The "most exciting new Drishti product" award goes to the brand new Manduka eKO mat!  This is the best eco-friendly yoga mat on the market, period. This mat is so incredible that Drishti's owner Jenni is about to retire her regular black Manduka mat, which she has practiced on for 8 straight years, and replace it with a new eKO mat (probably in aqua.)

Yoga-Themed Magnet Set

Hand-made by an awesome artist in Portland, these magnets are made from found bottlecaps (meaning they're recycled), and feature cool yoga terms like "namaste", "savasana", and the om symbol.  These original magnets are artful yet functional and definitely make a perfect yoga gift!

Let Love Grow Thermal

We love this fabulous new long-sleeved thermal top!  It's soft and cozy and features an eye-catching "Let Love Grow" graphic.  Who could resist this wonderful item?  Also makes an excellent gift.

People keep buying up this adorable pant at Drishti.  It's a classic bootcut yoga pant with a new twist: a feminine ruffle lines the bottom of the roll down waist.  Very cute.  Will attract compliments.  Check it out!

It's Coupon Time! 

Come one, come all to the Drishti online store and enter the code DNEWSLDEC07 into the coupon box during checkout for $20 off any order of $100 or more.  What could be better than a dreamy discount at Drishti?

Please note: coupon expires 1/30/08.

Hey Everybody, it's the Drishti Newsletter!

We know that it's wintertime in Santa Barbara, which means that it's basically sunny and 65 degrees and nowhere near snow or coziness.  If this reality causes sadness in any of you who might long for elements of a classically chilly, frosty winter, take heart in this fact:

Warmth in winter means that your fabulous Drishti yoga clothes can be worn unencumbered by heavy coat and scarf, all throughout the day!  This is the obvious bright side to our otherwise unremarkable season.

Whether you live in Santa Barbara or somewhere across the country (or the world), we hope you enjoy our December Newsletter!  Read on for the all-important Yoga News section... 

It's Time for Some Ashtanga News!

We have two pieces of exciting Ashtanga news to report to our readers.  The first is that Ashtanga Yoga founder Sri K. Pattabhi Jois recently announced his upcoming 2008 U.S. tour.

You may remember that a new Ashtanga yoga center in Jois' name was slated to open in Islamorada, Florida this past March, but the center's opening was postponed due to the fact that Jois was hospitalized with respiratory problems.  Fortunately for all of us, Jois has regained most of his health since that time, and he is apparently ready to travel out west with the fam. Last month he announced the re-scheduled opening of his new yoga center in Florida, this time for March of 2008, a year after the originally-scheduled event. A grand opening party will take place on March 14, followed by a two-week Ashtanga workshop with Pattabji Jois, has grandson Sharath, and Jois' daughter Saraswati. All Ashtanga students are invited!  This will be the family's only U.S. appearance in 2008.  For more information, check out this snazzy web page.

Our second piece of Ashtanga news to relay is that Sharath Rangaswamy, grandson of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and heir to the Ashtanga 'legacy', is now a proud father of a baby boy! Born on September 24 at 12:47pm in Mysore, India, this new member of the family may very well grow up to be the future focal point of the Ashtanga scene. Many congratulations to Sharath and his partner Shruti!  (To see a picture of the little tyke, see our blog post about this event.)

Golden Tree Yoga Has Closed

We're sad to report the news that local yoga studio Golden Tree Yoga, located on Anacapa St. near Ortega St., has closed.  Golden Tree seemed to have a nice three-year run.  Its interior was gorgeous and it boasted a decent-sized roster of teachers.  We don't have information on the nature of the studio's closing, but we can attest to a vacant space and a "For Lease" sign where GTY previously existed.  We send our regards to GTY's proprietors Michael and Nancy Bengry and hope that they have moved on to new and better things.

Without Golden Tree Yoga as part of Santa Barbara's yoga scene, yoga students will only have Yoga Soup, Ashtanga Yoga Shala, Source Yoga Studio, Santa Barbara Yoga Center, Iyengar Yoga Studio of Santa Barbara, Bikram Yoga SB, and the yoga classes offered at gyms and health clubs in the area as their main yoga options from which to choose.  How will they survive?

Yogi Chocolate: Cool New Site

The new innovative website called Yogi Chocolate is full of downloadable audio yoga classes, all of which are offered on a donation-only basis. Meaning you, the yoga-class-downloading-student, choose exactly how much you'd like to pay for each class. Whoa - what a concept!  60% of the donations that Yogi Chocolate receives for each class are given directly to the teacher of that class. There are currently about 40 yoga instructors offering their classes on Yogi Chocolate, and the list is sure to grow as word of the site spreads.

This website offers a great home-practice alternative for people who aren't able to attend an in-person yoga class as often as they'd like.  It also offers students the opportunity to "practice" with far-away teachers they may be interested in learning from. 

P.S. We also like the scrumptious-looking close-up images of freshly shaved chocolate that are scattered throughout the site.  Everyone deserves a few bites of blissful chocolate after their yoga practice, don't you think?  (Or before...?)

 
IYSSB's Website is Up!

Iyengar Yoga Studio of Santa Barbara, that cool new studio we told you about in our last newsletter, now has a thorough, working website!  Take a look at the site to find out about IYSSB's schedule of classes, pricing, directions, and other pertinent information.  Yay IYSSB!

Upcoming Yoga Workshops & Events

(in the Santa Barbara area)

As you may know, our complete list of upcoming yoga events can always be found on the newly-added events page on our website.  However, we'd like to call to your attention a few specific happenings that deserve highlighting:

1) Holiday Party & Kirtan w/Dave Stringer at Yoga Soup - Come for the full evening (kirtan + party), or just stop by post-kirtan to chat with your fellow yoga practitioners while enjoying a cup of chai.  This event will be a lovely celebration of the community that Yoga Soup has created.
Friday, December 7, beginning at 7:00pm, $20 

2) Special Holiday Class w/Romi Cumes at Santa Barbara Yoga Center - Romi is one of SB's favorite yoga instructors.  She teaches an intelligent and strong class.  This special mixed level flow class promises "a taste of creatively different yoga and movement modalities."  Intriguing-sounding, we must say!
Monday, December 24, 9:00-11:00am, $28  

3) New Year's Workshop w/Scott & Chandra Easton at Santa Barbara Yoga Center -  Scott and Chandra are teachers of the highest quality, and they don't stop by SB as often as we'd like.  So seize this golden opportunity to practice with them, and set some intentions for your new year while you're at it!  Sunday, December 30, 2:00-5:00pm, $50

***To see a full listing of all upcoming yoga workshops & events in the SB area, please visit the events page on our website.

Announcement!

We're happy to report that we've teamed up with The Fund for Santa Barbara, our favorite local non-profit organization.  We will be donating 10% of our in-store sales this coming weekend to the Fund. That's this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 7, 8, & 9.  The Fund for Santa Barbara powerfully supports grassroots organizations working for social, economic, and environmental justice in SB County.  If you shop at Drishti this coming weekend, your dollars will go toward supporting this important organization.

Drishti News! 

We'd like to introduce you to our newest employee, Asia.  Asia is an amazing (and when we say "amazing", we are speaking from personal experience here) bodyworker and esthetician by profession, and we are delighted to have her behind the counter at Drishti.  Her soothing nature and warm presence are the perfect complement to our store.  Asia is so new that we haven't had the chance to add her to the Who We Are page on our website yet, but look for her the next time you stop by our store.

The Drishti Blog...

...is still one of our favorite things. We think you should check out the Drishti Blog by clicking here.

P.S. Comments are really easy to leave on our blog, if you ever feel so inclined...  Heh heh.

Gift Wrap

We've always offered to tastefully wrap our in-store shoppers' gifts, but this season, at the suggestion of Bethany, we decided to offer a gift wrap option to our online shoppers as well.  "Customers are always so impressed by our wrap job," Bethany observed one day.  "Why don't we impress our online customers as well?"

So if you're ordering a gift for Aunt Mary in Cleveland or Uncle Buck in Topanga, just select the"gift wrap" checkbox when ordering and your gift will arrive ready and wrapped!  (A wrapping fee does apply.)

Drishti Holiday Hours

Our store hours during the holidays are pretty much the same as they always are (Mon-Sat 10-7 and Sun 12-6), with these exceptions:

Monday, December 24th: 10am-4pm

Tuesday, December 25th: closed

Monday, December 31: 10am-4pm

Tuesday, January 1: closed