Bhakti Ware

I am very picky about what I wear for yoga and exercise. If I feel comfortable and sexy in my workout clothes, I’m a lot more likely to get myself to class or even roll out the mat at home. So my choice this week is Bhakti Wear yoga clothes. Here’s what I love about them:

1. They fit beautifully and are extremely flattering. You don’t get that baggy bottom thing happening after a few hours of wear. If I want a snug streamlined fit, I often have to go for a nylon/spandex fabric and I hate the feel of it against my skin. Bhakti Wear is made from 100% organic cotton and a little lycra, and feels beautiful on your skin. The tops come with a hidden bra, which is fabulous.

2. Bhakti Ware designs are gorgeous. Beauty is so often in the detail and I appreciate the work that’s gone into making these pieces extra special.

3. I love the spiritual aspect of the company and their products. They even sell meditation beads (malas) in healing stones. You can learn how to use them on their website.

4. They manufacture in the U.S.

Here is Bhakti Wear’s back story. I’m all about the back story of the small companies that I promote – it’s one of the first things I ask, as so many of the lovely green products that we can buy today, have been created by people with extraordinary stories.

Back Story of Bhakti Wear
I guess it all first started with the music of Krishna Das and Jai Uttal coupled with the teachings of Ram Dass – a deep resonance of Truth as if something lost had been found again. My husband, Kevin, and I were yoga instructors at the time and we found ourselves drawn to the traditions of yoga, especially bhakti yoga. The seeds for Bhakti Ware grew out of our first visit to India in 2004. We had done a lot of reading, but nothing really prepares you for the real thing. It’s a country of extremes; a mixture of magic and heart-breaking hardship. We were high up in the foothills of the Himalayas and were taken aback by how fearlessly open the average person on the street was. We began to see how daily puja acted as a reminder that everything is sacred. People would be attracted to those attributes of the Divine Personality that best suited their temperament; many forms, one Love.

When we returned to LA we made a couple of t-shirts with the image of Hanuman on them. Before we knew it we were making more for our friends. I remember we went to see Ammachi and Kevin was wearing his Hanuman shirt. A woman with a young boy came up and asked where she could get one. Long story short, we made one for her son and in the process of the exchange we recommended reading the Ramayana. A month or so later the boy’s mother wrote us to say how grateful she was and how the Ramayana, with its ageless wisdom and wealth of spiritual guidance, had been so meaningful for her and her son. It was then that we realized what a wonderful way to spread a positive message clothing could actually be.

From the onset, we began making our women’s yoga wear out of organic cotton mixed with lycra and setting a portion of every sale aside for seva. The Bhakti Ware website was set up so that people could learn about the various deities, the Ramayana, how to use mala beads for meditation,…  We focus on making the best clothing possible, constantly raising the bar for quality and art. The clothes have been more or less advertising themselves, word of mouth has spread and here we are. We feel very blessed.