Yoga Party!

I love parties. I might even I love parties even more than I love yoga (is that possible?).

So, when I was approached to host a surprise yoga birthday party for one of my favorite yogini's ( a regular at my Thursday night class) and her 5 friends, I was thrilled to have an afternoon to indulge some of my favorite obsessions: food, yoga, music, and parties.

Here's what it looked like: the birthday girl was bamboozled into coming to the yoga studio (I think a blindfold may have been involved and her husband was even enlisted to set aside a change of yoga clothes) where her bestest friends greeted her alongside a table outfitted with a fanciful spread of beautiful food, pink tulips, and candles galore.

After a bit of fanfare around the guest of honor's arrival, we settled on to our mats and set out on a 2 hour yoga practice. A few of the girls were new to yoga, so a bit of time was spent breaking down poses but a lot more time was spent breaking into laughter.

We did some parter yoga poses towards the end, which was so much fun and the final savasana (complete with a lavender oil mini massage) was a proper 15 minutes -- there is usually not enough time to offer up this much time for relaxation in most classes, so it was so nice to be able to give that gift to everyone! And after the practice, stomachs were grumbling and it was time to feast.

Ok, my skeptical carniverous cronies, I know what you're thinking: the menu at a yoga party better subsist of something a bit more intoxicating than hemp milk and vegan gluten-free sugar-free pseudo-cookies. While this particular menu was indeed meat-free, it was a substantive sampling of simple cold tapas: a 3-bean Mediterranean salad, roasted red pepper hummus, couscous & beet salad, savory tamari spiced nuts, artichoke tapenade. And for dessert, chocolate covered strawberries and baklava. Yum. But have no fear: if franks and beans are what you fancy, I can do it up all-American picnic-style, though that happens to sound completely repulsive to me (no judgement, though, I swear).

So,how much will a yoga shindig set you back? The price per head for a party of this kind starts at $50/head, but could potentially be less, depending on the menu. For example, I'm not sure how much hot dogs cost these days, it's been a while since I've made that purchase. Thc party price includes:

- 1 1/2 hour customized yoga workshop

- 1/2 guided meditation and savasana

- Food & drinks (customized menu)

- Customized Vinyasa Yoga CD*( for this event I made a playlist that included some of the birthday girl's favorite song)

- Party Favors * (i.e., Paper tea lights & Japanese Incense from RUKA* (see http://www.ruka.com/)

*- possible add-ons!

A good time was had by all, it seems. In a shameless act of self-promotion, I will share with you the rave reviews from this yoga soiree, just in case you think I'm making this up to fill space on my blog. Actually, the feedback was quite lovely indeed:

Holly,
Saturday was absolutely amazing!!! we all had a great time and it was an awesome bonding experience. everyone just kept talking about how much they loved it. you really did a great job and made everyone feel comfortable trying new things and experiencing yoga in a whole new way. I keep getting emails today from everyone about how much they loved it!!!!!!!!
Thanks a million tree poses!!
Jenn

Anyway, it's a good kind of party to get invited to -- at the very least you don't have to worry about what to wear. Or who to bring. Just bring a mat, a sense of humor (mandatory) and a hearty appettite.

( Now, dare I write this? I think I must.)

Party OM! (Sorry. Had to. Couldn't resist.)

Hope to see you all soon! If you're thinking of having a yoga party, email me at hwestyoga@gmail.com for more info.

xo

Holly