Malas for Charity in September - Where the Money Goes

Buy a Mala, Help a Cause

Every September since 2008, Moondog Treasures has been donating 54% of the sales of all mala bracelets to charity in honor of The Global Mala, a world-wide yoga event that goes on across the world in late September and raises money for charity
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Where the money has gone

2008 Trees for the Future
2009 Yoga-Recess in Schools
2010 Gayla's favorite charity to help kids in Peru
2011 American Brain Tumor Association

The first couple of years, I donated to the charities that www.globalmala.org supported. The next couple of years, it got personal.

In 2010, my dear friend/co-worker/pregnant-at-the-same-time-as-me sister, Gayla, lost her battle with liposarcoma, a very rare form of cancer. She spent her last year volunteering in Peru. My money went there.

Last year my sister's husband was diagnosed with brain cancer. He lost his battle 8 months later. My money went to fund research for brain tumors.

Where the money goes this year

This year is full of hope. 54% of the sales of all mala bracelets from my shop will be donated to an effort that I am personally involved in - Yoga Bridge. Yoga Bridge offers free support for cancer survivors through the practice of yoga, breathwork and meditation. 

 

 

 

A colleague and I co-founded this organization last August and have been working at it ever since. We co-teach a free Breast Cancer Yoga class weekly at a local hospital, thanks to the support of Foundation 56. We also run a program of classes and workshops where part of the money collected goes back into a fund to keep the cancer yoga classes free.

54% of all mala bracelets purchased during the week of September 7-14 this year will help pay for free yoga classes for cancer survivors and buy props that we will use in class.

How did this all begin?

I donate in honor of my friends, and in honor of the Global Mala. My yoga teacher, Shiva Rea, is the original coordinator of this event. I've gone to California many times to study yoga with her, so this event is very close to my heart.

 

Click on the pictures below to see more malas (for women and men) from my store or to purchase a mala bracelet.




Malas for Women

Malas for Men

Thank you

A sincere thank you to all who have purchased malas throughout the years and have helped all of these wonderful causes.

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I'm Susan Reeves, E-RYT 500. I offer yoga classes in Highland Village, Flower Mound, and Lewisville areas. Please click here to sign up for e-mail updates on yoga articles, current classes and workshops.



A Cure for the Post-Vacation Blues

After such a relaxing week, it feels great to get back to work!  Planning a Shanti Prana Flow class with a special Yoga Nidra to celebrate the upcoming Summer Solstice.
Here's my schedule for this week 6/18-6/22:

Tuesday

5:30-6:45 p.m.

Yoga for Cancer Survivors, Denton Regional Medical Center,
3535 South Interstate 35; Denton, TX
Open to the public.  $10 donation to Foundation 56. 
FREE for Breast Cancer Survivors
Contact me here for more information.

Wednesday

9-10 a.m.  

Prana Flow at Excite in Highland Village, 

2225 Highland Village Rd., Highland Village, TX

More info here.

Thursday

9-10 a.m.  

Prana Flow Special Class at Excite in Highland Village,
2225 Highland Village Rd., Highland Village, TX
More info here.

Friday

9-10 a.m.

Restorative Yoga at Excite in Highland Village,

2225 Highland Village Rd., Highland Village, TX

More info here.

What is Yoga Nidra?

"...and they all settled in for a long winter's nap".

Yoga Nidra is yogic sleep.  This is one of my favorite meditations to lead (and participate in!).  My favorite reference book for yoga nidra is the adaptation by Swami Satyananda Saraswati .  In my own words, yoga nidra is a guided meditation that leads a person into a state of deep relaxation, where there exists a state of receptivity that cannot normally be accessed.  From this place comes clarity of intention.

The new year is a wonderful time for yoga nidra.  It involves formulating a resolve (or intention), something you'd like to manifest in your life in the coming weeks and months.  Then comes the guided meditation, where you are led through a tour of your body - the big toe, second toe, third, etc..  This may seem boring and monotonous, but what unfolds is a deeper state of consciousness.  The mind turns inward.  Outer distractions fall away.

Toward the end of the meditation, you are asked to silently state your resolve.  This allows it to embed itself into your consciousness.  Not a lot of work required here.  The results can be quite profound. 

Many yoga studios are offering yoga nidra meditations these days. If you are unable to attend a session, a cd is the next best thing.  Here are a couple that I recommend:  Relax into Greatness with Rod Stryker, and Drops of Nectar with Shiva Rea.

Wishing you a blissful, winter's sleep.

What is vinyasa?

The word "vinyasa" means "to place in a special way".  In vinyasa yoga, the asanas (poses) are sequenced in such a way to produce a desired effect within the body and the mind.  For example, the class may have a theme of opening the heart, or creating movement in the hips.  Another way to explain vinyasa yoga is to say that it is a form of yoga where the breath moves in alignment with the body.

Shiva assisting a student in Standing Anahatasana.

Prana Flow Yoga is a style of vinyasa yoga created by Shiva Rea. Shiva Rea's web-site defines it as an "energetic, creative, full-spectrum approach to embodying the flow of yoga". More on Shiva's definition of Prana Flow can be found here.


I would describe this style of yoga as creating a shift in consciousness within the body. In our modern world, it becomes a habit to dis-associate the mind from the body, creating a myriad of problems from insomnia to heart disease, among others. When we become fully engaged with the innate intelligence that our body possesses through this flowing movement, the distractions of the mind become less and less. It's as if the body is teaching the mind how to be at peace. Borrowing another quote from Shiva, Prana Flow is "a way to ride the waves of breath, change and life rhythms, living, loving, serving life in all forms".

I teach this type of class every Monday at 9am at Excite in Highland Village. Other yoga classes there include Hatha Yoga and Yin Yoga. Find out more about the yoga schedule at Excite here..

Malas for Charity in September

For the week of September 7-14, Yoga Jewelry by Moondog Treasures is donating 54% of all sales of mala bracelets to charity in honor of  the Global Mala and in memory of several dear friends.  The Global Mala is an incredible yoga event that will be going on across the world on the weekend of September 24th and 25th. Click on the picture below to see more malas (for women and men) from my store or to purchase a mala bracelet.

I've gone to California many times to study yoga with my teacher, Shiva Rea, the coordinator of this event.  It is very close to my heart.