On Sunday, April 28th, I participated in my first Yoga Reaches Out yogathon. Wait...yogawhat? That’s right — a yogathon, kind of like the telethons of your childhood, minus the TV part, and with a whole lotta yoga added to the mix. Have I lost you? Let me explain...

In 2010, New England yogi and lululemon ambassador Sarah Gardner set out to bring the yoga community together in the name of seva (selfless service). She founded Yoga Reaches Out, a public charity that raises funds for children’s organizations and culminates in an annual day-long yogathon.

Yogis from all over New England register to participate and spend the months leading up to it doing their part of the fundraising. Then, on the day of the yogathon, everyone gathers together to roll out their mats and celebrate the efforts of so many.

So, what does a yogathon look like? Picture over 1,000 yogis practicing on the field at Gillette Stadiumʼs Field House in Foxboro, MA (you know, where the New England Patriots practice, no big deal). Picture the best of the best of the region’s hottest instructors leading you through a powerful flow. Picture a halftime show with live music, vegan food trucks, and vendors galore. Picture Bryan Kest, founder of Power Yoga, leading everyone in a group dance to Sexual Healing (true story!) before kicking his afternoon yoga class into high gear while dropping just as many f-bombs as words of yogic wisdom. And picture being part of a group that’s collectively raised over a million dollars for charity.

Amazing, right? And that it was. After all that the Boston area’s been through over the past month, an event like this is just what we all needed—a beautiful reminder of all that’s right with the world.

The power of people getting together and collaborating on something so positive has enormous affects in a community. What good vibrations are you planing on sending out this summer?

meet danne

name: Danne Dzenawagis
role at lululemon: Boston-area lululemon educator
current hometown: Boston (by way of the sandy shores of Cape Cod)
random fact: I have a cat the size of a small bear
what did you learn this week? Sometimes it’s better to let go than to hold on.
a word that describes your 40-day experience so far: Questioning

this week i learned...

I have a bit of a confession to make...I’m not feeling the slightest bit of personal revolution thus far—in fact, I feel exactly the same as I did 2 weeks ago. I’m well aware that change doesn’t happen overnight, but that’s just it—what I’ve found with this program is that it isn’t much of a change from my normal life: I already have a well-established yoga practice, I’ve recently committed to (and have actually followed through with) meditating each day, eating clean is always a top priority of mine, and I’ve spent the past year or so inquiring within about a lot of the questions that Baron raises throughout the program.

Danne's cat is the size of a small bear

So...what does this mean? It means that maybe for once in my life I’m at a point where I don’t need a revolution. It means that all that work I’ve been doing has actually paid off, and ultimately it means that I’m ok—more than ok—right now, and that’s a pretty awesome thing to discover if you ask me.

We'd love to hear from other Digital 40 Day-ers out there. What have you learned? What (if anything) is challenging you? Use the #digital40days tag on twitter and instagram to stay connected and share an update on how things are going.

danne's festival recap

Well, (gulp)...I guess this is it. I’ve twisted until I couldn’t twist anymore, opened my hips more than they ever knew they could be opened, and inhaled and exhaled in more ways than I knew possible. I’m full of good (vegetarian and organic) food, good drink (enhanced with probiotics), and more beautiful memories and experiences than I can count. I guess I should probably say it out loud so I can start to believe it’s true, so here goes: Wanderlust Vermont is over. Wicked. big. sigh.

the last hurrah

To put off the inevitable sadness that’s about to ensue, I’ll share a few of my favorite Wanderlust memories from my final hours at this little slice of yogi heaven:

1. Jammin’ out to Ziggy Marley last night, my first ever reggae show—believe it!
2. The beautifully meditative chairlift ride I took to the top of the mountain this morning. Note to self for next year: Way more hiking.
3. A really cool lecture given by Manoj Chalam where I got schooled on Hindu & Buddhist Deities and became more acquainted with my new friends Ganesh and Shiva.
4. The final few moments I took to breath in all the beauty that was around me and feel a deep sense of gratitude for the gift of such an incredible experience.

there’s no place like wanderlust...i mean, home

It’s funny too, when my Wanderlust road trip crew dropped me off at home tonight, I felt a little bit like Dorothy in the final scene of the Wizard of Oz, the one where she wakes up back in Kansas, trying figure out if what just happened was really real or not. After they pulled out of the driveway and drove away, I stopped for a second and wondered the same thing: did that really just happen? Has it really been 4 days already?

Wanderlust, you came and went, but you also had an amazing way of making time stop so I could fully live in, and enjoy each moment to the fullest. In class the other day I remember Rolf Gates saying something to the effect of, “Meditation is those moments when time stops”, and at Wanderlust, it really did just that. A perfect pause in the hustle and bustle of my everyday life to take time out to “just be”.

Namaste, Wanderlust Vermont, I’ll be back next year.

Wanderlust Vermont may have ended, but yoga festival season is just getting started! Up next: Wanderlusts in Colorado, Tahoe, and then our own backyard of Whistler, BC. See you there!

Today, on day 3 of this magical yogic journey, I decided early on that the theme of the day would be “100% Indulgence”—I mean, it is Saturday after all. To start things off on the right foot, I took a lovely twist-centric class (I freaking love twists) called “Twists and the Fluid Body” with Stephanie Sandleben of the Kula Yoga Project in NYC. Indulgent asana mission accomplished.

After class, I headed over to the Kombucha tent to have my first sampling of the festival (are you surprised I waited this long? I know I am). Um, seriously though: Best. Kombucha. Ever. I tried the jasmine flavored version and fell in love immediately. I might have to go back tomorrow for the home brew kit. Indulgent beverage mission #1 accomplished.

Then of course, it was time for my obligatory daily braid (today I switched it up and did a small french braid down the left side) from the “cool free stuff” tent. Freshly braided, I stopped at another station in the tent and made my own lavender scented DIY yoga mat spray. Indulgent beauty mission accomplished (for me and my mat).

Before heading off to my noontime Breath and Bandhas class (for a little indulgent pranayama), I decided to go big for lunch and get some veggie empanadas from the food truck I’d been eying all weekend. I really only needed 1 or 2 tide me over, but because it’s “100% Indulgence Saturday”, I got the 4 for $7.50 special, and scarfed down those delicious little things in a heartbeat, fully accomplishing my indulgent eating mission.

After empanada time and bandha work, I grabbed a soy iced chai latte (indulgent beverage mission #2) and headed over to Grace Jull’s Anatomy and Asana lecture, where my sore little chaturanga arms got a much needed break, and I learned this great song about not compressing your acetabulum.

And tonight? A little Shakti Sunfire, MC Yogi and Ziggy Marley. Just another day in Wanderland.

Our time at Wanderlust Vermont is (sadly) coming to an end tomorrow. Check back here on Tuesday for Danne's festival wrap up!

How does this new life differ from my old one? Let me explain:

example 1

Old Life: I sleep until 8:30 or 9 and take a few minutes to meditate before starting my day—if I have time.
MS-CWL: By 8am I’m already at a pranayama class lead by the dean of Kripalu, furiously jumping up and down practicing monkey breath, trying to intake as much oxygen as possible while also trying not to regurgitate the banana I scarfed down before class.

example 2

Old Life: I make it out to yoga class about 3 times a week—4 if I’m lucky.
MS-CWL: I practice at least 2 times a day, sometimes even 3.

example 3

Old Life: I reminisce about the days when I would do my mom’s Rodney Yee VHS tape in my childhood bedroom.
MS-CWL: I take class with Rodney in real life and feel a cool breeze on my face as he leads us through a guided meditation.

example 4

Old Life: I let my hair air dry and throw it in a bun.
MS-CWL: I head over to the free hair-braiding tent and have a professional stylist give me amazing “there’s no way I could ever do this myself” yoga-girl braids.

So, as you can see, I’ve adjusted quite nicely and I’m already a little concerned how I’ll ever manage to assimilate back into the real world. For now though, I’ll leave you with a quote that really resonated with me from Rolf Gates’ class this afternoon: “Experience a heart that is the way”. And I will Rolf...

The sun's out here in Vermont and the kombucha is flowing. Come back tomorrow for Day 3 of Danne's Wanderlust adventure!

1. You wake up in a bunk bed in a Swiss chalet (that’s still decorated for Christmas) that you’re sharing with 12 strangers/soon to be BFFs (picture the Real World for yogis).

2. The free gift that’s passed out at registration is a mala bead bracelet (they must have known that we couldn’t possibly fit another canvas tote bag in the trunks of our cars).

3. Instead of free junk food or energy drink samples, they’re handing out massive quantities of Honest Tea and Kefir.

4. About 3 feet from the endless Kefir supply is a booth that advertises: “Kombucha On Tap”, and about another 3 feet over, is a recycling tent with a bin for every type of “would-be-trash” imaginable.

5. There's a tent with free hair braiding (I’m sporting a sweet waterfall braid on both sides right now), a DIY trail mix station out of the trunk of a car, custom screen printed Wanderlust tote bags, and an herbal tea bar (I couldn’t make this up if I tried).

And how do I feel about all of this? 100% awesome and amazing. My little yoga heart is full to the brim and smiling.

additional awesome experiences of day 1

1. The morning meditation hike lead by Garth Stevenson, who seemed to effortlessly glide up the mountain (with a stand-up bass strapped to his back, mind you) to set-up camp in a field of wildflowers and serenade us. Yes, this was 100% as magical as it sounds.

2. The ayurveda workshop I attended where Hilary Garivaltis, Dean of the Kripalu School of Ayurveda, gave a live demonstration on how to use a neti pot. Hopefully she’s inspired me make use of the one I have at home that I bought months ago but have been too scared to use.

3. A detox flow class I took with Seane Corne (woohoo, girls with boys names!) where the main topic of conversation was, well...poop. I’ll spare you all the details, but she ended class by promising us all a "movement" sometime in the near future.

And as I walked back from class, I was serenaded by the sound of Billie Holiday coming from the chalet...I may have officially found my new “happy place”.

We're at Wanderlust yoga-ing and meeting people for three more days. Check out Amanda in the Wild for more of what we're up to!

While my yoga teacher has been drilling the concept of non-attachment into my brain for the past few years, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some pretty serious expectations for an awesome time. Is it even possible for 4 days of yoga, music, meditation, mountain hikes, farm-to-table dining, and organic wine tastings not to be incredible? I didn’t think so either.

what i'm excited about

Although I’m looking forward to almost every aspect of the experience, here are a few things that I’m especially excited about (in a non-attached kind of way):

1. The morning meditation hike I signed up for with Garth Stevenson (whose album I’ve been obsessed with for months).

2. My Saturday afternoon Love, Light & Flight: AcroYoga Therapeutics class. The description reads: “In this class we’ll teach you how to base and fly Therapeutic Flying postures that will elevate your massage experience to new heights.”. Amazing.

3. Winderlust! A local wine and beer tasting after a long day of bandha work? Sign me up.

4. Taking my practice outdoors—nothing beats the warmth of the sun in savasana.

5. Allowing yoga to be my #1 priority for 4 straight days. YES.

how to follow along

I’ll be posting about my journey here on the blog, but here are a few other ways you can follow our Wanderlust Vermont journey:

Daily updates on our Youtube channel.
Frequent tweets via @lululemonlive.

And here we thought one 30-day yoga challenge was just that, a challenge. Meet Danne, a Natick, MA educator and 30-day challenger extraordinaire. Seriously – Danne’s been completing a one-month challenge (or “Lent” as she calls it) every month for the last four years.  We couldn’t help but ask her to dish the deats on what she’s been up to (and secretly hoped her dedication would rub off on us too).

one goal at a time, one month at a time, for a whole year

As Sophia from the Golden Girls would say...Picture it: Boston, Massachusetts. It’s a cold December night in 2008. A discouraged 25-year-old-girl in the midst of a quarter-life crisis is sitting down to write her New Year’s resolutions. This last year has been kind of a letdown and she can’t seem to shake the feeling that she isn’t making any notable progress on her goals—on the things that really matter most. After scribbling down an intimidating number of resolutions, the hopelessness starts to settle in. “How can I actually expect to get anything done with such an overwhelming list?”, she wonders. That’s when the epiphany hits: Why not create a hybrid between a New Year’s Resolution and the concept of Lent; one goal at a time, one month at a time, for a whole year. And just like that, a blog (and lifestyle) was born.

12 months of lent

Having grown up in a Catholic household, I’m no stranger to practicing Lent in the more traditional sense. With my blog, 12 Months of Lent, my goal is to take Lent’s underlying concept (personal sacrifice and dedication for a set period of time) and use it to push myself towards making headway on my goals. Each month, I assign myself a different challenge, or “Lent”, to complete with the intention of living a more purposeful and fulfilling life. The best part? It works.

rising to the challenge

So, what type of challenges do I take on? Well, I spent a month picking up every piece of litter that I came across, another month not making any trash (it’s much more possible than you think), a month attempting to become a diehard Red Sox fan, a month getting rid of 100 things a week and other months committing to much simpler tasks, like writing in my journal each day, taking more photographs and doing more yoga.

the good, the bad and the ugly

Favorite Challenge:
"Sixing" was a challenge where I limited my wardrobe to only six items (totally amazing and especially awesome for travelling).

Hardest Challenge:
Attempting to eat the government’s daily-recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Epic fail.

Most Dreaded Challenge:
The 21-Day Dietary Cleanse. It was pretty tough to be psyched about going without my beloved pizza and Pinot Grigio for three weeks.

what’s the point?
People ask me all the time why I do these funny challenges in the first place...what’s the point? The answer is simple: it’s become second nature—a habit, a positive ritual that impacts my life in the best way possible. Four years in, and I honestly can’t picture my life without it.

Are you challenging yourself to do anything this month? Check out Danne’s blog for inspiration. Also, keep your eye out for her coverage of Wanderlust Vermont right here on our blog next week!