It’s that time of year again! Mama’s day is here, which means it’s time to show all the mothers and mother figures in your life just how much you care. If you’re looking for the perfect gift, look no further than your neighborhood yoga studio. If you haven’t already noticed all of the amazing retail that we carry in our stores, this post is designed to get you caught up. Take a scroll through to get a peak at some of the wonderful things that we have to offer. Be sure to shop the shelves at different locations to find unique items.
Yoga-ish gifts
We have a TON of clothing, cotton comfies and high endurance gear for you or your mothering best friend who always takes care of you.
Sweaters and hoodies perfect for staying warm and chic during that May Gray and June Gloom. It doesnt have to be for a yogi!
From inspiring art to boob mugs, ODD has all the things you need to put a smile on your mom’s face.
Art by one of our students as well as the Cuccip! You’ve probably had your cards read by the designer of Circo Tarot cards.
Aroma therapy on the go – made by Brianna – a teacher who is part of our teacher training program.
Face masks! Everyone loves to bond and rub stuff on their face!
A high quality, amazing-smelling candle goes a long way!
Thoughts! Feelings! Ideas! All of them fit perfectly inside of these super cute notebooks from Worthwhile. Grab one (or two!) to inspire your loved one to get it down on paper.
These pouches are adorable and practical. Whether it’s for makeup, toiletries, or electronics, these bags help keep you trendy and organized. EXCLUSIVELY found at Echo Park!
Create your own at-home yoga nook with a mat, comfy cozy meditation pillow, and throw blanket.
Meet Niki! She one of our newest teacher at ODD. If you haven’t taken class with her already, get on it! Find her on the schedule in Echo Park and Eagle Rock! In the meantime, you can brush up on all your Niki trivia by reading this post and learning more about the teacher, the student, the yogi, the human that is Niki Saccareccia.
Name: Niki Saccareccia
Nickname: The Great Pacifier, Lighthouse, Nikalini, NikNak, Nicolette, Curls
Hometown: Melbourne, FL
Favorite place: Anywhere in kind company with great food, music and fresh air.
What initially inspired you to become an instructor?
I was doing my summer internships at a sleep-away camp in upstate New York for at-risk and special needs youth. My colleagues and I were working 7-10 days straight through for 9 weeks, providing intensive 1:1 care to our campers. I saw how our entire lives/careers were going to hinge on self-sacrifice and burnout, just like every Psychologist and Therapist before us -t he need is always greater than those willing to help and it made me upset to think that the people spending their lives caring for other people’s children were destined for burnout. So, I started leading sunrise yoga classes so we could all get some self-care before our crazy, long days. I wasn’t formally trained yet, but knew I wanted the skills to help give back to my peers and other caregiver-types. I wanted to care for the caregivers.
Why do you continue to teach?
It’s rewarding to see immediate impact on people – I know I’m helping the world by sending people back into it feeling more grounded, cared for, seen and relaxed. It also uses every part of my talent and skill which keeps my spirit and mind sharp. Sometimes I teach 7-8 classes a day, but I always wake up happy because I’m doing what I love for a living, and continuing a lineage of applied philosophy that is more relevant than ever to the betterment of our planet and humanity. Plus, I can talk about poetry, philosophy, anatomy and physics in the same class and still be on topic. It’s so fun!
How do you define yoga?
Big Picture: Radical self-acceptance of what actually is.
Microcosm: The practice of balancing “doing” and “being” in one’s own agency, while being in relationship to all other things.
When you aren’t at the studio where can you be found (favorite past time)?
Entrepreneuring ways to bring more yoga to more people, cooking with my friends, petting all the dogs, hiking and traveling/exploring places.
Share a story or anecdote with us – something magical, changing, funny, or adventurous. Something that you love to tell.
When I was in middle school, my parents and I were on a road trip in Florida, traveling on a toll road. As we were pulling up to the toll booth, I saw a small car in the lane next to us, moving but with no driver. I started to freak out, worried that the car would crash into the car ahead of it. Turns out, it was hitched to the tailgate of a giant RV that I couldn’t see because it was in the toll both area, already. My parents will still tease me about this, and it was over 20 years ago.
What is your favorite pose or flow? Why?
As a full time yoga/meditation teacher, I drive A LOT so I need counterbalance. I do Legs Up the Wall Pose everyday, at some point to counteract sitting upright. I also love Side Laying Savasana; it elongates the Psoas which is usually tight from holding my foot over the break pedal.
What is your favorite yogi prop or piece to wear or use?
It never gets old how a simple blanket can be used for so much in terms of support, compression and balance training. I have at least 2 in my trunk at all times!
What is your most embarrassing moment?
I’m shy by nature, so I usually get embarrassed easily. Most recently, I learned that I’ve been saying the word “theater” wrong my entire life…if you ever hear me say “theer-ter” please correct me 🙂
What is your most empowering moment?
I’ve always been a clutz. The first time I ever did a vinyasa and it actually felt aligned, I had this surge of empowerment! I had an immediate download about why the vinyasa sequence is so essential and a comprehensive teacher in it’s own right. I suddenly understood what proper physical alignment can do to optimize our energy, how incredible our human architecture is, that I can hold every ounce of myself in a compromising position. It was the first time I ever felt athletic and graceful at the same time.
What special causes or non-profits do you hold dear to your heart?
Ramapo for Children is an incredible organization that gives at-risk youth and special-needs children in the greater NY area an opportunity to experience the outdoors in a summer-camp style setting with a counselor for every student. It was my first experience in an intentional-community focused on education, inclusivity and relational learning.
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is a non-profit that is changing the conversation, politics, and access around medicines that have been wrongly placed on the FDA’s Schedule 1. MAPS is helping educate the public about the medicinal value of substances that would change the status-quo of western medicine, one controlled study at a time.
For the month of April, the ODD blog is featuring Paula Pister, our resident teacher and yoga health coach. Keep reading to learn more about Paula and then pop on over to our workshops page to sign up for her upcoming workshop, Daily Habits of Yogis. It’s happening on Thursday, April 11 from 7:30-9:30pm in the Silverlake Location. Drop in to think critically about your daily habits and how they shape how you show up in the world. In this workshop you’ll learn simple and effective strategies from Ayurveda, Yoga and modern behavioral science to thrive daily!
Name: Paula Marie Pister
Nickname: P$
Hometown: Vancouver, BC. Canada
Favorite place: Vancouver BC. Canada
What initially inspired you to become an instructor?
I moved to NYC from a “quiet” town and found a sanctuary in the local gym (Crunch) where I took my first yoga class. For me a yoga class was where I could go to turn in and away from the noise, chaos and people of Manhattan. I loved it so much and it aligned with so many of my existing philosophy that I was hooked. From there I dove in deeper and took my first 200 hour TT at Laughing Lotus.
Why do you continue to teach?
I’m continually learning and want to share all that I learn. As a yoga health coach with the knowledge of Ayurveda I am on the biggest learning curve of my life. Coaching clients to live healthier and more easeful lives while aligning with their dharma is what gets me up in the morning.
How do you define yoga?
It’s a spiritual practice and tool to help us understand ourselves more deeply and align us with our highest self/ God/ universal consciousness. Unless the practice is taken off your mat and into your daily life it’s just another exercise class. The meaning for me has changed over the years and continues to evolve.
When you aren’t at the studio where can you be found (favorite past time)?
With my 2 kids and husband, coaching clients within my dynamic group of “Be BOLD & THRIVE”, skiing, at the beach, hiking, and around horses as much as possible.
Share a story or anecdote with us – something magical, changing, funny, or adventurous. Something that you love to tell.
I lost my amazing Father suddenly in 2014- I believe that he was the one that put me on the path to taking my yoga OFF the mat and becoming a coach- there’s so much magic in the details of how it happened, but it would take too long to tell. Check out my website for the story 🙂
What is your favorite yogi prop or piece to wear or use?
I LOVE my Manduka Black Mat- it’s my sacred space
What is your most embarrassing moment?
Soon after giving birth to my daughter, I took a yoga class. I can’t remember exactly what I did but it must have compressed my abdomen and the sound that came out of my “baby parts” was like the loud waffling sound of a balloon deflating. It took me a second to realize what it was. All the moms in the class got it!
What is your most empowering moment?
At night when my kids tell me they love me and they tell each other they love each other.
What special causes or non-profits do you hold dear to your heart?
A yantra is a mediation device, similar to a mantra or a gazing point.
Use a yantra to hold yourself to your meditation: stare at the central point (the bindu), and return there every time you drift away
Yantra comes from root yam + suffix tra
Yam means to hold, restrain, extend, or keep orderly
-tra makes something an instrument
Yantra literally means a holding device. So basically it means something to be used for meditation
How to meditate with a yantra
Choose a yantra to work with in your daily practice (sādhana) and use it for an extended period of time to gain its full benefits.
Find a comfortable seat with the yantra directly in front of you, slightly above eye level.
Let the orderly lines and the gentle curves of the yantra guide your eyes in towards the central point.
Every yantra is an embodiment of divinity (Kālī, Tripura Sundarī, Ganesh). Hold the divinity in your mind as you maintain focus (dhāraṇā) on the yantra.
Every yantra has an associated mantra. Subverbally (in your head) repeat the mantra as you gaze at the yantra.
Jupiter Yantra
In Vedic astrology the planet Jupiter is called Guru
gu (darkness) + ru (one who dispels) = guru: dispeller of darkness
Through the light of knowledge, through the teachings, we dispel the darkness of ignorance
Jupiter is the great teacher, the bringer of light. Jupiter is all about expansion, about finding your growing edge and leaning into it.
Keep staring at Jupiter’s bindu. Allow your awareness to expand from that point as you inhale, and contract to that point as you exhale
Use your peripheral vision: with each breath cycle let your awareness swell like the growing of the light and narrow like the coming of darkness. In this way, take in the whole yantra, from the bindu to the edges of the four outer gates (the bhupūr).
What areas of your life are you expanding into? Where would you like to expand? What areas of your life need to be put into order for you to grow as big as dream? Shine the light of your awareness on those areas that you wish to enliven in your life.
Remember that expansion is not always a perfectly orderly thing. Sometimes we grow into one part of our life before we grow into others.
Let the things you are outgrowing drop away. Hold your focus to the things you wish to empower. Each time your eye wanders return to the central point. Each time your speaking mind starts talking return to the mantra.
Jupiter Mantra – ॐ बृं बृहस्पतये नमः
Aum bṛṁ bṛhaspataye namaḥ
Pronounced “om brim brihaspataye namaha”
Bṛhaspati is the name of the Indic god that equates to Jupiter. Bṛṁ is the seed syllable (bījā). Namaḥ is an expression of reverence from the root nam – to bow. Aum brings it all together: combining diety, essence, and salute into one super potent mantra
Repeat this mantra aloud or subverbally while you meditate upon the Jupiter yantra, empowering your meditation.
Work with this yantra and mantra every day to call in the gifts of Jupiter. Jupiter is in its home sign, Sagittarius, until December of 2019, making this an extremely potent time to devote yourself to meditation upon it. Continue this sādhana for forty days to super charge your intention, calling in expansion, abundance, adventure, growth, the coming of light into your life, the falling away of things that no longer serve you, an increase of knowledge, and a decrease of ignorance.
Jupiter Mantra (spoken)
Jupiter Mantra (chanted)
Aum bṛṁ bṛhaspataye namaḥ!
To learn more about Jupiter’s transit in the coming year please follow astrologer Chani Nicholas at their website or on IG
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Part 1 of this post, “How a Yoga Health Coach Starts Her Day” for a detailed conversation about the importance of a morning routine and a detailed outline of what my mornings look like.
Ditch perfection. Start small if necessary. Begin with trying some new morning routine habits 1-2 days a week and let it grow from there — I guarantee it will. If you can only do 1 minute of jumping jacks and 1 minute of sitting in silence — do that! If getting up early sounds impossible, just try waking up 15 minutes earlier and going to bed 15 minutes earlier and build from there. Don’t let the “perfectionist mind set” convince you that if you can’t do it all, why bother. There’s always something you can do to set yourself up for a better day than if you did nothing.
Set yourself up for success. The night before you go to bed, put your sneakers at the door for your morning walk or roll out your yoga mat. Have your hot water in the pot and ready to push play. Blend your smoothie the night before. Trust that changing habits and establishing new routines takes time, but they took time to establish in the first place.
Most importantly, envision HOW you WANT your day to unfold before you get out of bed. Your habits determine the experiences of your life — pick them with caution.
Presence spirit and know who it is that you want to show up FOR and AS in the world. It’s too easy to hit the ground running and remain in “GO MODE” all day and then crash, burn, and do it all over again. We all want and need to get things done, but before doing so, use your morning routine as a place to step into your day feeling grounded, vibrant, rested, and able to present your best self to the world — for yourself and others.
Experiment, Experiment, Experiment. Try one or a few of these practices for one week — I CHALLENGE YOU!!! Then pay close attention to how you feel, what comes up for you, and what resonates as something that is GOOOOOOD for you.
Take baby steps in the direction of your goals. Let them build and, over time, the new way will be the natural way, and the old way — the way that wasn’t supporting your desired health, lifestyle and dreams — will seem outdated and no longer applicable.
