YOGA + SPA + GARDEN DINNER at The Palms Hotel

Your Wednesday evenings just got booked for the rest of the summer.

The Palms Hotel in Miami Beach is now having midweek yoga sessions followed by food harvested from the in-house restaurant, Essensia's, garden.

Oh, and did we mention that it also happens to be Miami Spa Month? Make an entire evening of it by selecting a spa service from their menu.

This just sounds delightful. One Total Body Rejuvenation? Yes, please! Holy, Gomukhasana - a Warm Oil Infusion Scalp Massage?? That's more action than we've seen in years!!

I wonder if they can perform that one if you have massive dreads? Thoughts?

Nom, Nom, Nom-aste, yogis :)

Yogis (and Buddhists) We Love: Michael Stone Edition

A little over a year ago, we had the pleasure of catching Yogi and Buddhist teacher, Michael Stone in a workshop here in Miami Beach.

We could go on and on and on about how intelligent, hilarious and insightful we've found him to be, but we'll let you discover that on your own, dear yogis.

Writing about him this evening for a few reasons.

One: he recently spoke at TEDx Toronto and you should watch this.

Two: This short film project he is involved with called Reactor, Learn all about it here.

Three: The Centre Of Gravity podcast that we find actual intelligent inspiration through on an almost daily basis.

We are making a valiant effort to catch him in Portland this coming February, but we'll have to see where the wind blows us between now and then. Namaste!

Yogalosophy at Books & Books in Bal Harbour

Like always, it's been a while, Miami Yogis.

While we would normally tell you about how we've been hiding out, things are different this time. We've been watching you. Yes, you.

We have hit classes in almost all of the studios in the 305 over the past few months. Taking some "us" time...

...and quite frankly, you all have gotten so ridiculous that you parody yourselves now, thus doing our job for us and rendering us obsolete.

Feeling guilty over missing out on attending (or even just posting) about Tim Miller and Seane Corn being here over Memorial Day Weekend, we want to present you with the following event:

Who: Mandy Ingber (if you don't know who she is, Google her)

What: Author Event at Books & Books Bal Harbour

When: Friday, May 31st at Noon

Why: While we normally shy away from posting about "Celebu-Yogis" (or wanna be celebu-yogis) we are deeming Ms. Ingber worthy because it's our blog and we'll do what we want.

Plus, we really love Makoto and this gives us an excuse to go there on a Friday afternoon after the event, eat tons of sushi and drink saké until we're slurring our Slokas.

Namste, Miami!

The Down Dog Days of Miami Beach Summer

We owe you somewhat of an apology for our, ahem, hiatus on posting this summer. You know, we've put some things up here and there but if you really read our blog (we know you do) you can probably see our heart, soul and high blood alcohol content just hasn't been poured into it with the same zeal.

Consider it a creative hiatus (re: high-atus)  where we've been recharging our environmentally-friendly batteries. Refer to our Twitter account if you'd like a blow by blow on what we've really been up to.

It's taken three energy healers, an acupuncturist who moonlights as a shaman and a magical silver chariot to get us back in front of the MacBook so that genius may once again spew through our fingertips.

Your kind notes and cessation of hate mail have truly been a breath of fresh air. Namaste.

Morning Meditations: Wandering Mystic?

During my early morning meditation sessions on the beach, as the sun starts to rise over the ocean and the waves begin to crash onto the beach, it is not uncommon for me to open my eyes, look around and realize I am surrounded by crazy homeless people.

Welcome to Miami Beach. For the most part we all ignore each other and do our own thing, and I'm learning that is the unspoken rule of sunrise in bum culture.

Occasionally a random drunk stumbles to the sand and passes out on the shore (amateur). The sand grater drives around him in the tractor and life goes on.

This morning when I came downstairs to do my thing, I noticed a yogi on my turf who's morning practice was so interesting, I couldn't tune in to the Bhagavan Das I was blasting into my skull.

I'm still not certain if this guy was having a seizure or practicing some advanced form of Kundalini. Was he a homeless crazy or a wandering mystic? Maybe both.

Summertime in Miami Beach + Free YogiTunes Beats

If you follow our Twitterfeed (which we know you do)  you've seen the love being thrown at YogiTunes - an online music mecca for yoga beat enthusiasts.

Seriously, if you haven't checked out their site yet, stop reading right now, follow this link and sign-up to start receiving free dope downloads and access to an entire universe of yoga tunes.

There are very few things worse than a yogi or yoga teacher with stale tracks, so please do everyone a favor and refresh your playlists.

My First Bikram Yoga Class: A Memoir

"The heat really doesn't bother me."

Those were the last words I remember saying as we filed into the warm studio.

I positioned myself behind my friend who had dragged me to the class. I noticed an unattractive man rolling around in a pair of purple American Apparel briefs.

I stuck to my mat like an island - visions of all of the bacteria that must be in this carpet danced in my mind. I took a deep breath, mentally telling myself that it was ok, and I was not going to catch a flesh eating disease from this studio. Surely they clean it.

The Original Yogaholics: Funky Yoga & Holistic Circle

We accepted an invitation a few weeks ago from Funky Yoga to come check out their digs near the Gables. We were definitely familiar with the brand but had never seen the showroom in real life. It was like stepping into the walk-in closet of our dreams.

We'd met the brand's founder, Juliano Echeverri a while back at one of the Holistic Circle events at The Standard Hotel. He was just as charming as we'd remembered and we were pretty floored at his collection of super fun and clever designs.

Although he politely declined to make us a custom Ganesha bikini (we're hoping he changes his mind) he does have an entire selection of men's and women's t-shirts, tanks and accessories bearing fun phrases like, "Yogaholic" and "Yoga Makes Me High". (Check them all out for yourself here)

Collins Ave., 79th Street, May 4th, 2011

Clean Caffeine: Avitae Caffeinated Water

After traveling for most of April, it's nice to get back to Miami Beach - even though the brutal summer heat is definitely settling in. I can't stop sweating.

Anyway - this just jumped off the shelf at me in NY Bagel Deli in North Beach. Avitae Caffeinated Water. Clean caffeine? I bought three bottles right away.

As the bottle promised, you can't taste a thing. It's not the best tasting water, but not as bad as Aquafina or Desani.

Listed ingredients: Purified Water, Natural Caffeine. Click here for the posted list of nutritional info.

Meet Miami Beach's 11-Year-Old Yoga Teacher

(via NBCMiami.com)

Yoga for kids is nothing new, but there's one class in Miami Beach where the teacher is a kid too.

Amandine Lerner is just 11 years old, and she's a certified yoga instructor.

"Amandine is different than other children," says her mother, Alessandrina Lerner, who's been studying yoga for 10 years.

"I mainly did it to learn more about the body, and how everything's connected," said Amandine, who showed us her certificate from the Yoga Alliance, which makes her a registered yoga teacher.

(continue reading)

View more videos at: http://nbcmiami.com.

Namaste Miami - Leaving on a Jet Plane

Namaste Miami is on the move this week - we'll be arriving in New York City for the weekend this Friday and we're looking for NYC's "Best Of" yoga classes and instructors.

Got any suggestions for us? Send us an email or a Tweet (@namaste_miami) and let us know.

After NYC, we're heading up to Kripalu Center for a 10-day immersion with Dharma Mittra, followed by a few days in Boston.

Please send us your teacher/studio/class recommendations and stay tuned to us online to follow our journey.

Namaste Miami - See you in back in the 305 in mid-April!


(Next stop ---> Chicago for Art Chicago the last weekend in April!)

DecoBikes Debuts Bike Sharing & Rental Program

http://www.decobike.com/

Now there's a better way to get around Miami Beach. DecoBike has unveiled their revolutionary public bicycle sharing a rental program - find out how it works.

We tried checking one out unsuccessfully this past weekend during Wanderlust Festival at The Standard - there is a docking station right across from the hotel. Problem? They don't take AMEX. Duh. We were not deterred and checked one out the following day (using the proper currency).

Learn more about DecoBike Miami Beach.


How To Use DECOBIKE (Instructional Video) from DECOBIKE on Vimeo.

Wanderlusting at The Standard - Photo Slideshow

Om, Namaste, 1Ness and Now: Gear as Art

Lyrics Cork Block - Namaste, $30

Say Namaste to Manduka's New Lyrics Collection. Very cool, artist inspired yoga gear. I'm in the market for a new yoga towl and I'm putting these at the top of my wish list. (The last one I bought felt like sandpaper and these ones are SUPER soft.)

We're gearing up (literally) for Wanderlust at The Standard, which begins tomorrow afternoon. A few of us will be there covering the event so stay tuned to the homepage and Twitter for live blogging action!

Learn more about Manduka AFTER THE JUMP!

The House of Yoga - A Hidden Gem (In the Rough)

The House of Yoga, Miami Beach, FL

I was still half asleep this morning when I stumbled upon a link for The House of Yoga in Miami Beach.

How did I ever miss this place? The website was pretty cute and when I clicked "Contact Us" I was surprised to see they were actually located in my neighborhood. What? I slipped on my flip flops, poured a cup of coffee and went for a walk to 77th & Abbott Ave. to investigate.

Just off of Collins Ave. on the east side of Abbott Ave. is a really cute, two-story building you can't miss.

Krishna Das at Unity on the Bay

So we were a little late getting to Krishna Das this past Saturday due to a documented run in with the food trucks in Miami.

Here is a 30 sec video of the King of Kirtan - I didn't have the best seat in the house due to my late arrival, but the video is still beautiful and does do justice. I wish I would have been recording during the more candid moments, but I was so enthralled with KD speaking so openly, I didn't want to pull out the iPhone and hit "record". One of the most beautiful references he made to the reason he does what he does (aside from making kirtan and red flannel sexy) stems from this Rumi poem. You learn something new every day. Enjoy.

Jesus Is Now Following Us On Twitter

If Jesus were following you on Twitter WWYD? This just popped into the Namaste Miami inbox. OMG*!

*OMJesus?

You Can't Escape the "OM" This Week in Miami

The King of Kirtan, Krishna Das

Wow. Krishna Das, John Friend & Seane Corn in Miami this weekend? There is SO much going on, it's hard to keep it all straight. Here is a complete run down of all of the Namaste-ing that will be going on in and around the 305 over the next few days. Please Email Us if we left anyone out!

My First Bikram Class: A Memoir

"The heat really doesn't bother me." Those were the last words I remember saying as we filed into the warm studio.

I positioned myself behind Holly. I noticed an unattractive man rolling around in a pair of purple American Apparel briefs. I stuck to my mat like an island - visions of all of the bacteria that must be in this carpet danced in my mind. I took a deep breath, mentally telling myself that it was ok, and I was not going to catch a flesh eating disease from this studio. Surely they clean it.