Image courtesy of  Keven Law

Our amazing global ambassador, Chris Chavez, is in London this week. (No, he didn't work the runway - he's teaching workshops at The Life Centre in Islington and evolve wellness centre this weekend.) With the buzz of Fashion Week still ringing in our ears and the 2012 Olympics on the way, we thought we'd share our London loves with you before the workshops.

Everyone has goals to travel. If you're heading to London soon, be sure to pack your faithful umbrella in your yoga tote, ‘cause one of the London stereotypes is definitely true: it can rain any time, any where.

do yoga

Make it out of bed before the city’s awake and start with a morning yoga class at The Life Centre in North London. Their light, modern studio is tucked away down a little lane away from the hustle and bustle of Islington’s high street. (They also have a beautiful location in Notting Hill.)

Find your center before you hit the streets of London
Image courtesy of The Life Centre

eat

After one of their anusara-inspired classes, your hips will feel over the moon and you’ll be in prime position for brunch. If you took your class in Islington, enjoy one of the city’s best artisanal lattes at Caravan on nearby Exmouth Market. If you chose Notting Hill, grab brunch at Raoul's Gourmet. (Did someone say delicious fruit smoothies? Raoul's has those too.)

see

Refueled and ready to go, it’s an easy ride on the tube down to the south of the city, with its amazing river views.

St. Paul's Cathedral and the Millenium Bridge in all their glory

drink

If it’s sunny, the perfect place for a refined cup of afternoon tea is at the Orangery at Kensington Palace, where you can sit out on their terrace and enjoy the views of the palace gardens and park. Their jasmine tea is to die for.

do more yoga

For a time-out from the hustle and bustle of the Palace, amble over to evolve wellness centre, where you can take a dynamic flow class while getting a great view of the cobbled streets of South Kensington. Chris is teaching there this Sunday.

eat more

If you need a post-class sugar rush, the famous Hummingbird Bakery is right across the street, and you’ll think you’ve died and gone to frosting heaven. (Editor's note: Lesia used to call London home too and she highly recommends the red velvet cupcake. "You won't be disappointed." We trust her.)

shop

Next, take it out east, to London’s most vibrant quarter. During the week, this part of the city is home to all things business, but on the weekends it buzzes with the golden combination of the Sunday Upmarket and Spitalfields Market, where all kinds of vintage and handmade treasures can be found (safely under a roof, for those rainy spells.)

dance

It’s not all shopping, either. East London is home to London’s hippest yoga, pilates and dance studio, Frame, where you can take a Black Swan-inspired ballet class (complete with makeup!) or a retro 80s aerobic session with nods to Jane Fonda.

Give Natalie Portman a run for her money at the Frame's Black Swan ballet-barre workshop
Image courtesy of Frame's blog

see more

And if you’re up for more action, you can be on the beach before dinner with a train from Victoria station to Brighton, a seaside town that’s as popular with surfers as it is with foodies.

The people in London have a good thing coming...
Image courtesy of Chris Chavez's Facebook page

Whatever you do, make sure you get in some yoga along the way. You'll want to be in good shape for your upcoming activities - especially if you're taking a workshop with Chris this weekend. Have fun on our behalf!

Special thanks to Stephanie and Lesia for their insider's picks. Did we miss any of your favourites? Let us know. In the meantime, we'll put the kettle on for tea.

Steph and the Robson St. team in Vancouver

While in Vancouver, I'd worked as an educator in the heart of lululemon's hometown, at our Robson store. From my first interview, I was blown away by the sense of possibility and positive energy at the store, but it took moving back to London to make me realize how much the experience had given me.

find your fitness community to feel at home

Moving to a new city, and being able to count the people I knew on the fingers of one hand, might have seemed overwhelming a few years ago. But armed with the one-year goals I'd set back in Vancouver, I had a clear plan for what I wanted to accomplish - I knew I wanted to reestablish my yoga practice, and make connections with those amazing people in the fitness community who inspire you to stretch yourself beyond what you thought was possible. (I always seem to find a lot of them in yoga classes!) That connection to community was something I'd been lucky enough to experience first-hand when working at Robson, whether it was meeting our amazing ambassadors or trying out new classes I never thought I'd attempt. I knew that by finding my London fitness community, I'd start to feel more at home and regain my balance.

Steph's living the manifesto and sweating once a day with Crossfit in London.

home is wherever you unroll your mat or lace up your sneakers

Commuting on the tube in rush hour with my yoga mat may not have won me any flavour of the month awards. But when I let out my first om at a north London Bikram centre, I knew that I'd come home - not just to a particular country, but to my yoga practice, which helped me to make sense of those first few crazy months. From that first moment of calm in a crowded studio, came a wealth of new experiences - from my foot hitting the wall for the first time kicking up to a handstand, to trying (and loving!) my first Crossfit class, to running through the amazing urban greenery of Hampstead Heath on a hazy London Sunday morning with twenty other London runners.

Green space (aka a "heath" to Londoners) in downtown London!

a lululemoner in london

Being a lululemoner in London has inspired me to get out and make those community connections myself - meeting everyone from policemen-turned-personal trainers to future London 2012 Paralympians in the process!

And best of all, while I miss my fellow lululemoners dearly, the folks from lululemon have been with me every step of the way, whether it's their goal-coaching advice ringing in my ears as I rejig my five-year goals on the tube, or their words of encouragement as I blog about another sweaty Crossfit personal best. Whether it's an impromptu goal-coaching session in Regent's Park or trying to convince my fellow Crossfitters to try a yoga class with me, I know I can bring a little bit of lululemon to London, every day.

Have you moved somewhere new and taken your practice and fitness goals with you? How did the move impact on what you accomplished or plan to accomplish?

"Breathe deeply and appreciate the moment. Living in the moment could be the meaning of life."

I'll be honest, when I first joined lululemon and read the manifesto, my reaction to this statement was "That's great, but I already have my list of everything to do today!"

Ever wondered if we've organized ourselves out of appreciating what's around us? I am a relentless planner and a bit of an organizational powerhouse (it's when you start to make lists of lists that you know you have a problem). Recently, I realized that I rarely had a day off in my diary that wasn't already planned to perfection. What would happen if I went off the map a little more, I wondered?

day one:

I left my day off completely open (this gave me mild heart palpitations), and got a last minute tweet that Olympic freestyle skiers were giving a demonstration of their aerial skills downtown. I was there, camera in hand, 10 minutes later! I would never have caught this awesome event if, as usual, I had planned my day to perfection.

Score one for living in the moment...

day two:

Waking up to sunshine in Vancouver, I resolved to spend a morning appreciating the small things that make living here so amazing. Along the way, I spent some time with the fall leaves in Stanley Park, noticed that there is a great little cafe two blocks away from me where you can get a mean game of bocce, and chatted to a total stranger on the bus about my love of all things Twitter (only possible because for once I wasn't checking my planner en route). In the groove...

See what happens when you have time to look down?

day three:

Now in the swing of my new mindset, I flew by the seat of my pants and attended a brand new type of yoga class- possible only because I hadn't previously scheduled myself one to go to! When a friend of mine called one night and suggested I try Anusara, I swallowed my nervousness (partner yoga? what if I knocked them over?), and faced my biggest living in the moment challenge yet. One hour later, I couldn't believe it as my partner helped me into an inverted standing split. For once, my brain was not spinning out of control, anticipating the next few hundred things I was going to do. I was able to relax and just be in the physical moment, working with my body and setting no limits for where I could go.

What helps you to stay in the moment? I'd love to hear your tips!

Start in tadasana, or mountain pose. Your feet should be hips' width apart, hands at your side with palms open and facing forwards. Take several deep breaths and take time to spread out your toes, feeling your connection with the ground.

From standing position, step your feet 3-4 feet apart and come into Warrior 2: point your right toes forward and turn your left heel in so it is at a 45 degree angle.

Your right heel should be parallel with the centre of your left arch. Extend your arms out to the side, palms down, and make sure your fingers are active and charged. Bend your right knee so that your right thigh is parallel to the floor. Turn your gaze forwards, over your right fingertips.

Bring your right elbow to your right knee and rest it lightly on your thigh. Extend your left arm upwards, making a straight line with the left side of your body. Bring your gaze up to the ceiling (or the sky!) Feel the stretch opening through the left side of your body and your chest. Continue to reach up through your fingertips. For a fuller expression of the pose, float your left arm up and over your ear and reach dynamically forwards. Breathe deeply.

When you're ready to leave the pose, bring your right arm up and extend it forwards, returning to Warrior 2.

How does your yoga practice impact the other sports you participate in? Let us know!

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!