SOLO HD (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition are available at Apple stores, www.apple.com, and www.dell.com.
From the 15 days of Gratitude, to the 12 Days of Giving!!! Here it comes again - the list of gifts that give back!! Check in daily to see how you can help others in need while you shop your heart out this season! Krochet Kids International was started by a couple of high school friends who wanted to create cool headgear for their winter sporting events. Crocheting is not the normal hobby for young guys, but nonetheless it caught on and peers loved thier hats! They taught friends and family how to crochet up through college, when they began to want even more. They wanted to be able to reach others...maybe even people in developing countries. After a trip to Uganda, where they taught women how to crochet as a means of breaking the cycle of poverty. Thus formed the non-profit Krochet Kids International.Krochet Kids has continued to grow and evolve in ways they never imagined. Today, over 100 people go to the compound in Northern Uganda everyday to work and to rewrite their stories for the better. The products created abroad have been well received here at home and the cooperation of our staff in America and artists in Northern Uganda has created a sustainable cycle of employment and empowerment. Buy a hat! Change a Life!
Haitian American visual artist Nadine LaFond graced our studio today...what an amazing afternoon of art and yoga!! Gina began by leading us through some asana, opening our creative chakras and then Nadine led us through what she calls a Channeling Art Workshop. She helped students connect with and record personal journeys through the use of symbolism.
With the Alluem "Art of Yoga" Workshop coming up this Saturday (Dec. 3rd) and the Art Auction Gala Event (Dec. 10th), I've been diving into my art head first! (Watercolor image above done today.) It's been so great taking time to unleash my creativity - painting, drawing, collaging! So much fun!! I'm so grateful for my art!
Restorative Yoga is one of the best gifts you can give to your body. I remember the first time I took a Restorative class...it was hard! Although it is not a physically challenging practice, it is a challenge for the mind. Restorative Yoga forces you to relax. In a world of do this, do that and go here, go there - and as fast as you can - it becomes a challenge to relax and let go. Our minds spin and our bodies wear down...we need to restore! During Restorative Yoga you are brought to a point of deep relaxation. During deep relaxation, all the organ systems of the body are benefited, and including the reduction of blood pressure and blood sugar levels, the increase of the "good cholesterol" levels, as well as improvement in digestion, fertility, elimination, the reduction of muscle tension, insomnia and generalized fatigue. The class is designed to relieve the effects of the chronic stress that our bodies hold on to. Through deep and relaxing stretching, our bodies release toxins that we unnecessarily store and hold onto because we rarely give ourselves the chance to slow down and release. 
I just ordered my copy of Gregory's Paper Airplane and I can not wait to share it with the Alluem Kids! This book was written by 8yr old Ben Sherman after attending church one week and listening to his pastor speak about human trafficking in Cambodia. That night he went home and wrote a book for the children. It is simply beautiful. For Ben, it's not about how many books are selling or even his accomplishments at such a young age...it's about how many girls he is saving through the sales of his books. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go towards Agape International Missions, a not-for-profit organization who's mission is to prevent child trafficking in Cambodia and to restore hope to its victims through holistic aftercare; and to International Justice Mission, a not-for-profit human rights agency that secures rescue and justice for victims of slavery and other forms of violent oppression, and helps them heal within their own communities in Cambodia and other countries in the developing world.Gregory's Paper Airplane from 121 Community Church on Vimeo.
Soon the Alluem Kids will be happy to learn that in January they will be part of a movement to bring smiles to the faces of girls in Cambodia through the Somaly Mam Foundation's Post Card campaign...much like Gregory does when he flies his airplane all the way to Cambodia with a message for the girls inside. I recently learned of the Somaly Mam Foundation through Off the Mat NYC (a division of Off the Mat Into the World). I attended a beautiful yoga class and kirtan in the city to help raise funds for the work Somaly Mam tirelessly does everyday to save women and children who are being trafficked against their will. It is truly a global crisis. After the class, I picked up Somaly's book The Road of Lost Innocence (The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine) and was blown away. She is a hero. It inspired me to create my latest art video to help raise awareness (seen here on my art blog), and to also get involved with the Yoga Freedom Project that will be happening this January in yoga studios around the world including Alluem Yoga (details to come)!! If you can, please help Off the Mat NYC raise funds for Somaly Mam through the Yoga Freedom Project by clicking the link below:
http://www.crowdrise.com/yogafreedomproject/fundraiser/KarenGilmour
Thank you!!!!
Put on Your Cape, It's Time to Save the World from Jenny Shih on Vimeo.
