Bodacious Bodies in Beautiful Bandeaus…a follow up

Hello my lovelies!! The SUN is shining after the weather man said it was going to be rainy and dreary and blech all week so I am (silently) singing up a storm this afternoon. (wow, did I get hit by the alliteration stick today or something?)

I wanted to give a shout out to my new friend, Kelly Wade, over at Heidi Hat. Kelly somehow connected to me through the ether and contacted me “out of the blue” the other day about bandeau tops….THEIR bandeau tops to be specific. She came across my post “Bikram ban of the bandeau…thoughts about appropriate yoga attire” and sent me a note. As it turns out I believe it was the very same day that I was actually wearing my Heidi Hat bandeau that she contacted me…see?…she connected through the ether!;)

I believe in my previous post I said that I do indeed enjoy a good bandeau top for myself, and went on to say that it depends on the brand and style…and led into how I pretty well adjust everything I wear in yoga regardless of what it is and what style it is just because either a) I have not found the perfect fitting thing for my body that I like, or b) the nature of what we do-moving and stretching-causes pretty well anything and everything to move slightly on the body, so an adjustment is necessary (I have something more to add to that regarding my time down in Mexico City, but I won’t get into it now…you’ll just have to wait for that one!).

SO, all that being said, I want to give a shout out to a couple brands that I DO quite like and tell you why I like them…and, depending on the time I have before running out to take class, I might cover a few others that don’t work for me but look super cute on other people’s bodies different from my own!

So, as I said, Kelly from Heidi Hat contacted me. I first became aware of Heidi Hat in 2007 when I was in Hawaii and saw my friend, Brandy, wearing some cute little shorts (I like them little!!)…turns out she was selling them so I got myself a pair! A couple years ago I was over in Vancouver and saw a couple girls wearing a super cute 2 colour twisted bandeau top and HAD to have one…turns out that was Heidi Hat as well! So, since that time I’ve been wearing my Heidi Hat bandeau often, both for teaching and for practicing and loving every minute of it. It is just the right size-it has enough room for me to be covered up while at the same time it looks good on the smaller chested girls as well. It is one colour on one side and other colour on the other side (mine is black and brown) but twisted at the back so you always see a bit of the opposite colour no matter what. Plus, the fabric is great, dries fast, so it’s great for me for travelling and drying my clothes in bathrooms and on hangers!

Check them out…they also have cute colourful patterns for shorts and skirts etc…question is: do they even have HATS??!! funny www.heidihat.com

I have a few bandeaus from Phat Buddha which I vacillate on. For the most part I like my sparkly ones-mainly because they are sparkly, and let’s be honest, what girl doesn’t like a bit of sparkle, especially in the yoga room??!! I do find, however, that they don’t have the *best* support in them, so some days I have to choose for something a little more substantial, especially when teaching and/or demonstrating.

I also like the Yogabela bandeau. They, too, have a twist in the back for a nice detail and always use nice bright colours and patterns. I like the yogabela ones because they are sturdy, double layered, and are a pretty good support.

When I teach I often wear Shakti…it’s become my favourite for teaching in (both capris and tops). The only Shakti top I wear these days is the Romantic Vest Top…I like it both in sold colours and in patterns (they fabric is different so they fit slightly differently). I just got myself 2 new ones when I was in Edmonton last week…a fab print with the word “love” printed all over it in different languages and a really pretty one with koi fish on it which I will be wearing this afternoon for the first time.

OK, lastly, I will talk about bottoms…these days I’m wearing either Tonic gather shorts, Shakti side string shorts, and now I have a couple pair from new Chikum from Vancouver-2 styles the sexy shorts and their version of a side string.

OH! I almost forgot…I have to give a shout out to ONZIE! My fav one piece leo to practice advanced (and sometimes beginners) class in!! I have all three styles of onzie but my favourite is the halter (any of you who know me and have practiced advanced with me over the past year know how I love my purple halter onzie!!). I just ordered a pair of their side string shorts as well…I just couldn’t resist the new scull pattern ;)(just as an aside, I do have a couple bandeaus from Onzie as well, but I use them mostly for under tanks and on the lake in the summer, etc…they are just a touch too short in the rise for me).

OK…I have to run off to class here pretty quick, but I will say this. You will have to try on a bunch of stuff and practice in several things before you find what you like and what works for you.If you see someone in class who has a similar body type to you, ask her what brand she is wearing and check it out. That is not to say that different bodies can’t wear the same styles, but you get what I’m saying. When you are trying something on, make sure to bend over, do a little half moon and backbend…see if it stays put…and, know that you might just buy a few things that don’t end up working for you afterall, but that is true for everything in life!

Happy shopping, yogis…believe me when I say this…when you have yoga clothes that you feel comfortable and confident in and ones that you LOVE…you will LOVE going to yoga and doing your practice SO much more…trust me!

Love,
Ida

Bikram ban of the bandeau…thoughts about appropriate yoga attire

Good Evening my lovelies!! I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch, but that’s just how it goes. It does not mean that I don’t think about you and think about all the things I am going to write about…I have a list of things but just need to wait til the moment is right…

So, today is the day I am going to write about yoga clothes, your costume, and your overall appearance in yoga class…

First off…I heard that Bikram actually BANNED the ladies from wearing bandeau tops at TT (a bandeau, for those who aren’t familiar, is a tube top, strapless tube like thing that goes around the body to cover the boobies). I heard this a while back, it happened at the end of the last training. Apparently (and, I am only relaying what I heard through the grapevine) he hates having to look at the majority of the room pulling and tugging and adjusting so he BANNED them altogether. HA! Too funny, if you ask me. And, at the same time, it seems that he might need to head in the direction of a uniform type situation for his trainings…perhaps he gets a couple girls (shorts and a couple style tops and a leotard) options and a couple boys (a Speedo and more modest shorts) options and gives everyone 2 costumes at the beginning of TT….hmmm, something to think about!!

I, myself, quite like the bandeau top. I never thought I would be able to wear one to practice in, but what I’ve learned is it’s all about the brand and style of the bandeau (which might seem weird to say, as a bandeau style is one style, but some companies make them veeeeeeery small for veeeeeery small boobies, and some are a little more generous for us, ahem, fuller busted girls). I have several brands and I oscillate between my favourites. I will admit that I do adjust it throughout the class…but this is what I know…I ADJUST EVERY COSTUME I WEAR IN YOGA CLASS BE IN TWO PIECE, ONE PIECE, PANTS, SHORTS, TOPS, TANKS…so, this leads me to the next part of the post…

INAPPROPRIATE YOGA ATTIRE.

Seriously, I cannot tell you how much nudity I’ve seen in the yoga room (I think I’ve mentioned this before but I was unable to find where…). I have seen everything you can imagine due to ill fitting shorts and tops, see-through-when-wet articles, loose or baggy shorts, too small or too big costumes and clothing that is NOT meant for exercising (ie, BIKINIS!!). Now, I’m sure in my many years and many classes I, too, have flashed a thing or two to the teacher and/or the students around me, sometimes I suspect it and sometimes I have no idea. So, that being said, I will be a little lenient with people in certain situations-first timers being at the top of that list, simply because you don’t really know what you’re getting into in your first class until the end of the class and by that time if you’ve decided to wear baggy sweat pant shorts and a white tank top, and you are looking at yourself in the mirror and faced with the reflection of your own nipples, or are in a compression posture and realise that your whole business is available to the world, it’s just too damned late to do anything about it…but you learn pdq and *hopefully* invest in something more appropriate…

Which leads me to my next thought…

When I first started doing this practice, I was down right NOT going to spend a gazillion dollars on YOGA clothes (at that time there was Lulu and Karma and that was kind of it) that I was just going to sweat in and get all stunk up…and then it happened…I got some yoga clothes for my birthday and realised that looking at myself in the mirror for 90 minutes, wearing nice, well fitting clothes that were designed for the activity I was doing was AH-MAZING! All of a sudden I LIKED going to class and looking at myself because I felt so goooood in my new clothes. I remember a student many many years ago telling me her very similar story and how she was actually excited to go to class because it meant she could wear her new Lululemon costume. (I don’t know if men feel the same way about this as women do…perhaps for men it’s just about fit..most men take quite some time in their practice before they start wearing yoga shorts…they hold onto the long board shorts or running shorts or what have you, constantly having to pull them up the leg in Triangle and pull them down the leg in Tree. I think for men it’s a comfort and fit thing…they finally get a pair of yoga shorts and their world changes…not because they like how they look-well, maybe for some 😉 – but because they feel more comfortable).

OK, so…let me list a few things that are not acceptable in the yoga room:

bikinis, loose running shorts, unlined white ANYTHING (one day perhaps I’ll regale you with the story of the man wearing a WHITE Speedo in a class in Hong Kong and me standing right behind him…), sheer leggings, panty hose (yup, I’ve seen it) or one piece leotards meant for sexy time or to be worn with something over top or STRICTLY at the beach (see, most bathing suits/bikinis are not meant for much activity…and if you DO do activity in them you’re at the beach and it’s ok for a little of your booty or whatever to be sticking out). I’m sure I am forgetting one or two things here, but you get the idea.

I know that yoga clothes are expensive, I get it. I will say that often there are sales on yoga clothes at studios because there are fashionistas out there who NEED to buy new yoga garb on a regular basis, so the studios need to put things on clearance to make room for the new stuff. And, that being said, you actually CAN find cute, well fitting, appropriate things at places other than yoga clothing stores (the GAP is doing a yoga line, as is Old Navy, Victoria Secret, Target, Zellers, etc etc). 

I will leave you with this…whatever style you prefer and whatever colours you like and make you feel happy, PLEASE try on the things you want to wear to class in your house, before you come to class, do a few yoga moves, a little bending forward and backwards, and see what happens…you’ll know what works and what doesn’t work…and that way you won’t be in class wishing you had a little more coverage in your derriere or a little thicker fabric in your tube top!

I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Love, Ida