Darlings,

September is Yoga Month.

The Global Mala project unites us today, the 25^th of September in service, yoga and collective consciousness.

Global Mala Yoga for Peace Project has spread around the world in its efforts. For more info, check out www.globalmala.org.

I'm so very very lucky to be the first comic book superhero to teach at Lululemon Santa Monica and lead this fabulous class. I'm honored.

We start with meditation cards, 12 in total at the foot of our mats. We will use these cards to count our intentions and asanas as we travel through 108 reasons to love the sacred number 108 and celebrate our ability to practice together in community.

Today, we honor a great organization, www.AmaYoga.org, a non-profit organization offering balance, healing and transformation through establishing yoga programs in homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities around the city of Los Angeles. I'm so lucky to have been lead to meet the founder, the inspirational Aimee Schoof working with her and the amazing teachers that make yoga happen for so many people.

108 is considered sacred in many eastern religions and traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism and connected yoga and dharma based practices.

Today, we practice together in celebration of this number, this organization and this great place, Lululemon.

If you would like to download the class, please log on to www.YogiChocolate.com and donate what you can and practice!

Every cent makes a difference and every cent goes to www.AmaYoga.org.

We start with setting a personal intention we repeat three times within.

We travel through 9 sun salutation a's.

9 sun salutation b's.

2 set's of 36 purifying kapalabhati breaths.

12 Om's

12 prayers for peace

A bunch of stretching

And this....

Reasons why 108 is sacred and why we love it so...

1. Both 9 and 12 have been said to have spiritual significance in many traditions. 9 times 12 is 108. Also, 1 plus 8 equals 9. That 9 times 12 equals 108.

2. Hindu deities/goddess’s and Shiva have 108 names. There are 108 names for Buddha.

3. Mala beads, Catholic rosary beads, the Sikh knots, Chinese Buddhist, Taoist and Tibetan malas all have 108 beads for which to use in prayer, meditation and/or chanting.

4. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is believed that there are 108 sins

5. In Japan, at the end of the year, a bell is chimed 108 times to finish the old year and welcome the new. It represents 108 earthly temptations a person must overcome to achieve nirvana

6. The sum of “the numbers” in the hit TV show, Lost is 108.

7. According to Ayurveda, there are 108 Marma or pressure points

8. There are 108 moves in many traditions of eastern style martial arts as well as Indian dance.

9. In Homer’s Odyssey, the number of suitors coveting Penelope, wife of Odysseus

10. There are 108 outlaws in the Chinese classic Water Margin/Outlaws for the Marsh

11. Surat al-Kawthar ("Abundance") is the 108th sutra of the Qur'an, and the shortest.

12. There are 108 love sonnets in Astrophil and Stella, the first English sonnet sequence by Sir Philip Sidney

13. The distance between Earth and the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Sun

14. The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth

15. A baseball has 108 stitches

16. There are 108 cards in a deck of UNO cards

17. 108 is the emergency telephone service number in India

18. 108 is the name of the American hardcore band founded in 1991

19. The powers of 1 to the first power, 2 to the second power and 3 to the third power all equal 108

20. 108 is a Harshad number, which is an integer divisible by the sum of its digits (Harshad is from Sanskrit, and means "great joy")

21. There are said to be 108 earthly desires in mortals, 108 lies that humans tell and 108 delusions or forms of ignorance.

22. The chakras are the intersections of energy lines. There are said to be a total of 108 energy lines converging to form the heart chakra. One of them, sushumna leads to the crown chakra, and is said to be the path to Self-realization.

23. There are 54 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet. Each has masculine and feminine, shiva and shakti. 54 times 2 is 108.

24. If one is able to be so calm in meditation as to have only 108 breaths in a day, enlightenment will come. Kids, don’t try that at home.

25. The angle formed by two adjacent lines in a pentagon equals 108 degrees.

26. Some say there are 108 feelings, with 36 related to the past, 36 related to the present, and 36 related to the future.

27. There are about 115 elements known on the periodic table of the elements. Most of those, around or higher than the number 100 only exist in the laboratory, and some for only thousandths of a second. The number that naturally exist on Earth is around 108.

28. The sacred River Ganga spans a longitude of 12 degrees and a latitude of 9 degrees. 12 times 9 equals 108.

29. In astrology, there are 12 houses and 9 planets. 12 times 9 equals 108. Chinese astrology says that there are 108 sacred stars.

30. In the Krishna tradition, there were said to be 108 gopis or maid servants of Krishna.

31. 1, 0, and 8: Some say that 1 stands for God or higher Truth, 0 stands for emptiness or completeness in spiritual practice, and 8 stands for infinity or eternity.

32. The average distance of the Moon from the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Moon.

33. Silver and the moon: In astrology, the metal silver is said to represent the moon. The atomic weight of silver is 108.

34. Meditations: Some say there are 108 styles of meditation.

35. Breath: Tantra estimates the average number of breaths per day at 21,600, of which 10,800 are solar energy, and 10,800 are lunar energy. Multiplying 108 by 100 is 10,800. Multiplying 2 x 10,800 equals 21,600.

36. Paths to God: Some suggest that there are 108 paths to God.

37. Islam: The number 108 is used in Islam to refer to God.

38. Stages of the soul: Said that Atman, the human soul or center goes through 108 stages on the journey.

39. First man in space: The first manned space flight lasted 108 minutes, and was on April 12, 1961 by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut.

40. 108 is the number of "Upanishads" comprising the Vedic texts of Hinduism.

41. 108 is the Chinese number representing "man".

42. 108 is the number Buddhists use to represent that number of human passions.

43. 108 is six times the number "18", which is a Jewish good luck number.

44. 108 is twelve times the number 9, which is the number of vinyasas (movements linked to breath) in a Sun Salutation.

45. There are highways in Canada, The US, Japan, China and The Virgin Islands called, the 108 and 108 is a hip hop, country, jazz, oldies, pop and internet station across the US.

46. Octoer 8 2001 – U.S. President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security.

47. October 8, 1962 – Algeria joins the United Nations.

48. October 8, 1956 – New York Yankees's Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series; one of only 20 perfect games in MLB (major league baseball) history.

49. October 8, 1932 – The Indian Air Force is established.

50. October 8, 2004 Martha Stewart is sentenced to to prison

51. October 8^th is Matt Damon and Chevy Chase’s birthdays. Send ‘em an e-card.

52. October 8^th is the earliest date Columbus day can fall on the calendar

53. October 8^th 1991 is the official date that Croatia becomes Independent of Yugoslavia

54. 108 minutes was how long it took me to put this list of 54 facts together.

54 times 2 is 108. Bam!

Flying at the speed of 108,

Lady Yoga

Darlings,

The Emancipation Proclamation consists of 2 orders by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. The first was issued on Sept. 22, 1862, declaring the freedom of all slaves in any state of the Confederate States of America that did not return to the Union control by Jan. 1 1863. The 2nd order, issued in Jan. of 1863 named 10 specific states. The main purpose of the proclamation was to restore peace and Union control amidst the civil war. The Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom to thousands of slaves. Till the Emancipation Proclamation, the Confederacy had used the slaves to cater to war time effort. They formed the spine of the Confederacy by handling root requirements like sewing uniforms, catering, utility repairs, farm and factory work and common labor. The declaration reversed the strength on the two warring sides and defined the outcome of the struggle.

Please don't yawn.

We need to know WHERE we came from to know where we are and where we are going.

We might not have been slaves, but on some level, in our lives, we are slaves to something.

We celebrate this time of freedom and acknowledge that which we might be able to look at in our lives and free ourselves from, on or off the mat. Use your postures. Use the time on the mat to explore where you can be free and use the inspiration of what you feel and hear.

Emancipation means...

Liberation,

freedom,

liberty,

Independence,

salvation.

Celebrate it in history and celebrate it here in your life now.

The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self. - Albert Einstein.

With senses, mind and intellect, under control, having liberation as the prime goal; free from lust, anger and fear, such a sage is verily liberated. - Bhagavad Gita

The emancipation of out physical nature is in attaining health, of our social being in attaining goodness and of ourself in attaining love. - Rabindranath Tagore

Freedom had its life in the hearts, actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from it's life giving roots it will wither and die. - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Nothing is more difficult and therefore more precious than to be able to decide. - Napoleon Bonaparte

You have freedom when you're easy in your harness. - Robert Frost

Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better. - Albert Camus

Freedom is the oxygen of the soul. - Moshe Dayan

We feel free when we escape, even if it be from the frying pan into the fire. - Eric Hoffer

Freedom is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you decide how to respond. - Jeffrey Borenstein

Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth. - George Washington

True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what's right. -Brigham Young

Today, you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive that is youer than you. - Dr. Seuss.

Caged birds accept each other but flight is what they long for. - Tennessee Williams

Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you chose. Anything less is s a form of slavery. - Wayne Dyer

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires. - Nelson Mandela

You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has freedom. - Malcom X

It's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything. - Chuck Palahniuk

The anchor in our world today is freedom, holding us steady in times of change, a symbol of hope to all the world. - George H. W. Bush

Freedom is the basic condition for you to touch life, to touch the blue sky, the trees the birds the tea and the other person. Thich Nhat Hanh

The truth shall make you free. - Jesus

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose. - Janis Joplin

All the great things are simple and many can be expressed in a single word - freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope. - Winston Churchill.

For the full yoga practice with these quotes and this intention, please log on to www.YogiChocolate.com and get moving and inspired.

Yours,

Lady

Dear Oprah,

Here is how the day in the life of Laurie is when I have a date.

Day of, wake up at 6AM to start my day.

I do this everyday.

With all the time in the world before my first client, I am still struggling with 15 bags, shoes and trash to take out before I'm out the door with the fear of being late. I drive 1000 miles against traffic to come into people's homes with the mission to bring them yoga and peace. I hope I do that. God knows I could use someone coming to my door with a little o' that.

I rush home in school traffic or any time of day traffic and basically swim across the 405 through Wilshire to get home MAYBE in time to run and errand, take a class or go for a run. If I'm lucky, I will be able to return a phone call or email and catch up on MY life - personally and professionally - ya know the kind that doesn't make money right now, but will, you just wait. Maybe I can go to the bathroom or check my teeth. Great, breakfast has apparently held it's own within my central incisors till mid afternoon. No time to fret.

My date is most probably at 8 and I will most probably be running late but not nearly as much as my date. I will be rushing. I will drop my stuff on my pristine floor. The organized sanctuary I once lived in will become the girlie haven of hell in preparation to 'be myself' with someone else, which is quite often peppered with a pomp and circumstance rivaling a holiday dinner with the extended family, internally, externally and...exhausting. Can I just hide under the table until he leaves?

So, I dump everything on the floor in hopes I will be able to scavenger what I need for a clutch or small bag for my date. Most of my days include a carry-on sized bag for a flight or a canvas bag one would shop Ikea with - fitting all of the things one would need to get by in a day if, per chance, a nuclear bomb would blow up on 2nd street and I would not be able to return for days on end. I have a change of clothes, food, chargers for phones and bluetoothes, notebooks, pens and zip drives, cards and flyers and email lists, identification, floss (which I clearly do not use) and kleenex and yes, I have a lint roller, scissors and a Tide to go...and deoderant. But never what I need.

God love me, hate me and pity me at the same time.

It is impossible to find the few small things I will need if I have to escape the wrath of an impossible date that requires me to scale a wall to get out of. I am not Paris Hilton. Do I need electrical tape? Will the jaws of life fit into my clutch? Will the mace go off in my purse? No. Lip gloss, business cards, some cash and ID to identify my body when maimed. That is all that is required.

At 7:45, I have half an eye done and one sock on the ball of my left foot as I field phone calls and approach a deadline for the magazine. I have to sign off on one, two projects for which I am not getting paid for but love dearly because they help the common good and I can not catch a breath. I am still sweating from the one hour class I squeezed in at the studio and did not have time to wash my hair so I dry shampooed it. Yes, Pssssst is a god-send and still here in the 2000's from the 1960s. My mom used it and I use it. God bless the Ozone sucker. It has saved me...tonight.

I have pants on and a twisted bra that is testing my upper body yogic abilities to maneuver into perfect alignment and it's 8PM. Nothing fits, ever. I'm late but so is my date. I feel the pressure and fun seems like two glasses of Chardonnay away and I can't afford the calories this week.

Maybe he got into an accident. That would be bad, but I also have a new People Magazine I'd love to read.

I paste the other eye on and review...I was born and raised in NY. You can take the girl out of NY but you can't take the NY out of the girl. I hate talking about myself. Oh, that's right, it's a date. There won't be room for that.

Just so you know...I walk very fast, especially when it's cold and it's like 20 below in LA, which means its about 55 degrees. Oh, you don't know where we are going? You are following me? You asked me out and don't know where to take me. Awesome.

I watch stand up comedy before I go to bed. If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord, I pissed my pants in laughter.

I have an excessive amount of lip gloss and perfumed oils.

I'm a Virgo and nothing like a Virgo. I'm a horrible planner but I organize everything from my closet to my pantry to the calories I consume. And I still can't find my keys. Oh, they're in my hand.

I love cotton, scarves and layering. I love shawl neck collars and ruffles.

I work everyday and love my work.

I love hip hop music and euro club music as well as kirtan and smooth jazz.

I sing very loudly to broadway showtunes especially in the drive through car wash. I find my greatest peace in the dark and the clean soapy swoosh of water that drowns out the notes I can't reach and I am in bliss.

Oh, I'm sorry, you need to take check your voice mail?

I spray my hair with more non yogi, Ozone trippin' spray as I uncork a bottle of white with my feet and left hand. Mama needs her wine. I'm starting to sound like my mama. And, I laugh.

Help a sister out, I scream, which is my mantra, that I speak out loud to myself often when I am in a rush and running around my cage, I mean apartment, trying to get somewhere fast.

Banana doesn't peel, help a sister out!

Sweater falls off hanger, help a sister out!

Cap falls off toothpaste and tube falls in sink amidst dirty spittle...help a sister out!!

Bracelet does not, necklace does not, dress does not clasp with one hand!!!

Help a sister out!!!

I put the foundation on. Yes, I put it on after my eyes. Why? Because I forgot. Not because it's my thing.

Powder after blush. What's my problem?

My problem? I'm not used to wearing makeup, damn it.

Phone rings, help a sister out!!!

I'm here! It's a text. Can I chain smoke my toothbrush in time?

I'm 36. Yes, 36. Did I stutter? I act and look like I'm 26 with the inner stability of a 44 year old with a family and house in the flats of Beverly Hills. Where's my house?

Wait, where are my shoes?

F-ck, where are my keys?

I can't pay my rent or health insurance but I can find and pay for that darling cardigan I'll wear forever. Insurance and rent only last a month.

I'm a girlie girl but piss and get ready faster than a guy. And I listen. And no matter how fast I'm rushing, I'm here. I'm present.

I am still trying to pretty myself up for someone, look in the mirror and think, I look like shit. Then allay my fears and think, no, you just look your age and laugh. And, at least I make myself laugh.

If I die before I wake.

My date is someone who is fine, I'm sure, but ya know what, I'm still squeezing time in for myself.

Who is kidding who?

I wanna date, but I don't have time to date for crying out loud. Give me my f-ing blog, a salad, maybe a cookie and/or a glass of wine and my netflix and I'm good.

I'm starting to mix my stories up, the same one's I've said over and over before but they are getting boring to me so I glamorize them more for drama's sake and I'm still yawning inside. I'm not hear to entertain. But I'm here all week and you still won't reach for the check.

This is too much work and I'm exhausted already and barely want to hear myself let alone you.

What did you say? You don't talk to your mom and dad? I'm really close with my family. Love them like breath, water and chocolate. You have a dog. How cute.

Where's that check?

Here's the deal. I don't want to date. I want...him.

Him is going to be the guy when all this hullaballo won't matter. Him will be where time seems seamless and it will be effortless to get together and prepare. Him will be HIM not yawning across the table from me when I've been stiffling yawns all night not to offend. Not because he's boring, but because I'm god awful tired. I don't have a day off and I'm actually ok with it. I will not be tired with him. Him will ignite sleeplessness. Him will be fit in and fine.

Him, I will wait for. Him, will WANT to ask me out and make time regardless and time will make itself apparent for both of us, tired or not, because we will be...him and her. That's how HIM and HER work. It just is. I've had it before and I will have it again. Him will find the time and so will I. Him will ask me why I wear the obvious ragged bracelet on my left wrist. Him. Him.

So, to him, I wait, but not longingly so. I have plenty of time for ME before him. But if HIM shows up, I'll be already ready and waiting, with my place and person clean and calm and hair washed with soap and water and none of this other bull-shit or obligation or weirdness. It's just NEVER weird with him and her. It never is, when it's right. So, there you go. It just happens. And it's hard. In this day and age, it just is. And the older we get, the more set in our ways and the more baggage. I only have a carry-on and a bunch of funny stories and dry shampoo. But I have a great instinct to wait for Him and not the him until then. I just don't have time for it. And neither do you.

So there. Thank you for dinner. Tomorrow's clients will pay for this nightmare and waste of a good outfit. I like you. But you are not him. And I don't want to pretend you are and you sure don't so we're done.

1AM, shut the facebook up and go to bed. 6AM, starts all over again. Every day. Tired, but fueled by passion, lost but found in service and always...

Yours...

and glamorous,

Laurie