Holiday Gift Guide time! It’s that time of year again! (HOW!?) Share the gifts you get here with #ODDgifting!

It’s becoming increasingly more important to place your money where your heart lies. Supporting a small business is supporting a dream. Every single item in our retail is hand picked and thought through.

GIVE THE GIFT OF YOGA! – When you grab a $50 giftcard you’ll get 20% off any clothing items!

our holiday gift guide recommendations –

 Offer a message with your gift!

Whether it’s one of the many shirts with sayings or a non-clothing item – take your time to read what things say. Yoga is all about how things make you feel… and sometimes we need to feel like a mermaid.

You don’t need to do yoga to be a warrior

You don’t have to be a yogi to enjoy #ODDgifting. Be a #SpiritualGangster warrior, wear sparkly #FreePeople socks and show that ODD love with our custom pins! If you are a hippie like us, you’ll love the oracle candles on the right. All charged by a new moon or a full moon with crystals in the candle! YAS YAS.

Support, and real talk…

When was the last time you grabbed a new yoga bra? We’ve got a gift card promo going on where you get 20% off of a clothing item with the purchase of a gift card for a friend of $50 or more. Consider giving yourself some good clean support this holiday season. #SelfCare, y’all.

One size fits all!

With a lifetime guarantee on the Manduka Pro and Pro-lite it’s like a challenge to have it run over by children, stored hard under a couch, left in a car, and taken outside. Oh, and the yoga block? GREAT gift if you’re supporting a home practice for somebody in your life. Show them how to lay over them and enjoy. We NEVER have sales on these gems and they are 30% off when you purchase 2 or more items!

Voted #1 most favorite Pants

If you haven’t noticed the worlds softest fabric – take the time to touch and compare the Space-Dye from Beyond Yoga. These pants are nearly the One Down Dog uniform. We’re in love with Beyond Yoga because it is a wonderful, body positive, woman owned company based out of LA.

Stocking Stuffers!

Go unique for your Secret Santa stylings this year. Liza’s sister makes the eye pillows (bring them to restore, great for headaches too!), our breathwork teacher Michelle wrote a book! Stark Frontier is a local Silverlake spot worth supporting and dang their stuff smells great! Handmade candles from teacher Ellina that are FULL of intention and some magic. From healthy skin products to mindful messages all of this stuff is a great gift for a work friend, a white elephant exchange, or some unique stocking stuffers.

The details are huge!

Small gifts hit big spots in a wardrobe and look. PLUS it’s a simple gift without and sizing thoughts. You should probably pick yourself up some ODD pins and a Patrick necklace while you’re at it.

OUtfit yo’self

With all this talk of gifting don’t forget you’re a damn gift too! Treat yo’self to golden glittery goodness, these reversible pants and top baggy comfy pull over, pinky perfect gifts for your girls, and Christmas colored stylings completely from Manduka. Whether it’s a gift or a grab for yourself remember that when you support a small business, you support a dream!!

Each month we feature and shine the #ODDlight on the bright lights that keep this place going.

Meet Micelle, she’s your monthly breathwork teacher, the first Wednesday of every month in Silverlake. Catch an additional chance to breathe and heal this August 16th for a collaborative Breathwork + Soundlab with Michelle and sound healer Lauren Waggoner.

Name: Michelle D’Avella

Nick Name: Mishi, Chells, You should probably just call me Michelle if you don’t know me. 🙂

Hometown: Lebanon Township in good ‘ol New Jersey

Favorite Place: Joshua Tree

Favorite color: No favs. I tend to like pops of color. Bright pink. Burnt orange. Teal.

What’s your sign? Libra

Most embarrassing moment? The first memory that came up for me was when I peed my pants in kindergarten, but then I thought, “Come on, how embarrassed can you really be when you’re 5?” So then I thought of this time when I was around 25 and living in Philadelphia. It was around Christmas, and I was out shopping for gifts with my then boyfriend. I was broke, and he was broker. We were on our way home, and I got stopped in the street by a dude who proceeded to hustle me out of $20. 

Unbeknownst to me, he and this woman had an act where he played some magic trick, and she pretended to keep winning double her money from him. They showed me several times, and my greed for some easy money won out. The moment I lost my heart sunk as I realized I’d been scammed. I didn’t care about the money, but my pride was bruised. I felt incredibly stupid and naive.

So how did I handle it at the time? Oh yeah, I yelled at my boyfriend for letting me do that, of course, and then proceeded to walk in front of him the whole way home. Oh man, who was that girl back then?!

Most empowering moment? The moment I realized that I don’t need anything from anyone else to heal. I don’t need my ex to apologize for how he hurt me. I don’t need to talk things through with the old flame who ghosted me. I don’t need Mom or Dad to understand x, y, or z about me. I don’t need anyone else to change in order for me to own who I am, heal myself, and create the life I want.

I credit Breathwork for opening me up to realize that I can move out of the place of being a victim and into the empowered position of creating everything I really want for my life.

Fun Fact most wouldn’t know about you? I’m the oldest of 7 kids.

Share a story or anecdote with us – something magical, changing, funny, or adventurous. Something thats ready to tell. I have always felt there was something more—more for my life and more that was underneath this all. I didn’t know what that meant except for the fact that the way I felt inside didn’t match the world I was living in. I spent most of my life frustrated and confused. When I was 27 my life was not going the way I wanted it to. I had broken up with my boyfriend and moved into a place in Philly with my brother. Three months into our lease my brother tells me he wants to move home to save money. 

So at 27 I find myself in my parents’s basement, hanging up sheets from the ceiling to create a bedroom, and I’m miserable. I’m crying and feeling sorry for myself that I’m not in a happy relationship, that I don’t know what I want to do with my life, and that I’m back in bumble-fuck New Jersey relying on my parents for support.

Once I decide to get over myself and take advantage of the moment I start enjoying being with my family. I read a lot of books. Finally I decide to name this feeling inside me and just start sharing my writing. So Pushing Beauty is born, and I start letting my soul speak.

Not long after I move to Hawaii—on a whim. I start meditating more. I take time to get to know myself. I start to trust the signs that are coming to me, and I’m lead to move to LA. It’s there that I discover Breathwork and my entire life transforms. My soul work turns into my business, and I become the happiest I have ever been in my life.

This story is missing a lot of detail, but the point is that my lowest points have always turned into great opportunities. The more I learn to surrender and pay attention to what the Universe is showing me, the more fulfilling my life becomes. Wayne Dyer wrote a book called, “I Can See Clearly Now.” It’s about how as he looks back at his life he can see all of the dots connected. I feel the same way. I have been guided to exactly where I need to be. So anytime I judge where I’m at, make it a problem, or try to force something to be what it isn’t I remember this.

When you aren’t at the studio where can you be found (favorite past time)? At Cafecito sipping a coffee, walking around Echo Park Lake having the best conversation with a friend, lounging in SIlverlake Meadow reading a good book.

How do you define yoga? An opportunity to get to know yourself more.

Why do you teach? I teach Breathwork, and I teach it because it’s the single practice that transformed my life in a way no other has. I teach because part of my calling is to help other people truly change their lives. I only teach things that have worked for me. Breathwork is the fastest catalyst for creating sustainable change. If you show up to do the work with a willingness to see the truth about yourself, you will transform.

What inspired you to become an instructor? It was part of the journey. I never had any grand plan to be a teacher. In fact, it was probably the opposite. I ended up doing a Breathwork training because I was following my intuition. I had no plans to teach, but something felt like it was calling me to do this training. So I did it. Then my roommate asked me, “Hey what was that thing you were doing the other weekend?”I guided him through a session, and it blew his mind. He was like, “Everyone needs to experience this work!” Pretty quickly, after doing sessions with everyone in my family from my 13 year old sister to my 58 year old father, I realized this was universal work. Everyone needs their heart to open more. Everyone needs to get out of their head. Everyone needs to heal in some way. So I started teaching.

What is your favorite song to play in class? I don’t have a favorite song. I make different playlists for each class. Probably one of my favorite songs to use in Breathwork right now in my own practice is The Promise by Tracy Chaplin. I have been known to throw in a Landslide rendition from time to time in class that almost always gets the tears flowing.

What is your favorite breathe, pose, or flow? Why? Breathing! Of course I’m speaking about the particular kind of Breathwork I teach, but for real it is my ultimate healing tool. I breathe every single day to open my energy, release stuck emotions, open my heart, and connect me to my truth. If there was only one practice I could do it would be this, and it’s the one thing above all else I recommend people begin to work with. Game changer.

Memorable yoga/breath moment? So many! I’ve been practicing Breathwork for about four years now so that has included many, many sessions. Each session is powerful in and of itself, and I’ve had too many incredible experiences to even remember. I recently had a session where I cleared out some abuse energy that was passed down in my family’s lineage, and that was a really incredible experience. My favorite moment in any private healing session is when the heart opens. It’s such a beautiful experience to witness someone let go of an old story and connect with who they truly are.

How did you first hear about One Down Dog? Ha! Actually my ex boyfriend was practicing at the studio so I started to check it out through his recommendation.

What is your favorite yogi prop or piece to wear or use? (favorite mala, oil, etc) I use my teacher’s blend of essential oils for the chakras. They really help to open things up, and I use them every day. If you’ve taken a class with me you’ve probably experienced me applying Open Heart or Expression.

Are there any links, @names, and #hashtags you would you like us to use in promoting you and your happenings? My handle is @pushingbeauty and you can use #pushingbeauty

July is a month of yoga teacher training continuing education at One Down Dog. Open to any yoga teachers or teachers in training we have a range of opportunities for you to remain a student. Learn and work alongside fellow teachers to grow your practice and what you have to offer your students.

Hands On Assisting and Seeing w/ Janine Glass

This workshop will cover theory, demonstration, and training of safe and effective hands-on yoga assists
What you get:

• “Seeing” skills training: “seeing” blockages and brightness in bodies.
• Hands-on assisting theory and injury Q&A
• Guidance and coaching in assisting with partners
• Working with injuries and clearing pain

 

 

 

 

 

only 20 spaces available onedowndog.com/workshops

 

Restorative Yoga Teacher Training – Level 1

This is Sam’s second visit with this training. Take level 1 now, she will be back for level 2 again within the next year! Check out the first group of ODDfam that attended.

She will also be offering  a 2 hour Restorative class open to the public and the students who attended the workshop. It will be delicious!

Join the relaxation revolution!

Restorative Yoga is a healing practice that brings the body, mind, and nervous system into balance. Learn to teach Restorative Yoga, guided by Samantha Akers (formerly Joseph) (E-RYT 500) (C-IAYT), creator of the TheraYoga Method. Sam is passionate about the immensely powerful practice of Restorative Yoga, since it has been a major part of her own journey to health. These trainings are for teachers & students who are looking to deepen their knowledge of Restorative Yoga!Teachers receive a certificate of completion once all homework and assisting is completed.Level 1 of this training covers the main poses of Restorative Yoga, how to adapt them for a variety of students, how to use props, how to design a satisfying class, and more. Special attention is given to therapeutic applications of Restorative Yoga, and how the practice can benefit people with special needs, or simply relieve stress. The training also includes discussion of the three Ayurvedic Doshas (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha) and how to build a Restorative and breath practice to best suit the needs of all three. You will also learn the basics of a mindful awareness practice to aid those with anxiety and trauma disorders, helping to keep students feeling more grounded, clear and balanced during their experience of Restorative Yoga and beyond. Students will receive a manual and a reading list.

These trainings are designed to prepare current yoga teachers to teach Restorative classes in studios and other environments. These weekends are also open to students simply wanting to deepen their knowledge, and for those in allied professions (massage therapists, those in the mental health care field, etc.) as a vital part of their practice with clients.

The goal is ‘happy kitty face’ here.

COST:
$400 prior to July 1st
$450 after

DATES & TIME:
Friday July 14th 5-8pm
Saturday July 15th 9-5pm 
Sunday July 16th 10-5:30pm 

Samantha is currently under the private direction of her teacher George Haas as well as being a student in his 11 month program, A Meaningful Life. She completed Community Trauma Resiliency training, through the Trauma Resource Institute, in August of 2014. Her Restorative practice has been influenced by her teachers Judith Lasater and Leeann Carey. – Learn more about Sam in her bio under the workshop.

 

Hands-On Savasana Adjustments

7/25 + 2-3:30pm

Did you know we had a massage therapist at One Down Dog? Did you know she’s a yoga teacher!?

Want to give your students that little extra love in Savasana? Need a refresher course or brand new on feeling comfortable palpating and moving areas of the body? Then this workshop is for you! We will…+ Review basic structural anatomy

Where to apply pressure, where not to…+ Simple massage therapy techniques
Help ease muscle tension after an intense practice 

+ Carefree joint mobilizations

Traction and movement to areas of the body without
assistance from student

+ Savasana Sequence
Learn a quick sequence outline that allows you to add your own flavor throughout

COST: $40

 

Starting an early yoga practice with your kid benefits them holistically and gives them the tools they need, within themselves, to thrive in a busy world. Grown-ups have all sorts of priorities and concerns on their plate, and kids do too! Kids live in a world where technology is at their fingertips, knowledge and information are accessible, and all sorts of messages are easily exposed to them. This overstimulation can be very distracting and can make it difficult for them to focus on a single task at hand, let alone all the things that are expected of them on the academic and social levels. With just a few moments of yoga and consistent practice, your little ones will develop healthy bodies, fuller breaths, brains geared up for learning, and the values that contribute to a happy life with their buddies!

Body

Kids yoga integrates their whole, entire body…from the crown of their head all the way down to their tippy toes!

1. In asana, the physical practice of yoga, the use of simple yoga poses with kids helps with their balance, coordination, core strength, and flexibility.
2. Kids develop better body awareness when they learn postures or play yoga games by identifying what body parts to stretch, bend, twist, lower, or lift.
3. When practicing poses on both sides of their body, the right and the left side, yoga contributes to their overall motor development.
4. By practicing how to sit and stand “tall” in yoga, kids can develop good posture.
5. Yoga relaxes the body and prepares it for a good night’s sleep.
6. In kids meditation, sitting in quiet for a few moments enables them to pay mindful attention to the workings of their other senses.
7. When they feel good moving in their body, they can do more with their body! More sports, more dancing, more fun outdoor activities! A healthy body image and body appreciation can stem from a healthy yoga practice with your little one!

Breath

Practicing some breathwork or pranayama with your kids sets the tone for the class and helps them settle into the present, into the NOW.

1. Depending on your kids’ moods, the right kind of breath will either calm and relax, or energize them!
2. Simple breathing exercises prepare them for meditation.
3. Taking a few moments to pay attention to their breath is a great way to stimulate their concentration, especially when they are doing challenging poses like balances or holding postures for a longer amount of time.
4. A healthy breath means better circulation and more oxygen for the body!

Brain

Kids are constantly learning new things, and yoga helps with learning!

1. Through mindful movements and focus, yoga can de-clutter your kids’ very busy brains, therefore increasing their attention span and improving comprehension.
2. Yoga helps them retain information and improves their memory by learning postures through songs, yoga stories and yoga activities.
3. By developing their motor skills on both sides of the body, yoga utilizes both sides of your kids’ brains as well!
4. Kids yoga is all about using the imagination to create movement and shapes with the body. By practicing yoga, kids will widen the scope of their creativity and might even come up with creative ideas of their own!

Buddies

Yoga is also about relationships and how we connect with others. The values learned while practicing yoga teaches our little Ohm-ies beautiful things about themselves, other living beings, and how to live in this world together.

1. Yoga games in class instill a sense of teamwork and camaraderie among your little one and his fellow students.
2. The process of learning and practicing a yoga pose helps kids become more compassionate and helpful towards other kids who are also trying their best. There is never any competition in yoga…just a safe space where kids can practice, do their best, laugh it off, and try again!
3. Being in a room with other kids of all sorts of personalities can improve their social and communication skills.
4. Kids are allowed to feel what they feel, and mindful practice helps them acknowledge their emotions and puts them in a healthy place to deal with certain things in their own peaceful way.
5. Yoga helps kids to embrace their uniqueness and unique skills, therefore instilling a sense of respect in our kids; respect for themselves, respect for other people, and respect for their surroundings.

Yoga fills you up with life, light, peace, and joy…and all of that spreads quickly as you share your yoga gifts with your little ones! Kids yoga benefits the grown-ups, too! Take some moments to simply have fun, be silly, color outside of the lines, play make-believe, be spontaneous, and let your inner kid shine!  Wouldn’t the world be an even more beautiful place if we all learned how to play nice? 🙂

108 Sun Salutations & Yin Yoga – with Courtney and Bobbi – body yoga cleanse

Seriously – 108 Sun Salutations. Welcome the sun and cool it down with some yin. Yin & Yang has never been so much fun. Bring 2 mats.

Saturday March 25th Silverlake  6:15-8pm. onedowndog.com/workshops

Expect us to go downstairs for french fries and friends after!

Missed the event? Make sure to subscribe to our Facebook events! 

Saturday’s 108 Sun Salutations workshop

CHakra Tune Up Meditation Series – with Adam – spiritual yoga cleanse

Part of your regular class package so you’ll need to pre-register to save your spot! You’ve missed the Root Chakra but jump in on ANY week. (follow us on Instagram to not miss a beat!)

MONDAYS – Silverlake location (on the edge of Los Feliz) 7:15pm Starting March 20th

CLOTHING SWAP/Donation Drive April 9th – Physical/Karimic Yoga Cleanse

We are doing our favorite clothing swap and ending it with a donation drive with our Resister Sisters & Allies. Bring re-usable bags for donation. Bring any gently used clothing for swap/donation – please make sure at least one of these items you bring is on the list below.

Eagle Rock – Sunday April 9th –

SWAP – 7:30 – 9pm

DONATION DRIVE – 9 – 10pm (organize left clothes into appropriate donation channels)

SWAP for an hour and a half. Donation organization. Deliver the next day!  If you’re interested in being involved in donations Downtown on Monday comment here or get in touch! Any clothes leftover from the swap and not added to donations for the Downtown Womens Center will be donated in bulk to appropriate shelters and Out Of The Closet.

Downtown Women’s Center Wishlist –

• T-shirts
• Pants
• Jackets & Sweaters – larger the better.
• Shoes – especially large sizes.
• NEW SOCKS
• NEW bra’s & Underwear
• Rain / Waterproof clothing
• Gloves
• Tote bags & Rolling luggage
• Sleeping Bags
• Bed Linens
• Food
• Personal Hygiene & Medical items
• GIFTS – they celebrate residence birthdays – any extra goodies like bathrobes, grocery store giftcards, birthday decorations will be set aside for the residents.