Posts with tag yoga

As Yogoco founder Avi Woolman puts it, "Going to Yoga class, carrying a mat, a towel, a wallet, a phone and a bottle of water is not very easy." Amen sister. So what did she do about this never-ending juggling act?

Let's take a step back in time, to April say, when Gwyneth Paltrow joined her fellow Iron Man co-stars on a tour of the world and looking seriously hot doing it. We mean, holy smokes, did you see those legs! Impressive. We are totally going to start doing pilates and the vegan thing. You know, after we get a big Thanksgiving turkey dinner in our bellies and an equally delicious ham on Christmas. But like, right after that, totally vegan and pilates oriented here. Thanks for the motivation sexy mama.

We're fans of the Adidas by Stella McCartney line, so we were excited to read over at That's Fit that the sports brand has a new yoga line coming out that was designed with celebrity yogini Rainbeau Mars.

Here's a fun game! Let's apply the same unattainable body standards to male stars. Yo, Leo! You're getting a little loose there in the jowls!

While we don't condone the wearing of flip-flops all the time, we definitely understand that there are times when nothing else will do. Going for a pedicure is certainly one of those times, as is hitting the beach, or heading to the gym to do some barefoot yoga. Those toes want to be free, and a stylish open-toe wedge just isn't going to cut it.

Congratulations to Styledash reader Jeanette. She is the winner of the beautiful blue daisy YogaMatic yoga mat.

From your comments, it sounds like Downward Dog is the overwhelming favorite yoga pose of our readers, with Pigeon and Child's Pose getting a few votes, too. And of course everyone loves the meditation or Corpse pose, at the end. It's like nap time for grown ups!

We know Jeanette will be strong and stylish when she strikes her favorite pose, Tree, on her new YogaMatic yoga mat.

Namaste, Jeanette, and thanks to everyone for sharing their favorites. Remember to check out the Giveaway this week: Dentaburst for you and a friend!

The time is ticking away to enter this week's giveaway, for the beautiful and eco-friendly limited edition Daisy YogaMatic yoga mat,

All you have to do is go here (go to the original post, don't comment here, it won't count!) and leave a comment with your favorite yoga pose. At 5 pm EST we're picking a winner at random.

Most practitioners agree that yoga makes your life better by bringing you calm and peace of mind, plus a flexible, healthy body. And this mat is so pretty you'll want to do yoga twice a day!

Yoga, once a quirky hippie habit, is now firmly in the trendy mainstream. You can express your personality while doing downward dog with all kinds of cool yoga pants, tops and bags. Only yoga mats seemed to be stuck in a boring constant, uniformly blue or purple -- until YogaMatic, that is.

YogaMatic makes custom yoga mats, allowing you to print them using the design of your choice -- either by uploading your own image for a unique, one-of-a-kind mat, or choosing from the gallery of beautiful photos and illustrations.

The company has a socially responsible stance, from eco-friendly production methods to donating a part of the proceeds to charity. They have an official alliance with Global Green USA, and also allow artists to identify the charity they would like to benefit from sales of their mats.

We're giving away a mat with one of the prettiest designs, the limited edition Daisy by Jennifer Cawley, one of YogaMatic's founders. It also comes with a cool black carrying bag, to make it easy to tote your mat from home to the yoga studio and back.

Interested? Follow these directions and maybe the lucky winner will be you! Namaste!

• To enter, leave a confirmed comment with your favorite yoga pose.
  
• The comment must be left before 5pm EST on Friday, July 25th.
  
• You may enter only once.
  
• One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
  
• The winner will receive one yoga mat and carrying bag (valued at $85.00)
  
• Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.

Click here for complete Official Rules.

Just like with running shoes, yoga togs get worn out, but it's hard to remember to replace them. Take a look at your current yoga wardrobe and see if some of those elastic bands have a little less snap than you remembered, and maybe are just a bit less "fresh" than you would like.

Yes, it's time to jazz up your downward dog by investing in a new pair of yoga pants.

I'm a big fan of all of the amazing independent designers out there. In an effort to get inside the mind of the indie designer and find out just what makes all of these creative types tick, I present to you an ongoing segment I call Indie Designer Interviews.

Today's interview is with Merle OBrien, the Aspen, Colorado-based designer behind a line of eco handbags called OlovesM, which were recently handed out to celebs attending the Sundance Film Festival. These fashionable and environmentally friendly bags feature predominantly recycled materials, including a snazzy sport/diaper bag made from repurposed yoga mats.

How did you get started as a designer? I was in yoga class and the idea for my bags just popped into my head, so I ran off my mat and started doing a ton of research, and cut and sewed a lot of prototypes until I figured it out. I am one of those people who is always thinking about ideas, and some seem to work, while others just help me learn more do's and dont's about business!!

I am sort of a bag lady. Not like a homeless bag lady and not a girl who can't stop buying purses (I am a shoe gal myself) but I actually just carry a lot of bags. Every morning I wake up and head out the door with my gym bag (a huge duffel bag), my laptop/ workbag, and my purse (which is also huge). I teeter around in my 5-inch heels from the car, to the gym, to the office, back to my car and home. Everyday this happens and everyday someone comments on how much stuff I carry around.

The other day a co-worker who also goes from the gym to work asked me "why are you carrying so much?" She then proceeded to show me her awesome Lululemon gym bag that was a triples threat, as it not only had gym space but a laptop compartment and plenty of room for personal stuff too.

The bag was awesome so I had to tell her that I was going to run out and get the same bag but in a different color. The next day I trucked it on over to Lululemon and to my delight they had plenty of bags in different colors and different fabrics. I ended up going with a white bag that was covered in a black graffiti print with bright orange zippers. Talk about $78 well spent! I was able to consolidate my three bag habit into one bag while looking insanely stylish.

"Athletically Hip" was almost the name of my favorite socially conscious yoga/sportswear company Lululemon, according to their website.

Their clothing is designed with yoga in mind, but is chic, comfortable, and appropriate for any number of activities, including watching In Treatment on the couch while eating Cheetos. I also have it on good authority that Lululemon New York pays for their staff's yoga studio memberships so that they know what they're talking about.

The thing about Lululemon's designs is the lines. This is a company that understands how bodies are shaped and makes their clothes accordingly. Lots of yoga studios have entire walls of mirrors, and no one wants to have to look at their ba-donk-a-donk made three times larger by sweatpants.

Look at the above tank top, for instance.

They call it "Strap Tank". I call it "I am a Yoga Princess in a Pretty Top Cut to Not Make Me Look Fat" or "Look How this Color Brings Out the Serene Flush in my Cheeks".


Check out the great cut of the Hidden Tiger Pant for men:

. . .and then check it out from the back (!) here on the website.

Pre-shrinking, flat seams, and credit card pockets are featured on most of their items.

In conclusion: Lululemon is made of awesome and you should shop there.

Fashion label Alice + Olivia (whom I love for their cute sequin pieces) is going all sporty on us. No, they aren't taking the Stella McCartney route with a line for a major sporting brand like Adidas or Nike. They are incorporating yoga pieces into their newest collection.

As a big fan of Ashtanga (a type of yoga) I was curious, so I checked out their website for more details, but it is under construction. I checked the next best place, ShopBop.com. ShopBop did have pieces from their "yoga" collection. Why the quotations? Maybe because these so called "yoga" pieces just look like regular clothes to me that were just re-branded to target a new audience.

Some pieces from the collection include bodysuits, leggings, and tanks with prices starting in the $68 zone. I have a few problems with this. First of all, bodysuits? The last time I wore a bodysuit was in the third grade ... during ballet class. I cringe at the notion of wearing a bodysuit to yoga! Can you imagine the pain of the bodysuit, um, riding up? Ouch. The second problem I have is paying over $20 for leggings I plan on sweating in. Leggings for fashion is another story, but being drenched in sweat doing downward dog in $68 cropped "yoga leggings" doesn't do it for me. I will just stick to my cheap target leggings and sports bras.

*Oh and don't you just love how ShopBop has the model in heels while modeling yoga pants?

The thing about Kate Moss is that she's a cross-over beauty. Sure, she's on the cover of everything these days, but also become one of the art world's most popular muses.

For instance, Lucien Freud's painting of Moss pulled in $7.5 million when it was put up for auction at Christie's in 2005. And later this month a collection of nude photos of Moss set for auction are expected to bring in around $80,000.

But how much do you think seven sculptures of Kate Moss doing yoga poses would go for?

According to the British Telegraph, the sculptures of Kate Moss in yoga poses could bring in up to $2 million when they are sold in New York. The seven piece series was created by Marc Quinn, who says the figures represent "an image, and the way it is twisted and sculpted by our collective desire".

Twisted and sculpted by desire?

Come on Quinn, spare us the pose, would you? We all know you just wanted to sculpt Kate Moss' crotch.

Go to your local yoga studio, and you'll see that it's easy to separate the short-termers from the long-termers. Aside from physical differences, flexibility and stamina, you'll also notice that long-term yogis have the exact same mat.

Fitness companies may have recently stepped it up in terms of mat colors and design, but the best mat out there is still the original Fusion Harmony Mat, which only comes in one color and one size.

The Fusion Harmony Mat is made of open cell, natural rubber, which offers solid traction, even when your mat is drenched in sweat. Thicker, stronger and tougher than your average mat, the Harmony is perfect for sweaty, active yoga styles like Ashtanga, Bikram, or Vinyasa.

The Fusion Harmony may not be the most stylish thing out there, but it is the best.