Manduka US Site

October 1st, 2012

Yogi Of The Week: Cristina

Meet Cristina.

Sitting behind a desk in a stressful job, Cristina found herself daydreaming about a different life. Her head kept wandering to her yoga practice. Thinking about that sound of sweat hitting the mat got her through those days. Then she saw her uncle lose his battle with cancer, she realized how short this precious life could be, and ultimately found the courage to quit her job and make her daydreams a reality.

Cristina never expected that yoga would inspire her to want to give so much to others. She has lost two aunts and her uncle to cancer, now her mother is currently fighting breast cancer for the second time – this is why Cristina wants to devote her time to running retreats for cancer patients and survivors. She wants to help them heal and realize how strong they are.

Cristina feels lucky that she has been able to have her two favorite companions by her side along the way: Noah and Jack. They come with her on every road trip through Ontario, standing guard during all of her yoga breaks. They are the inspiration behind her downward dog, as Noah and Jack are, in fact, Cristina's dogs.

We LOVED learning about Cristina! And we’d love to learn about you, too. Tell us about yourself on our You Series page: Manduka.com/You.

Every week we're sharing the story of another real yogi in our blogs, emails and even magazines. Maybe soon you'll see yourself here. Or see something in yourself here.

Practice On.

--Manduka

September 24th, 2012

Yogi Of The Week: Sheri

Meet Sheri.

Sheri is a mountain-thrashing, nose-grabbing, 360-spinning snowboarder (metaphorically). But a serious injury to her upper left leg kept this Betty off the slopes and brought her to the yoga mat. Unable to walk without pain and with limited mobility, Sheri focused on her yoga practice. After one dedicated year on the mat, Sheri's pain was gone and her mobility back. That's the power of, as she puts it, "yoga magic."

That's also why Sheri is studying to become a yoga teacher - where the hospital couldn't help her recover, her yoga did. And as an unexpected benefit, she also found a deep sense of community and kindred connection. Sheri travels often and has studied with many yoga teachers, and every single one has left her with something to remember – from a helpful tip for Pigeon to sage wisdom to a happy memory. These are her inspirations.

Yoga has moved Sheri to always make the choice that she knows is truly right. Not easier, not cheaper, not quicker – but the option that brings her to a place where she is happy with the life she is living and the person that she is.

We loved learning about Sheri! And we’d love to learn about you, too. Tell us about yourself on our You Series page: Manduka.com/You.

Every week we're sharing the story of another real yogi in our blogs, emails and even magazines. Maybe soon you'll see yourself here. Or see something in yourself here.

Practice On.

--Manduka

September 20th, 2012

Manduka Giveaway! What Is Your Advice To New Yogis?

September is National Yoga Month, made official by the US Department of Health! This month is dedicated to educating people on the benefits of yoga and encouraging new practitioners to give yoga a try.

If you're reading this, we can guess that you're already quite familiar with yoga. You may still be in those first shaky classes, or an old master who speaks asana as a second language. But if you're here, you've already answered yoga's call. So what would you say to someone who hasn't?

All day today on Twitter, we're collecting your advice, guidance, tips – anything you think a yoga newbie might want to know. Tweet your tip using hashtag #MDKmic (Manduka's 'open mic' tag) and we'll share your advice back out to over 14,000 Followers.

On Friday, September 21st, we'll thank you for all that you shared by selecting one of your Tweets to earn you great Manduka gear: a new Manduka Black Mat PRO for you, plus a Beginner's Luck Package for you to give to a yoga newbie in your life.

So please, get Tweeting! Let's create an amazing collection of YOUR wisdom to help new yogis find their path. And of course, you probably wouldn't mind winning a new mat either.

In gratitude,
Manduka

September 17th, 2012

Yogi Of The Week: Gregory

Meet Gregory.

At 6’4, 230 lbs., Gregory spent much of his life worrying that he was in someone’s way. Concerned with how much space he was taking up, if the person behind him couldn't see - he just wasn't at ease. With yoga, that anxiety is gone now. A dedicated Forrest yoga practitioner (with an 85" Black Mat PRO to boot), Gregory no longer hesitates to use as much room as he needs to feel free and move freely.

Gregory turned to yoga after being laid off from his job — where he'd worked devotedly for 10 years. He experimented with as many styles of yoga as he could find, and felt most at home with Forrest yoga. Because of his size, Gregory had always subconsciously placed a ‘heaviness’ on himself and always assumed he’d never be able to do handstands or more advanced poses. What he discovered was that he could be both big and heavy, AND light and graceful. Ana Forrest once told him during a tough workshop, “you take care of so many of us, you are such a big presence and person… and so is the world! The world is huge and cares for all of us, yet it still floats in space, gracefully spinning.”

Sometimes things happen for a reason. Gregory’s dedication to his yoga practice has "paid off" in a way he didn’t expect: he is now the Creative Services Director/Artist in Residence for the Forrest Yoga organization. He is feeling lighter than ever with the opportunity to combine his two passions, yoga and art.

In addition to his practice and his career, Gregory is also committed to bringing yoga to the LGBT community. He volunteers through Street Yoga and teaches at SMYRC (Sexual Minorities Youth Rescue Center) in Portland. His passion for unifying and uniting the yoga community and the LGBT community is bringing new tools for transformation and new perspectives for beautiful consideration.

We loved learning about Gregory! And we’d love to learn about you, too. Tell us about yourself on our You Series page: Manduka.com/You.

Every week we're sharing the story of another real yogi in our blogs, emails and even magazines. Maybe soon you'll see yourself here. Or see something in yourself here.

Practice On.

--Manduka

September 10th, 2012

Yogi Of The Week: Christopher

Meet Christopher.

In the summer of 2010, Christopher attended a yoga retreat held by Tim Miller in Mt. Shasta, CA. He was fresh out of a tumultuous relationship, and his guard was up – but he was ready to experience all that the retreat had to offer. From the moment he met another attendee named Suzy, he felt something different than he had ever felt before. They clicked instantly, and were inseparable during the retreat.

A few days in, Christopher was getting some help with bodywork from another attendee who couldn’t help but notice how tight his upper back was. It was like ARMOR. So she asked, “what are you protecting your heart from?” Christopher didn't know how hard that hit him until the next morning, when he awoke in tears, crying uncontrollably. Something in his yoga practice that weekend was melting his armor, little by little.

Then he realized he was falling in love.

At the end of the retreat, knowing that Suzy would be flying home to the east coast, Christopher was too scared to share his true feeling with her. But they kept in touch, and after a year of long distance friendship and dating, Suzy moved to California to be with Christopher. They got engaged, and were married just this past August in Mt. Shasta, CA. Christopher's heart is more open than ever and were it not for yoga, this opening may never have happened.

We loved Christopher’s story, and we’d love to hear your story, too. Share it with us on our You Series page, Manduka.com/You. We can’t wait to meet you!

Every week we're sharing the story of another real yogi in our blogs, emails and even magazines. Maybe soon you'll see yourself here. Or see something in yourself here.

Practice On.

--Manduka