I have to confess, i used to be a major shopaholic. (and a party animal, but that’s another story!)

Since I practice and teach yoga I’ve become more conscious of the consequences of massive consumption, therefore I don’t shop as much. Every time i’m in front of a new item i like, I ask myself a few questions: Do I need this? Do I have something similar at home already? Does the fabrication of this item involves suffering of a living being (and yes that includes animals)?

I try to avoid those brands that make clothes that last one season and then you have to throw them away, and when I travel I buy from local manufacturers or designers.

I’m gonna share with you a few brands that I like and I think are eco friendly (or at the very least more eco friendly than the big names of the fashion industry)

I’ve discovered www.yogisonroadtrip.com a nice little ethical web store with the cutest eco yoga mats, various decoration items, even jewelry from local manufacturers. The owner brings some of them back from her travels, or from France where she lives, and make sure everything sold in the store is ethicality and locally made. And she has great taste! (Did I mention you can book a yoga retreat and/or trainings through her site as well?)

It’s not a secret that I’m an ambassador for the brand www.myinnerfire.com for years now. I simply like the fact that their yoga pants are made of recycled plastic bottles and have original designs. (you can use the code Cheyenne when you order for a discount)

Also, as a yoga teacher I carry a few things around when I go and teach privates and to carry those things I use my www.ricelove.org backpacks, when you buy a bag they give 1 kilo of rice to a family in need. I can’t wait for them to create a yoga mat bag! Their bags are SO cute!

I hope that this (short) list will inspire you before Christmas, but don’t forget, the supplies provided by mother Earth are limited.

Namaste y’all.

Namaste yogis!

I’m honored to teach once again at Burning Man (usa)

MONDAY August 26th 10am SmartFLOW at Camp Pepperland 6:00 and i plaza

TUESDAY August 27th 8am SmartFLOW at HeeBeeGeeBee’s healer camp 6:30 and G

SATURDAY August 31st SmartFLOW at Infinite Love Camp 6.10 and D

See you in the dust yogis!

First thing first, what is a carrying angle? It’s a small angle between the humerus and the forearm. It’s easy to check if you have one. Stand in front of a mirror the arms alongside your body and externally totate your arms (savasana arms) Some of you will have the arms straight by their side, and some others (like me) will notice that their forearms and hands are moving away from the body, their arms have like a boomerang shape. This is what is called a carrying angle.

Having a carrying angle will still allow you to practice yoga, but some modifications need to be done in some weight bearing + arms straight poses, mostly to protect the wrists that have a tendency to be weaker when the arms have this shape, and the shoulders.

You have guessed that the postures the most affected by this “condition” are Adho Mukha Svanasana (down dog) Adho mukha vrksasana (handstand), Urdhva Danurasana (wheel) plank…

In Down dog, the common cue saying that the eyes of the elbows should face forward will cause some problems, because arms won’t be straight whatever you will do. This is due to the bones shape at the elbow. So if you apply this cue you will lose the external rotation of the shoulders, and therefore you will lose stability in your shoulders, and that’s precisely what we are looking for in adho mulha svanasana, stability in the shoulders so you can practice jump to handstand or the down dog plank chaturanga vinyasa (which i bet you practice quiet often) in the safest way as possible.

What will help is to strengthen your arms to hold the asana in the strongest way. When the bones are perfectly aligned it helps to carry the weight without too much effort, the stress of the weight is absorbed by the alignment of the bones, not by the muscles. But, if you have a carrying angle, the alignment of the bones is structurally impossible, so you will have to compensate with the muscles, to make sure your posture is still stable.

It’s a good idea to have the upper arms a little bit more closer to each other than the usual, and the hands slightly externally open (fingers pointing to the external side of the mat, (not too much!))

The strong fondation of the pose (down dog) will come from the triceps and the rotator cuff. You will have to pull the upper arms towards each other, and pull them tin the shoulder sockets. This will help to create the line of energy, that will push your sitting bones back towards the back of the room; and you will feel the stretch that you look for in Adho Mukha Svanasana. The same modifications can be apply to the handstand, or wheel pose or any weight bearing + arms straight pose. (Yes even Urdhav danuradana, where the carrying angle can be an obstacle to the opening of the arm pits, and the work of the shoulder blades)

On the other hand, some asanas are easier for people with the carrying angle, like Salamba Sarvangasana (shoulder stand) or Mayurasana, the shape of the bones will helps to place the forearms or elbow more easily.

Do not hesitate to talk to your teacher about that, Every body is different and taking some smart modifications will help you practice until 100 years old.