Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

May 2009 be filled with happiness, love, inspiration and lots of fun.

xo,

Brenda, Honey and Gus

P.S. here's a cute holiday dog video that was emailed to me this morning...Thanks Jen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUtPKbMwnRo

Happy Holidays!

Hope all you Yogis and Dogis are doing well and having a fantastic holiday! I'm taking a holiday blog break, but will start posting most days by next week.

Here's the upcoming schedule:

January 10. Saturday, 1:00 pm Downtown Dog Lounge, Capital Hill

January 7- January 21, 7:00 pm, 3 Week Series. Humane Society, Bellevue

January 11. Sunday, 5:00 pm Twilight Artist Collective Gallery, West Seattle Junction

Barking Buddha Doga Tip of The Week

Surrender.

As we approach the Winter Solstice, even though our lives may be filled with holiday activity, take some time to surrender all of the stress and worry that may be preventing you from fully participating in the joy and playfulness of the season. Surrendering allows a sense of ease and peace. Instead of desperately grasping, open your hands and loosen the grip a little...or a lot. No need to white knuckle your way through the holiday season. Allow yourself for just a moment to not be caught up in the collective fear or your own concerns. Is it really going to help to worry and be afraid or is it going to add to the energy of fear? You can surrender this or any other kind of stress by being perfectly present. Worrying about tomorrow won't make things better today. Work on making right now the best moment it can possibly be. That's how you can begin to surrender, being perfectly present right now.

Doga Pose for Surrender is:

Roll Over and Relax Pose. This is physically an easy pose. Let your dog lie down on the floor with you, like in the picture above, place you hand on your dogi. To help keep you in the moment and keep the mind from worry, focus on you dog's breathing, the inhales and the exhales, notice the rhythm of your dogi's breath as it compares to the rhythm of your own breathing. Don't over analyze, just notice. Don't go to sleep. After you feel relaxed, repeat the mantra: "I am simply present, like (insert you dogi's name here)" Stay in the pose for as long as you like.

The City Dog Magazine party at The W

Happy Holidays!!

Dogis and Yogis with Santa Dog

After class last weekend we posed with Santa Dog at The Downtown Dog Lounge.

Here's a schedule for January:

January 10. Saturday, 1:00 pm Downtown Dog Lounge, Capital Hill

January 7- January 21, 7:00 pm, 3 Week Series. Humane Society, Bellevue

January 11. Sunday, 5:00 pm Twilight Artist Collective Gallery, West Seattle Junction

VPP (vice pres pup)

Photo Linda Shaw AP



I wish Biden would've adopted a rescue puppy, but the expression on his face is so sweet and the puppy is so cute I can almost forgive him.

Barking Buddha Dog of the Week...Handsome Harry!

14 year old Harry and his mom, Angela.

Harry at 14 has still got his game on.

You go Handsome Harry!

I post frequent pictures of our local elder Dogi, Harry, because he's such a handsome character and devoted dogi. His mom Angela got him from a shelter when he was 8. His previous owners were under the impression that he was a trouble maker. But Angela and I know differently. Harry just needed to be appreciated for the great dog that he is. He's always a pleasure to have in class, a good boy who displays more energy than dogis' half his age. I heart Harry! Thanks Harry for being you and for being our Barking Buddha Dog of the week!

Barking Buddha Doga Tip of the Week

At last! My dog blogging dream schedule is dog of the week on Fridays, tip of the week on Mondays. But sometimes life just happens and I get a little off the dream schedule and on my really busy or procrastinator's schedule. This week was a little of both the busy and the procrastinating. So with out further a do...I present to you The Barking Buddha Doga Tip of the Week (drum roll please).....

Ear Massage!

This stimulates the acupressure points in your dogi's ears.

With your index finger and your thumb and make little massaging circles around the periphery of your dog's ears. Begin at the base of the ear and go all the way around. Take your time, breathe and use a healing intention as you work the pressure points. Time depends on size of the dogi's ears. I had a basset hound in class and this took a while, with a chihuahua, you can do it pretty quickly. Some dog's have sensitive or ticklish ears so use pressure accordingly. After you go around the edges of the ears, you can massage the entire ear, this is said to have a calming effect on our dogs. Enjoy the tip of the week and let me know how it goes!

Barking Buddha Doga Philosophy

I posted the BBD philosophy a few months ago, but wanted to post it again for the newer visitors to the blog. Also, apologies for not posting the tip o' the week yet. Tomorrow, it will be up, I promise!

Barking Buddha Doga Philosophy

Traditional Yoga is all about Union. Union is about connecting to the divinity in all things.Dogs make great Yoga partners because they’re pack animals and packs are about union. Doga partners us with our dogs, using them as a catalyst to heart connection which allows us to experience a broader connection to all things...Union.
Although our path is similar to that of the traditional yogis, our walk down the path is a little different. This is doga, it’s playful and organic. Our dogis are walking, sometimes running and pulling on the leash as we partner on the path of discovering that connection to our divine selves by first opening up our hearts and connecting to them. Discovering divinity is finding the very best part of us that is creative, loving and feels connection and unity to all around us. Doga is a fun and playful way to encourage that connection with many benefits for both Dogi and Yogi.
Dogs love the massage and stretching they receive in doga class, which is great for circulation and tension and is very relaxing. They also learn to be touched and socialize with other dogs and people; and they love getting undivided attention from their humans. The humans benefit in a different way.
In addition to the benefits of stretching our human bodies, Barking Buddha Doga uses stretches, massage and simple meditations, to heal on an emotional and energetic level benefiting both Yogi and Dogi.
Dogs can help us experience life from the heart instead of the head and Barking Buddha Doga is about opening our hearts, fostering the heart connection and bringing it into other aspects of our lives.
Experience a deeper connection to the human and the canine, and relax the world one dog at a time with doga.

Barking Buddha Doga Winter Schedule

December 14. Sunday, 5:00 pm Twilight Artist Collective Gallery, West Seattle Junction

January 10. Saturday, 1:00 pm Downtown Dog Lounge

Capital Hill

January 7- January 21, 7:00 pm, 3 Week Series. Humane Society, Bellevue

January 11. Sunday, 5:00 pm Twilight Artist Collective Gallery, West Seattle Junction

PuppyPack and Other News

This morning, I had at least 3 people email me the link to this photo from cuteoverload. I posted the link below if you want to check out additional cuteness. I also had a link to an article on dog jealousy sent to me as well. I'm sharing both with my Yogis and their Dogis, so enjoy!
Later today I'll post the winter schedule and The Barking Buddha Tip of the Week. Until then....

http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2008/12/pom-backpack-in.html



-And something sciencey from The New York Times for all those folks that have said that dogs don't get jealous, us dog people know that they totally do!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/science/09obenvy.html?_r=2

Barking Buddha Dog of the Week....Honey!

Yes, I'm using my own dog as the dog of the week. But she deserves it!

Here is Honey's bio:

Honey is 1/2 Shar Pei and 1/2 Boxer. I always say she's a little wrinkly and a lot sweet.

Honey came to us as a 4 year old adult. Her foster mom chose us. I was toying with the idea of getting a dog . Honey's foster mom raised her from a pup. She is a very intuitive woman and pretty much told me that we were to be Honey's new family and that we were very lucky because many people had wanted Honey but she had to be with the right people. That was 7 years ago and I can't imagine life without my beautiful princess Honey.

As you can see Honey is jowly and a bit wrinkly, which would look bad on me, but looks fantastic on her.

Honey has been a huge inspiration to Doga, my writing, my life. She's been a comfort during times of change, fear, sadness, like when my dad died of cancer a few years back on Christmas Eve. But also a participant in times of joy, laughter and success, like when we bought our cool 1930's brick house and when I found a publisher for my book. Honey is special as all dogs are, but also in her own unique way...as all dogs are.

So Cheers to Honey! My big girl, my muse, my heart.

Snarls, Growls and All

Gus and me on a cold, beach walk. Honey is with the photographer.

So after months and months of being around friendly and peaceful dogs, I've suddenly, over the past month encountered some aggressive dogs. Not toward me, but aggressive to other dogs. In my class, in my home, in the park. A sudden rash of snarling dogs. They don' t frighten me necessarily but I'll become afraid of a fight and for the safety of the other dogs. What's up with this? It doesn't make me love dogs any less. It just makes me wonder if there is some esoteric, message, lesson or discovery in this for me. I know that sounds a little narcissistic, but why suddenly is the same type of situation playing out again and again?
It would probably be more disturbing if the aggression was directed to me. But as I said before it's directed to other dogs, not just mine, but whatever dog seems to threaten the space or attention of the aggressive dog. I just happen to be there. An interesting trend.
What do I do? Well I try to get the attention of the snarling dog, before there's an escalation to a fight. And usually there isn't a fight. I'm a lover not a fighter and so are Honey and Gus, so we're confused! Are we there to set an example of peace and love? To intervene and offer behavior or training resources to the humans? I don't know! Anyway, we're hoping this doesn't continue as a trend and we can get back to the peace and love. Although I guess we usually do feel the peace and love even in the thick of the drama, so maybe that's the discovery. Calm in the eye of the storm. Loving unconditionally. Snarls, growls and all.

Dutch Dog Walking

But first a gratuitous puppy shot

Katherine (the dog walker) and I at one of my favorite pubs in Amsterdam, T' Lootsje. (I hope I spelled that correctly)

A few weeks ago when I was in The Netherlands, I met a woman from Australia, who started a dog walking business in Amsterdam. Nothing really profound or enlightening about our meeting. But she was friendly and nice to chat with and I thought it was interesting that she's really busy and most of her clients are expats. Anyway just thought I'd share.

P.S. The puppy picture comes from my Dutch friend Ineke. Ineke and her sister recently picked up this sweet pup from southern Holland.

Barking Buddha available now for preorder on Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Barking-Buddha-Simple-Soul-Stretches/dp/1594851417/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228183659&sr=1-1#productPromotions

O.K. Yogis and Dogis, here's the link! Barking Buddha is now available for pre-order!

barking buddha playlist 100

I enjoy creating playlists' for my classes and doga practice. Enjoy the one below. (and don't hate too much on The Rainbow Connection, it's kinda cute, right?)

barking buddha playlist 100: "1. The Rainbow Connection (from 'The Muppet Movie') - (previously unreleased) - The Carpenters
2. Love Plus One - Haircut 100
3. Jaia Ganesha - The Dum Dum Project
4. Got To Give It Up, Part 1 (Single Version) - Marvin Gaye
5. Fly Like An Eagle - Steve Miller Band
6. Satisfy My Soul - Bob Marley
7. Like A Star - Corinne Bailey Rae
8. In Dreams - Roy Orbison
9. Heaven - The Psychedelic Furs
10. Golden - Jill Scott
11. Love Is My Religion (acoustic) - Ziggy Marley
12. More Than This - Roxy Music
13. Love * John lennon - John Lennon
14. What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
15. (samskeyti) - Sigur Ros
16. Regina From The Future - The Starseeds
17. Corpse Pose - Divination"

Barking Buddha Doga Tip of The Week

Heart to Hound Mudra


A mudra in yoga is a method used to redirect prana, or energy. The most famous mudra is probably the one we see people use when imitating a yogi by encircling the index finger and the thumb. In Doga we use Muttley Mudras.

The Heart to Hound Mudra acknowledges the love you share with your dog. It's heart opening, soothing and grounding as you and your dogi exchange heart energy.

Simply place one hand on your heart and the other on your dogi's heart, close your eyes and relax and mindfully breathe. That's it, your doing the mudra. Use it any time as a reminder that the most important thing of all is love.

xo, Brenda, Honey and Gus