Perfect Tank by Skyler

This tank was such a hit in our store, we just had to make it available online.  It's the perfect union of street and sweat - that's why we call it the "Perfect Tank"!

Viniyoga for Lower Back, Sacrum, & Hips DVD

Renowned yoga instructor Gary Kraftsow brings his signature therapeutic yoga style, known as viniyoga, to the medium of the DVD. Highly recommended for yogis who deal with lower back/hip issues (which is probably about 75% of the yogi population). A second DVD  featuring Gary K. that targets the upper back, neck, and shoulders is also available.

Pink Skidless Mat Towel

(Limited Edition)

Each October, Yogitoes makes its ever-popular Skidless Towel available in the limited-edition color of pink in honor of breast cancer awareness month.  $5 from each pink towel sold is donated to the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, which is dedicated to eliminating breast cancer within the next 10 years. Available for the month of October only!

Eco-Friendly Cork Blocks

Cork blocks are all the rage in the yoga scene these days.  Eco-friendly like bamboo blocks, but available for a lower price, they have a surprisingly hefty weight and are quite aesthetically pleasing. Give one a try!

It's Coupon Time!

Come one, come all to the Drishti online store and enter the code DNEWSL1007 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 11/30/07.

Hey Everybody, it's The Drishti Newsletter! 

You might notice that our newsletter looks a little bit different from the appearance you're accustomed to.  Well, all things in life are impermanent, including our old newsletter format! Do you like the inherent beauty present in this layout? Isn't the graphic that spans across the top quite pleasing to the eye?

Enough musing on the newness of the Newsletter. What we'd really like you to know is that news about Drishti can be found along the right-hand side of this email, while some cool new products that our store is carrying can be found to the left.  Our popular Yoga News section and the informative Upcoming Workshops & Events section can both be found directly below this paragraph.  And if you scroll down far enough, you might even be treated to a compelling quotation of our choosing.  Enjoy!

Yoga News

Big News: There's A New Yoga Studio in Santa Barbara!

Richard McLaughlin, well-known Santa Barbara-based Iyengar yoga instructor, and his wife Emma-Jane Huerta recently opened the Iyengar Yoga Studio of Santa Barbara, or IYSSB as its friends call it.  Located on upper De La Vina St. just past Alamar, it features beautiful bamboo flooring, filtered natural light, a classic Iyengar rope wall, and an array of yoga props from blankets to arched wooden backbenders.  IYSSB offers 13 classes a week ranging from Levels 1 through 4 (Level 4 requires instructor permission to attend.)  A single class is $15, and multiple class series are of course offered as well.

This is the first and only Iyengar-specific studio in Santa Barbara and it has been personally approved by the legenday B.K.S. Iyengar himself.  Drop by the studio at 2718 De La Vina Street in Santa Barbara if you have time, or check out their soon-to-be-live website at www.iyssb.com. 

Amma, The Hugging Saint, Featured on CNN

Mata Amritanandamayi, or Amma, as she is more affectionately called, was featured on CNN on August 22 - wowza! Amma is an extremely popular, beloved figure in the yoga world.  She is known as the "hugging saint" because she holds events all over the world in which followers line up for hours to receive a single magical hug from her. Amma just recently visited Los Angeles, in fact, where thousands of people (yoga students included) received inspiring hugs from this most charismatic and unique of gurus. (Santa Barbara Ashtanga teacher Steve Dwelley actually wrote about his experience visiting Amma in his blog.)

Click here to see CNN's write-up on Amma. 

Real Bodywork to Launch DVDs Featuring Local Yoga Instructors

Real Bodywork, a huge name in the massage DVD industry, is adding a new "wellness" branch to their video-producing company which will focus on practices such as yoga and tai chi.  Although Real Bodywork is the #1 massage DVD producer in the world and its products can be found throughout the U.S. and beyond, the company is based right here in our little town of Santa Barbara.  Because of this, two lucky local yoga teachers have teamed up with Real Bodywork to be featured in the first two yoga DVDs of the new wellness series.  Deb Dobbin, a long-time SB instructor with a large following who teaches at Yoga Soup, and relative newcomer to Santa Barbara (but not to yoga instruction) Zyrka Landwijt, who teaches at Yoga Soup and Santa Barbara Yoga Center, are each working on a DVD with Real Bodywork.  Slated for release by the end of the year, these DVDs will feature intelligent instruction and high-quality filming, and we're excited to carry them at Drishti once they're available.

Upcoming Yoga Workshops & Events

(in the Santa Barbara area) 

You might remember our regular "Upcoming Yoga Workshops & Events" list which figures prominently into each of our newsletters.  Well, we decided that this helpful but expansive list was making our emails to our Drishti friends toooo long.  To mend this issue, we've compiled the exact same list, but instead of sticking it in this email, we've created a new page on our website dedicated exclusively to yoga workshops and events. Check it out: we think you'll like it!

Although we're now keeping our full list of yoga workshops & events separate from our newsletters, we would like to call to your attention a few events that deserve highlighting:

1) Ashtanga Presentation at Yoga Soup with Steve Dwelley & Eddie Ellner: Led Primary Series followed by an intriguing Q&A/dialog.  The pairing of these two major Santa Barbara yoga instructors promises to be interesting if not highly entertaining...

Sunday, October 21, 1:00-4:00pm

2) Ojai Yoga Crib!  Presented each year by Kira Ryder and Lulu Bandha's yoga studio in Ojai, the Yoga Crib is like a major yoga conference, but better.  Featuring a cast of yoga teacher all-stars, magical kirtan leaders and inspiring morning meditations, the OYC takes place across several historically significant and sacred spots in the gorgeous Ojai Valley. Thumbs up to this event!

October 26-28

Click here for more information on the Ojai Yoga Crib. 

3) Kirtan w/Krishna Das presented by Santa Barbara Yoga Center at Earl Warren Showgrounds in SB.

Krishna Das is the reason that kirtan is popular in the U.S. There are of course other influential kirtan leaders as well - many of them, in fact - but Krishna Das' music caught the attention of the yoga community years ago. (It was that Mountain Hare Krishna song that he performed with Sting that originally made kirtan converts out of a great many yogis, wasn't it?) Since then, KD's popularity has steadily grown and the momentum behind him paved the way for the practice to become as commonplace in the yoga world as it is today. Yay, Krishna Das!

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

"I enjoy beauty. But life is not all about what we consider to be beauty. When you're watching someone you love die, for example, it can be difficult. But if that death is a good death and comes to someone who's ready to die, then that is a beautiful thing, even though it's not the same variety of beauty as the beauty of a supermodel or a lotus.  ...Recall on a daily basis that everything that you're trying to do - all your ambitions, even if they're nice ambitions - are not permanent. They'll end."
-Robert Svoboda, Ayurvedic scholar extraordinaire, as interviewed by Yoga Journal, October 2007 issue

Drishti News!

Things at Drishti over these past few months have been most excellent!  We had a terrific, smooth summer capped by a fabulous bi-annual sale at the end of August. The sale was extremely busy and we did so much running around that everyone's feet were sore by the end of each day!  But we had fun in the midst of the craziness and we enjoyed seeing all of our customers' familiar faces as they streamed through the store in search of wonderful yoga clothing at incredible deals. (Our sales are in-store only for those online customers who might be wondering, but they don't include any items that we sell online anyway, so don't worry - you didn't miss out! However, if you're feeling left out anyway :), we've included an awesome coupon code in this newsletter which you can use toward your next order. So put on a happy face and look to the left-hand side to find the coupon hook- up!)

The Drishti Blog

We are also still loving the Drishti Blog which we started a few months back.  We've been keeping our blog current with regular updates about yoga news both local and far-reaching, nifty videos you might like to see, and interesting facts and musings. Check out the Drishti Blog by clicking here.

Drishti Employee Updates 

We've recently said hello to a few fresh faces at Drishti - Jen and Catherine, who both work in the boutique, and Ryan, who works in our online shipping space.  Sara worked in the boutique awhile back, left for a year abroad in England, and has just returned to Santa Barbara.  You'll find her in the boutique a couple of times a week as well.  We're also saying good-bye to our dear Talia, a wonderful employee and fashion expert extraordinaire, who is in the process of relocating to Los Angeles.  In other big Drishti staff news, Alison, who has worked in the boutique for a year and half, just returned from New York City and Italy, where she had her beautiful wedding and amazing honeymoon.  Many congratulations, newly-married woman!