Yoga on top of a mountain (NBD), at Wanderlust Whistler 2012.

Last August, I had a conversation with someone who was nervous about attending her first-ever Wanderlust - the yoga and music festival that has four North American stops in summer 2013.

“I don’t think I’m advanced enough to go,” she said. “Doing that much yoga is scary.”

Seeing as the yoga festival season is now upon us, I thought it was a good time to address her concerns in this blog post in case any of you have similar thoughts when you think about the possibility of attending all-day back-to-back classes at a Wanderlust festival near you.

wanderlust is for everyone

This is what I told my friend. Firstly, you need to know this: Wanderlust, just like all yoga, is for everyone. In any given class there are things you can physically do and things you can’t. Everybody will breathe together, everybody will move together, and if you need to take a time out in Child’s Pose at any time, nobody will judge you. Whether it’s your first class or your 5,000^th, you’ll fit in.

Various stages of handstands, Wanderlust Vermont 2013.

yes, you will be sore

Doing a lot of yoga will make even the most hardcore yogis feel muscles they didn’t know they had. Pro tip: when you build your schedule, balance your classes with meditations & speakeasies. Also, stay hydrated. Rest. Listen to your body, and if it’s telling you to go to the market place for gelato, do it.

like music? they’ve got music

At night, the yoga mats get rolled up and the musicians come out to play. Each festival has a different line up. There is no better way to cap off a day of yoga-ing than under a summer night sky with a community of like-minded folks, many of which will have Total Yoga Hair.

Michael Franti at Wanderlust Whistler 2012.

Don’t go to Wanderlust if you already know everything about yoga you need to know. Don’t go if you’re looking to get uninspired, because that is guaranteed not to happen. Oh, and don’t go if you’re not a little bit nervous about it. Wanderlust can crack you open and teach you whatever you need to learn, but only if you’ll let it.

#justmymat

The coolest part about Wanderlust Festival and yoga in general is that it’s a journey. You show up at the studio, at a big white tent, on the top of a mountain, on a hotel room floor, in your living room. Sometimes you don’t know why but you do it anyways. Join our community this summer and share your yoga journey, whether you’re attending Wanderlust or not. We know your mat has stories to tell.

We’ll be celebrating community with updates from each Wanderlust Festival here on the blog, written by a local host who will share their journey with you. Coming soon: meet our Wanderlust Vermont local host & storyteller, Elizabeth Crisci.

Wanderlust Festival has four festivals in summer 2013:

Vermont, June 20-23.
Colorado, July 4-7.
California, July 18-21.
Whistler, Aug. 1-4.

Learn more at http://wanderlustfestival.com

alana: what does it mean to make our spine loose like seaweed? Should i do this in every yoga pose?

eoin: When I cue students to fold forward from the hips, I tell them to let their heads get heavy on their spines and free the arms to dangle side to side like seaweed undulating in an ocean current.  When we relax our body and mind we can feel the rhythms of our energy body and we release all stiffness, tension and stress.  This opens us up to a deep experience of presence and bliss.

It wouldn’t be practical to do this in every pose. Different tools are needed in yoga depending on whether we are sinking into the gravitational field or trying to lift up and away from it.  Sinking into gravity feeling our energetic self is more yin and resisting gravity engaging muscles would be more yang. It is important to have this yin softness while resisting gravity and the stability of yang while being passive.  Finding this balance in all poses is the ongoing dance of a great yoga practice.

Photo credit: Ali Kaukas
alana: what does it mean to make our spine loose like seaweed? Should i do this in every yoga pose?

eoin: When I cue students to fold forward from the hips, I tell them to let their heads get heavy on their spines and free the arms to dangle side to side like seaweed undulating in an ocean current.  When we relax our body and mind we can feel the rhythms of our energy body and we release all stiffness, tension and stress.  This opens us up to a deep experience of presence and bliss.

It wouldn’t be practical to do this in every pose. Different tools are needed in yoga depending on whether we are sinking into the gravitational field or trying to lift up and away from it.  Sinking into gravity feeling our energetic self is more yin and resisting gravity engaging muscles would be more yang. It is important to have this yin softness while resisting gravity and the stability of yang while being passive.  Finding this balance in all poses is the ongoing dance of a great yoga practice.

Photo credit: Ali Kaukas
alana: what does yoga have to do with the ocean?

eoin: The Ocean is my biggest fuel.  To me, it is a shrine of beauty and interconnection. When I stand in front of the ocean I realize that I am no longer contained by four walls, nor am I walled in by my problems or stress. Instead, there is part of me that is as vast and beautiful as an oceanic horizon.  Touching this place in all of us, is the source of health and our deepest joy.  One of my life’s major goals is to allow more people to feel the same magic I do when I am by the ocean.

alana: who is YOUR teacher(s) and how did you find them?

eoin: I found my teachers by following my interests; first in yoga philosophy, then in meditation, then the physical practice, and later an interest in the mind-body connection.  My curiosity and passion guided me to find people who were qualified to help me evolve my understanding.

Ravi Ravindra, Nadia Toraman, Pattabhi Jois, David Swenson,  Gioia Irwin, Orit Sen Gupta and a host of many other have all been my yoga teachers over the years.  I really learned the benefit of a spine moving like seaweed from Body Mind Psychotherapy Teacher Susan Aposhyan.

Where do you find energy, connection and renewal?

Stratton Mountain, Vermont: June 20-23

Copper Mountain, Colorado: July 4-7

Squaw Valley, North Lake Tahoe: July 18-21

Whistler Mountain, British Columbia: August 1-4

Attention early birds: you have until March 26th to take advantage of the advance ticket pricing on 3 and 4-day passes! More info here: http://wanderlustfestival.com

If you want to get an idea of what you'll experience, check out our musical ode to Wanderlust Whistler, filmed at last year's festival in BC!

Are you getting your Wanderlust on this year? Which location are you excited for? See you there!

When's the last time you committed to something for 40 days? The Digital 40 Day Challenge - part yoga, part meditation, part personal revolution - is in full swing, and this week Parker from our Leadership Development team is here to recap her Week One experience. Read on for more!

meet parker

name: Parker Pearson
current role at lululemon: Leadership Development, Program Manager – Self Development
current hometown Vancouver, BC (originally from San Francisco, CA)
first yoga class It was 13 years ago. It was a Bikram class. I wore sweat pants and a leotard. The next day I wore my swimsuit.
random fact I once got pulled over for driving below the speed limit directly after a yoga class.
week one, in a word Observing.

this week i learned...

This week I observed myself flickering back and forth constantly:

• in my meditation practice from the "now" to planning
• in my asana practice from an inhale to distraction or worry about an old injury
• in my relationships from 100% of my attention on the conversation to spending mental energy on an unsolved issue
• in my food choices when I go from most nourishing to most convenient or habitual

I keep reminding myself, “right aim and right energy”. *

*p.99 40 Days to Personal Revolution

Where it’s time for me to take more responsibility isn’t in how I get my work done, but how I take care of myself and what I’ve been avoiding. I see that a new level of commitment to my practice and nourishment is needed if I’m going to truly thrive.

What did you learn or observe about yourself or your practice in Week One? What word summarizes your experience so far?

Our ambassador Eoin Finn - a yogi, surfer, and blissologist - shares what surfing has taught him about how to navigate through life and get where you want to go.

watch the video

Let’s skip over the part where I talk about the indulgences of the holiday season and cliches about fresh starts: 2013 is almost here and a lot of us are looking for a meaningful way to start the new year. Enter: the Digital 40 Days program by Baron Baptiste. Move over, resolutions. It’s time for a revolution!

what is it?

Digital 40 Days goes from Jan. 7 - Feb. 15, 2013, and is a companion program to Baron’s book, 40 Days to Personal Revolution. Basically, you get your yoga on in whichever way works for you: your favourite studio, home practice, these yoga videos, or the podcasts that come with the program. Digital 40 Days provides:

- the structure
- the community
- the support
- resources including podcasts, emails, and meditations.

It doesn’t cost anything to join the program but there is an option to upgrade for a few extra advantages.

the good, the bad, the ugly?

Doing anything for 40 days is guaranteed to create a change, shift, or insight in some capacity, so we’ve got weekly contributors from across lululemon to recap their experience each Tuesday (starting Jan. 15) and tell it like it is.

Finally, here are a few questions we asked Baron Baptiste about the program:

why 40 days?

Forty days is the time it takes to build an entirely new set of habits and practices to train and rewire your mind and body. This program is built from a foundation of commitment and is designed to create, piece by piece, new practices and commitments that propel you into lasting transformation of your body and your life.

what are potential outcomes of participating in this challenge?

The outcomes of this program are very specific to each individual. It will strengthen, open and cleanse your body, clear your mind and change your relationship to food in a way that creates whole-life health instead of quick fixes. You'll learn how to get out of the trap of trying to find the time for the things that matter most to you, and start making the time and being the change.

what happens if I fall off the wagon?

I often tell my students that it doesn't matter how many times you fall, it's about calmly and kindly getting back up each and every time that makes all the difference. Part of this program is that (much like your day-to-day life) it will present you with many opportunities to jump ship... "I had a stressful day today and don't want to meditate for 5 minutes" or "I don't have the time today for yoga practice or to make myself something for dinner." The good news is this is where the personal revolution occurs: you'll be on the lookout for these kinds of disempowering thoughts and attitudes and experience the power of choosing your next action.
If you 'fall off the wagon', simply get back on.

ready to join?

1. Sign up here.
2. Stay connected with the Digital 40 Days community on Twitter and Instagram using #digital40days.
3. Check back here for weekly recaps starting Jan. 15.

Remember being 17 and confused about who you were and what life was all about? Cyclist Loren Rowney does. We caught up with her at Specialized-lululemon's recent training camp in Portugal to ask her about how she got to where she is today:

watch the video

more from this series

- Ryan Leier
- Lisa Brooking
- Mary Beth Larue

why we should honour the dark

We talk a lot in yoga about light: honouring the light within us, placing our fingers and feet lightly on our mats, celebrating and seeking light in others - but we don't often talk about darkness.

Parsva Bakasana is so easy in the dark!

We met at the Sun Tower (like that one, Alanis Morrisette?), exchanged our belongings for a pair of wooly socks, and were lead downstairs to a candlelit room.

I got into my first ever scorpion pose... or did I?

what yoga in the dark sounds like

Unlit candles in jars being knocked over. Bodies gently crashing onto mats. Scattered and sincere apologies as rogue feet and arms accidentally meet mat neighbours. The constant and rhythmic wave of inhales and exhales uniting each body in the room.

Have you ever seen 200 people do handstand away from the wall together? Me neither.

embrace the darkness

The dark is a space where anything is possible.
In the dark, you are perfect.
In the dark, you nail every pose.
In the dark you can cheat in navasana or do savasana for the entire class.
In the dark there is no comparing, no judgement, no limits to what is possible.

experience it yourself

You don't need to wait for an organized Yoga in the Dark event. The next time you practice, close your eyes. This is how yoga is meant to be experienced: in your own body, where the only thing that exists around you is space.

As we move away from the darkest day of the year, take some time to explore who you are being in the dark so that you can fully appreciate all the light that 2013 will bring.

come as you are

Two weeks ago at our New Orleans store grand opening I witnessed the definition of community. It didn't matter how old you were, what yoga studio you identified with, or where you came from (in my case, Vancouver): it just mattered that you showed up and had a good time (case in point - the above photo).

it started with beads

It all started with some Mardi Gras beads and a rented Vancouver art space. Our designer Gill had an idea for store art that would tell the story of the city. Working with Vancouver-area (and New Orleans-obsessed) artist Harvey Chometsky and using the beads as a starting place, the final artwork evolved into three circles of found objects that includes everything from voodoo dolls to musical instruments.

Gill and Harvey art-strategizing in Vancouver

Each item was carefully chosen and painted white to balance the very colourful store interior. Each item also had an untold story. As the art came together, piece by piece, we knew that we wanted to celebrate our new store by bringing the art to life and experiencing New Orleans and its growing yoga community firsthand.

a few photos

The first thing we did when we arrived is check out the store. They had only been open for a few hours but you couldn't tell. It felt like any other lululemon store: welcoming, colourful, and familiar - but also distinctly unique.

The beautiful and colourful manifesto on the store's exterior

A bit of unexpected brass in the men's section!

Gill and Harvey's final artwork on the store wall!

At our ambassador Reyn's studio, a 10 minute walk from our store.

grand opening yoga

The next day was the Masquerade-inspired grand opening event which started with outdoor yoga and ended in a full on dance party.

Our ambassadors painted the town gold for grand opening yoga outside the store

Ambassador Lauren Darnell leading us through a fun and fiery practice.

Our yoga class was lit by flambeaux and ended with a very loud savasana as local brass brand To Be Continued got the party started and lead our group of yogis, family, and friends indoors.

watch the video

Thank you, New Orleans, for redefining what community means and for welcoming everyone, just as they are.

Connect with our New Orleans team in real life or on Facebook.

"Do what you love. Keep pushing through. The good times will come." - Lisa Brooking

Everyone needs a reminder now and then to do what you love. For our Coquitlam ambassador Lisa Brooking, a tough race turned into a motivational experience that encouraged her to keep following her passion: running.

watch the video

location

Perimeter Mall, Atlanta (opened Nov. 9)

created with

lululemon fabric from the lab in Vancouver.

created by

Textile artist Lizz Aston.

inspired by

The patterns of nature and the local landscape of the Atlanta region which the Chattahoochee River runs through.

Art in progress

Up close and personal

Connect with our Perimeter store on Facebook or visit them in real life.

There's a reason that people pack their stretchy gear when they travel to a new place. Yoga mats and running shoes unite us, regardless of where we are in the world or what language we speak. To celebrate our growing international family of ecommerce sites which includes Australia, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, I asked local sweat enthusiasts in each location for their recommendations on where and how to experience their hometowns with your mat and/or running shoes in tow.

london

The Chelsea showroom team pigeon-ing in London.

Sweat out your jet lag: Check out Kari McCreath’s sweaty spin class as H2BikeRun just off of Carnaby Street. Between getting sweaty and listening to some pumping music you'll leave feeling energized.
Go for a run: You can’t beat running through the hidden paths in Hyde park or running along the Southbank! If you’re out east hit up Regents Canal and run all the way up to London Fields Market if it’s a Saturday.
Post-flight yoga class: Vinyasa flow with Mercedes at Triyoga Primrose Hill or Elizabeth Reumont at The Life Centre Islington. If you take Lizzie’s class grab a Zinger juice from Planet Organic of Coffee from the Food Lab afterwards!
Enjoy a post-yoga snack: Enjoy a steaming sweet potato with a delicious filling of your choice from Spud in Covent Garden. Also, the raw carrot cake at the Madder Rose café at Triyoga are to die for and they are good for you.
Tip for getting around: Get around town like a true Londoner with an Oyster Card! A Mini London A-Z map book may come in handy and don’t shy away from hopping in a black cab… you never know what conversation you’ll end up having with a cabbie!
Make sure you: Hit up Shoreditch on a Sunday! Start with brunch at The Book Club, then wander along Brick Lane checking out Spitalfields market, the hidden boutiques on cobble streets (grabbing a coffee at Rosa’s café on route) and end at Columbia Road flower market to pick up a fresh bouquet of beautiful flowers (tip: head to the flower market at noon to get ‘two for a fiver!’)

hong kong

Get SMAC'ed with ambassadors Ed and Babs!

Sweat out your jet lag: After sitting on a long flight, you're going to want to move your body, so head to SMAC, an invigorating outdoor workout with Ambassadors Ed Haynes & Babs Mountain.
Grab your runners and go to: Bowen Road and Happy Valley track offer tranquility in the city for running at any time of day.
Best post-flight yoga class: Nora Lim at the beautiful The Yoga Room, or Claudia at Flex Studio – you can vinyasa and then hit up Stanley market which isn’t too far from the studio. Just hop on a bus and off you go to explore a little bit of Hong Kong.
Local lingo: Finish your coffee order by saying 'thank you' in Cantonese – “mmm goy!”
Grab a post-yoga snack: something sweet and something refreshing at Life Café in Soho or a flatbread from Mana on Wellington Street.
A different way to sweat: Buffet at one of the hotels! Buffets are like a sport here. A local favourite is the one at Café Too at Island Shangri-la.

melbourne

Our ambassador Kent Cuthbert runs along Albert Park Lake.

Sweat out your jet lag: Strength and circuit training at the HIT Centre in South Yarra. Workouts are not for the faint of heart, but here technique is priority number one so you can feel like a pro at any level.
Go for a run: Albert Park Lake or Royal Botanic Gardens, lovingly known by locals as 'The Tan'. The garden-hugging track features some serious flora and fauna (50,000 plants to be exact) and a lake (fish, turtles and eels included) so tie up your runners and get ready for a wild jog.
Best post-flight yoga class: Melt your travel stress away and Savasana in style at the beautiful and tranquil Union Yoga in South Melbourne.
How to order coffee: Order a ‘flat white’ (a latté with no foam, or ‘froth’ as Aussies call it) for a shot of espresso and milk. Be warned: if you ask for an ‘iced coffee’, you will get coffee… and ice cream. Try Proud Mary coffee in Collingwood or Dukes Coffee Roasters in Windsor.
Post-yoga snack: Melbourne’s suburbs are diverse and known for different types of cuisine, from Greek food to Vietnamese treats. But anywhere you roam you’ll find cheap and fresh sushi hand rolls, like traditional sushi before they are made bite size, so you can simply grab one and go. After a workout try a brown rice vegetable roll for a healthy and satisfying snack.
Local lingo: Locals greet each other with ‘hey mate’ and ‘how you going?’, and a simple ‘no worries’ will suffice in place of 'you're welcome.'

Taking in a yoga class or going for a run in a different country is one of the best ways to beat jet lag and experience the local community firsthand (or should we say firstfoot?). Which country have you recently unrolled your mat on or gone for a run in? Got any tips for us?

Throughout the next few months, we'll be sharing stories from our ambassadors on things they've experienced that helped contribute to who and where they are today.

Mary Beth Larue is a Vinyasa yoga teacher and ambassador at our Santa Monica store. She began practicing yoga to find relief from sitting at a desk for her day job and decided she needed to become a teacher to helping others find joy through yoga. We sat down with Mary Beth recently and asked her about a time in her life that helped shape the person she is today.

watch the video

In my first-ever class with Ana Forrest at the New York Yoga Journal Conference, she asked us while sitting cross-legged to place one hand on our genitals, the other on our anus, and to make a high-pitched buzzing sound with our voices.

I consider myself an open-minded individual, but at that moment all I was thinking is: What. The. Eff.

a ballroom full of buzzing yogis

But I closed my eyes, followed her instructions, and buzzed. The entire hotel ballroom buzzed. The sound was vibrational and not unlike a swarm of insects.

When we got into the asana part of the workshop, Ana had a different way of instructing us into poses. In trikonasana my neck and gaze were adjusted to a place that left me feeling a new sense of freedom. I left the class feeling a little conflicted about my practice and what I’d known to be “right”, but more than anything I was curious about Ana, so I didn’t hesitate to accept when I received an email asking if I’d like to read her book, Fierce Medicine.

what it's about

Fierce Medicine is part autobiography, part how-to-use-yoga-in-the-real-world (with photos and clear instructions), and part self-help motivational (which is a bookstore section I am always drawn to).

why we buzzed

In Chapter 5, Ana explains what Brahmari breathing, which is sometimes called ‘bee breath’, is and how to use it to wake up and align the seven energy centres in your body. On using it for the first chakra, Ana said: “If you can restore that core fire, that magma, that heartbeat of the earth, what would be ignited in your creativity, your cell structure, your body’s ability to cleanse and renew itself?” All of a sudden the genital-buzzing from New York didn’t seem so weird and random anymore.

in summary

Read this book if:

• there is any area in your life where you want to bring more power
• you are interested in yoga as a healing tool
• you took a class with Ana and wondered why she asked you to touch your genitals and make a humming sound

Avoid this book if:

• you are not interested in change
• your life is perfect

Ana’s writing is real, honest, funny, and inspiring. It’s the kind of book I’ll read again, in parts or as a whole, and recommend to friends.

What have you been reading lately?

Whatever you're doing, whoever you are, and wherever you are in the world, the last meditation in our series with Baron Baptiste was made for you. When's the last time you dropped everything to remind yourself that you can do anything?

Do it now. Take two minutes to listen to this Meditation for Possibility.

If you'd like to explore more guided meditations with Baron Baptiste, head on over here.