Yoga Blog

Radically generous women

Hello! Yay, I am feeling inspired, and a little relieved. I just submitted an application to be a venture supported by SheEO. They are an awesome international organisation that supports ventures by women-indentified and non-binary people that are working on the 'world's to-do list', or the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I applied for Upward Dog to be able to go to the next level and support sufferers of PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) and PME (premenstrual exacerbation of mental illness), by donating...

July 13, 2021

By Annalise FriendBlog0 Comments

Want to cultivate calm? Beginner’s guide to curating a daily yoga routine

For all my yoga beginners, getting started is the hardest part, so here's my best tips to curate your routine... Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Hello friends and supporters of Upward Dog! My name is Saskia, I am the newest member of this community and fellow yoga beginner. Some of you may have spoken to me recently over email with questions about your order. First and foremost, I am here to help (so please don’t hesitate to reach out with any...

May 17, 2021

By SaskiaBlogbeginner guide, beginner yoga routine, daily yoga0 Comments

Ask. Just ask.

The ask Hi. My name is Annalise Friend and I am the owner of Upward Dog. I am experimenting with something new - asking for support! I know being slick and polished is grand - but you know what, so is being vulnerable and honest. I am a female business owner and it has been a challenging time in business, and this has been stressful for me and my family. I would love your help in sharing Upward Dog to in-real-life-friends, online friends,...

May 12, 2021

By Annalise FriendBlogasking for help, female led business, shop small, small business, upward dog2 Comments

Light It Up

April is PMDD Awareness Month. PMDD stands for Pre Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder. Let's light up the world with awareness of this condition. PMDD is a condition where hormonal changes in the body from ovulation and through the luteal (or premenstrual) phase cause distressing symptoms. These include a range of physical and mood symptoms. An estimated 5-10% of women and AFAB (Assigned Female At Birth) individuals have PMDD. The meaning of 'dysphoria' is a state of profound dissatisfaction. In PMDD, this dysphoria...

April 22, 2021

By Annalise FriendBlog@iapmdglobal, #PMDDAwarenessMonth2021, #premenstrualdysphoricdisorder, pmdd0 Comments

I’m hiring

A casual part-time administration assistant position is now available with Upward Dog. I am currently seeking someone to stay across the nitty gritty of orders on digital systems, and reply to customer enquiries on email, phone and social media. There is a possibility of taking on more tasks in time. Experience with bookkeeping in Xero, social and email marketing, or maintaining an eCommerce website are an advantage. If you have the space to receive and store a small amount of stock...

February 17, 2021

By Annalise FriendBlog0 Comments

bye. bye. bye, 2020.

Firstly - 20% off your order today with the code bye2020. Secondly - a yearly reflection. Reflecting on such a year is overwhelming - at once there is so much to say, and the exhaustion means I don't know where to start. I send compassion and love to all of those suffering, from COVID, from racial injustice, from environmental catastrophe, from violence. 2020 has made our connections as a species on this planet inescapable. We transmit viruses to each other, we spread...

December 31, 2020

By ChrisBlog0 Comments

Support across space

Online yoga has clearly exploded during the working from home life that many of us are now in. There are lots of good aspects to this. If it is a paid service, it may help teachers and studios create a little income. If it is free it can be a (relative) democratiser of yoga (although, it still takes a device and internet access, which not everyone has). Another great thing about online yoga learning is that you can find someone...

July 14, 2020

By Annalise FriendBlogiyengar yoga, namaste, yoga at home, yoga australia, yoga every damn day, yoga home practice, Yoga Vastu, yoga YouTube, yoga zoom0 Comments

A good haul or a garbage patch?

I am about to embark on refining the model of Upward Dog, as a part of a business course that I am doing. One aspect of this is to decide whether to stock apparel again. If I do I stock clothes, I want them to be the most eco and ethical threads possible. Recycled polyester activewear has become a prominent category in the yoga world, and is promoted as the eco yoga option. I have been wondering if recycled polyester...

July 12, 2020

By Annalise FriendBlogactivewear, eco yoga, recycled plastic, recycled polyester, sustainability, upwarddogaus0 Comments

Escape Within

I am finding it hard to move feelings of frustration and grumpiness today. Many of the ways that I self-soothe involve being alone, and when I have both kids, a working partner and an anxious dog at home - plus business course work and work-work to do, I find it hard to find my centre. When my eldest kid was 2 I escaped - it wasn't ideal, but it was after a very hard period. It did the trick...

July 10, 2020

By Annalise FriendBlogcovid-19, introvert, lock down, motherhood, parenting, self-soothing, toddler, yoga and anger, yoga and emotion, yoga and kids0 Comments

My Purpose

I am here to follow my curiosity and flex my creativity. I am here to share the beauty and healing found in embodiment. I am here to heal myself and my ancestry. I am here to decolonise yoga. I am here to dance with postcolonial critique, feminist power, the planetary cry for justice, and the personal desire for bliss, calm and love. I am here to weave these into one art project. I am here to write about the bodily realm. I am here to...

July 9, 2020

By Annalise FriendBlogannalise friend, decolonise yoga, purpose, reflection, upward dog, upwarddogaus0 Comments