Dearest Bhaktishop family,

Kirtan with Lolo Woods on Saturday May 31st from 8-10! We are so excited to bring you this amazing woman…

Whew, now that we have gotten that out, we wanted to say this: thank you for making our first month open so sweet and full of beauty, we are so grateful for your presence and practices, every day!

A last word for May—We raised almost $1000 for Street Yoga with your donations at our grand opening party this month, and we wanted to say thank you! And our dance party with DJ Anjali and The Kid was so successful, you can look for another one just like it on Saturday night, October 4th. We can’t wait to get down with you all over again, barefoot in the yoga studio!

Please look for a new schedule with a few updates and additions, out this week. New classes added to the menu to look out for- a new Opening Flow1 class on Mondays at 8:30am with Carlye, and a new Soul Flow 2 class with Monicka on Wednesdays at 7pm!

We can’t wait to blurt this one out again—KIRTAN WITH LOLO WOODS!!! Saturday May 31st from 8-10pm, come sing your heart out with our favorite vocal presence. $10, and children are FREE!

The rookie series begins all over again on Saturday May 31st at 1pm, and will be brought to you by Diana. Sign up in advance either at the Shop or via email, weloveyou@thebhaktishop.com. It will run for 4 weeks, skipping Saturday June 14th. A great way to kick off a new yoga practice!!

Join Lolo once again on Sunday June 8th from 3-5pm for a Sound and Nada Yoga Workshop to free your voices and open your hearts. She will lead us through vocal exercises, and introduction to Raga and Sargam scales, and in general help us all to get over it when it comes to opening our mouths to sing and make sound. It promises to be a very free afternoon…

Second Sunday kirtans continue, Sunday June 8th from 6-8pm with your delighted Om Girls and Lolo, singing to and celebrating all the greatness in each of us. Come sing with us, join in the good company, and raise some money for our NEW Bike Corral! By donation, and as always, treats and friends surrounding you.

Please note that there are no 1pm classes on Saturday June 14th and Sunday June 15th to make way for the amazing Dana and Jasmine from Laughing Lotus in NYC/SF. Jai Ma!!

The great 108 is coming on the summer solstice, Saturday June 21st from 9-11am. In this age-old tradition, we celebrate the sun and the light within all beings together with 108 surya namaskars (or not…) in the broad, bright light of summer. This year, we will take it outdoors into Piccolo Park, right behind the Bhaktishop on SE 27th Ave, and it’s completely by donation to our bike corral fund!! Stay awhile for snacks and lemonade after, and please note that there is no 11am class on the Solstice. Bring a mat!

Celebrate-Your-Yoga Bike Ride! Join us in celebrating Portland’s own Pedalpalooza, a cycling event that celebrates all things bikey for all of June. The Bhaktishop will host our first yoga bike ride, led by Tasha, on Wednesday June 25th at 5:15pm at the top of Mt. Tabor, by the statue of the man.  Check the website for more details of fun in the sun!

And finally, a yummy treat for music lovers—The Harmonium, de-mystified, with Lolo Woods on Sunday June 29th.  Ever wanted to learn to play an instrument? Curious about that box we squeeze when we sing in class and kirtan? Own a Harmonium but have no idea how to make friends with it? This workshop is for you!!! The delightful Lolo Woods will lead us through some Harmonium basics, from how to open one, how to buy one, and how to play one, to basics of how to sing with one to accompany yourself or others. We will provide seven instruments for participants to play with…

Heidi wants to take you away to the Oregon Coast at Manzanita on retreat this September 5-7th!  Now that all the other summer retreats have sold out and you are sorry, we wanted to add one more for the beach and surf loving yogis out there. This is an intimate chance to practice with Heidi and your yoga family on Oregon’s delicious coast, and get your asana out of town!!!  Early birds get the worm… Check the retreats page for details, or email heidijoma@thebhaktishop.com for more!

Once again let us pour out our gratitude to all of you for your love and support and for helping us make our dream come true—to create a loving and warm home for all of us to celebrate life together. Your company mixed with the beauty of the studio and the grace of all your practices make this truly a home sweet home for all of us.

In joy and giggly summer delight,
Lisa Mae and Diana and the Bhaktishop gang

Spring joy to you all, dear Bhaktishop family!

We are honored and blessed to be able to share this beautiful new space with you all! We opened with a rousing family kirtan on the 20th and blessed the heck out of our bright new home thanks to all of you who attended and offered your prayers and voices. We can’t say enough to thank you for all your support—know that every time you step into the Shop, you are standing on floors laid by folks you practice next to, and walls painted and put up by them too! This family is the greatest gift we could ever receive, and it is dedicated to all of you.

Please come celebrate our Grand Opening Party on Saturday, May 3rd from 8-11pm. Its going to be a big, funky, free benefit for Portland’s very own Street Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to the underserved corners of our fine city. The party will feature Indian food from our favorite neighborhood restaurant, Vindalho, as well as the infamous WhirlyGirlz with an insane light-up hoop show you won’t forget. Starring DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid spinning funky Bollywood and Indian beats, it will be a dance party filled with love and gratitude!!! We will be selling raffle tickets for $2 each, which gets you the chance to win great stuff like free yoga retreats, massages, dinners, landscape design, free yoga, art, a cashmere bikini, and much more! Support Street Yoga, get your groove on, and celebrate this fun and exciting time with us.

The Total Rookie Series begins this Saturday, May 3rd at 1pm. Please email us here at weloveyou@thebhaktishop.com for information on how to sign up for this fun and totally non-intimidating introduction to yoga, brought to you this month by Diana. Get your partner, neighbor or best friend onto the mat next to you!!

Now THIS is what we call fun: Acro Yoga on Sunday May 11th from 2:45-5:00pm with Tyler and Donna from San Francisco’s own Acro Yoga family! We are excited to offer this wild and uplifting experience of partner yoga, and hope to see you all there! Please email us or come into the Shop to sign up.

Special Mother’s Day kirtan with the family on Sunday May 11th from 6-8pm. Honor all mothers everywhere along with the Divine Mother in a yummy kirtan to raise money for our Soul Project. Sing you hearts out in our new home, bring a picture of your mom for the altar, or just bring your actual mom… Jai ma!

We are thrilled to announce an Intro to Sanskrit workshop on Friday May 23rd and Saturday May 24th with the magical Manorama from New York’s School of Sanskrit Studies. She is amazing and if you ever wondered what it all means or how to pronounce it right, this is the workshop to take! We will learn the alphabet, the proper pronunciations, and chant lots of mantra in this illuminating weekend. All students of yoga welcome, no experience needed. You must sign up ahead of time, however, if you are planning on taking this one. Please click here for details on the workshop and a bio of Manorama, and email or call us to register.

The first solo kirtan with the delightful Lolo Woods is coming to you on Saturday night, May 31st, from 8-10pm. We are honored and blessed to host our dear, angel-throated friend as she helps to sing us all awake through her enchanting presence and beautiful voice. Please join us!

There is still time to get in on Sarah’s retreat to Opal Creek on May 30-June 2. If you got aced out of both Breitenbush and the August Opal Creek, you can still make this one! Email them at registrar@opalcreek.org to jump on the yoga bus…

Our opening month special monthly unlimited class card for $108 is available until May 21st. After that, you have missed it. Get in on this deal while you can!

Thanks for excusing us while we sneak the finishing touches on the new Shop, secretly at night while you’re all sleeping… We think we might be done in another few weeks, so surprises will be in store for you every time you walk in the door.  Nice.

Thank you for your patience, for supporting us, and most of all, for adding your special light to this beautiful community of seekers. We are so grateful.

Bowing,
Lisa Mae, Diana, and the Bhakti love crew

This is how we feel right about now—the spring is springing inside us all and we are RIPE for change! Yes, it’s finally coming. We are hoping to move to the new joint Monday April 21st, come hell or high water, and even if you have to wander around the chain link fence to get to us. Okay really, this is the plan, but it could change, so stay close. If that is on target, we will close the doors to Om Tradition Arts with a deep bow of gratitude on Sunday April 20th after Heidi’s 11am class, and open the doors to 2500 SE 26th Ave. on Monday morning, April 21st, with very little fanfare. They say when one door closes…

AND! Some special sneak previews are coming up too… Listen up! The first official event of the new space will be our amazingly gratitude-filled kirtan on Sunday night the 20th of April from 6-8pm with your amazed Om Girls. We are postponing our usual 2nd Sunday kirtan in April to the 3rd Sunday, to make room for the move and transition. Come and help us christen our new space by filling the joint with your love that first night, a celebration of Hanuman’s birthday—all the devotion and love we can muster!! As always by donation to the Soul Project. All are welcome!

Special opening month pricing for classes! A ridiculously cheap monthly unlimited card is available for your yoga pleasure for $108. Drop-in prices will be $13 per class, 10-class cards remain $100, but look on the menu for a Seva (service) class, marked with a little heart, available every single day, at the low price of $8. Nice!! We will also offer a new student intro package that gives you an unlimited week of yoga for $20, as well as 2 classes that are offered either free or by donation every week. So many possibilities…

Opal Creek in August is sold out! So… we are bringing you another opportunity to explore the wilds of Opal Creek with lovely Sarah, May 30-June 1st. If you got aced out of the August trip, please email Opal Creek to register for this one at registrar@opalcreek.org soon, because this one will sell out too.

There are 2 spaces left for the September 14-16th yummy Breitenbush love-fest with Lisa Mae and Diana. So if you are waiting, don’t. Email us at weloveyou@thebhaktishop.com to get on the list.

And apparently we were well-behaved enough in Costa Rica to be invited back for the third year in a row… SO! Those of you that said “next year!” can start stashing your nickels in that sock under your bed for February 25- March 4, 2009. Join us to get wild, happy and free in the deluxe lushness of your beautiful life in divine Costa Rica. Jai jai jai!!! Check the site soon for this years’ photos. Oh my.

Workshop city coming straight to you this Spring and Summer:

• Wild and Free Acro Partner Yoga- May 11th
• Intro to Sanskrit with Manorama- May 23/24th
• Special Solo Kirtan with Lolo Woods and guest- May 31st 
• Nada Yoga and Freeing your Voice with Lolo Woods- June 8th
• Lisa Mae’s teachers Dana and Jasmine, of Laughing Lotus NY/SF- June 14/15th
• The Great 108 Summer Solstice with Lisa Mae- June 21st
• Celebrate-Your-Yoga Bike Ride for Pedalpalooza with Tasha- June 28th
• Guru Purnima Celebration with Lisa Mae- July 18th
• Vedic Astrology talk/workshop with Dennis Flaherty- September 19/20th

Whew! Click here for full details on these teachers and workshop descriptions…

We are working on an amazing Grand Opening party on Saturday May 3rd, definitely including food and drink from the awesome neighborhood restaurants, and for sure some hoop-jam from the Whirly Girlz, coming off of creative sabbatical just for us, as well as maybe one of the greatest DJ teams in Portland, DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid, for your Indian booty-shaking pleasure. Stay tuned!!

Please tell us all about it, we want to make this place a home for every one of you that will encourage us all, on the path together, to open into LOVE!!

Weeping happy with gratitude,
Lisa Mae, Diana, and the whole dang Bhaktishop family

The caravan of love is officially moving on or about April 1st! We know that you have all waited so patiently for this to happen, and we are really excited to move into our sweet new eco-friendly home on SE 26th and Division. Please stay close and check in often, for one day soon we will close the doors to Om Tradition Arts with gratitude for the last time, and throw open the doors of the beautiful Bhaktishop for one and all to CELEBRATE LOVE AND LIFE through yoga!

Stay tuned for a sneak-preview free class at the new space, pre-opening day, with Lisa Mae AND Diana (double the love is always better!) We will also host a fun opening party, an art show of delightful mail art from over 12 countries, special opening month class prices, a showering of giveaways for awesome stuff from the Clinton/Division neighborhood businesses, the return of the beloved month-long bring-a-friend-for-free yoga party, and most of all, an amazingly big and bright and beautiful home to call your own in the heart of Southeast. Man we have been waiting a long time for this moment, and we can’t wait for you to join us in blessing the new digs. Did we also mention that Little Tim’s American Bakery is going in right next door? We love ourselves a pastry…

We will be adding at least 12 new classes to the menu, from more of the Soul and Ecstatic Flow classes that you love, to a total Rookie series for beginners on Saturdays. More Opening Flow beginner classes will appear, plus a modern take on dance and yoga flow, a brand-new “Harmony” flow  on Sundays combining restorative and yin with yummy flowing vinyasa, a yoga flow for kids ages 5 and up on Friday afternoons, and more. We will add a FREE Saturday morning meditation, the Karma Flow class will remain awesomely free, and we can finally welcome Heather, Monicka, Carlye, Tasha, and Sarah fully to the schedule… This is a dream of a class schedule for us—yoga at all times of the day and night, yoga for all levels and types, all yoga all the time, all for YOU!!!

Our festive family kirtan this month is on a Saturday again- you really busted the seams of the place last Saturday! March 8th from 6-8pm, we welcome you to come and raise your voices together with us in joy and song, all for community spirit and charity. By donation to the Soul Project, and there are always goodies to share afterwards. Little muffinheads welcome… April 13th, at the new location, we will resume our second Sundays again. So sorry to disrupt your schedules like this, but… Can’t wait to shout out the love with you all on Saturday, March 8th.

The Radical Spring Equinox Yoga Festival with Diana is on Thursday March 20th at 12 noon. What a great reason to play hooky (or take that extra loooong lunch break) and celebrate the coming of spring with us at The Bhaktishop. Sign up early, because you know what happens. Let’s get that sap rising and celebrate the end of all this grayness…

Our delicious Opal Creek retreat is almost full already. There are 5 spots left, if you have somehow missed out in the past or are simply stalling, DO IT NOW! Email them at registrar@opalcreek.org to grab those last few spaces. It’s only $220 for 2 nights of fun, frolic, yoga, food, and ancient tree wisdom with your friends August 1-3. We want to hear you yell “Om Namah Shivaya!” as you leap from the rock into Opal Pool….

Since Opal Creek is (as promised) almost full already (you guys LOVE summer!) we thought we had better organize something else for you. SO… we thought long and hard and decided that a retreat to Breitenbush Hot Springs in the late summer was just the thing to go out with a roar. Yeah! Join Lisa Mae and Diana (double the love) in the deluxe River Yurt for an intimate retreat to the land of yummy magic this September 14-16. Sunday night thru Tuesday afternoon, soak away into the late-lighted nights, hike the gorge(eous) hills and woods, swim in the river, and yoga your brains out with us! There is some camping available for $266-$290 but hurry, only a few spots available… Other lodging options are available in cabins from $290-$368 depending on availability. We can only take 16 of you. We’re not kidding. Early birds get the worm. Please email us at weloveyou@thebhaktishop.com if you are interested in joining us for the last of the late summer bliss…

Thank you for all your offers to help us paint, build stuff, cook, move big things, lay tile, arrange flowers, make us curtains, throw a party etc. All your generosity is so appreciated while we gear up for this move. If we think of anything we need help with (besides leaving cookies on our porch) we will surely shout it out. This family is beautiful, and we are graced to be a part of such a fine community of soul-seekers. Thank you!!

With deep love and unbridled anticipation,
Lisa Mae, Diana, and the Shop family

Dearest Bhaktishop Kula,

Doesn’t a tropical vacation to Costa Rica sound pretty awesome right about now? Well there is still time, a few spaces are left on the monkey train south of the border. Last chance!! We would love to initiate you into the cult of Tierra de Milagros on the Osa Peninsula. Congratulations to our own dear Kristien Forness, the winner of Lululemon’s Retreat Yourself contest—she is headed south with us on the trip of her dreams.  Thanks to all of you who entered the contest with your inspired writings about yoga and your lives. Lululemon said the challenge to choose was almost overwhelming! And if you didn’t win, why not go anyway? Don’t just stay here and freeze, email Tasha at flyingmonkeytrain@gmail.com and get your plane tickets…

In the meantime, the annual retreat to Opal Creek is coming up August 1-3.  Love hiking, trees, wild places, and yoga? This is the place for you. A 3-mile hike into Jawbone Flats gets us to camp, where we share Opal Creek’s amazing, lovely cabins drenched with history and natural ancient forest beauty.  Ample time for hiking, yoga, relaxing, and jumping off huge rocks shouting “Geronimo!” into Opal Pool is on the menu again this year, as we bring you delicious doses of great food, summer in Oregon, and Bhaktishop love in the wild, wild, wilderness. This is our idea of spiritual devotion, for sure. There are 25 spaces available, and the price is a ridiculously low $220. Total. That’s food, lodging, yoga, and bliss. Check out last year’s photos on the home page of the website, in the photo album section. And then email us at weloveyou@thebhaktishop.com because you know you want to go. This one filled up so fast last year we had to just laugh.

Remember, fellow lovers of light and song, that our family kirtan is Saturday night the 9th of February this month. From 6-8pm, as always, just a day early. We are excited to see you there, and raise even more money for our Soul Project, the community giving project that we contribute to each month with your donations. Karma yoga in action…

The first Bhaktishop retreat to Breitenbush was a dreamy success. We swarmed, we soaked, we sang, we relaxed, and apparently behaved ourselves enough to be invited back not only once, but twice in the coming year! Nice job, yogis! We will be announcing the details of a late-summer camping trip and yoga retreat to Breitenbush soon, this time with both Lisa Mae and Diana as your humble servants. Double the love is always better!!! You can also pencil in next January, friends. We are hoping for a 3 nighter. Cross your fingers! And look for some photos on the home page of the website in the photo album section soon. Don’t worry, nothing incriminating…

When are we moving back to Division? Well, the moving target is getting more and more still. Sometime in early April, we hope. And we will wave the keys overhead in front of class while jumping up and down and screaming as soon as we have them I hand. Man, we are so excited.

Thanks for bringing your friends for free all month long. That was so much fun, we ought to do it again sometime. And I’m sure we will.

The Bhaktishop School of Yoga begins on March 9th! Yeah! If you are interested but have yet to fill out an application or talk to us about it, please send us an email at weloveyou@thebhaktishop.com. You can download an application from the website. We are so excited to share what we love with YOU!

Look for us in the Portland Mercury this week-- A sweet review of our little love-caravan graces the pages of the Merc on Thursday, January 31st. Pick one up!

Keep on sending us your mail art—we are gathering quite a fun art show for the opening of the new space in April. Anything you can stamp and send in the mail is welcome in the show, especially on the theme of LOVE (what else!) Mail is pouring in from Japan, Germany, Turkey, everywhere but Portland. Get on it, friends! Send us some LOVE in the mail! 5721 SE 41st Ave. Portland OR 97202.

Please come to class with us on St. Valentine's Day, family, so we can love on you all day long. 4 classes-- 10am with Tasha, 12 noon with Diana, 5:30 with Diana, and 7pm with Sarah, to get your love on. This is what we live for!

Thank you all for your continued love, support, and beautiful, expressive practices. You inspire us everyday. And we love every inch of you.

Full of love in all we do,
Lisa Mae, Diana, and the Shop family

Festive and bright New Years’ wishes, family!

It’s 01/08! A most auspicious number to start to our new year, we must say, and the same as our phone number…
Thank you all for your kindness, generosity, and overall sweetness this past year as we made our first transition—we couldn’t have done it without you.  And we remember that fact every single day that we all come to class, our hearts overflowing with gratitude.  This family community ROCKS!!! To continue to share that love, we offer you this: Bring a friend to yoga in the month of January for FREE! That’s right. Got a friend you’ve been nagging to come to yoga? Your spouse or pal need some downward dog? Bring a friend to class with you free during the month of January. Why? Because we really love you. Need we say more?

Don’t forget Diana’s yummy New Year’s Day yoga class. We are running a normal schedule except for Tuesday the 1st, on which there will be one, that’s right, one and only one class at 12 noon with lovely Diana. All levels, all souls, al for one and one for all!

Costa Rica is in 2 months. If you are really still on the fence—good God people—just leap already. This magical and enchanted 10 days will alter your consciousness permanently, friends.  It’s a journey into wonderland, for real.  We are also now taking credit cards on Paypal via the website.  So no more excuses! And if you think you know someone that deserves to go on this trip (including yourself) then listen up. Lululemon Athletica is offering one lucky yogi the chance to take a free ride on the Costa Rica Cadillac. That’s right loves, FREE. Want details? Email us at weloveyou@thebhaktishop.com and we will give you all the deets…

Our festive and delightful family Kirtan is Sunday January 13th from 6-8pm. And hey— please mark on your calendars that as of February, our kirtan nights will change from the second Sunday to the second Saturday of each month.  That’s February 9th and March 8th, please! It’s a long story, but we do want you all to be there so write it down and come sing with us. By donation as always to our Soul Project. Show some love!

New space update—As you probably already know, anything worth having is worth waiting for. And so we wait.  We hesitate to give you a date yet, but boy are we hoping for April! Life, rain, permits, contractors, aliens with big feet—you name it, it is holding them up.  But progress is happening and it will be all the sweeter once we get in there. So stay tuned and stay close.  We will all bloom into the springtime together.

On that same note, all you feisty yogis that want to attend the College of Yoga, listen up! We want to start the program the MINUTE we move into our new space.  However, if it gets to be too late in the spring, we will likely push it back to begin in September. We don’t want to be in school all summer, either. So keep us informed that you are still interested via email at weloveyou@thebhaktishop.com. We can’t wait to get started with this program, removing the mystery of teaching yoga without losing the magic.

Be a part of the first Bhaktishop Love=Art Exhibition in April of 2008! We are calling for all the mail-art you can dream up on the subject of LOVE. (What else?) Please express your love in any way you see fit (humans, dogs, God, etc!) in any art form, medium, or format, as long as you can stamp it and send it in the mail.

Send it to us at:

The Bhaktishop
Art=Love Exhibition
5721 SE 41st Ave.
Portland, OR 97202

We will hang all your righteous submissions at our Grand Opening celebration at the beautiful new space in April.

That’s the news for January, dear ones. We love you and can’t wait to leap into 2008 with you. May it be all we can dream up, wild and free.

Sliding into ’08 with big love,
Lisa Mae, Diana, and the whole Bhaktishop crew