I was crossing a quiet side street. One moment I was on top of the world, my eyes trained on the horizon and its infinite possibilities. The next thing I knew, my eyes were at ground level as I hit the sidewalk with a splat. A few cars drove by on the main road, but no one seemed to notice the girl sprawled out flat on the ground.

Get up, get up, get up! came the message from within. Bounce back up! Act nonchalant! Never let 'em see you sweat! Get up and keep on running!

I stood back up and, ignoring the little tweaks of discomfort here and there, resumed running. If I ran on confidently, perhaps no one would know that I'd fallen. The knees of my track pants were dirty, but I figured if I ran long and hard enough, it would be enough to undo the memory of the fall and lift the dust right out of the fabric.

That physical fall was momentary, but our psychological falls sometimes seem to stretch on for months on end.  I find myself wishing that the mental process of pursuing a goal were as easy as the physical one: even if you fall flat on your face, you can bounce right back up and keep on running as fast and as far as you can. A few bruises are nothing compared to staying down and giving up after falling - or getting up after you've fallen, turning around, and retracing your steps.

Many times we fall mentally and don't make an effort to get up. Many times we fall mentally, give up, and retrace our steps. Sometimes we sit there, feeling sorry for ourselves; sometimes we regress backwards, falling into old habits of inaction and thought that aren't going to get us anywhere.

At those times, we need to stop lying there. We need to bounce back up and keep on going. Remember the horizon and its infinite possibilities? As we run past pessimism, self-indulgence, and self-pity, we can imagine these things falling away from us, just as I once imagined the dust disappearing from the knees of my track pants as I got up for the tenth time, and kept on running.

Celebrating the ability to get back up a tenth time: a leap of faith.

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!

Picture the scene: you walk into a lululemon store, and something catches your eye. "How can I get to know this garment/accessory better?" you think to yourself. "How can I be sure that this is exactly what I’m looking for?"

This is where the five Fs come in.

fabric

Today I will be calling upon my trusty Admiral Jacket to illustrate this point. We have a variety of different fabrics to suit a variety of different purposes. In the case of the Admiral Jacket, it is made out of a lightweight cotton/Lycra blend, which we call Stretch French Terry. This fabric is ideal for keeping comfy and relaxed, as it is stretchy, but holds its shape very well.

fit

Different items will have different fits to suit different activities, personal styles, and body types. You can see that my trusty Admiral Jacket has a very slim fit through the torso and arms. This is different from the Fuzzy Fleece Pullover on the left, which has a more relaxed, loose fit through the torso.

function

Much of our clothing and accessories are designed with a range of ideas and activities in mind, but these are always open to interpretation. The Admiral Jacket, for example, makes a great to-and-from piece when going to yoga class, but you can also dress it up with jeans and heels for a classy, casual look.

features

lululemon clothing and accessories are chock-full of special features: some which are immediately visible, and others which might come as a pleasant discovery after you've bought the item! Always feel free to explore and see how many you can track down. Here, I illustrate how the Admiral Jacket can be customized through its features: collar n' cuffs up, or collar n' cuffs down… you decide!

fun

Where would we be without a lot of fun? This is the part where you open up your imagination and let all of the quirks run free!

So if you ever find yourself wondering about that new item of lululemon that's caught your eye, remember the five Fs! See how many you can pick out!

Curious to learn about more fun features on our product? Check it out here: http://www.lululemon.com/education/info/features