KYRS Gets Web Stream Back Up...

So, KYRS lost its donated streaming host before last summer and has been struggling to set up another service. "It was a matter of cost and technical obstacles," stated Lupito Flores, KYRS Station Manager. "We
wanted to do it right, pay all the license and service fees, and we just didn't have the technical support we needed," said Flores.The live Internet stream of this community radio station is an
important link to Spokane area listeners and people around the world."In the past we've had listeners as far away as Switzerland and ElSalvador via the Internet," said Flores. "Being a Low Power FM community station, our broadcast signal is so weak that many people
can only hear us through our streaming," said Flores."We're still working on linking the stream to our website and other minor adjustments, but we're back and very happy about that," Flores
added. The direct link to access the KYRS streaming audio is:                http://www.live365.com/stations/kyrs?site=pro

The Business of Being Born

January 26, 2008
7:00pm
(panel following)

BING CROSBY THEATRE
(formerly The Met)
901 Sprague Avenue
Spokane, WA

$7/person $10/couple suggested donation at door
Refreshments and maternity information available
For info email: businessofbeingbornspokane@yahoo.com

Goings on...

Restorative Yoga - Sunday night at 5:15pm
Please, please pre-register, we have to limit the class size to 18 so that we have enough props for everyone to enjoy. If you try to register online and you can't email me.

Philosophy Study Group - Tuesday, January 22 at 7:00pm
Remember, this counts as a regular class.
Contact Judy if you would like more information.

SemiMini: Sarvangasansa - Shoulder Stand with Katie January 26th at 11am
Cost is $20 ($15 for monthly members)
Please pre-register as class is limited to 4

Intro to Second Series Class - February 3rd at 5:15pm
Permission is required for this class

SemiMini: Shoulder Openers with Zeny - February 16th at 11am
Cost is $20 ($15 for monthly members)
Please pre-register as class is limited to 4

Restorative Yoga - February 17th at 5:15pm
Please, please pre-register, we have to limit the class size to 18 so that we have enough props for everyone to enjoy. If you try to register online and you can't email me.

Philosophy Study Group - February 26th at 7:00pm

On to the black mats...

In my memory black mats started coming out around 2000 - or that is when I started seeing people using them. At first I thought they were too thick, too big and WAY too expensive. There was no way I was going to pay $70 or $80 for a yoga mat. But as I said in the previous mat blog, a friend of mine decided it was time that I had one and gave me one! She is a good friend. So the story with the black mat is that they are thick but not squishy, for people who tend to slip on other mats, often they don't slip on the black mat, they are also a little wider than most of the other mats so you have a little more mat underneath you which I like. From what I can tell most of them are 98%pvc and 2% recycled polyester - and because of the fact that you will probably only have to buy one in your life, there is a lower probability that it will end up in a landfill. I've always purchased my black mat from either Barefoot Yoga or Bheka - they both have a shorter and a tall version, their prices are about the same. The other company is Manduka - which I've never used - but a lot of people have the Manduka. Also, Manduka makes another mat called the PurpleLite Travel Mat that runs for more like $60 and that a lot of people seem to like just as well as the black mat. When I was doing research for this blog it looks like Barefoot and Bheka offer a similar purple mat as well.

Next on the discussion list is the new green mats.... if anyone has anything to offer about these let me know.

The Key Muscles of Hatha Yoga

So far this is one of the best anatomy books I've found. We have a copy at the studio if you want to check it out or you can go to the Bandha Yoga website and order a copy for yourself. The website has a ton of information - when you have a minute go to the "scientific keys" tab and check out the section on the biomechanics of breathing. Enjoy!

Mats, mats, mats...

Okay - so trying to figure out what kind of mat to buy for your practice. Either you've been using the loaner mats we have at the studio and have noticed that best case scenario they smell like bleach, worse case scenario they smell like sweaty feet (yuck!). And you've decided to get your own mat or you are having one of the following problems with the mat you already own:

• slipping, your hands and feet slipping during the opening sun salutations and the standing poses
• slipping, later on in the practice when there is sweat flying everywhere
• slipping, the mat is actually slipping on the floor
• not enough padding
  
• pieces of mat left all over your body after practice

In this blog and over the next week I'll try to address the above issues and point you in the right mat direction. I'd love it if anyone has anything to add to any of this! The first yoga mat I had was the "standard long life" mat by Bheka and which go for about $26. We have a bunch of these mats at the studio - they are the ones that have sort of a terry cloth feel to them when they get worn out. Prana mats are the exact same mat, except theirs come in different colors, and in the manufactuing process of the coloring they've come out with a somewhat different texture that seems to wear better - but feels a little stiffer. They are both pretty thin though, so after wearing through a couple of those I switched to the "deluxe long life" mat also made by Bheka and which run for $35. Both of these mats, as most mats do, come in a standard length but can also be bought in a longer size. I really like these mats, and find that for the sweaty hands and feet people, sometimes these are the best solution - but not always.

The standard "sticky mats" can also work well for people who don't have the sweaty hands and feet issue. These are the mats that you can usually find at Huckleberry's or Target etc. Sometimes you have to throw these mats in the wash with a minescule amount of detergent get rid of the sheen they come with, if slipping is a problem. I also recommend that when you get a new mat if wearing it in through your practice doesn't work lay it out on the floor between your bed and your bathroom or some other well traveled place in your house.

So after wearing through a couple of the Bheka deluxe long life mats (which are nice and thick), and by wearing through I mean, holes and after practice being covered with little blue pills of mat, my friend gave me one of the "black mats". Since this is a whole other topic I will save for tomorrow. Even more to come... mysore rugs....

Welcome Zeny!

Yes my name is really Zeny, and yes I am a Yogini. I was baptized Zeny Rose Bagatsingh, born and raised in Manila, Philippines. I moved to Spokane in 1996, am married to Jerry and have 2 sons-Elijah and Spencer.

Although I have Indian roots I didn't discover Yoga until my twenties, when I began to teach Group Fitness classes at the local gym. Initially I was only interested the the physical aspect of Yoga, but over time the spiritual aspects of Yoga created in me a hunger to learn all I can. Soon I found myself attending Teacher Trainings, and reading book after book on Yoga, Anatomy, Eastern Philosophy. I have immersed myself and continue to do. Yoga for me is more than something you do on a mat, it is a way of life-living harmoniously with oneself and the world. My principal teacher is Andrey Lappa, Ukranian Yoga Master, and I am certified by him to teach Universal Yoga-a multidimesional system of Yoga, as well as Dance of Shiva-system of conscious liberation thru the development of coordination and reaction. I am ever grateful to Andrey for being not only my Yoga Teacher but also Spiritual Mentor. His intelligence and compassion inspire me to become as fully developed as I can, not only in Yoga but in all aspects of my life.

Zeny will be teaching the new "Mandala Vinyasa Level 1-2" Class which begins tonight at 7:00pm

New Mat Bag

We are asked all the time about mats and other yoga practice support items. So I'm going to try to get information for all from what i've learned over the years. This is a new mat bag made by my friends at Saka Yoga in Burlington , VT. I've had one of the first generations of their cargo bag for years, and I love it. This new Pinda backback is awesome for travel when you want to take your mat, and for riding your bike to the studio, or if you are just tired of the horizontal mat bag. More soon on mats...

Pictures from an Indian wedding...

Judy has shared some pictures from her family wedding. For the full album you can go to http://picasaweb.google.com/JudyNarayan/PrarthnaWeddingJAPhotos?authkey=OUewYzg5dwU