlightenment, or moksha.

Beginning in January, I will be offering birth chart readings to the public. Stay tuned for more details in the next few weeks! I would love to begin offering gift certificates closer to the holidays for readings in the new year. How cool of a present would that be?

Talk to you guys soon with some mantra for working with the waxing moon! Did you howl at it last night?

Love,
Susan

Learn to read your birth chart

Hi all!

Most of you know I am studying Vedic Astrology and pretty much like to geek out on that whenever I can.  So what I would like to do for the month of October is a series on Indian Astrology and how to read your birth chart!  The cool thing is that for the month of October, we have a special...$99 for unlimited yoga with no commitment!  We will also put your current pass on hold while you use your unlimited in October. Now folks, learning the basics of how to read your own birth chart is big bucks if you take an intensive on the subject! Believe me, I know. So this is my gift to you!  If you do the special, you can do my class plus any other classes, as much as your little heart desires for the whole month of October! Saturday is the last day you can purchase this so give us a call, or go online.

****If you are planning on coming to class (of course you are!), send me your birth information so I can have your birth chart printed for you on the first day of the series, this Saturday at 3pm!  I need your date of birth, time of birth (as exact as you can get it), and the place of birth.

Please come to every class if you can, we will be going in order and if you miss a day you might be really lost the next time!  The series will be laid out as listed below.  Please note that class is cancelled the day I teach at the Austin Yoga Festival.

October 1: Getting your birth chart and the planets
October 8: Cancelled for Yoga Festival
October 15: The signs
October 22: The houses
October 29: Putting all together!! Reading celebrity charts too.

If you know someone who might be interested, please pass this blog along!

Mantras and Malas

Those of you who have taken class with me know how much I love to talk, which may explain why I like mantra so much. In my opinion, as well as the opinion of some pretty amazing teachers, mantra is one of the most powerfully transformational practices you can have. This can be a daunting topic just because of the sheer countless numbers of mantras out there. Where do you begin? You can start really simple and chant "OM" or "Shanti". One fairly simple mantra I work with is to honor the god Ganesh, the remover of obstacles. It is Om Gum Ganapataye Namaha (gaa-naa-paa-tye-YAY). Do not worry so much about getting the pronunciation of every syllable spot on, it is more about the intention behind the sounds. One essential tool for practicing mantra is a mala. Mala beads are used to keep track of the number of repetitions of mantra. Typically, malas come with 108 beads and central bead called the guru bead. When you chant, you move along with your fingers until you hit the guru bead. Then you have completed a cycle of 108 repetitions of mantra! You also see malas that are smaller, but always in divisions of the sacred number 108, such as wrist malas of 27 beads. Our beloved Jennifer has made some gorgeous malas which are for sale at the studio! She has used different stones and styles. Come check them out and see which one calls to you! Once you get your mala, keep it sacred. Try not to let anyone else use it or touch it. It is a powerful tool to be charged with energy from your mantras!

Our new fall schedule begins on September 1st and is ready to view online! There are some changes so make sure you check it out. Our Thursday 7:30pm is changing to a regular Restorative class with Krista. Susan's 3pm Saturday class is now Explorations in Yoga which will explore topics such as mantra, astrology, meditation, Yoga Nidra and more. Jason's Saturday class is moving to 10am. Go to our online schedule to see the full class listing for the fall. It's been a great summer and we are looking forward to cooler weather (please!) and seeing all of you soon!

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