Introducing Moksha Yoga

A number of weeks ago I had the privilege of taking a yoga class at Moksha Yoga here in Winnipeg. It was amazing! From the top-notch facilities to the friendly staff, the first impression was a good one. My instructor was able to modify things for me (the first-timer) while keeping it challenging for the experienced yogis. She even took the time afterwards to comment on how well I did in the class.

You see, there's something about moksha yoga you have to know. It's done in a 37-39 degree room. I was able to do most of it without even having to lie down. (Others on their first time find the heat difficult to manage and nausea and dizziness can result). It was definitely challenging to do the 90-minute class, but it was so worth it! I struggle with insomnia, but after that class I could've gone to sleep at suppertime! Such a deep relaxation came over my body.

There are many benefits to moksha yoga. I've asked Moksha to be a guest on our blog every month, and so hopefully we'll learn some of them, as well as learning more about their studio. This month, they've contributed a short article on eating local, as two of their core philosophies are caring for the environment and a healthy lifestyle.


Eco-Tip - Eating Local (courtesy of Moksha Yoga)

Did you know that a typical ingredient on your plate has traveled 1,500 miles or more from farm to plate? In fact, most of the food we eat is grown in places we’ll never visit. For example, lettuce in grocery stores usually originates in China, a place that many of us will only ever dream of seeing.

Having food travel so far from farm to plate brings up some very valid health and environmental concerns. To be ripe in our stores, produce is picked well before it’s ripe so that it can survive the journey to our plate, robbing us of many beneficial nutrients that we should be getting from our food. From an environmental perspective, the amount of fuel used to bring the food from point A to point B is very destructive to our environment, which is detrimental to not only our health, but the health of the planet too.

Thank goodness we have other options available to us! We live in a place surrounded by farms, which always means farmers markets! The farmers market in St. Norbert is a great place to spend your Saturday morning, and new this year is the Osborne farmers market that takes place at the corner of River and Osborne every Thursday from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. This is the best time of year to get good, fresh, locally grown produce just chalk-a-block with nutrients!

For more information on farmers markets in the area see Farmers Markets in Manitoba. For more information on how you can introduce more local goods into your diet, check out the 100-mile diet. Last year a group of people from Winnipeg did a 100 day 100-mile challenge. Hmmm….sounds interesting…..



Thanks, Moksha Yoga for your interest in our business and a helpful tip on trying to eat well and live well. At Eve Studios, we're trying to help women feel good about their bodies. Although our skill is photography, there are many ways to do it and good nutrition is one of them.

Don't Wait!

You don't have to wait until you're perfect to come to Eve Studios. You may wish your thighs were a little trimmer or your tummy was a little less "jelly-belly", or whatever it is you feel a little insecure about.

The purpose of Eve Studios is to celebrate you the way you are! And to have fun doing it! If you've never watched "How to Look Good Naked" on "W", I encourage you to try it, even just one episode. Although I'm not as crazy about some parts of the new hour-long British version as I was about the two half-hour shows they aired in fall/winter, I never cease to be moved by the incredible shift in body image and self-acceptance that occurs in each woman as she takes a long look at herself, discovers the untrue beliefs she has about herself, and has a chance to learn about the best fashion and undergarments for her body and get a new hairstyle/look that suits her face well. One of the last things every woman does on the show as she journeys towards greater acceptance and confidence is a photo shoot--sans clothing. This is usually quite a big step to take, but well worth it.

While we're on the topic of the photo shoot, I have to say, an Eve shoot is way more relaxed and fun. The ones on the show seem more posed and static, while the shoots at Eve are much more natural and organic (if you will...just more movement, seeing where things go...that kind of thing). Rodney has a knack for making his clients feel comfortable and at ease in front of the camera. And he knows how to encourage and build up people in a genuine way. It's just what he does best. So whether you decide to bare all or not, you look great and feel great during the entire experience.

I guess what I'm trying to say is--if you're intrigued by the idea of the Eve Experience, but you think you need to wait for a more ideal time...don't wait any longer! Just come in, have a consultation, set a date, and go for it! You'll be so glad you did.

Hello Again

Well hello again, I hope you didn't miss me too much. As Sonya mentioned we spent some time in Saskatchewan with family, photos will be around soon (they are sitting on my laptop right now). Something that you might want to know about me (or not) is that I sometimes will see things that need to be done (like a haircut or painting something) and all of the sudden I need to have it done-right now. It really sucks when this happens with my hair at 10:30 pm on a Saturday night; as Sonya can attest there have been a number of times where Sunday morning my hair hasn't looked quite like it did the day before because I HAD to have it cut, well the same was true today when it came to my Main entrance door. For those of you coming to the studio in the near future, feel free to come to the RED door, and yes it is very bright red!! By the way, I want to take a moment to thank Alicia for the Email about why we should go with red for the color, I hope it doesn't disappoint.

My grass is also coming in quite nicely, for those of you who have not been to the studio lately and the clawfoot tub upstairs has just been re-enamelled and looks very nice.

Along with the work being done to the studio and grounds we have also been working very hard on new promotional pieces for the studio and soon we will be updating our website (read: it should be done in the next week or so).

I want to say a quick thank you to all of our clients for all of your support in the past year, I can't tell you how much your support means to us.

Enjoy the heat, talk to you soon.
Rodney

We're Back

Just a quick post to let you know we're back. Rodney will hopefully post a few amazing images from our trip...

Summertime

Summertime...and the livin' is easy. Ahhhh, that it were so. Actually, we're really looking forward to summer. Our firstborn is done school, we're taking off to Saskatchewan to visit family and do some family sessions in the great outdoors, and then we're planning lots of BBQ's, some beach days and some family outings as well as some work in the yard. And of course, we continue to build Eve Studios into a thriving studio where more and more women can celebrate their beauty just the way they are.

In other news, Rodney just spent a busy couple of days preparing for and teaching at the first ever Manitoba Photographic Artist's Exposition at the Forks. His two seminars (Glamour/Art Nude Photography and Child Portraiture) were some of the first to sell out. It's still going on...workshops, galleries and things. It also happens to be National Aboriginal Day with celebrations there and on Selkirk Avenue. We might try to take a little of that in if the kids wake up in time.

And then it's off to our homeland. So, it'll be a little quiet here, but we'll be back soon. Enjoy the long week-end. It's coming soon!

Shopping Fun in the Exchange

Just wanted to pass this information on to our clients. Check out their website for more info. They are on Albert Street.

Starting June 9th at Candie & Dolls you will receive

10% off your first item!
20% off the second!
30% off the third item!

This is our best sale of the season and will get you well on the way for a new summer wardrobe! If only getting the weather to cooperate was as much fun!!! New collections are still arriving and this promo is for a limited time so don't miss out!

Fine Print: Does not include Yummie Tummie tanks or Spanx.

Exchange District Block Party

This weekend make sure to be in the Exchange District for one BIG PARTY!
Starting Friday, June 13th to Sunday June 15th our area will be buzzing with live d.j's, outdoor concerts, wake demos and so much more cool stuff.

The big highlight in our opinion is the outdoor fashion show at 5pm in the Exchange District Park.

Candie & Dolls will be open until 8pm on Friday and Saturday plus 12-5 on Sunday.

Get more details at rockinthedistrict.com.

The Bra Whisperers

If you've been following the show "How to Look Good Naked" on "W", you'll be quite familiar with the host's favorite name for those who help women get properly fitted for undergarments: "Bra Whisperer".

I visited one of Winnipeg's own, having recently finished breastfeeding our last child. I figured now was the perfect time to find out my actual size and get something new to replace my ugly worn-out nursing bras.

I learned:
- when buying a bra, it should be snug on the first hook to allow for a bit of stretching out with wear
- buying too large a band for your chest size results in the straps falling down, which usually results in making the straps tighter, which usually pulls up too much in the back (or front) and makes us crazy!
- when a bra is good quality materials and make, the snugness of the bra is not uncomfortable
- a good bra can totally transform your shape
- bras like to be washed by hand fairly often and hung to dry and will reward you by keeping their shape and comfort for a long time (I knew this, but didn't necessarily abide by this, especially in the last five years...now I'll have to get in the habit of bra-washing before bed!)
- I have entirely too good of taste in bras and I had to go home to think about it, but I'm convinced I will go back and spend the money
- lay-away is a wonderful thing (25% down and monthly payments until it is purchased and you can finally take that beautiful, French bra home)
- I am a 32 B
- I don't think I want to go back to pulling bras off the racks and going in and out of department store dressing rooms

Update on challenge

Alright, I'm not the most disciplined person I know, but I have actually done fairly well on this Better Body challenge of mine. I must say it feels kind of good now to look in the mirror and say "Wow you are a sexy man" to myself, who knows within a week or two Sonya might even be saying that to me without prompting!!! Thanks Carly for the inspiration.

It is summer and the time has come to focus on the outside of our building again. The new grass is slowly coming up and is very patchy, but I'm getting the itching to paint so I am turning my gaze to the outside entry door. Now my question for you, what color do I paint it, I'm torn. Red is punchy and vibrant, lime green is our logo color and has some character and lastly black or white are also options. What do you think????? We are so interested in your opinion that the person with the best response (not just color, but why we should choose that) will receive a gift.

That's it for now, I hope all is well.

Rodney

The 30 day challenge???

I was inspired and challenged by a client yesterday, her name is Carly and she recently took a 30 day yoga challenge. Carly came in for a session and not only was she beautiful, she was also an amazing person and I was inspired when hearing her story so i too think that I should try to do a 30 day challenge of my own. In all fairness I have been getting slightly healthier by taking the bike to work and around town as much as possible, but I think if I could build up my core muscles a bit and just tune my body up that would be good; I do realize that I won't have as good a body as Carly has, but I'm going to do what I can to become more healthy.

I should clarify, I won't be doing yoga for 30 days but will be doing a workout daily for 30 days, please ask me how it's going and keep me accountable.

Speaking of new beginnings, last week we finally planted new grass seeds here at the studio after bringing in 10 yards of topsoil and 6 yards of limestone. With the help of Jacob my 6 year old son we have done a lot of work here at the studio and are proud of the way it is looking, thanks to our clients for your patience as we have been working on the yard and trying to improve the property here.

Now, stop reading and go outside and enjoy a few mins of beautiful fresh air.

Rodney

Dating other people

Well it's official so I thought I would let our little world in on it, Sonya and I have started dating other people. This weekend was our first go at it and I must say, it was AWESOME!!! Friday was my date night and my date looked like a million bucks, Rachel (my 3 year old princess) was dressed to kill and she helped me pick out the clothes that she wanted me to wear (you need to look handsome daddy). Sunday night was Sonya's turn and Jacob (our 5 year old prince charming) was dressed in a button up shirt and his nicest jeans, he even allowed me to put a little cologne on him. We both went to the same show, the performance put on by the Senior professional program of the School of Contemporary Dancers; what an amazing show, my kids were in awe and want to go again next weekend. It was really quite an amazing experience to go out with the kids one on one, it was special for both Sonya and I but all the more for the kids.

I guess if I have to date someone other than my babe, my princess is the next best option, thanks sweetie.

Rodney