On my journey back to Vancouver I thought about what to put in this wrap up post and found myself coming back to the idea of how yoga can change the world. I wanted to put some really deep stuff in here, but it's difficult because my learnings from Wanderlust 2011 are bigger than the space of this blog post and I don't think are fully revealed just yet.

Without further ado, my summary of the weekend, in list form.

top things to expect

1. You will laugh, cry, or both of the above at some point during the weekend.

2. You will find yourself doing something you never thought you would do, whether it's tipping over in Bakasana for the first time or dancing in Navasana in Jonny Kest's Detox Flow on Sunday morning, even though you purposefully did not schedule yourself for any classes that had "spontaneous dancing" in the description.

3. You will LOVE the thing in #2 that you never thought you would do. (Thank you, Jonny Kest!)

4. You will realize that your life is pretty darn great.

5. You will change your body. It may come in the form of pain (i.e., deep hip openers) or in the form of freedom, or maybe it's the thoughts about your body that will change (e.g. "I have new respect for my feet" after you watch your toes hold your weight after your hundredth chatturanga), but it will happen.

6. You will find yourself in conversation with someone you just met, and it will feel like you've known them for years.

7. You will realize, multiple times, how grateful you are to be exactly where you
are, in the body that you have now.

New friends from New Jersey (p.s. she's an educator and he photographs ambassadors!), plus Molly and Brenna, fellow lululemon Wanderlusters

unscientific stats

The number of times I...

had my head between my legs in some capacity = 314
thought "thank God for gussets" = 314
had my head between someone else's legs = 6
fell over = 3
held hands with the person next to me = 3
held feet with the person next to me = 1
got covered in glitter from my neighbour's pimped out yoga mat = 1

lululemon Wanderlusters after rock 'n rolling with Vinnie Marino: me, Janine and Molly

top trends at wanderlust

1. Feathers.

2. Reconstructed t-shirts (mostly the Wanderlust volunteer shirts) courtesy a skilled woman and her pair of scissors (also spotted: this pair of DIY Wunder Unders):

3. Body paint as seen on Tai, who takes many of our ambassador photos in California!

4. Tails.

thoughts on what i packed

1. I didn't need the sweater I brought with me. A tank top and Vinyasa scarf were fine at night. Plus, there were lots of local vendors set up if you were missing anything, like this one from Tahoe.

2. Next time I'd bring a block or cushion to sit on.

3. Fresh luon saved my life. I busted out my new Peacock Wunder Unders after almost leaving my morning class on Day 3 and highly recommend saving something clean and/or new for when you hit an energy low on the third or fourth day.

4. My hotel room card was the same size as the front inner pocket of my Wunder Unders. Perfect for the yogi on the go!

5. The Travel Mat fit neatly into my luggage, was easy to carry, and kept my asanas in place, but after 6 hours of yoga, four days in a row, my joints would have appreciated a little more padding. Next time I will pack a slightly thicker mat.

6. The Wanderlust backpack was perfect for the daytime, especially because I was toting my computer around as well and it has a separated laptop sleeve inside.

thank you

Thank you to every single person I met, to every instructor for opening our minds and bodies, to the Wanderlust folks who hosted such an unforgettable experience. I am so grateful to have been a part of this experience and know that each person will be taking what they learned on their mat back with them and out into the world.

The sun setting over the last night in Tahoe

See you next year, Wanderlust.

Love from Vancouver,
Alana

Urdhva Dhanurasana at Kathryn Budig's class: commitment in action

should i stay or should i go?

I wouldn't be doing my job here at Wanderlust if I didn't tell you honestly about my first class of Day 3. Right from the get-go, everything felt wrong: the teacher's voice, the music, the sequencing, even what I was wearing. I took a child's pose and thought about what to do: peace out or stick it through? After three days of yoga, my hips, wrists, and ankles are starting to let me know they need to rest, and the thought of leaving to find a spot in the shade under a tree was sounding seriously appealing.

My second class of the day was with Kathryn Budig who opened our hearts with deep and multiple Urdhva Dhandurasanas and creative, new-to-me boat pose variations that had our arms and feet in places that my brain had trouble mapping out with my eyes closed. Just when I thought about chilling in child's pose, she said, "Yoga is all about how you deal with the pose, not the pose itself."

Are you sensing a theme here?

Spontaneous acts of yoga are popping up all over Squaw Valley

Third class: Rock 'n Roll Vinyasa with Vinnie Marino and it was just what the doctor ordered. From the very first downdog of the day when Come Together started to play, yogis were joining in, and I found myself humming several times in the sweet moments between fast-paced vinyasa. We ended with a deep hip opener of our choice to the Rolling Stones' Wild Horses. Order had been restored in my universe.

the people i met today

Daniel, acroyogi and raw chocolate advocate at Fearless Chocolate.

Amy, a lululemon ambassador from Ann Arbor who is studying how yoga can change your brain and possibly replace medication for things like anxiety and depression.

Juliette, an east coast yoga teacher from NYC.

Chris, a writer and yoga teacher from Portland.

Tracy, lululemon community manager, with Ananda Lion, our ambassador Eoin Finn's brand new baby.

in conclusion

So what did I do in my first class? I stayed. Leaving would have been too easy. I'm curious: what do you do when you're not enjoying something: stay or go?

♥ Alana

p.s. only one more day left here in paradise. I'm packing in as much learning and yoga as I can! If you're here I'd love to meet you -- get a hold of me here or through the @lululemon twitter account!

My first class of Wanderlust was lead by the wonderful Amy Ippoliti. The Tahoe air was still Vinyasa-scarf chilly when we started class at 8 a.m., but by 8:30 the heat was building both on and off the mat, and by 10 I realized a) I did not pack enough sunscreen and b) I need to up my water intake.

Amy lead us through a light-hearted Anusara class that had us laughing with her instruction to "pretend you're laying an egg" and that slowly and steadily opened different sections of our body towards Sun Dial, the peak pose. She did it so skillfully that before I knew it, my right foot was in my left hand over my head and I was doing it for the first time ever! #yogabreakthrough

Amy and a row of Sun Dial demos

then things got deep

In the afternoon I took Deep Hip Openers with Stephanie Snyder. The first thing she did was explain that our hips are like junk drawers -- where people store experiences they're not sure what to do with. We worked our hips in all directions, starting with gentle hip circles (where we channeled our inner pole dancer) to Double Pigeon and Hanumanasna (aka the splits). I left this class feeling new space in my hip joints and also completely zen.

the people i met today

Natasha works in the design department at lululemon. She's been doing yoga (mostly Vinyasa Flow) for about 3 years and recently became a certified teacher.

mat neighbours

One thing that I think doesn't happen often enough is getting to know your mat neighbour. After all -- these people are right next to you during the intense and vulnerable moments that inevitably happen in a yoga class, and sometimes they even support you during poses like handstand. You might as well introduce yourself, right?

The lovely woman beside me in the first class is named Michael, and it turns out she's an ambassador at our Carmel Showroom and her daughter also works for lululemon. Michael teaches Vinyasa Flow and is currently taking Anusara teacher training.

Nestor is originally from Costa Rica, but now lives in Folsom. He's an electrical engineer at Intel, has been doing yoga for two years, and came to Wanderlust to share with like-minded people and get back into yoga.

in a line-up together

This is Mike. He was next to me in the line up for the 1 pm class. The only thing I know about him is that he runs an online yoga publication called Flow Yoga Magazine and he's from California.

vancouverites

Amanda's from Vancouver! She works at a local company called Mara Gottler Designs, is in her last semester at SFU, and is a new Power Vinyasa yoga teacher.

I also ran into our ambassador Carolyn Ann, who gave me some pre-Wanderlust tips.

.

wanderlust quick facts*

Ratio of women to men = 7:3
Current % population with feathers in hair = 18
Projected feather density % by Sunday night = 62
Number of people with tails = at least 2

*totally unscientific

Tomorrow's yoga menu includes Seane Corn, John Friend, and a meditation class. See you in the morning!

♥ Alana

Wanderlust Tahoe 2010 - photo via the Wanderlust Facebook

yoga teachers not to miss

Chloe: John Friend, Sianna Sherman, Amy Ippoliti. I'm curious and excited to try Rod Stryker and Jonny Kest for the first time. And for music, don't miss Michael Franti!

Carolyn: I’m excited to hear John Friend speak, and to learn from powerful women who have kept the movement in Vinyasa yoga alive from east coast to west - such as Janet Stone, Nikki Vilella, Schuyler Grant and Shiva Rea.

Clara: I'm always thrilled to practice with my teacher Shiva Rea. I'm also stoked to be assisting my friend Twee Merrigan both Friday and Saturday mornings. I've heard great things about Rod Stryker, so I'm checking out his Shakti Vinyasa. I love Schuyler's class so I'm taking her Kula Flow.

what they're packing

Eoin: Hammocks!

Chloe: My Joy-a-Toes, toe spreaders to wake up and activate your feet. Protein powder and my Magic Bullet to make shakes after practice. Two yoga outfits for each day (prepare to sweat with daytime highs of 25-30 degrees).

Clara: Sunscreen, mini meditation cushion, yoga towel (outdoor yoga + sun = more sweat than usual), lots of spare clothing (same sweaty theory).

Carolyn: The key item in my bag will be my bikini after Vancouver’s non-summer thus far. The lululemon Travel Mat will be by my side - the lightest, stickiest mat in my short history with yoga. Traumeel and my favourite Chinese herbal ointment for sore muscles.

advice for a first-timer

Clara: A friend who went before recommended taking a light coloured mat. She took a black mat last year and said at times she had to practice in flip flops because the mat was too hot! Also, conserve your energy. Be moderate in your practice or by Saturday your energy will be nil.

weekend intentions

Chloe: To soak it all up and savour every moment. To come home relaxed and refreshed for my children. To bring home inspiration and insight for my students.

Clara: To be a student. To take in all that is being offered.

Carolyn: To indulge in my personal practice and be surrounded by inspiring women. I plan to spend equal parts sweating through asana and slowing down alongside lakes and big trees.

As for my intentions for Wanderlust: to be present, have an open mind, and share what I learn on and off the mat. I'll be posting daily Wanderlust recaps here on the lululemon blog, so if you have a tip, question or want to say hi in person, leave a comment here or reach me through the lululemon Twitter account: @lululemon.

If you’re at Tahoe for Wanderlust, the lululemon team will be out attending classes every day and we'd love to meet you - come say hi! We're also holding a goal-setting workshop on Friday and Saturday at 5 pm called Creating a Future You Love.

See you soon, Tahoe!

♥ Alana

wanderlust teachers mentioned above

John Friend
Sianna Sherman
Amy Ippoliti
Rod Stryker
Jonny Kest
Janet Stone
Nikki Vilella
Schuyler Grant
Shiva Rea
Twee Merrigan
Eoin Finn