This past weekend, thousands of cyclists took to the Sea to Sky Highway here in Vancouver to ride the third annual Whistler GranFondo. We’re talking about a 120K, mostly uphill climb. One of our writers, Ella, rose to the challenge and shared the ten things she was thinking about between moments of telling her legs to “shut up”.

10 things i was thinking during the whistler granfondo

Our internal dialogue while we’re pushing our bodies to its limits can often be quite hilarious. What are some of the crazy things you’ve caught yourself saying?

meet tina james

Grew up: in hilly rural England.
First yoga class: It was in 1981 in England with an elderly lady I met whilst getting over major spinal surgery. She was very gifted and put me in touch with master teacher shri K Pattabhi Jois, whom I later went to Mysore to study with year after year.
Favourite place to travel: India, Nepal and Mysore. I also like to travel to climb high altitude mountains so one of my favorite places was Mount McKinley or Denali in Alaska, the highest mountain peak in the United States. I like the Grand Canyon in Arizona and have hiked it many times solo.
Type of yoga you teach: Jivamukti, Ashtanga, Shantiseva, Yoga wall rehab injury recovery Yoga therapy.
Website: http://www.tinajames.ca/

why jivamukti?

Jivamukti is my passion. This amazing Hatha yoga method is a path to enlightenment through compassion for all beings. Jivamuktis are pioneers in teaching yoga as spiritual activism/activation. The method emphasizes vinyasa, scriptural study, devotion, prayer, music, chanting and meditation as well as animal rights, veganism, environmentalism and political activism.

favourite quotes

The mountains have always been here, and in them, the bears. - Rick Bass (from The Lost Grizzlies, page 97)

"It would be fitting, I think, if among the last manmade tracks on earth would be found the huge footprints of the great brown bear."
- Earl Fleming (American naturalist, 1958)

one year goals

• Establish one of the most traditional educational institutes for yoga in the west.
• Create a program to prevent hunting in the Callaghan Valley and all areas in Whistler and Pemberton.
• Create the first vegan cafe attached to my yoga studio.
• Continue working with local First Nations and integrating First Nations teachings in the Shantiseva teacher training.

5 year goals

• I climb Mount Everest for the Bear Asia Foundation, and continue to build on our center and the ethical rights of animals.
• I create a yoga program for school children to become aware of the planet and what they eat, drink, and wear.

Find out where you can practice with Tina on her website, or meet her at Wanderlust Whistler in August!

For some, the thought of winter is so unbearable it could send chills down their spine in the middle of July. For Whistler ambassador Erin Anderson, there are few things better than hearing the snow crunch under her feet or a steamy yoga practice on a crisp winter night.

what's it like living and teaching yoga in a ski-town like whistler?
I grew up in Winnipeg but have lived in Whistler longer than anywhere else in my life. Living amongst the mountains, lakes and forests fuels me (it’s a nice change from the prairie flats).

As a yoga teacher I get to share the practice with locals, international travellers and even my own family. Whistler swells in the winter with masses of people who love to ski and ride. Skiing and yoga make an incredible combination.

does your yoga practice change when temperatures drop and winter arrives?
I do love longer and hotter practices in the winter. Summer yoga for me is usually outdoors and in winter I love a warm yoga room and settling into a deep and delightful practice. My favourite thing about practicing in the winter is that people seem to be less in a rush to leave the studio. There's more time to connect over a cup of tea. Some of the greatest connections I've made were post sweaty Vinyasa sessions.

do you get a lot of winter sport athletes in your classes? What kinds?
Yes, lots of skiers and snowboarders with knee injuries have found that yoga offers an opportunity for rehabilitation and strengthening. Also, cross-country skiers, much like runners, flock to yoga in the winter to stretch out tight limbs.

do you have any advice for winter athletes in terms of using yoga as training or recovery?
For winter athletes, I highly recommend Power yoga since it generally appeals to their go-get-em nature. Power yoga also builds overall strength, especially in the core. The warm room helps to open up the muscles to create a greater opportunity for relief and release of tension.

Though the winter season is often plagued with moans and groans of dread, there is something really special about the crisp, cool air and dark, quiet nights. I love the thought of tearing up the mountain on my board and then getting cozy in a long, heated Savasana. How does your routine change when winter rolls in?

want more?

• headed up to Whistler? Check out Erin's studio White Gold Yoga
• not too hot, not too cold: how to dress for winter runs
• mountain warrior: Warrior pose for snowboarding
• stretch and strengthen après ski: Camel pose for skiers

With new international friends made through the Gift of Yoga.

offering yoga to the world

Some have responded to Vancouver’s skyrocketing population density by heading out of the city for a couple of weeks. Others have hurried towards the center of the action, decked out in patriotic uniforms and ready to party hardy with the rest of the world. Given this human tendency of ours to flock or flee from the crowd, you might wonder what happened the moment lululemon joined forces with YYoga and offered the gift of yoga to the world.

Has there been a stampede for bliss sessions to counter the mania happening in Vancouver and Whistler? Yes. And while a few probably balked at the notion of mat-to-mat down-dogging on the studio floor, I haven’t been repelled by the hubbub. Rather, I’ve been spending my Olympics right in the thick of it, where I can experience the energy, meet newcomers, and find out more about just who in the world does yoga.

Elim navigates the city with the Gift of Yoga map.

Yes, the women’s lockers might be as scarce as a table in a downtown Vancouver eatery, and the shoe room like a living mass that’s slowly creeping down off the shelves and into the hallway, but my overwhelming impression is that world contains a lot of courteous yogis. Those leaving offer up their precious lockers to those waiting for a space, and people are always happy to rearrange their mats on the floor to let in one more.

It’s thrilling when the instructors start their classes with a survey:

“Who here is from out of town?”
“Who here is visiting from another country?”
“Who here is trying yoga for the very first time?” and hands pop up in response to each question.

a downward dog is a downward dog

The most hardcore of Gift-of-Yoga yogis (and the teachers who teach them) have quickly become fond of that pub situated directly below the Earth studio of Flow YYoga on Burrard Street: every whoop and roar of victory alerts us to the precise status of the hockey games happening at the same time as class.

I’ve laughed heartily every time the hockey fans beneath the floor have shattered the silence of a Savasana end-of-class meditation; I’ve shed tears of emotion along with the woman who tried three times to get her Gift-of-Yoga passcard from lululemon Robson before using it to practice yoga for the first time in 30 years. I’ve dusted off my slightly rusty Japanese and used it to befriend the Japanese gift-recipients I’ve met in class, and together we’ve delighted in the bridges our yoga practice builds across cultures. After all, a downward dog is a downward dog, no matter what country you’re in.

The gift of yoga is a gift that keeps on giving. The crowds might be a little overwhelming, and the act of pushing yourself to the limits, grueling, but as any elite athlete, avid sports fan, or first-time yogi will tell you, the ongoing rewards, not to mention all of the happy memories of Vancouver, electrified, are well worth it.

Have you been in Vancouver to receive the Gift of Yoga during the month of February? Tell us your stories! And for those living outside of Vancouver and beyond, did you know that lululemon stores offer complimentary yoga classes year-round? Check in with your local store and find out how to receive your gift!

"So what do you do?" Such a common and automatic question when meeting someone new.
"I'm in retail," I answer, but always felt compelled to add, "but it isn't your normal retail store".

Three years ago I knew nothing of lululemon, luon or Groove Pants. One of my Canadian girlfriends mentioned it one day. "What a weird name," I thought to myself.

"Oh my God their pants are amazing!" she said and continued to rave about them. I thought she was insane going nuts over a pair of pants. That was until I tried my first pair of Groove Pants on and nodded, "Ah, I see what all the fuss is about now," as I wondered where they had been all my life.

Fate had it that that summer I was looking for work and came across a rare advert for lululemon looking to hire now. What did I have to lose? My friend had gone on about them and I needed a job. Right from the get go however, I realized there was more than met the eye. My 'interview' was held outside, sitting on some steps in Mountain Square in Whistler. As soon as the woman interviewing me started talking about goals and goal setting, I had fallen in love. With the company holding so many similar ideals and aims as my own, it was like the guidance I had been searching for was right before me.

Jenna taking part in a yoga class with everyone.

Some of her co-workers.

Cheering for our elite ambassador!

Now, it's a year and a half later and I looked back on my time so far with lululemon and realize what an amazing company I work for. I have done guerilla yoga, cheered at the World Cup bobsleigh and skeleton races as a LEAF (lululemon elite ambassador fan), taken my hand to visual merchandising, organized a yoga stretch event before a running race, strutted my stuff on the catwalk at a fit and function show, let my creativity bloom as a blog artist and now helped as a team wear judge. My job title? Educator!

Opportunity is always there for the taking. All you have to do is have the courage to step up.