Something you should know about Thea, one of our Vancouver educators, is that she loves to dance for fun. For her, a successful party is simply not complete without a sweet, sweet dance floor. She tells us how her passion for dance (and a belief that it can bring communities together) led her to a series of Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals and a future date with Ellen.

I lost touch with dance in any sort of formal way after I finished school. It wasn’t until my sister’s wedding, 3 years later, that my passion was reignited with the brilliant plan of creating a flash mob as a gift! I choreographed a ridiculous routine to Beyonce’s ‘Put a Ring On It’ and made a step-by-step instructional video. The guests learned the steps prior to the wedding and busted it out an hour into the reception. It was awesome! The next winter, during Vancouver's Olympics, 5000 spectators watched as a 3000 strong flash mob danced my choreographed routine up and down Robson St. This second success gave me a new sense of energy, momentum and purpose (and an opportunity to set some goals.).

 

setting big hairy audacious goals

Focusing on my strengths and my passion for dance, I set my first BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal): I create an online instructional dance choreography business by January 2011.

It felt scary, foreign and ridiculous to create a business out of thin air. That, by the way, is how you know a goal is a BHAG. If it scares the crap out of you or seems impossible, it is a BHAG. It's been a year of huge learning, perseverance and patience but I have successfully created my business, Just For Fun Dance Party, and can check that BHAG off the list.

Of course there is always another juicy one waiting around the corner. My current BHAG gets me excited every time I think about it: the Vancouver Bust Out! It's an opportunity for Vancouverites to get together and create a unique and hilarious experience. A Bust Out is like a flash mob but it's NOT a secret. The goal is to engage with our greater community and do something just for the sake of fun!

the bold declaration

• 500+ Vancouverites participate in the Vancouver Bust Out on July 23rd during the Khatsahlano Music Fest.
• Ellen DeGeneres sees the video of the Bust out on youtube and invites me to teach her and her audience the dance. (I've assigned you a special ring tone, Ellen).

join in

Come join in the fun and bring all of your friends and family. We dare you all to try learning the first few moves and NOT giggle. Check out  justforfundanceparty.com or find the Just For Fun Dance Party Facebook page so you can learn the moves at home.

Or come practice in person with Thea. Here is the schedule of rehearsals for the Bust Out! happening on July 23rd:

• Wed July 13 from 8- 9pm @ lululemon West 4th (2113 W 4th Ave)
• Wed July 20 from 8- 9pm @ lululemon West 4th (2113 W 4th Ave)
• Fri July 22 from 7:15- 9:15 @ Semperviva Kits Beach (2201 W 4th Ave).

want more

• learn how to create powerful goals
• dance. sing. floss. travel. it's right there on the manifesto

The official countdown is on! Less than 2 weeks until the 2010 lululemon Warehouse Sale (aka Homecoming Party!) begins in Hamilton, Ontario.

Behind the scenes, your favourite lemons have been hard at work to make this the Warehouse Sale of the century.

Pictures speak louder than words, so without further ado...

The boxes are piling up... ready to be shipped to Hamilton!

Peek a Boo! We see Senorita Pink!

Look up... way up! Any yoga pants up there?

We spy with our little eyes... yoga mats!

We didn't say it was all hard work, did we?

From Vancouver to the big wide world... these boxes are on their way to Hamilton!

The Hamilton Warehouse Sale will be located at the Hamilton Convention Centre (1 Summers Lane, Hamilton, Ontario), from September 30th to October 3rd, 2010.

Hours of Operation:
Thursday September 30th: 10am-9pm
Friday October 1st: 10am-9pm
Saturday October 2nd: 9am-7pm
Sunday October 3rd: 9am-5pm
*Doors will close approximately 30 minutes before closing time

For more information about the 2010 Warehouse Sale:
Visit the lululemon Facebook page. 
Tweet us at our lululemon warehouse sale profile (hashtag #lululemonWHS)
Find us at http://bit.ly/lululemonWHSmap

Dying for a behind-the-scenes look at something specific for the Warehouse Sale? Let us know below and you never know what may appear!

A few months ago one person from our lululemon family in Washington D.C. set an intention of holding a complimentary outdoor yoga class to be simultaneously held across North America. The goal was to create a shared space for any and everyone to be a part of. She enrolled the team around her, and Salutation Nation was born, quickly to become a movement of health and togetherness our entire community was eager to share.

Yoga mats ready to be rolled out in the U.S. and Canada.

It was this intention that woke me 20 minutes before my alarm went off at 6am this morning. Normally I can continuously hit snooze for a good hour, but this morning I awoke to an amazing energy that wouldn't be dismissed. We were more than 3 hours away from the kickoff of Salutation Nation on the west coast, but the east coast was awake and breathing our intention and sending it my way.

Saluting the sun in Boston.

Waking in San Diego, I longed for a way to connect with the Salutation Nations happening in near minutes on the opposite coast. I opened my computer to find lots of buzz of the yoga about to take place in Boston at the Esplanade, and the Ellipse at the White House. Although I didn't get to take in an OM with the east coasters, I felt them and was so excited for the west coast hour to begin.

Ready to begin in San Diego.

I wasn't alone in my anticipation and was delighted to see familiar lululemon faces, guests, neighbours and new friends in San Diego bright and early at 7:30. We began to lay our mats and an air of wonder filled us all. We didn't know how many people we'd practice with in the park.

We didn't know how many people we'd practice with up, down, and across the coast. We didn't even know if the sun would come out so that we could salute it properly. But it didn't matter. Our neighbours woke up this morning to practice yoga together, and that in and of itself was enough.

We shared an hour together today of yoga and breathing, an hour of enjoying our lives outside. It is days like today we are so proud of the community we commonly shared today. We took in oms with familiar faces, and shared a savasana with people we hadn't met. That's the wonderful thing about yoga, although your practice is entirely your own, the space is shared and connects us to one another without objection, even miles, cities and countries apart.

Thank you for sharing a space with us today, can't wait to see you next year. Namaste.

Thank you for giving us a space to practice yoga and take in the air with our neighbours across North America.

Namaste from Salutation Nation 2010.

Brittany, our product trainer, recently got her hands on some samples for Fall 2010 and put together a special sneak peek video for you with some highlights. Enjoy!

These items and colours will be available between now and the next six weeks, so if you don't see the item you're after online or at your local store, check back soon!

If you loved the first sneak peek video above and have a little extra time, check out the extended 11 minute version with a few more exciting fall 2010 items: http://www.vimeo.com/13397940

Some of the products featured in the video:

• Run: Inspire Crop
• Push Ur Limits Tank
• Run: Reflection Skirt
• Mens Smash Jacket
• Mens Smash Pant

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.

Name: Liz
BHAG(s): I will be done illustrating my second book by September 1, 2010.

what is a bhag?

A BHAG (pronounced "bee-hag") is a big, hairy, audacious goal!

why share your bhag?

The more you share your goals, the more likely it is you will achieve them. For the month of June we will be sharing a BHAG every day on lululemon.com. Want to share your BHAG with the world? Send your high-res photo to blogs@lululemon.com and we'll publish a few of our favourites here on the lululemon blog.

lululemon Robson St

Rob Tubajon of Endorphin Junkies personal training: to break the 1:35 half marathon barrier by the Fall Classic in November!

lululemon athletica Ala Moana

Sharlene Bliss: To be open to experience the newness of each moment.

Kate Baldwin. Looking forward to in 2010: True Union’s Teacher Training Program kicking off in the summer of 2010! It is going to be AMAZING! There is such an inspiring group of people collaborating to create and build a strong, thorough, and deeply rewarding yoga and life experience. This is the first destination Vinyasa training of its kind on the islands!!

Jill Gaspar: My goal for the next year is to help others (everyone I come into contact with) move towards lightness. To get out into the community and through teaching not only in my own community but on the other side of this island (and every where I go) that everyone can move towards grace. Away from the dark.

Todd Iacovelli: I will grow as a leader in business, service, and running.

Jayme Newhouse: One mind. One body. Live Aloha.

Erika Eberhart: I'm looking forward to staying happy and healthy in 2010 through coaching cycling and spinning, swimming, outrigger canoe paddling, and learning to stand-up paddle (SUP). Totally stoked to buy a SUP in January 2010! Happy Holidays!

lululemon Rideau Centre ambassadors

Michelle Collett: I will complete my 3rd Ironman while raising money to help stop animal cruelty in July.

Gavin Featherstone: I will complete Ironman 2010 in 13hrs in July!

 
Tracy Koert:

1. I will open a 2nd Moksha Yoga studio in Ottawa.
2. I will successfully complete a Half-Ironman.
Both by December, 2010.

Laurie Howe:

1. I will continue to deepen my practice.
2. I will continue my studentship/training with Anusara yoga.
3. I will ski more.
4. Always stay in beginner's mind and learn to draw on the well of patience I am told I have inside ))

Marilyn Tan:

1. Finish the "Goofy" in January 2010, doing "10 and 1's" the entire way (half-marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday)
2. Run a 10K in 50 minutes at the Ottawa Race Weekend
3. Train at least 15 people to run the race of their choice at the Ottawa Race Weekend through the Lululemon Run Club!

Angelina Armstrong-Man (a.k.a. The Iron Angel!): I will make it into a world wide/Canadian fitness magazine to spread the word/love/fantastic benefits of Kettlebells by December 2010!

lululemon Queen St

Jess McIntyre: Career goals: raise $500,000 with Power of Movement this year, mobalizing Canadians everywhere. Yoga goal: going into headstand from widelegged forward fold. One of my life goals is to never stop learning or growing as an individual. One of the ways I would like to continue this drive forward in 2010 is to be accepted and attend business school to obtain an MBA.

lululemon Carlsbad ambassadors

Robert Budd will have his Kettlebell Journal website up and he will run his first overseas workshop in Japan.

Michael Fukumura will teach even more effectively and in more inspiring ways in both public classes and in his trainings so that students can experience and make deeper shifts in what they care about the most. From a student perspective, his goal is to assist his teacher in his trainings in Japan in April 2010.

Mike Morrison:
1. Earn and maintain a top 8 team/16 individual seed in the US and also compete on the pro world tour to make a run at future Olympic games.
2. Teach at least 500 young athletes the most effective ways to lay the muscular foundation to effectively train and compete injury free for years to come.

Dejinira Lee has had her Cycling Cert for 7 years and it's time! I will be teaching the most fun and dynamic Cycling classes in 2010.

lululemon Evanston and area

Jocelyn Davis (Chicago Halsted Alumni Ambassador): I will see 200 new clients at Akemi Fitness Method by June 30, 2010.

Lisa Weber (Evanston): I will record a meditation cd by March 1, 2010.

Lela Beem (Evanston): I will find a kirtan/yoga retreat in Costa Rica to go on for my 30th birthday by August 2010. I will be in bed by 10:30 and wake up at 6:30 and do my yoga and meditation practice in the mornings by January 1, 2010.

Luis Bracamonte (Chicago 900 N. Michigan): I will introduce the Kimera Fitness Program, an all-in-one system to give rise to the athlete in all of us, in Miami by December 2010.

 
Are you feeling inspired to create your own goals? Check out goals.lululemon.com to get started.

share your goals

An important part of goal-setting is making your goals public by sharing them with those around you (or in Shari's case, our website visitors and email subscribers!). Something special happens when you make your goals public. Try it!

To learn how to create your own goals, get started at our goaltender website: goals.lululemon.com

What's on your "I will" list?

Time stood still. I was floating through the air upside down and actually took the time to think that I might die. I thought of the many things I still wanted to do, places I wanted to see. The cool things I was happy I’d done, and the many people in my life with so much love to share. It was not my day.

A second later I hit the ground head first from 10 metres above. My back explodes at L-1 like a pop can a kid jumps on and the vertebrae above and below break in nine places. I am stuck upside down in wind blown corn snow up to my ears and cannot move.

I am airlifted out of the glacier to the Whistler Health Clinic where my fears are confirmed Although I am alive, I am paralyzed from the waist down. Later that night I am sent down to Vancouver to be patched up to live in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

Luckily, the doctors were wrong, and my spinal cord injury is incomplete vs. complete. But luck is an understatement. Nine years later, although I am considered 40% paralyzed below the waist, I have learned to walk again, learned to cross country ski, and even learned to snowboard again. Not everyone can do what I did. Most people with a spinal cord injury do not have the opportunity to get any muscles back and even if they do, they don’t get enough of what they need to walk.

So, I am lucky, but I worked hard at it. I set goals. I stayed positive and looked at the world with what I could do, not what I couldn't do. I took up yoga and believed that I could think my way into a pose even if I couldn't do the pose. I thought to myself to just try every day to do more, to learn more, to be strong and understand that if I fall down, it is because I am pushing the limits. In fact, I learned to walk again by falling down and getting back up and falling some more. Metaphorically I believe this is what success is all about – falling down and getting back up until you don’t fall down anymore.

Staying positive and looking for the positive aspect in everything I do is my key. I like to say I can turn two negatives into a positive. It sounds corny, but I believe it and I believe in myself. It doesn't mean I don't ask for help. It means that because I try to help myself in a positive manner, others will believe in me and help me too. All I need to do is ask.

Last month, I received an email from my super cool friend, Olympian Nicole Forrester, asking for people to climb the CN Tower with other national team members to raise money for the United Way - a charity I have always believed in. They help people ask for a better life, thus helping communities and families throughout the world.

I wasn't sure if I could do it, so I drove down to Vancouver and trained in a stairway doing 20 flights at a time and taking the elevator down and doing it seven more times. I figured I could do it, the 147 flights of stairs (1776 steps), in about 35 minutes.

Tyler and his team about to climb the CN Tower!

A group shot of the amazing athletes before climbing the CN Tower for United Way.

The team cheering for a great cause.

When I took the challenge two weeks ago I blew my attainable goal out of the water by clocking a time just under 20 minutes. Kayak Olympian and World Champion Adam Van Koeverden did it in about 14 minutes. Paralympian Stephanie Reid Lakatos ran it in about 17 minutes on her below the knee carbon fiber prosthetic, young Leah Robinson did it like me with some paralysis in her right leg and Wilfredo (Papito) Moré Wilson did it with just one leg and two crutches - was I ever impressed! As you can see, we are all capable of achieving greatness. As Muhammad Ali said, "It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe."

So here I am: climbing new mountains every day. Although there are several hundred things I can't do, there are several millions I can continue to do. I can't run and I can't jump but I can get up and be happy every day. I can set goals and achieve the seemingly impossible and I am not afraid to try. So in March of 2010, look for me racing in cross country skiing at the Paralympic games. I hope you are able to climb your mountains and leave the pebbles behind.

Namaste - Tyler

Check out Tyler Mosher's fan Facebook page for updates: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tyler-Mosher/42536243617