Posted on 30th May 2009 by Jiggly in Getting Personal
Dog, Half marathon, Pacific Ocean, Pets, Siberian Husky
Every Saturday, a few people from my church wake up bright and early to go for a 3 mile run along the California Coast (Pacific Coast Hwy to be exact). They actually only started this up 3 weeks ago, and today my fiance and I decided to join in on the fun! We met at the Huntington Beach Pier, and it was the perfect, overcast day (69 degrees) to burn off some energy. I even brought my Siberian Husky, Sophie!
To be honest, after participating in half marathon runs for the past 4 years… 3 miles barely breaks me into a sweat anymore, but today wasn’t about that – it was about enjoying the scenery with a wonderful group of friends, soaking in the “fresh” California air, and chitchatting with fellow dog owners along the way as we stopped to admire each other’s pets. Sometimes we need days like these to unwind, stop, and simply be. It’s nice to slow down every once in awhile isn’t it?… and be reminded of the beauty around.
What a great way to start off my Saturday. I hope you’re enjoying yours too… 
Posted on 29th May 2009 by Jiggly in Yoga and Pilates
blogging, cancer, cause, charity, nonprofits, yogabear, yogadork, zemantics
Thanks YogaDork (a funny, witty yoga blog for those who’ve never checked them out!) for bringing to my attention the opportunity YogaBear has to win $3000 for their nonprofit work!
Who is YogaBear? Yogabear is a non-profit organization committed to bringing free yoga to those with cancer through partnerships with yoga studios from around the nation. This is a cause dear to my heart because my own dad passed away from lung cancer exactly 10 years ago. So I’ll do whatever I can to help support YogaBear and hope you will too!
How can we help Yogabear win $3k? An organization called Zemanta is giving away $3k to charitable causes that are most blogged about. So basically, all you have to do is BLOG and include the tagline below in your post.
This blog post is part of Zemanta’s “Blogging For a Cause” campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.
For Further Information: Rules of the Contest [Zemanta], YogaBear’s Blog
Posted on 28th May 2009 by Jiggly in Yoga and Pilates
eko mats, manduka, recession, time magazine, unemployment, yoga classes, yoga mats
“The Taj Mahal of Yoga Mats” – Rod Stryker
At a time when I was just considering dropping my yoga classes altogether, the Times comes out with an interesting article about the soaring sales of $100+ Manduka Yoga Mats and the spike in yoga class attendance during the recession. Hmm, I must be the oddball out on this one… perhaps it’s time to find something other than yoga to sacrifice. Many Yogi’s love their Manduka’s, raving that it’s super sticky and prevents the slippage that often occur with other mats. Like the quote above, it has been called the Taj Mahal of yoga mats and compared to the likes of Ferraris and Porsches – is this smart marketing or true to form?
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Posted on 27th May 2009 by Jiggly in Yoga and Pilates
bikram yoga, lock the knee, unemployment
I only ask because there’s this one pose in Bikram Yoga that I thought I’d never get down. I’m not talking about any of the balancing poses either because at least I expect those to be tough! The pose I’m talking about is actually the simple “Sit-Up” pose. My problem is not the sitting up part, my problem is the pulling your toes up until your heel is no longer touching the ground.
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Posted on 26th May 2009 by Jiggly in Yoga and Pilates
associated content, fitsugar, naked yoga, nude yoga, nude yoga and tai chi
These days there seems to be something for everyone. Whether it’s biking, swimming, running, dancing, yoga in the heat, yoga in the nude… you know. Did you catch that last one? 
There’s a popular practice out there that is far from mainstream and it has to do with doing yoga in the nude! The men at Oakland Park, Florida do just that – they practice yoga without a shred of clothing on. They aren’t the only ones, studios are cropping up slowly in big urban cities, namely San Francisco, New York, and Seattle. I don’t know how naked yogis do it, but they claim it’s better than practicing with your clothes on – they say it frees them and gives them a stronger sense of peace and focus. (more…)
Posted on 22nd May 2009 by Jiggly in Yoga and Pilates
fresh foundation, liquid yoga, oc register, Yoga and Pilates, yoga for surfers
Thought you’d never put yoga and surfing together in the same sentence? A closer look at the two practices makes us see that it isn’t so unlikely a combination as it first appears. Both yoga and surfing involve the ideas of having patience (like waiting for the right wave to come), balance (striking a pose on that board isn’t easy!), and peace (the water, the sun, the waves – it doesn’t get more peaceful than that).
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Posted on 21st May 2009 by Jiggly in Yoga and Pilates
santa monica, the new york times, Yoga and Pilates, yogaworks
A sure sign yoga is becoming more and more mainstream – The New York Times, one of the biggest publications in America, featured 3 articles about yoga in the past month! Today they highlighted one of our very own here in Southern California – Vinnie Marino. He’s been named the Yoga King of Los Angeles… not sure if he named himself or if his students decided to give him that honor, but either way, we hear he has a crazy cult-following out at his homebase, Yogaworks in Santa Monica.
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Posted on 20th May 2009 by Jiggly in Food and Drink
benefits of water, dehydration, health problems, water
The mantra “drink at least 8 glasses of water a day” has been repeated so many times that we know that’s what we should do to stay healthy. But do we know why? Water is the second most important thing for our survival next to oxygen. It makes up more than 2/3 of the weight of our bodies (the brain is 75% water, blood is 83% water, bones are 22% water, muscles are 75% water, and the lungs are 90% water) – No wonder it’s essential for our bodies to function at its best!!
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Posted on 19th May 2009 by Jiggly in Yoga and Pilates
recycle your mat, Yoga and Pilates, yoga mats
When we see newspapers, cans, and bottles lying around we automatically think “recycle” (riiiight?)! I know as a runner, there are organizations out there that ask us to bring our old running shoes to a race so they can donate it to those in need. What about yoga? With time, yoga mats can wear thin and I’m betting more than a handful of us have an extra mat or two lying around just gathering dust in our closets (or they’re long gone in a landfill somewhere).
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Posted on 18th May 2009 by Jiggly in Yoga and Pilates
alignment, balance, posture, Yoga and Pilates, yoga sandals
When I first came across this picture of Yoga Sandals, I couldn’t help but laugh! They kind of make your toes look like gorilla feet! I’m not sure how I feel about the looks of these interesting looking “shoes”. I was also very confused, are we supposed to wear these sandals to yoga class? What benefits do they provide that bare feet don’t? So I investigated, and here is what I found:
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