Imagine rolling out your yoga mat in a nearby field, beach, or park and beginning to flow through sun salutations led by your community's most inspiring instructors. As you move into your third downward dog of the morning, you suddenly feel the energy of thousands of bodies moving and breathing with you. Your breath deepens, your body lengthens, and your mind calms, feeding off the palpable energy surrounding you. A gentle breeze cools your shoulders and the corners of your mouth turn up as you smile to greet the mid-morning sun.

Whether you have rolled out a yoga mat once or a thousand times, you can relate to the peaceful, grounded, and just plain happy emotions yoga evokes. If you have ever been in a single yoga posture, you understand the intense connection yoga facilitates between mind, body, and breath. If you have been to a yoga class, you have a sense of the kind of connections a yoga practice can foster within and between yoga communities.

On August 7th from 9:00 - 10:00 AM, Salutation Nation will elevate this connection to another level as thousands of people across North America take their asana practice outside for a complimentary class to move, breathe, and connect with other like-minded people in their communities. Across the continent, mats will roll out onto grass, sand, and pavement as part of this incredible outdoor yoga experience grounded in community, elevating connections. We invite people of all different backgrounds, ages, and athletic abilities to spend one hour together with friends, teachers, neighbors, and perfect strangers connecting, being present, and most importantly having fun!

Salutation Nation is not a revolution. We are not out to change the world in one hour. If one person laughs; if two people meet for the first time; if a group of friends starts a Saturday morning bonding on their mats before breakfast, Salutation Nation will be a success. Whether you have a daily practice or have never practiced at all, everybody and every body can do yoga! What better way to celebrate this fact than to take your asana outside on August 7th and do some yoga with a few thousand people across the continent?

Want to get your downdog on with your neighbors? Check out our Salutation Nation Facebook event page fto RSVP and get your asana outside! Namaste.

Here is a list of all the locations and stores participating near you (Please note not all lululemon locations will be hosting a Salutation Nation yoga class, and this list will be updated as we receive more locations):

United States

Alabama:
Birmingham, AL
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonBirmingham

Arizona:
Armory Park, Tucson, AZ
http://lululemon.com/tucson/tucsonshowroom

Biltmore Lawn (in front of store), Phoenix, AZ
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonbiltmore
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonscottsdale

British Columbia:
Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver (Canada)
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonoakridge

California:
The Commons (Grassy area), Calabasas, CA
http://www.lululemon.com/calabasas/thecommons

Fashion Island Mall (on grass outside of store), Newport, CA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonNewportBeach

Hermosa Beach Pier, Hermosa Beach, CA

Irvine Spectrum at the Carousel, Irvine CA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonirvine

Lafayette Reservoir, Walnut Creek, CA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonwalnutcreek

The Marina Green in San Francisco, CA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemoncowhollow

Moonlight Beach, Carlsbad, CA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonCarlsbad

NTC Liberty Station South Promenade lawn, San Diego, CA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonDaygo
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonLaJolla

Palo Alto, CA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonPaloAlto

Park at Montage Resort, Laguna Beach, CA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonLagunaBeach

Willard Park, Berkley, CA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonBerkeley

Connecticut:
Calf Pasture Beach, Norwalk, CT
http://www.facebook.com/lululemongreenwich

East Rock Summit, New Haven, CT
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonNewHaven

Elizabeth Park, West Hartford, CT
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonWestHartford
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonWestport

District of Columbia (Washingtion):
The Ellipse at the White House, Washington, DC
http://www.facebook.com/tysons.lululemon
http://www.facebook.com/lululemongeorgetown
http://facebook.com/lululemonAnnapolis

Florida:
Bay Front, Miami, FL
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonaventura
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonCoralGables

Faith Lutheran Church, Naples, FL
http://lululemon.com/naples/naplesshowroom

Jacksonville Beach, Jacksonville, FL
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonJacksonville

Kelsey Park, Lake Park, FL
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonthegardens

Lake Eola Park, Orlando, FL
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonOrlandoShowroom

Royal Palm Place, Boca Raton, FL
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonbocaraton

Siesta Key Beach, Sarasota, FL
http://lululemon.com/sarasota/sarasotashowroom

Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonJacksonville

Georgia:
Glover Park, Marietta Square, GA
http://www.lululemon.com/marietta/marietta

Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonBuckhead

Idaho:
Capital Park, Boise, ID
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonboise

Indiana:
The lawn in front of the Showroom
http://www.facebook.com/pages/lululemon-in-indianapolis

Maine:
Maine State Pier, Portland, ME
http://www.lululemon.com/portlandme/portlandshowroom

Massachusetts:
The Esplanade, Boston, MA

http://www.facebook.com/lululemonprudentialcenter

http://www.facebook.com/lululemonBurlington
http://www.Facebook.com/lululemonDerbyStreet
http://www.Facebook.com/lululemonHarvardSq
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonLegacyplace
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonnatick
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonNewburyport

Minnesota:
Lake Calhoun, where Xerxes meets lake, Minneapolis
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonTheShopsAtWestEnd

Missouri:
Loose Park just east of the Rose Garden
Hosted by the Kansas City Showroom

Tower Grove Park, St. Louis, MO
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonPlazaFrontenac

Montreal:
Parc Mont-Royal, Pointe-Claire, QC
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonfairviewpointeclaire
http://lululemon.com/montreal/greene

Nevada:
Springs Preserve National Park, Las Vegas, NV
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonlasvegas

New Mexico:
Tiguex Park, Albuquerque, NM
http://lululemon.com/albuquerque/albuquerque

New Jersey:
The Beach at 3rd Avenue, Asbury Park,NJ
http://facebook.com/lululemonShrewsbury

The Green in Palmer Square, Princeton, NJ
http://www.lululemon.com/princeton/princeton

Van Neste Square, Ridgewood, NJ
http://lululemon.com/paramus/gardenstateplaza

New York:
Bryant Park, New York, NY
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonNYC

Cobbs Hill Park, Rochester, NY
http://lululemon.com/rochester/rochester

Eisenhower Park on Pear Field, Garden City, NY
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonRoosevelt

Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, NY
http://www.lululemon.com/manhasset/manhasset

Monroe Woodbury Middle School Field, Woodbury, NY

North Carolina:
Doris Duke Center Lawn at Duke University, Durham, NC
http://lululemon.com/raleigh/Raleighshowroom

Freedom Park, Charlotte, NC
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonCharlotte

Halyburton Park Shelter 2, Wilmington, NC
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonwilmington

Nova Scotia:
Halifax Commons, Nova Scotia, Halifax
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonhalifax

Ohio:
Revolution Fitness Pavilion, Cincinnati, OH
Hosted by the Cincinnati Showroom

"The Oval" at Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
http://lululemon.com/columbus/columbus

Oregon:
Bridgeport Village, Tigard, OR
http://www.facebook.com/lakeoswegostore

Ontario:
Thornhill Green Park, Thornhill, ON, Canada
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonPromenade

Pennsylvania:
The Piazza at Schmidt's, Philadelphia, PA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonWalnutStreet

Tunnel Park at SouthSide Works, Pittsburgh, PA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonPittsburgh

Texas:
AT&T Performing Arts Center - Sammons Park, Dallas, TX
http://www.facebook.com/northparkdallas
http://www.facebook.com/lululemongalleria

Festival Beach, Austin, TX
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonAustin

Houston, TX
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonHouston

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston's South Lawn
http://facebook.com/lululemonHighlandVillage

Olmos Basin Park, San Antonio, TX
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonSanAntonioQuarry

Sundance Square Fort Worth, TX
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonFortWorth

Woodlands, TX
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonathleticathewoodlands

Utah:
City Park, Park City, UT
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonparkcity

Vermont:
North Beach, Burlington, VT
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonburlingtonvt

Washington:
Volunteer Park, Seattle, WA
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonPacificPlace

Wisconsin:
Riverwalk, Milwaukee, WI
http://www.facebook.com/lululemonMilwaukee

This post was written by Joanna Asher, a keyleader from our Roosevelt Field, Garden City store in New York.

Where will your next downward dog be?

As sand squidged between my toes, I made my way into downward dog and caught a great upside-down view of English Bay. Around me friends and brand-new friends let their city stresses go as we laughed off the weather and pointed our toes up into the sky for three-legged dog. Somewhere to my left a flash went off - just a Swedish author, working on a book about Vancouver culture, taking a picture. Welcome to guerilla yoga.

Confused? Don't be! Guerilla yoga is an impromptu public meet-up of yogis, visitors, and sometimes curious passers-by, in a public space for the purpose of enjoying a yoga class together. The name expresses that this kind of yoga meet-up could happen anywhere, any time, in any space!  As part of our Robson store's CGSE community events, we've already hit English Bay, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Yaletown Roundhouse Ring. It's a great way to see new spaces in our city from a perspective you've never taken before. All you need is a mat, some water, and an open mind.

Did you spot us last week at the Art Gallery?

So how do you go about checking out our next guerilla yoga adventure? If you're plugged in, the word will go out on our Twitter and Facebook sites. If you're in the area, grab your mat and a water bottle and hop it over to our meetup space! Not in the local area? No worries - why not organize your own guerilla yoga event? All you need is a public space, someone who is comfortable leading an all-levels yoga class, and a way of getting the word out - from a newsletter to a last-minute tweet.

Ever been to a guerilla yoga event, spur of the moment flash mob, or tweetup? Share your tips for organizing or joining in with us!