The population seems to have doubled overnight here in Lake Tahoe and the Wanderlust grounds are buzzing with happy, sweaty, yoga-fied people. The energy here is incredible and the conversations are flowing - from the yoga mat to the elevator.

600 yogis line up for Seane Corn's class

creating space

About 600 people were in my first class of the day, lead by Seane Corn. I knew it was going to be powerful a few minutes in when I noticed the two people in front of me had tears streaming down their cheeks. We honoured the amazing and powerful women in our life by dedicating our thoughts to them (I sent mine to my mom - hi mom! Did you get them?), and went deep into our hips where Seane says we "store every relationship we've ever had" to release the past and let go. One word: wow.

creating art

I had been looking forward to practicing with John Friend, the founder of Anusara yoga, for a long time. His class was just as I had imagined it would be -- 1.5 hours of play, accompanied by live musicians who were perfectly in sync with our movements: holding the song as we held poses, crescendoing as we expanded towards the sky. I think I detected a Simon + Garfunkel song at one point [side note - can anyone verify this? I really want to know!].

John Friend and the merry band

science-asana

About to get my neuroscience on

Next up: "The Secret" meets neuroscience. At least, this is what I thought when Dr. Van Houten began his lecture about happiness and meditation and asked us to create a vision of our future self. My nutshell edition of his wonderful 1.5 hour lecture: We can change the chemistry in our brains permanently, through 10-15 minutes of meditation a day. So if there's something in your life that you want, focus on it and your brain will figure it out. I'm now inspired to give my neurons a workout -- six-month meditation experiment, anyone?

hammock dreams

I had a short break between activities and checked my Twitter stream. Someone named @hammocker had said hi to me, and I decided to meet them in real life. I am so glad I did.

Rachel was at the Yellow Leaf Hammock booth and told me how her boyfriend Joe had gone to Thailand on vacation, discovered these handmade hammocks, and quit his corporate day job when he returned to found Yellow Leaf, which is committed to creating a sustainable social enterprise. They've only officially been open for a week. The hairs on my arm stood up when she told me their story.

visions and goals

I ended my day with a goal-setting workshop lead by Andrea from lululemon. Andrea brought tears to a few eyes with her personal story of goal-setting including the fact that she was achieving a goal by being here at Wanderlust leading the workshop. When I got home and checked the lululemon blog, I saw Allessia's post on visions and goals and it connected all the individual pieces of my day together.

If there's something in your life that you don't have, you can create it. Let go of situations / things that aren't serving you and create a life you love. If you're at Wanderlust, Andrea's holding another workshop Saturday at 5 pm. Be there or be square.

Until tomorrow,
Alana

What is your role at lululemon?

I am a Showroom Manager in beautiful downtown San Diego.

Tell us about your community:

Downtown is the cultural center of San Diego. We have a really great mix of athletes, young professionals, people in the military, students and tourists. We have yogis, crossfitters, dancers, runners, cyclists, mixed martial artists and Olympic kayakers. People here are some of the most friendly I've ever met. I guess it's difficult not to be happy when it's sunny 360 days a year

How did you come to lululemon?

I worked in Los Angeles marketing for network television shows until I burned out. I took a year off and got certified to teach yoga then traveled around the world with my sister before settling in San Diego. I knew of and loved lululemon from my LA days and was surprised to find there wasn't a store here. I found the posting for a showroom manager on lululemon.com soon after I moved here. The timing was perfect! I was lucky enough to be hired to open a showroom in Del Mar, lululemon's entry into the San Diego market. The whole thing was fate really.

What is the difference between a showroom and a store?

Showrooms were originally created to go into communities where lululemon stores were not around. They operate similarly to our stores in many ways but one major difference is that we have limited hours in order to maximize our time in the community. I believe there is no better venue than a showroom to interact with our community and truly gain a sense of what they want and where they want it. The showroom setting is generally very intimate and has that neighborhood vibe where our guests feel comfortable kicking off their shoes and staying awhile.

What's a typical Wednesday like for you?

Wednesdays are different each week but they always start out with our store manager call where all the stores and showrooms in our region get to touch base. Lots of learning and sharing happens on that call! Wednesdays include a class (or two!) so that I'm always becoming more of an expert in our community, connecting with the most amazing teachers, trainers, athletes and studios in our neighborhood. Community and people development are how I spend most of my days.

How do you usually sweat once a day?

Yoga is definitely my preferred form of exercise/stress relief though I took my first hip hop class a couple weeks ago and I'm hooked! Also, I work up quite a sweat chasing after my very active 11-month-old daughter but I can't think of anything more fun!

What’s one activity/fitness trend that you’ve been dying to try?

I have two: Zumba and Kettle Bells.

Why do you have the best job in the world?

I love creating something where there was nothing but opportunity before. I love working with amazing people every day, fellow educators and all the outstanding members of our community. I am so fortunate to have a job that embraces balance so that I can be present for my family and raise our daughter. I have so much fun at work that I'd probably do it even if I didn't get paid.

What piece of advice do you have for future showroom managers?

Be flexible and open to anything! Most importantly, take ownership of whatever you do... showrooms provide unbelievable opportunities for resourcefulness and creativity.

What makes your showroom unique?

This is the second showroom I've managed in San Diego and they each had very different personalities. The first time around we were the only gig in town. Now there are two stores in the area so we have to work even harder to create our individual showroom culture and not stand in the shadow of the stores. Our mission continues to be to attract new guests, educate them on our culture and bring the lululemon love.

Sidewalk yoga! All part of a day's work at the San Diego showroom.

Do you think you are one of the three rock stars managers that can lead a team in Madison, WI, Cincinnati, OH or Birmingham, AL? Browse some of the cool locations where we will be opening showrooms!

When I started working at lululemon in August 2008, I decided to challenge myself by setting the goal to cycle a century ride (100 miles) in 2009. Thankfully, my fellow Carlsbad Forum store key leader Rachelle Morton was interested in training with me. A two-time Ironwoman, Rachelle had never ridden a century ride outside of an IM race, and set a goal to compete in a race a month in 2009.

So, we committed and signed up for the Lighthouse Century Ride flat 100 on September 26, 2009 in San Luis Obispo County, California. We knew the views from the Lighthouse Century Ride would be gorgeous.

View of San Simeon from the saddle

First thing first - I sold my hybrid bike and purchased a road bike that could withstand thousands of miles of training on flat roads and rolling and steep hills alike, and of course, make me fast!

I knew the second I got in the saddle cycling would become my passion. This bike has gotten me through a successful triathalon and a century ride this year - not to mention thousands of miles of training.

Rachelle became the "big sister I never had" and walked me through all things advanced cycling, from equipment, training, and cross-training, to recovery, hydration, and nutrition - you name it, she taught me! I became someone to help keep her honest in training, push her up the long climbs, and the one to introduce her to the best recovery drink - coconut water.

Her husband Todd, to whom I also owe much thanks, became my mechanic, another advanced rider to provide me equipment and cycling 201, chauffeur, and wine-tasting buddy as a reward after the race.

And now, for the ride:

There were four rides going off at the same time, and we accidently hopped on the metric century (62 mile) route. Very thankfully - due to my trusty math and route slip comparing skills - we realized we were only 10 miles behind, and our intended route met up with the metric route at the first rest stop. It was here we discovered our favorite riding fuel is Nutella and chunky peanut butter on anything! We loaded up, as we knew we had to add on 5 miles past the rest stop, to bring us back up to 100 miles.

We were SO thankful for coffee at the mile 55 turnaround rest stop. We'd been facing headwinds for 20 miles that stalled us to 7mph at one point, and I'm convinced our core body temperature must have dropped a degree or two. Lesson learned - buy arm and leg sleeves!

Elephant seals at mile 59.

At mile 82, Rachelle was dropping me on the hills (I usually can take most guys on a climb) so she feared I was on my way to "bonking." It was then she yelled, "Take your Espresso Love GU NOW!"

I abided, and after the final rest stop for our final 10 miles, we were passing nearly every rider in our foreground.

My Garmin proves to the world we rode 100.1 miles in 6 hours 16 minutes. While we weren't doing the century for time, we rode our fastest pace for a long ride yet.

We did it!

For more pictures from our ride, check out my Flickr photo set.

The following day, Rachelle and I wore our 2008 lululemon holiday goal shirts to work. It was awesome to share with guests our achievement and inspire them to set goals that "tickle their tummy," as our store manager Laura Murphy puts it.

Rachelle, Todd and I had such an awesome experience, we're all doing the Solvang Prelude on November 7th.

Now it's time to create a 2010 health goal; thinking about running a marathon or racing a 70.3 (half Ironman).

What are your health goals?

Eileen, both an ambassador and an educator at lululemon Walnut Creek, with her final installment on the Best Buddies 100 Mile Bike Ride. You can read her other entries on training for the challenge here:

Cycling 100 Miles: Step One
Cycling + Nutrition

After weeks of training, I had the opportunity to join Team KCBS/KPIX Channel 5 to ride in the Audi Best Buddies Challenge 100 mile bike ride alongside my good friend, Channel 5 weatherwoman Roberta Gonzales. Best Buddies is an organization that supports individuals with intellectual disabilities and Maria Shriver is the spokesperson for this event. I am happy to report that this year with the help of so many amazing individuals, Best Buddies raised over $4 million. People are amazing!

The ride was absolutely breathtaking, and an unbelievable experience. 100 miles with 7,000 feet of climbing! A couple of Garmin Slipstream professional cyclists were in attendance to make the ride even that much more fun. The Tibco pro women’s cycling team was also there and wanted to get in a good 'hard' ride.

The first nine miles of the ride started off very controlled with two escort Audi TTs leading the way. My husband Reid, fellow triathlete Steve Cramer and I quickly moved up to the front of the pack with the pro riders. The pro cyclists were so cool and fun to ride with.  We had a good pack of about 30 strong riders, moving along at a good fast pace along rolling terrain. It was not until we passed through Big Sur, Ventana hill that the pace got a bit too fast for my hill climbing. Reid, Cramer and the pro riders were putting the hurt on the rest of us. But I was lucky to have a couple nice guys slow up for me so that I could pace off of them up that crazy climb! At the top of the climb, Reid and Cramer were waiting for me. Reid asked if I was ready to work hard to catch back on to the lead group. I knew this would be challenging and I am always up for a challenge! 

We were flying up and down the California coast, trying so hard to catch back on to the fast moving peleton. It hurt and we were all working hard, breathing extra hard, and feeling the serious burn in our legs. Within a couple of miles, we were back on and so happy to sit in and draft. Phew! It is incredible what our strong minds can help us accomplish. Believing in yourself can take you to reach new heights once thought unimaginable.

On to the crazy part. A mile after catching the group, we hit some big rollers and I once again was in the red zone. My legs were screaming, my lungs were burning, but my mind was fresh and willing to deal with it all. I stayed on pace for as long as I could until I felt like I was going to pass out. I backed off at that point, only to have a California Highway Patrol officer on his motorcycle tell me to hold on and pointed to a part of his motorcycle that I could actually hold on to. Super cool! When does this ever happen!?

I was so stoked to have gotten so far with some amazing riders.  Plus this was my longest ride in a year! I couldn’t believe how great I was feeling despite all the crazy hard efforts. Reid, on the other hand, was still looking fresh and ready for another 100 miles. Our ride time was just a bit over five hours. This is my fastest 100 miles ever and I am coming off a 6-month injury. It must have been the great company, the amazing goal setting team at lululemon and great cause that inspired me to ride fast. What an unforgettable experience!

Clara Hughes is an amazing Canadian cyclist and speedskater who has won multiple Olympic medals in addition to many other athletic achievements. She also happens to be an amazing person, and her list of personal accomplishments and commitment to programs such as Right to Play (an international humanitarian organization that uses sport to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world) is just as long as her list of athletic titles. We are very proud to call her a lululemon elite ambassador.

In preparation for the upcoming World Cup Speed Skating season, Clara completed a 19-day hike in the mountains of California for altitude training where she and her husband hiked to heights of 14,200 feet and camped in windy conditions with the temperature hitting -17 degrees celcius at times. Why would someone put themselves through something like this, you ask? Read on to find out, in Clara's own words:

A friend of mine recently suggested I take up golf. It was after an email I had sent, letting him know I had to come out of the mountains in order to pick up an ice axe, crampons and snow shoes. Why all this gear? My husband Peter and I were attempting to complete a desert mountain traverse that few, if any, have completed. When I think back to day number two of the 19-day hike, as Peter and I huddled beside a fallen tree in futile attempt to get out of the raging wind and -17c temperature to eat our dinner, I think that maybe that friend is right. We crouched down on a nameless ridge up at 10,800 feet wondering just where was the warmth we had traveled so far from Quebec to enjoy. There were many days on this trip that left me questioning my rational for such endeavors.

The place I'm talking about is a little known, little hiked, mountain range in California. First with the Inyo and then the White Mountains, it's a desert range that runs about 200 kilometers as the crow flies. It begins at an abandoned mining camp called Cerro Gordo on a rough dirt road that branches off the highway to Death Valley. The elevation along our route along the range never dropped below 7,000 feet and reached peaks up to 14,200 feet. Because it's the desert there was no water water to be found, save for a few springs. But we didn't see any of those. Our sole source of drinking water was snow, melted over an open fire or the cook stove. Though purified or boiled, it was still at times dirty, smokey and hard to swallow. It's amazing what you drink when you're thirsty.

This 'trip' was my idea of altitude training. No team, no guide, no group- just me and Peter out there to fend for ourselves against the elements. It's a situation I crave compared to my normal existence as an athlete. It's organic and it's real. There's something about being self-contained and the challenge this situation entails that thrills me. When I think back to two years ago when the National Team funded the purchase and installment of an altitude room at my training location in Calgary, Alberta, it makes me laugh. I lasted approximately two hours in that set-up. I woke up, gasping for air, from a nightmare that had Darth Vader (the ultimate Star Wars villain) haunting my room. The sound of the generators made me crazy. I have made many sacrifices for sport, but some are just too much for me. Thus, this idea to live and train high that our team physiologist suggested that I decided to take to my own extreme.

While packing for the trip we prepared for mild to cool weather. In fact, we could see the range from our friend's home in the town of Bishop as we planned and packed. It took two days and we spent much of the time looking up at the massive range spread before us, wondering how much snow waited for us up there, or if we'd run out of snow pack to melt.

With eight days of food we set off for the first leg of the traverse, and I now know what it's like to weigh 220 pounds. Those first few steps with the burden of gear and supplies on my back made me feel like a pack mule. It was up to us to make sure the carefully measured and planned contents of the backpack would get us to a food cache we stashed about 100 kilometers ahead in the pinyon forest on a 4 wheel drive road a few miles below the mountain crest. We would be taking a layover day at the cache so I packed a few treats in – beer, chips, salsa, cookies – along with a 5 gallon container of water.

The first day was hard and it remained hard for the rest of the trip. There were no trails but at times we could follow along an abandoned mining road. The rest of the hike was navigating with topographic maps while trying to find the best route through the mountainous terrain choked with sage bushes and little-leaf mahogany trees, enormous boulder fields that formed ridges up peaks and at times, some very sketchy snow fields on the steep northeastern slopes off the highest peaks.

My husband and I don't really care to sleep in tents. Instead, we prefer sleeping out under the stars, bringing along a lightweight tarp for shelter in case it happens to snow. For some some reason, this trip we brought a small tent made for one person but big enough for two, 'just in case'. The weather is always unpredictable in the Spring and it happened that instead of sleeping out, which we did on only two nights, we found ourselves taking shelter from the raging winds that made camping out in temperatures averaging from -3 to -17 a little more than I bargained for. We'd finish a grueling day of walking, navigating, climbing and/or tearing through unforgiving desert brush and set up that tent, working as a team so that the paper thin shelter did not blow away with the relentless winds.

From 6pm on everyday, we'd cram into the space that offered minimal protection but at least conserved some of the warmth our tired bodies gave off. Into the cocoons of our sleeping bags we'd go, Peter beginning the 3-hour process of melting the snow we'd hack away from hardened packs with our ice-axes, first for tea, then dinner and ultimately enough for two quarts of water each to get us through the next day. It was excruciating to squeeze into that tent every night, not being able to stretch and barely able to shift positions because of the space allowed and the amount of clothing we wore in our sleeping bags. Muscles ached and stiffened, and I thought many times of the amount of stretching I do before, during and after training. This was the antithesis of my life as an athlete and exactly where I wanted to be.

We slept little because all camps were above 9,000 feet, the highest at 13,400 feet. Such thin air makes sleep restless, and when combined with the roaring wind tearing away at the tent, it was as if we slept within a battle field in full tilt. That same wind raged day after day, with gusts blowing so hard we would sway back and forth in unison. We wore toques and neck gators, pulled high, while pulling the hoods of our wind jackets over our heads.

Native Americans used this entire area for hunting which was evident by the continual pieces of arrowheads found along the way. They ranged from tiny ones that, I assume, were used for birds, to points discovered above 13,000 as we walked mile after mile. Here, there were many signs of Bighorn Sheep, with droppings and resting spots found in the highest reaches of the White Mountains.

With so many challenging, beautiful moments during the journey, it's difficult to pick just one that stands out from the rest. But if I had to choose, it would be the penultimate day, a thirteen hour effort. We slept at 12,500ft the previous night, and our little tent bore the brunt of the strongest winds yet, threatening to snap its poles. With filthy hiking boots wrapped in plastic bag in the foot of my bag to keep them from freezing yet again, we rose at first light and brewed coffee, remaining in our down bags. The rising sun added some warmth inside the tent, but outside, in the wind, it was bitterly cold. We forced ourselves to get an early start.

All day we walked methodically, rarely getting to sit for more than the quickest of rests as we'd get too chilled otherwise, nibbling on trail mix and candies for fuel. We climbed even higher on the plateau to 13,000 then dropped two thousand feet at a placed called the 'jump off' to the point where we would begin climbing Mt. Montgomery, the most technical climb on the range. Its steep ridges were draped in snow. As I looked up from the saddle below, knowing we had long passed the point of no return, I gasped at the intimidating grandeur. The closer we looked, the route became evident. Without snow, it would have been a technical scramble, but this was late spring, so away went the hiking poles and out came the ice axes. It didn't look easy, but at least it looked like we would be able to climb along its ridge if we were careful and methodical. We'd step onto steep snow fields and work our way from one rocky outcrop to another. Just when I thought we'd reach the last rocky ridge and the summit, there'd be another one to get around. Back onto another snow field and steep drop-off below to another outcrop. On and on it went.

Now, let me be clear and say that this wasn't necessarily supposed to be an adventure hike so much as merely a solid base of high altitude exercise forming the foundation for the upcoming skating season. So when I found myself on those terrifyingly steep slopes, mirroring Peter's kicks into the snow and placements of the ice axe, I have to admit I questioned the situation. Thoughts like 'what the hell am I doing up here with the Olympics in nine months!' turned into 'who cares about the Olympics I just want to get off this ridge alive!' and I learned, as I have many times before, what is really important.

I also realized just how much my years as an athlete have given me. Outside of the experiences, the victories, the moments I will never forget, they have given me a resilience that I believe stronger than ever can and will get me through any situation I find myself in in life. I learned how to use that ice axe and use it well, up on those ridges, because I am an athlete. I kept the intense focus hour after hour, feeling I could go on for days if I had to, because I am an athlete. I kept calm and rational even in those moments of intense fear, because I am an athlete. I followed and mimicked someone more skilled than me efficiently and confidently, because I am an athlete.

I can't imagine a better place or experience to prepare me for the stress, the unknown and the thrills of the journey ahead. Because I survived the 250 kilometer traverse and survived it well, I can't wait to see what the next nine months throw at me. Watch out, Tiger Woods!

- Clara Hughes

Above: The Team Lemon crew is decked out in Mac and Cheese yellow!

Bay to Breakers annual 12km race in San Francisco is more than just running, it is pure San Francisco fun loving time with ten thousand-plus participants. This year the lululemon athletica northern California region, Team Lemon, participated in this ninety-eight year old race that starts at the bay and ends at the ocean. Our Mac and Cheese bright yellow outfits blended in with the other outrageous costumes such as little red riding hood, fairies, cops and naked people.

We enjoyed an 83-degree day [ed. note to Canadians: that's about 28 degrees!] with bands every quarter mile cheering us on. Running Bay to Breakers is almost like being in a parade because there are as many people watching from the sidewalk and apartments to see the floats and costumes as there are runners. The course is not exactly easy. By the 6 mile I was so focused on finishing that the sight of another naked runner hardly had me dying from nervous laughter as it did during the start.

Most rewarding was finishing together as a team and celebrating with a nice cold drink of beer followed by a medium rare burger. A month ago I wrote a goal to finish a 15k race by 2015. As long as there is food at the end of the finish line, achieving my 15k is going to be much easier than I thought.

Want to keep up to date on all the other Team Lemon fun? Check out their page on Facebook!

Take a peak at some pics from the event below:

Above:  A little mid run photo posing!

Above: Look at the crowds!

Above: Definitely time to beat the heat with a cool drink!

Above: You'll know how to find us! Look for bright Mac and Cheese yellow!

Seven of the lululemon Carlsbad Forum crew (including Kirsten, who we consider part of our store) completed our first triathlon of the season – and did amazingly well!

Meredith, Cristina and Sherry came in second in the relay, Rachelle is 5 of 12 races (1 per month) through her fitness goal for 2009, Kirsten is a third of the way there (her goal is complete 3 tris this summer), Laura swam her first open water 1 mile race (in less than 30 min) and I got 10th in my age group, making my goal time. Our Ambassador Rachel Challis was the second overall female.

We all sported the new Run:Sprint Singlet in Frisbee Blue - easy to spot one another and easy to show off our newest run top to competitors and spectators. It felt like a bathing suit top - soft, moisture-wicking, and sucked me in, in the right ways.

It was rewarding to train hard and compete hard. I loved finishing in an early heat to cheer for the rest of the team, guests and people I'd never met.

We now have one race under our belts and goal times to beat. I, for one, will be working on my transition time! I'll definitely be working out with Rachel's group Training Transition throughout the next several months.