A few months ago one person from our lululemon family in Washington D.C. set an intention of holding a complimentary outdoor yoga class to be simultaneously held across North America. The goal was to create a shared space for any and everyone to be a part of. She enrolled the team around her, and Salutation Nation was born, quickly to become a movement of health and togetherness our entire community was eager to share.

Yoga mats ready to be rolled out in the U.S. and Canada.

It was this intention that woke me 20 minutes before my alarm went off at 6am this morning. Normally I can continuously hit snooze for a good hour, but this morning I awoke to an amazing energy that wouldn't be dismissed. We were more than 3 hours away from the kickoff of Salutation Nation on the west coast, but the east coast was awake and breathing our intention and sending it my way.

Saluting the sun in Boston.

Waking in San Diego, I longed for a way to connect with the Salutation Nations happening in near minutes on the opposite coast. I opened my computer to find lots of buzz of the yoga about to take place in Boston at the Esplanade, and the Ellipse at the White House. Although I didn't get to take in an OM with the east coasters, I felt them and was so excited for the west coast hour to begin.

Ready to begin in San Diego.

I wasn't alone in my anticipation and was delighted to see familiar lululemon faces, guests, neighbours and new friends in San Diego bright and early at 7:30. We began to lay our mats and an air of wonder filled us all. We didn't know how many people we'd practice with in the park.

We didn't know how many people we'd practice with up, down, and across the coast. We didn't even know if the sun would come out so that we could salute it properly. But it didn't matter. Our neighbours woke up this morning to practice yoga together, and that in and of itself was enough.

We shared an hour together today of yoga and breathing, an hour of enjoying our lives outside. It is days like today we are so proud of the community we commonly shared today. We took in oms with familiar faces, and shared a savasana with people we hadn't met. That's the wonderful thing about yoga, although your practice is entirely your own, the space is shared and connects us to one another without objection, even miles, cities and countries apart.

Thank you for sharing a space with us today, can't wait to see you next year. Namaste.

The lululemon Princeton cheer team on a Saturday morning.

My professional athletic career is something I may never be able to brag about to generations to come because, well, I never had one. My could-be-professional career as your biggest fan, well, that’s another story.

When you walk into lululemon Princeton, you see our team working the floor. What most people don’t see though is our team huddled in the brisk late-April air at the edge of Mercer Lake at 7am on a Saturday with Sarah Trowbridge paraphernalia. Sarah is an educator on our lululemon team and more amazingly she’s training on the US National Rowing Team, so when she informed us all she’d be racing, we had to be there—her face in hand.

Sarah's team got crafty to cheer her on.

Although I only went to a one-week rowing camp for a single summer when I was 16, I quickly understood that the fan base for rowing even on an Olympic level was slightly less than that of, say, the NFL. But in Princeton, we’ve adopted the rowing team as our extended family and rowing as our favorite sport. Rowers are our store managers, our Elite Ambassadors, our educators, and our favourite familiar faces, so it was no surprise seeing all that lululemon walking around at the boathouse. All those athletes trying to achieve their goals and making it happen was some serious inspiration.

Inside the Princeton store with Sarah's face

All of our teams’ goals are posted in our store to remind us daily that what we want is out there waiting for us to grab it. Whether it’s eating healthier, mastering the NYC subway system, finishing a Masters Degree, or winning gold at the 2012 Olympic Games, we’re always up for cheering each other on. Support (like a good sports bra!) can make all the difference. So keep rowing, Trowbridge, we’re right there with ya!

Wanna make your goals a reality? Take a read through our goal setting tips.

Rachel is a Key Leader at lululemon Princeton, New Jersey. She's a huge fan of her team and goal setting!

Every month, lululemon organizes a photo challenge for the world to share their best shots of the month’s theme! For May we want to see your camaraderie out in the baseball diamond, spiking the ball for the volleyball, diving for the winning Ultimate Frisbee shot, or your department’s lunch time team building pyramid shot!

lululemon team huddle in Hamilton before game day!

Team Ninja hanging around after a big dodge-ball competition.

Team Beech-lu showing off their pyramid skills during a beach volleyball break.

Join May's Go Team! photo challenge this month and share your group shots with us.

how do I send you my photo for this challenge?

You can upload your photo to our monthly challenge photo pool on flickr, send it to onlinecommunity@lululemon.com and we'll add it for you (we won't publish your email address), @reply us on Twitter, or post it on our Facebook wall!

what will you do with my photo?

We'll be featuring some of our favourite entries on the lululemon blog. If you don't want your name or entry to be public, let us know.

Just remember to smile and note there is no 'i' in team!

At lululemon SoHo, in times of adversity it seemed like the "lemon" in lululemon was smothered with mold and damp clothes and a pipe bursting on the third floor of our building. But that lemon has resurfaced and is being squeezed of all its yummy juices. After re-opening a few weeks ago I think it is fair to say that with the help of an amazing team, we have made some top-notch lemonade.

It began with rebuilding the store from just a slat-wall skeleton and morphed into a beautiful, rich space: full of bright chi and swelling enthusiasm. Team SoHo, although not fine-tuned in the art of construction, most certainly is in the art of fitness. Our re-opening celebration began with a four-day fitness blitz (16 classes total) where we reconnected with our neighboring studios. We learned how to throw a mean punch in kickboxing, played with our equilibrium in an inversions yoga class, and collectively groaned as we rapidly pumped our fists in the Pilates 100’s. Our overwhelming sense of accomplishment and inner and collective strength beamed out from the top of our heads and smothered any feelings of doubt we had about making it through our fitness marathon!

At the end of the day we dragged ourselves home, and although sweaty and fatigued, we were all so grateful to have had this unifying experience. It takes a strong-willed team and positive energy to turn a challenging experience into a deeply fulfilling one. Our blitz provided us with the platform to go back into our space in SoHo and rally with our superstar helpers to create a kick-ass store. We now have cultivated the environment to provide an unforgettable guest experience, with the best product, hands on knowledge and some very tasty lemonade, I might add.

Ps, a huge thank you to Summer Starling who took the above pictures!