Want a Piece of Moroccan Glam? *GIVEAWAY*

It's about that time again for a fun GIVEAWAY over here at EAT.PRAY.MOVE! This month we'll be giving away two of these handmade, one-of-a-kind clutches that were made from genuine vintage Moroccan wedding blankets!

What is a Moroccan wedding blanket you ask? Well, you can get a good idea

HERE

and even shop for some full size ones

HERE

 from Maryam, our host in Marrakesh at Peacock Pavilions!

...wedding blankets are woven in anticipation of, you guessed it, a wedding, by the bride's female relatives. It can take many hours — even weeks — of work to attach those hundreds of mirrored sequins once the weaving is complete; it is thought that during this collaborative task, the bride's relatives teach her all about the birds and the bees, among other marital duties and expectations. After the wedding ceremony, the bride wears the blanket tied around her neck as a kind of cape...When complete, the wedding blanket serves not only as warmth and decoration for the bride, but also to ward off evil and to bestow fertility and good luck upon the newlyweds. — ApartmentTherapy

HOW TO GET ONE!

There are only two, and two ways to make one yours:

1.

The next guest to sign up

for

LUXURY MARRAKESH

Mar 8-14, 2015 will receive one.

2.

There will be a random drawing

from comments on this post! RULES: Leave your NAME & EMAIL in the comment. Only 1 comment per person. Extra chance given for a Fackbook, Twitter, or Instagram share of the link to the retreat page on our site

HERE

. Be sure to tag us on either @eatpraymoveyoga! Then let us know in the comments what you did and we'll add your extra chances.

GOOD LUCK & We hope to see you in MARRAKESH!

Unfortunately, due to custom regulations, we can only ship to address in the US or Canada...or we can bring it to you on the next retreat! Drawing will end Dec 26!

Happy GIVEAWAY Time!

Have you been to Morocco? Maybe joined (or will be joining) us on a yoga retreat in Marrakesh? Have you always wanted to experience the exotic pleasures of this faraway land but just haven't made it there yet?

Well now you can have a little piece of Marrakesh at home! Some of the beautiful colors, sights, textures, and patterns...

The beautiful Maryam of MyMarrakesh, and owner of the boutique hotel Peacock Pavilions, the location of our EAT.PRAY.MOVE Yoga Retreats in Marrakesh, has just completed a lovely book titled Marrakesh by Design, published by Artisan Books and set to be released in May!

AND YOU CAN WIN A FIRST-EDITION SIGNED COPY!

Or better yet, why not join us for a trip of a lifetime this year! Spots still available for Feb 26-Mar 3 and Sept 23-29.

FIND OUT MORE AND SIGN UP HERE

!

Read what one of our past guests had to say:

"I have always had a love of travel and a spirit of adventure, but as an almost 69-year old single woman, I believed my opportunities were limited and tame. Then, EAT. PRAY. MOVE came into my life and boy am I hooked! I signed up for the September ('11) trip to Marrakech and it was one of the finest travel experiences of my life. The accommodations were beautiful. The service. wonderful, The feeling of family and good friends surrounded us. Instead of being in a hotel, with the usual hotel culture, I was able to experience a true Moroccan lifestyle, including delicious food served on a delightful porch near the beautiful pool during the day and in a picturesque tent in the evening. The activities were fabulous: walking around in the walled old city with shopping galore, going on a day trip to a beach town including riding a camel. (I fantasized being Lawrence of Arabia.) and dining in exceptional Marrakech restaurants. We received henna treatments and spent an afternoon at a spa. Of course, there was yoga and meditation every day, too. It was a wonderful, exciting and affordable trip. I can't wait to see next year's schedule!"

- Bonnie

HOW TO ENTER GIVEAWAY

:

•

COMMENT on this post

with what exotic Mediterranean location you'd love to EAT, PRAY, and MOVE in! *Be sure to include your name, email (if not directly linked in comment), and if you completed the Facebook and/or Twitter additional entries*

OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

• "LIKE" us on

FACEBOOK

• TWEET (copy and paste this exact message) "Enter to win signed book by @MyMarrakesh & Join us for #YOGA Retreat w/ @eatpraymoveyoga http://eatpraymoveyoga.com"

Contest runs until Feb 14, 2012 11:59est. Winner will be announced later that week and prize delivered when book is released in May 2012. *ONLY US &CANADA mailing addresses accepted*

...and the WINNER is...

A big THANKS to all those who participated in the

Tiny Devotions

mala giveaway last week! We had such a great response on the blog and on

Twitter

...plus many new friends on our

Facebook

page as well.

Well...the names were all put together and the random.org number generator chose...

GLAD DOGGETT

(don't you just love her name?!) :)

CONGRATS Glad! We know you'll love the beautiful mala from Tiny Devotions. Also a big thanks to Tiny Devotions for being a part of this and for the lovely light & love you give!

Glad is getting the beautiful Amazonite Mala which "promotes universal love and alleviates fear and anxiety".

Be sure to visit

Tiny Devotions

site for yourself to check out all the malas... And visit

EAT.PRAY.MOVE

to see the upcoming retreats (and perhaps sign up to join us in Marrakesh or Ischia SOON!)

Q&A with Tiny Devotions

Well, if you have been following EAT.PRAY.MOVE for the past week you'll know that we're really excited about the current mala bead giveaway with

Tiny Devotions

. If you haven't entered yet...

be sure to do it

before this coming Saturday when the contest closes.

Today I want to introduce you to the lovely founder of Canadian company Tiny Devotions, Diana Charabin. According to her bio,

"she is a yogi, a world traveller, an adventurer, a writer and creative soul that is dedicated in making the most beautiful mala beads in the world."

Her travels have taken her from the Gold Coast of Australia around the world and back - and to life-changing time in Bali. In Bali is where she began making these beautiful malas which are now exploding as the must-have mala beads in the worldwide yoga community.

We're thankful that she had a bit of time to answer a few questions that EAT.PRAY.MOVE threw her way. There's a lot more to know about her and the Tiny Devotion company - so feel free to check out their

site

and

videos

for a lot more information!

Q&A with Diana of Tiny Devotions

• On your site and videos you've shared several inspiring stories of intention with your mala beads. What story/experience, either personally or from a customer, stands out the most?

The story that most stands out is an amazing girl who received a rose quartz from her friend in Switzerland. She had been trying to get pregnant for some time with no success and a few weeks or months (not sure) of wearing the rose quartz mala with the intention of helping her get pregnant she became pregnant and called me with tears from Switzerland. Um…that was pretty cool!

I would not say that our mala beads magically got her pregnant but rather (and hopefully) shifted her intention and energy which made her more emotionally and energetically open to getting pregnant. Sometimes we have blockages and mantras and tactical objects with intention can help us overcome them!

• How do you decide which new stones to introduce to the collection and are there any exciting additions you have coming out?

Creating our mala beads is sort of like solving a jigsaw puzzle. There are some stones that I want to use that I can never find and other stones that I never thought of using that I find and get inspired by.

We're always creating new and evolving our mala beads - it is a balance of creating buddhaful mala beads that are still functional.

• What is the most influential teacher you've had in your journey through yoga/meditation?

Well two different teachers come to mind - for meditation Emil Wendel - he told me I could have coffee before I started meditation. That won me over.

For yoga it would have to be the Merrifield sisters. Michelle and Clare are phenomenal yogis and human beings! Complete opposite styles and energies and I just feel like whenever I am around them I learn so much and connect. Unfortunately they are in Australia so have not got to practice with them in a while but heading there in a few months so stoked!

I also feel as though I have a lot to learn from my lovely friend Katie Brauer who is a North County + international yoga teacher. You will hear a lot about her in the next few months/years. She is so in the flow!

• What is your favorite location to retreat to?

Well being a travel addict I obviously have a few. The 2 that stand out are: Southern California and Gold Coast, Australia.

The last two trips I have taken have been to San Diego and North County - I kind of feel like I live there. Ocean, Yoga, nature and great food. There is a natural pull there. Plan on spending more time there doing yoga with Katie Brauer and practicing at Bindu and Haute Yoga.

Gold Coast is where I lived for 3 years during law school and it is one of my most favourite places on earth. I would describe it as magical. Nobbys is such a cool area to go and chill - also my favourite yoga studio is there - Essence of Living. People are so effortlessly cool in Australia and I just feel a lot of goddess energy when I'm there. It is so easy to be in the flow and to manifest your dreams! Australia to me is like a parallel universe. It is bliss!

And obviously hope to go on one of your retreats someday soon ;)

A HUGE HUG and THANKS to Diana and Tiny Devotions for the Q&A and beautiful beads!

GIVEAWAY \ Tiny Devotion Mala

So the anticipated GIVEAWAY is here! (A week after the first announcement - sorry again for the delay those who saw the original post that we removed) We're SO happy to announce that we're working with the amazing team at

Tiny Devotions

to offer one of their lovely malas to one lucky EAT.PRAY.MOVE fan and to help promote our

upcoming yoga retreat

on the beautiful island of Ischia!

As the name EAT.PRAY.MOVE suggests, PRAYing and meditating is one of the fundamental 

aspects of the yogic experience we want to promote on our retreats, and throughout life 

in general. Mala beads are a great tool for helping one focus, meditate, be still, and stay present.

Here's a little snippet from the Tiny Devotions site:

"Our Tiny Devotions mala beads are perfect for beginnings and endings - goals, struggles, worries, dreams, intentions and prayers.

Mala beads transcend cultures and religions and can be found in some form in nearly every tradition around the world. The word bead, historically coming from the word "prayer" or "to pray".

These sacred and beautiful beads help us live in the moment - staying present to the beauty of life.

We combine rudraksha seeds with semi precious crystals and pearls to create beautiful designer malas that each have their own specific intention. Rudraksha seeds are known as the eyes or tears of Shiva - and are worn for their protective and sacred qualities."

So...are you ready to get a set of these designer Mala Beads for yourself?

Then enter our GIVEAWAY!

Here's what you have to do:

1. COMMENT on this post (include an email if it isn't included in your comment profile) and ANSWER the question: What Mediterranean location would you like to retreat to and use your mala?

2. EXTRA ENTRY: TWEET this exact phrase "win a @TinyDevotions mala from @eatpraymoveyoga http://bit.ly/npy9n3 (& join a #yoga retreat in Italy http://eatpraymove.com)"

3. That's all! One entry + one extra Twitter entry per person. US and Canada shipping addresses only allowed for winner. Contest ends SATURDAY, AUG 20th.

That's all! We would also 

♥

♥

♥ it if you would

join our Facebook page

- that way you can find out about new retreats, news, and fun other events from EAT.PRAY.MOVE.

...plus watch this lovely lifestyle video from TD, and STAY TUNED for more posts about Ischia, malas, and Diana, the beautiful founder of Tiny Devotions!