Stress-Free Holiday Shopping at Yoga Boutiques

This holiday season, if you’re a yogi  (or even if you’re not!) why not shop at your favorite yoga studio(s) (or stop by a new one?) Many yoga studios have gift shops or a designated retail space (or an online store) where you can find all kinds of goodies ranging from yoga mats to gorgeous jewelry.

            Below is an informal survey of yogi boutiques, beginning with the Grand Opening of AquarianYoga Center’s Golden Room Marketplace at 3 p.m. on December 11, where yours truly (aka me) will be simultaneously signing my new, expanded edition of my gift book All About Motherhood. Makes a great gift for new moms, “seasoned” moms, expectant moms, grandmothers…you name it. (Even some dads have told me they like the book!)

            But enough about me! Here are some of the highlights of holiday shopping in yogi-ville:

• Brand new AquarianYoga Center is holding a Grand Opening of its Golden Room Marketplace on Sunday, December 11 from 3 to 6 pm and promises a “sublime, stress-free shopping experience.” The center will host a Holiday Boutique as well as my book signing. While you shop, enjoy lovely background music provided by guitarist Lucas D'Allez from 4 to 5 p.m. Heavenly CDs by Kundalini yoga musicians will also soothe your shopping experience (headphones will be available if you’d like to sample a particular track). The Golden Room Marketplace offers a wide range of affordable, attractive gifts: CDs, books, exquisite jewelry, cool yoga clothing (choose from white as well as fabrics in vibrant colors; Batik wrap pants, yoga pants, tunics and tops), yogi tea, body oils, bath salts, incense, eastern gifts for your altar or home decor and more. An AquarianYoga Center gift certificate makes a wonderful gift for a friend or family member. Enjoy a cup of complimentary tea and sample amazing raw brownies, delicious kale chips and other treats. (Don’t forget to stop by my table!) Or stop in any day just to shop!
• Asana House has a great supply of yogi treats, including eye pillows (oversized and filled with lavender) meditation cushions (filled with buckwheat, durable cover and convenient size), Namastay towels (similar to a fitted sheet for your yoga mat—absorbs sweat, embroidered with Om symbols and comes in four fabulous colors), Jade Harmony and Manduka Yoga Mats, instructional DVDs for Ashtanga Yoga in Primary and Intermediate series, peace sign earrings and beaded bracelets, Essential Line of health supplements from Garden of Life and E3 Live, and last but certainly not least—Yoga Cookie Cutters (gluten free recipe included—three new poses added!).
• Be Evolution has a variety of items including Beeswax candles from Big Dipper Wax Works. These candles contain no petroleum; beeswax is natural and doesn’t produce harmful vapors. The wicks are lead free and they have no artificial, chemical fragrances. You’ll also find yoga mats and towels, water bottles, neti pots and tongue cleaners, and books.  Proceeds from jewelry sales will go to benefit either the American Heart Association or the Yogadharma Teacher Training Scholarship Fund.

• Garden State Yoga in Bloomfield has yoga clothes including cool tanks and tees, jewelry, mats, yogitoes, and its boutique is open seven days a week. The studio also sells products online at its website.
• At The Karuna Shala in Glen Ridge studio owner Ivy Giacchino-Berrocal is stocking the shelves with lots of soy candles, jewelry, imports from India, chimes for your garden and home, statues, incense, beautiful lotus candleholders, journals, and user-friendly gift certificates (these can be bought for any service and can be combined. Call or stop in for details!).
• Starseed Yoga has mat sling bags from Love Peace Yoga; these are roomy with one side for your mat, the other side for clothes or other items; cosmetic bags in two sizes and tanks with studded designs. From Boma Apparel: hand painted Batik Tote Bags: Bali Batik fabrics in pink/purple, black and white sunflower, and yellow and orange dahlia. Limited Edition Shirts by artists Stina Persson & Yoshi Tajima. Arbonne Aromassentials: Ginger Citrus Luxury Gift Set includes body wash, sugar scrub, and body butter. Pampermint Gift Set (nourishing cream and gentle scrub) includes FootWork Foot Scrub, SoleMate Foot Cream  and Signature Socks in a holiday gift box. Stocking Stuffers/Grab Bags: Great for gifts or to carry around in your bag, including mini lotions and body wash/butter. Also Cprime Fashion Forward Energy/Performance bracelets and bands equipped with a chip that alters the way your body interacts with the electromagnetic environment around you, which may help maximize your performance and increase your strength, balance, flexibility and endurance. Starseed Holiday Candles: Eco-friendly, refillable soy candles in recycled glass containers infused with organic essential oils. Young Living Essential Oils: A Select blend of holiday favorites. And a great book, The Guru Next Door by longtime Starseed student Wendy Dolber.
  
  
• Yogadesha’s lovely gift shop has beautiful and unique fair trade scarves, jewelry, and decorative items such as Prosperity Hens as well as local products such as DollyMoo body oils, scrubs, aura oils and bathsalts. Lavender, tangerine, sandalwood, and wildflower scents. Singing bowls from Tibet in handmade paper boxes, terrific oil diffusers that easily fill a room with the scent of essential oils (owner Rebecca Bergstrom says she bought this herself for a friend recently). And yoga gear, mats, straps, blocks and yoga clothes by Hard Tail and Lily Lotus (both made in the USA!)
• Yoga & Meditation Center of Montclair has yoga props, eye pillows, YogaToes, a variety of Yamuna and other balls and gift certificates for classes in any denomination from $25 and up.
• Yoga Montclair is running a special December holiday promotion. Buy $100 in Gift Certificates and get a $20 Gift Certificate for yourself. Fancy new refillable gift cards make it easy! The studio has a great trio of essential oils geared toward yogis; Yoga Essential from awesome Anjali Aromatics includes Herbal Massage Oil, Yoga Mat Cleanse and Breathe Essential Oil Blend. All sorts of sales are planned for the month so stop in.

Of course…there’s lot’s more, so do some yoga-studio-hopping and see what’s out there. (And don’t forget to come see me on Sunday December 11th!) Happy Holiday shopping!