Baja Yoga Retreat 11:11 - Kindness, Compassion, Support, and LOVE!!!

"11:11 seems to be the choice before us. Either realize that 1 Muslim is essentially the same as 1 Jew, 1 Christian, or 1 Buddhist. So we can either live side by side in harmony, or we can concentrate on the small differences between us and use them as an excuse for conflict. Optimism or pessimism is the choice before us." - Uri Geller

i just want to say a big, 'THANK YOU', to everyone that showed up for the Baja Yoga Retreat 11:11!! What perfect timing to decompress from the politics of the U.S. and head to the beach in Baja! Not only did we practice Meditation, Mantra, and Asana, but we also danced, surfed, ate, drank, laughed (a lot) and truly supported each other with LOVE! 

We held space for each other and we practiced for Peace and Unity.

One of the members of our group said, "if we meet hate with love, then we have the chance of changing someone's mind from hating us. If we meet hate with hate, then all we will get from it, is hate".  Wise words. 

If we practice love, we will certainly raise our consciousness. When we raise our consciousness, we will absolutely effect the course that we are taking in this country and heal our relationship with each other and the whole world.

LET'S KEEP PRACTICING LOVE!!! 

Namaste

UPCOMING KUNDINYASA TEACHER TRAINING!!!

Hello friends and newcomers! Thank you for checking out my site and for your interest in the upcoming Kundinyasa Teacher Training with the amazing Dhyanjot and Adesh(the beautiful souls pictured above)!! i am so excited and honored for the opportunity to be involved in this training! This fantastic inward journey and expansion of knowledge will span over four months beginning with the opening weekend on Friday, March 18th through the 20th. The usual price for a Vinyasa training is about $2500 and for Kundalini is $3000. The early bird special offering is $3200 for the entire Kundinyasa training. The price after that will be $3500. This is still an incredible value for a DUAL CERTIFICATION!! The whole training will take place during weekend hours: Fridays from 7pm-9pm, Saturdays from 130-530pm, and Sundays from 530am-8am, 10am-12pm, and 1pm-530pm.

You may be thinking that this is a huge commitment, but what better thing to commit yourself to as an aspiring Yogi/Yogini than radiant health, personal growth, improved focus and concentration, refining your practice, understanding the philosophy of Yoga, building strength and flexibility, and to become part of a great Yoga cOMmUNITY? In my eyes, there is nothing that will compare to the gems you will walk away with from this experience!

i will be teaching some cool vinyasa sequencing and transitions on Sunday, May 22nd. i am really looking forward to being a part of this personal journey with YOU as a student, and am happy to share what i have learned over the years to make this the most beneficial experience for us all! Please share this information with anyone you believe may benefit from a Yoga training. That means EVERYONE!! Thank you so much!!

NAMASTE

Please check out the link below for more information :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC9xmmv7aII&feature=youtu.be

HEAPING HELPINGS OF HAPPINESS AND HEALING HAD BY ALL AT HARAMARA!!!

i am so happy to have hosted the "UNPUGGED" Yoga Retreat at the Haramara Retreat in Sayulita Mexico! Our trip down there went off without a hitch, the location was stunning, and the weather was warm and balmy. 

Upon arrival we were greeted by very friendly shuttle drivers at the airport and it was a quick 45 minute cruise to the retreat. The staff at Haramara were exceptionally attentive to our needs and super friendly. On the evening of our arrival the founder of Haramara, Sujila, told us the incredible story of how she came to open this peaceful sanctuary.

The sounds of the ocean could be heard from every corner of the retreat. Most of the casitas had views of the ocean and others had beautiful views of the jungle. All of the casitas had handwoven linens, beautiful mosquito netting over the beds, and open air bathrooms. Each day they were impeccably cleaned by the staff. 

The most special part of this place is that there is no electricity in the rooms, only candlelight and hurricane lamps. Being disconnected from social media, email, and phone for the majority of 8 days made it easy for us to connect to our inner peace and solitude.

The food was absolutely delicious and it was quite evident that it was delicately prepared with loving care. All of the ingredients were local and mainly organic. All of the meals were 3 courses of nourishing and creative dishes that were pleasing to all of the senses. In the evenings we would enjoy margaritas, beer, and wine at the pool bar while sharing life stories  and having a healthy dose of laughter before heading to our casitas to be lulled to sleep by the sounds of nature.

Each morning we started with a sunrise Yoga practice. Our days were spent receiving healing treatments such as massage and acupuncture. There were several wonderful healers on site. We also had free time for walking in to Sayulita for shopping and swimming in the ocean, or hanging out by the pool or beach at Haramara and reading. We had a second practice in the evening which included chanting and focusing on goal poses with the students. i believe everyone got into their goal pose at least once!

All of these elements were so important in creating a successful retreat, but the most important of all were the people who attended. i want to thank you all so much for your presence, your ability to be in conscious company with others, and for your unique and radiant personalities! i love you ALL!! 

NAMASTE

Thank you Zorba/Buddha Retreaters, Blood Moon, and Ganesha for letting Chandra show his face!!

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It's been a week already since our retreat, but i am still high from all of the love, peace, and play that we shared in Baja!!! How magical and serendipitous that our time there coincided with such an amazing celestial event as the "Super Blood Moon/ Lunar Eclipse". The vantage point from the Cristo Monument was incredible and the energy sent out from our chanting at the OM DOME was no doubt felt far and wide...

Thinking back to the myth of Ganesha and Chandra, i am grateful for Ganesha's generosity for allowing Chandra to show his face once again in the sky to make our last night in Baja so special... 

i am also so very grateful to each one of you for bringing your wonderful ingredients into the mix! Thank you, thank you, thank you, my friends, for making this another successful retreat and for helping to create beautiful memories that we can hold dear for the rest of our days...Namaste, with love from Laxmi

OCEANFRONT YOGA AUGUST 16, 2015

It is a trip to teach to over 200 people on the beach! What a beautiful, natural, and alive setting it is! The waves, the crowds, the surfers, the observers, the cyclists, and everyone in motion including the Yogis and Yoginis! They really worked it out there and gave it their all...their reward was a sweet extended savasana and they deserved it! Thanks so much Steve Hubbard, aka "NAMASTEVE" for another opportunity to bring YOGA to an even broader cOMmUnity! Thanks also to all of the students who showed up and brought it! Namaste brothers and sisters...xo 

SHAKTI FEST/BHAKTI BLESSED

i just wanted to share a little of my experience this weekend of Shakti Fest with y'all today.  This annual festival is like a Yoga buffet with a sampling of several different styles of Yoga.  What a great gift to have all of these teachings in one place!  i have always enjoyed these Yoga conferences and festivals.  They are a forum for us to stand together unified in the path of spirituality.  The blissful energy that is cultivated is a definite benefit to those who attend and beyond.  i can only imagine what the world would be like if people from around the globe and every walk of life got the opportunity to take a glimpse of the inner world of Yoga!!  

It was so wonderful to take have a mini get away in the desert with over a thousand like minded people!  i had the great pleasure of taking two classes with Yogi Cameron, who i hadn't ever heard of until last week.  When i read his bio, i resonated with him right away, the clincher was hearing great things about him a close friend who had met him in India.  i am so glad i registerd for a couple of his classes.  He was sweet and humorous in his lecture.  He was certainly very knowledgable regarding Ayurveda, while keeping it very simple.  The take away for me was to treat our bodies like an experiment.  We know what feels good in the gut and what doesn't.  Also,  that we need to trust the inner knowing that is already there and follow our intuitive promptings.  Immediately following Yogi Cameron's lecture was a lovely practice of Hatha Yoga including some instruction on bandhas (locks we use in the body to reach a higher potential in our practice), and pranayama (controlling of the life force through breath exercises).   i thoroughly enjoyed the whole Yogi Cameron experience and walked away feeling calm, energized, balanced, and with some useful information on Ayurveda.  

Saul David Raye and Govinda Das & Radha were equally impressive.  They both use mantra and live music in there classes which i love!  While Saul was a little more subtle as he goaded us into some challenging holds, Govinda Das was definitely more ecstatic in his presentation!  But, regardless of the presentation, the combination of Kirtan (call and repeat chanting of mantras) and asana(yoga postures) is quite powerful and invokes in me a deeper level of devotion to my practice.  This devotion is called "BHAKTI" and i absolutely walked away from this weekend feeling completely blessed with it and inspired!  i would totally recommend any of these teachers to all of you.  "Bhakti Fest", a similar event, will be coming up in September.  i will be there, please join me! 

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!!

Here it is!!!  My long awaited site!  It has been years in the making and it is such a sense of accomplishment and relief to get it done.  Thank goodness for Yoga to keep me in the moment and in the knowing that everything happens the way it's supposed to, at the perfect time!  i was going to use a couple of different addresses for the site and just yesterday "laxmi.yoga" fell right into our laps!  i believe that about says it all, no?   If you have any comments, please share.  i would love to hear what you think about the site!  Enjoy this beautiful evening, my friends!!  Namaste  

GINSENG YOGA PHOTOSHOOT

We had a great turn out for our special Valentine practice.  Thank you for all your love and support as always.  Here is some of the photography from today's shoot by Romay Media.