15 FOOD, MOVEMENT, LIFESTYLE, + SOULFUL TRAVEL GIFT IDEAS

This IWR gift guide is for the yogis, travelers, + wellness warriors in your life!

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Small, but soulful...Make great stocking stuffers

1• Lemon Juicer | small, yet mighty. This effective tool has become our new must have in the kitchen. Perfect for our detoxifying warm lemon water in the morning + for squeezing fresh lemon juice over fish + veggie dinners in the evening.
2• Dirt Lip Balm | we swear by this so much that it made our top 3 cold weather essentials everyone has to have.
3• I Travel Well Oil | This convenient liquid extract was formulated specifically to support the needs of today's modern traveler. Hectic schedules, increased demands on the immune system, changes in time zone, disrupted sleep and meal routines and limited healthy food choices are some of the many challenges faced when traveling. This powerful blend of Ayurvedic herbs has been created to help keep you at your best when you are on the road.

4• Beard Oil| Beridan Naturals is a botanical apothecary that was founded on an intense passion for the simplistic and the concrete belief that nothing is more inspiring or therapeutic than the ancient beauty and depth of the natural world. Handcrafted with organic jojoba, sesame and apricot kernel oils, their Beard Oil blend will leave beards of all shapes and sizes feeling incredibly soft and smelling simply fantastic! They have some scents that are grounding + earthy and others that are invigoratingly citrusy + uplifting. 
5• Plane ticket to Tulum, Mexico | Be a hero this holiday season + surprise a loved one with a ticket to our upcoming Ayurveda, Alignment, + Yoga Retreat (Feb 4-8, 2015) !

Food|

6• Cookbooks| Eat, Taste, Heal is one of our favorite Ayurvedic resources, Thug Kitchen is a hilarious read for anyone who doesn't mind their recipes being served up with a side of 4 letter words, + Green Kitchen Travels is a collection of healthy vegetarian + vegan recipes, inspired by a family's hunger to  travel and explore flavors from around the world. It has such beautiful photography you'll want to drop it all to travel more + cook more.

7• World Map Cutting Board|  Combining 2 things we adore...food + travel. This beautiful, rustic cutting board is made of either cherry or maple wood and features a crisp, modern world map design. 

8•  Herb Sticker Decals for Flower Pots| Zesty Graphics' Etsy shop has got the gardeners + herb growers in you life covered! We love the topography on these vinyl decals and think they'd look great on pots in the kitchen or on a balcony. Each order comes with 4 herb decals of your choosing. It's your pick from the following list...• Basil• Chives• Cilantro• Coriander• Dill• Marjoram• Mint• Oregano• Parsley• Rosemary• Sage• Tarragon• Thyme

Movement|

9• Manduka Cork Yoga Block| These cork yoga blocks are made of sustainable cork. We love the firmness and the high quality makes us feel that overtime these won't deform or breakdown like some foam blocks might. These are perfect to sit on while meditating, for extra assistance during an at home yoga practice, and/or to find support in restorative yoga postures. 

10• Yoga tune up balls| Move more, stretch more + free our bodies from all stiffness...that's the goal! You'll be one step closer with yoga tune up balls. These balls can be used on any area of your body where you feel tension building. At our retreats, Amanda has our yogis use these balls for everything from releasing tightness from their feet to rolling out the stiffness between their shoulder blades. If you're just getting started with this type of mobility work, Yoga tune up also has great how-to books + videos. We love that the alpha ball serves as a travel friendly foam roller for the bigger muscles in the legs, and the regular sized balls are great for rolling out the feet + shoulders.

Lifestyle |

11• Waterbottle| drinking more water is a habit that can definitely upgrade your life. Having any old water bottle around encourages us to stay hydrated, but an insulated waterbottle has been a game changer ! We love that it keeps our water warm for our tea in the AM + manages to keep our water cool even on the hottest days. Swell waterbottle's are sleek + stylish, but we also love that Hydroflask has a variety of sizes to offer.
12• Ayurvedic Skin Care Kit| This Evan Healy skin care kit comes with five ayurvedic inspired products that assist in re-establishing a healthy hydro/lipid balance to the skin. After a long day on the road, Jenn loves washing her face with the Lemongrass Facial Polish. It features an exceptional selection of regenerating and soothing plants from the Ayurvedic tradition. When I travel my skin gets really dry and this gives you gentle cleansing, exfoliation and nourishment all at the same time. Its so much kinder to your skin than the hotel soap. We love that this kit comes with sample-sized products, which means carry on friendly :)

13•  Plant Based Spa Collection Gift Set | HerbivoreBotanicals is a 100% Natural Plant Based Skin Care + Beauty Line. We're definitely into their curated selection of bath and skin care items. Dead Sea Salts, himalayan pink salt, a skin rejuvenating best selling pink clay mask, and luxurious neroli body oil will help calm your skin, mind and body. AND it includes a beautiful gift box adorned with gold ribbon?!...Yes, please!

Soulful Travel|

14• Nike Leather Toiletry Bag| keeping your essentials organized when you travel is a must. From personal experience, we like this narrow design because it allows us to easily slip our toiletry bag into backpacks + carry ons. The simple camel color has our hearts and is sure to makes for timeless travel style.

15• Gold Hand Lettered Travel Journal | We're all about documenting our adventures and travel tips in our soulful travel diary blog, but there's nothing quite like detailing the journey with pen + paper. We're totally digging this travel inspired moleskin journal.

For more gift inspiration, check out the...

• TOP 3 SOULFUL TRAVEL ESSENTIALS you'll never catch us without!

• COLD WEATHER ESSENTIALS FOR MEN + WOMEN

TOP 10 GRATITUDE QUOTES

Inspired to share our top 10 gratitude quotes with you! Here's why...

In Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert said, "Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings." We couldn't agree more! We are constantly putting our intentions out into the world and declaring out loud what we envision this dreamy life of ours to be ..."To trot the globe and soulfully share our work with the world!" We wish for it, we work for it, we wait for it, and then we work for it some more. Now, as we sit back and reflect on our ability to turn our dreams into our reality....we are overcome with an overwhelming sense of gratitude!  We wouldn't be here if it weren't for all the beautiful beings in our lives who support our vision, encourage us to soulfully travel the world, and remind us to keep passionately sharing our work.

If you're a part of our tribe, we seriously could just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely!

Amanda + Jenn

IWR's top 10 gratitude quotes

1. "Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude" -Denis Waitley

2. "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." -Melody Beattie

3. "Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance." Eckhart Tolle

4. "Consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life will set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you." -Sarah Ban Breathnach

5. "Gratitude opens your eyes to the limitless potential of the universe." -Stephen Richards 

6. "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." –Thornton Wilder

7. "In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." -Albert Schweitz

8. "You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within it, no matter how slight." - Elizabeth Gilbert

9. "The more beauty you see, the more beauty you create" -Kris Carr

10. "Research has demonstrated that people who keep daily gratitude journals (giving thanks for about five things/day) can experience as much as a 25% increase in day-to-day happiness in as little as a few months. The reason why this works is because the neural networks in our brains operate on the basis of habit, and you can think of this in terms of practicing a behavior. Any action that we take, or thought that we think, gets recorded in our brains by becoming imprinted in our neurons. As we repeat those actions or thoughts, grooves (effectively) get created in our brains that make us more likely to engage in that kind of thought or action again in the future. From this standpoint, by looking at things on the bright side — by having gratitude for the things that might otherwise go unnoticed — we are literally training our brains to celebrate more of what we experience." -Leslie Carr Psy.D.

COLD WEATHER ESSENTIALS FOR MEN + WOMEN

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Well rounded travelers touch down in places that are certainly soulful, and sometimes that includes destinations that are definitely COLD. This year, Jenn saw Aspen's first snowfall and Amanda experienced the chill in her bones as Chicago's November temps dropped to a new record low. We may live in California, but we travel into the snow often enough to know what we need to hold our own. Here are the cozy cold weather essentials that come with our highest recommendations for men + women!

Stay warm Soulful Travelers!

Amanda + Jenn

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5 Cold Weather Essentials for Women|

1) Nordstrom Faux Fur Infinity Scarf | We love when we can add a little glam to our cold-weather game 2) Ruff Hewn Puffer Vest| We have our eye on this burnt orange vest. Those toggle closures mixed in with the menswear pattern are to die for 3) The North Face Arctic Down Parka | When the temp drops below zero + function must surpass fashion, you will not see Amanda in anything else 4) Lululemon Wunderunder Pant in Herringbone Black| We can't get enough of this herringbone pattern. It was brought back this season by popular demand. If you're lucky, you'll find it online, but you'll have a better chance of scoring this pattern in stores 5) Faribault x Target Wool Shawl| A cup of chai tea + a cozy wool shawl will always keep us warm. 

5 Cold Weather Essentials for Men|

1) John Varvatos Star USA Slouch Beanie | We love a guy who can pull off some casual cold weather style! We believe that this lightweight beanie will do the trick. 2) The North Face McMurdo Parka| Whether you live in a place that regularly sees the temperature drop below zero or you're just passing through, this is our vote 3) A Jacket that's one part business + one part casual | When it comes time to face the cold urban commute we have 2 picks... Micheal Kors Quilted Mixed Media Shirt Jacket + The Northface Tweed Nuptse Heights Jacket 4) Timberland Ribbed Knit Wool Blend Glove with Touchscreen Technology|  Gloves that are stylish, actually keep you warm, AND have touchscreen technology that works is the trifecta that is nearly impossible to find. For those milder days, we choose these, but just know going into it that you + your phone probably won't outlast temps below 30 degrees for >15 minutes.  5) Patterned Socks| 2 of our faves: OCTAVE Snow Jacquard Crew Sock  + Birdseye Pattern Camp Sock

3 Cold Weather Essentials for Everyone|

1) A trip to Tulum, Mexico| Pack your bags, forget the cold, February 4-8, 2015 Integrative Wellness Retreat is headed to Mexico! Tulum is a magical place where a balmy breeze + bright sun are sure to chase away any winter blues. Along the coast of Tulum you'll find sacred land rich with history, lush jungles, turquoise waters, and white sand bottom beaches. Get out of the cold + come renew your soul at our Ayurveda, Alignment, + Yoga Retreat 2) Dirty Balm Lip Treatment| Cold weather seriously makes you try every lip balm on the market. Trust us when we say we swear by this! We love that the ingredients are simple + that The Dirt Paleo Personal Care Brand uses traditional beauty secrets from around the world to provide the most effective lip care you have ever tried 3) Evan Healy Whipped Shea Butter with Olive Leaf |  If the wind + cold leaves your skin feeling dry, this is the remedy to try. On any given day while treating patients, Amanda washes her hands 20 + times per day. Although extremely necessary, it is very drying to her skin. When the colder weather comes, it can make a bad situation worse. To continuously keep her skin lubricated, she swears by shea butter to keep her hands hydrated + healthy. Try it on your lips before heading into the cold or on your hands + feet before slipping on your socks + gloves.

For us here in the states, cold weather means the holiday gift giving season is just around the corner. Get inspired with IWR's top 15 food, movement, lifestyle, + soulful travel gift ideas!  

IWR RATED ONE OF TOP 10 RETREATS IN THE WORLD

Lorna Jane asked the CEO + Co-Founder of Seek Retreat to compile a list of the Top 10 Retreats Around The World. So honored that our Malibu 2014 Ayurveda, Alignment, + Yoga Retreat offering made the list! Check out the whole list here.

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MALIBU 2014 RECAP | Ayurveda, Alignment + Yoga Retreat

Ayurveda, Alignment + Yoga| Malibu, CA| October 2014

In the Fall of 2014, Integrative Wellness Retreat integrated elements of Ayurveda, Alignment and Yoga to bring the mind, body + spirit back into balance. This experience guided our soulful travelers towards a lifestyle that kept them grounded and centered during a season traditionally known for transition and transformation. Claire Ragozzino of VIDYA was the chef. She is a certified yoga instructor, plant-based chef and holistic nutrition educator. At the 2014 Malibu Retreat she created a menu that offered healthy, seasonal, Ayurvedic-inspired meals. Amanda Ramirez, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Yoga Instructor, led an interactive lecture series focused on the principles of proper biomechanical alignment. She guided the group through daily meditation practice and taught intelligently sequenced yoga classes meant to give everyone the opportunity to experience all the wonderful benefits of movement while building awareness around their alignment. From sunrise to sunset, our days were full and our hearts were grateful. Some of our favorite activities + adventures included: surfing, hiking, swimming, sunrise savasana, and star-gazing from the hot tub. Honored that this retreat was rated one of the top 10 retreats around the world! 

#IWRMalibu2014

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