CLE Events: Balance & Brews

A couple of weeks ago, I attended my very first Balance & Brews event as part of Engage! Cleveland's YP Week. Founded by Melissa Klimo-Major, Balance & Brews combines an hour-long, all-levels yoga class with beer! The events take place in local breweries, and include a brewery tour (if you are so inclined). The classes themselves are really fun-- the unusual location paired with Melissa's humor and playlist make for a fun, low-key experience.

Photo credit: Thanks to Balance and Brews' Facebook page for the two pictures on the top.

Balance & Brews is hosting its first ever yoga weekend retreat in Ohio later this month. I'm not quite ready to commit to a whole weekend yet, but its definitely something I would like to try in the near future. They also have a practice and a pint option, which is exactly what it sounds like. And on July 11th, they are hosting a Balance & Brews practice at Great Lakes Brewing Company, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit Secondhand Mutts. If you recall, I used to serve on the Board of Directors for Secondhand Mutts, and they continue to hold a very special place in my heart, so naturally, I'm signed up to attend!

I love that fun, active events like these are becoming more common-place in Cleveland. I LUUUUURVE a good detox-retox experience! I'm still looking for an event that pairs yoga with a wine/champagne tasting--- maybe someone will create one soon? Or maybe I should partner with someone to create one?

CLE Events: Rooted In Cleveland

My relationship with yoga is a weird one-- I always love it when I practice, but I'm terribly inconsistent.  Over the past few months however, I've tried to incorporate yoga into my routine at least twice a week. And even with this minimal effort, I can feel myself getting stronger. Anyway, as part of my yoga routine, I've attended a few yoga workshops, and the workshop coming up on May 15th may just be my most favorite one yet.

Hosted by Harness, Rooted In CLE combines an hour of Slow Flow Yoga presented by 3Sisters Yoga + Fitness, followed by COCKTAIL HOUR!!! Combined with the amazing views of downtown from the BurkleHagen loft, this promises to be a really fun and mellow Friday night.

Now for the details:

When: Friday, May 15th at 6:00 pm

Where: BurkleHagen Photography at 3500 Payne Ave, Cleveland

What: An hour of Yoga followed by cocktails and finger foods. Water provided by People Water. Cocktails will include wine, beer, and "garden to glass" cocktails in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic forms. Finger foods will tend toward heavier appetizers-- perfect for mingling!

Dress Code: YOGA PANTS!!! Is there such a thing as cocktail yoga pants? Can we make it a thing?

How: Tickets are available here. While normally $50, my dear readers, you can buy the tickets for $40 (a 20% savings) by using the code shopaholic. Note that this is an intimate event-- only 60 spots are available, so get your tickets as soon as possible!

Disclosure: I was provided with one ticket to Rooted In CLE in exchange for helping spread the word about the event. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for continuing to support vendors like Harness that allow me to create fun content for this blog! XO

Happy Labor Day Weekend

HAPPY FRIDAY!! And HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND!! I am SO looking forward to this 3-day weekend, and although it marks the end of summer fun, I'm not too sad because there's tons of pre-fall and fall fun to be had in the weeks up ahead!!

That said, I am starting off my weekend with a dose of "Om".

Starting at 7 pm, The Rock Hall plays host to a Cleveland celebration in the form of a yoga party. The party is the brain-child of my favorite west side yoga studio Inner Bliss and Eton-Chagrin lululemon store. Best of all, the event is FREE! Additional details on the event are available here. 

Tonight the Rock Hall is going to be a sea of spandex and luon, and I for one, can't wait!!! 

This Weekend in CLE- entertaining, yoga, and general relaxation!

This was actually a fairly low-key weekend as far as most of our weekends go...

Saturday, I visited the West Side Market for the first time in a very long while. That parking lot is a complete mess! Back in the day when I was a WSM regular, I used to go first thing in the morning. That was, however, before my days of Fresh Fork and Saturday morning workouts. Anyway, my noon trip this past weekend involved me circling the parking lot for 20 minutes trying to find a spot! Lesson to be learned here: go early!! The whole reason for the Market trip was that N and I hosted a cookout Saturday evening; the menu was a bunch of different kebabs + signature champagne and burbon cocktails.

I really like my signature cocktail, which was an adaptation of a recipe I saw on pinterest- half a quart of orange sherbet + 3 bottles of bubbles!

Jo, Charity, Carla, Danielle, Jess. The boys were inside watching the Browns kickoff. 

Sunday, Allison and I went to a 2 hour yoga workshop, where I almost got into a handstand, which was pretty much the extent of me leaving my house (don't worry, I did get outside and enjoy the weather, it just happened to be at home).

The puppies were super cute this weekend-- I posted this on Instagram over the weekend- they make me laugh so much. Clair is wearing my snood (scarf/hood) that I got at Made in the 216 last month, and Otto is falling asleep sitting up!  

Given that I spent most of the weekend in super casual shorts + blouse/ workout clothes, my style highlight was this outfit channeling Audrey Hepburn.  

Dress from Target, Ray Ban aviators, necklace from Banyan Tree

Well, I am off to Denver for the day, so hope you have a happy Monday!! 

XO!

Things I LURVE: my yoga tote

Earlier this week, I mentioned my 15-minutes a day yoga goal, which I'm averaging about 3 times a week. Not terrible, but far from goal. Besides the daily yoga, I also have a goal of making it to a yoga class at least once a week. Allison and I are big fans of Saturday morning Hot Yoga at Inner Bliss, despite the fact that I'm really lacking in flexibility and can't get into half the poses! Nonetheless, I really enjoy the studio and the sweatiness, and so I keep going.

Normally, I just roll my mat up under my arm and take it in, but then I'm also carrying my wallet, and my towel (v. sweaty) and keys, and phone, and trying not to drop anything. With this renewed commitment to yoga for 2013, I decided to bite the bullet and just buy a bag for my mat. I looked a few bags on etsy and amazon, and as you can imagine, there are many options at many price points. I also decided to look into the "gold standard" for yoga apparel and accessories, and naturally, lululemon emerged the clear winner in my hunt for a yoga tote.

Source: shop.lululemon.com via cleshopaholic on Interest

At $48, its not exactly inexpensive, but hello?!?!! Look at it!!! Chevron with a bright blue--- how adorable is it?! I'm motivated to go to class just so I can carry it!!

Beyond the obvious aesthetic appeal, the bag is big enough to include an extra long, extra thick mat (which is what I have) AND yoga mat towel which is an absolute necessity (see prior sweaty comments). There is an exterior pocket and a nice-sized interior pocket (room for small wallet/credit cards and phone), and its waterproof!

A perfect yoga accessory. Now if I could only get into a handstand....

A Balancing Act

Lately I've sucked at life. And by that I mean that I've spent most of 2011 stressed out, irritable, and frequently overwhelmed. For the most part, I only have myself to blame: I over-schedule my life and then get overwhelmed when I can't take care of stuff like laundry, or cleaning our house. Most of the time, this overwhelming feeling is all in my head, and all I need is a little perspective. In an attempt to find this perspective (on what is hopefully a more regular basis), I have restarted my yoga practice (yet again!). Seriously, I've stopped and started so many times, but as a yoga instructor told me, I'm not the only one that does that, so at least that's something, right?

Anyway, as part of my attempt to reintroduce yoga to my life, clefoodgoddess and I joined a 3-week beginners yoga class at Puma Yoga. Our 3-week series ended a couple of weeks ago, but there is another series beginning in early April, so if you think you might want to explore yoga, you should definitely try it out.

Having been to a number of studios in Cleveland, here's what I really like about Puma Yoga:

1. Its not very big, so it has a really intimate feeling. And by intimate, I mean personal, not cramped.
2. Love the orange and yellow color scheme.
3. Its a hands-on studio, so if you're not comfortable with people touching you, this may not be the right space for you. That's not to say that they will not accommodate your no-touching request, but you don't get the same impact as a hands-on adjustment.
4. Minimal chanting. Maybe one per class. I'm not big on the chanting.
5. The studio is warm but not hot. You will get sweaty, but you're not going to feel like you're going to pass out. Also, it helps you stretch deeper.
6. The studio smells really good.
7. The instructors. Here's my thing about yoga: I like it for exercise and peace of mind. I'm not big on the "the universe is sending you a message" type spirituality. And I'm not big on excessive talking (shocking! I know, but its true). I like the instruction and direction, and maybe some explanation on the how/why of a pose, but that's about it. The instructors at Puma Yoga have a really nice verbal balance, and I REALLY REALLY like that.


So if you've been stressed out and generally feeling not like yourself, give yoga a try, and let me know what you think!!!