—————————————————————————————————

FOF Sande Nosonowitz is giving away one of her handmade yoga-inspired jewelry pieces (retail value: over $200) to a lucky FOF!  Enter to win by answering this question in the comments below: Which Sundara necklace would you most like to win -- the Sundara Inner Fire Necklace, or the Sundara "Smoke & Shakti" Necklace and Earrings?

Sande Nosonowitz spent 20 years working in the corporate world before discovering her life's true passion. "I was doing video production, sales, marketing--all different positions," says Sande. "As busy as I was, I was never fulfilled." Then, on Sande's 50th birthday, a friend gave her a class card for a local yoga studio. "I just fell in love with it," says Sande, "I decided it was what I wanted to do."

Sande took a year off to enroll in a certification program at Satya Yoga Center in Rhinebeck, New York. She became a certified yoga instructor, and began teaching yoga in 2008.  Familiar with the stresses of corporate life, and armed with the benefits of her new craft, Sande set out to teach yoga in corporate offices.  "I would go into corporate offices before work, at lunchtime or after work," says Sande. "We would find a location in the building, or I'd rent a studio nearby, and we would have an hour yoga class. I also taught 'at desk' yoga seminars, where I'd teach the employees yoga movements they could do at their desks."

When an accident left Sande unable to teach yoga in the winter of 2011, she channeled her love of all things yoga into a new venture--yoga-inspired jewelry. "I create all the pieces myself," says Sande. "I find the semi-precious stones and pendants, and design them all. Several of the pendants that I use are 'OM' pendants, which represent infinite consciousness."

Since it's launch in 2011, Sande has sold many of her one-of-a-kind pieces through her shop on Etsy. All of her pieces are handmade with the yoga principles and healing properties in mind, like the 'OM' symbol, which represents consciousness, or the infinity pendant, which signifies the never ending journey of the spirit. She uses only sterling silver, bronze and semi-precious stones in all of her pieces. "The semi-precious stones have different healing properties," says Sande. "For example, moonstone is a symbol of clarity, it will bring that to you. Every stone has a different meaning. When I design a piece of Sundara jewelry, I want women to feel beautiful--inside and out."

Enter to win one of Sande's yoga-inspired necklaces by answering this question in the comments below: Which Sundara necklace would you most like to win -- the Sundara Inner Fire Necklace, or the Sundara "Smoke & Shakti" Necklace and Earrings?

Sign up for the Sundara Jewelry newsletter to stay up-to-date on Sande's latest designs.

—————————————————————————————————
One FOF will win. (See all our past winners, here.) (See official rules, here.) Contest closes September 13th, 2012 at midnight E.S.T. Contest open only to winners in the continental U.S.