CrossFit and yoga are both favourite ways of sweating in Columbus, so to introduce you to our almost open Polaris Store, our educator Layne asked yogi and ambassador Lara Falberg which yoga poses are best for elevating your CrossFit practice.

yin and yang

At first glance, yoga and CrossFit seem like an unlikely combination. Once you learn more about the two disciplines, however, you begin to realize that yoga can really be the peanut butter to CrossFits’ jelly. Lara Falberg, an ambassador here in Columbus, Ohio, helped me realize how many similarities there are between yoga and CrossFit.

Physically, CrossFit depends on the flexibility of the body in order to remain injury free. When speaking with alumni ambassador and 2010 Crossfit Games Champion, Grahm Holmberg, he brought up three important body parts to be mindful of in order to get the most bang for your WOD (that's CrossFit speak for 'workout of the day'): hips, ankles, and shoulders. These body parts should remain stretched and strong for success.

yoga poses for crossfitters

Lara chose three yoga poses for CrossFitters to focus on, that will strengthen and stretch the hips, ankles and shoulders.

hips

Pigeon Pose or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, is incredible for opening up your hips. If you know a thing or two about hip openers it tends to be where we hold a lot of emotion so don’t worry if you start to get a little teary eyed!

ankles

Eagle Pose or Garudasana, will stretch your ankles as well as improve your endurance. It’s best to warm your body before this pose.

shoulders

Camel Pose or Ustrasana, is great for strengthening your shoulders and opening your chest. It complements those handstand pushups you have been working on.

most importantly...

Listen to your body. Yoga will improve your flexibility and increase strength but it also teaches you to be aware of what your body needs. Add some yoga into your CrossFit routine to remain injury-free.

Get connected with our almost-open Polaris location on their Facebook.

True or False? CrossFit is for meatheads who yell, grunt and assign first names to their biceps. False. Members of our digital team recently took to our local CrossFit gym for an eye-opening, myth-busting workout. As it turns out, CrossFit isn’t actually a breeding ground for men who can sum up their lives with the three-part acronym GTL.

what is crossfit?

CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program that uses functional movement executed at a high intensity for a short period of time. The routine is determined at the start of each day and all athletes participate in the same WOD (workout of the day) scaled to meet their individual ability. The workout we did involved 10 reps of throwing a medicine ball to meet a target on the wall and then catching it back into a full squat, followed by 10 burpees. We repeated this for seven minutes trying to complete as many sets as we could. I realize that in written format, the workout seems harmless but I can assure you it was challenging, tiring and very, very sweaty.

four crossfit myths - busted

crossfit is a cult
False. It is an incredibly fun and addictive workout with a strong sense of community. When you go through the gruelling workouts together, you can’t help but get close with people around you. It’s the support from others that pushes you to try things you never thought were possible and overcome perceived limits.

crossfit is dangerous because you can get injured
As with most sports, injury can always happen and is usually the result of bad coaching. As long as you have been properly trained and coached through CrossFit your chance of injury is no greater than if you were doing anything else. A good coach can identify and correct bad form and recognize when someone is pushing themselves too hard.

crossfitters have egos bigger than their biceps (if that’s even possible)
The one thing that really sets apart a CrossFit facility to a standard gym is the fact that there are actually no mirrors. In CrossFit, the movements you are doing are so technical, that trying to catch a glimpse of yourself would throw you off and jeopardize your form. Egos are checked at the door and while the atmosphere can feel competitive, you are only ever measured up against your own records to document progress.

you will be yelled at
A huge part of the CrossFit experience is that supportive team and community aspect. I wouldn’t necessarily call it yelling as much as I would call it “encouraged, loudly”. The “yelling” is good-natured and meant to help you push your limits and find your edge. So yes, you will probably get “yelled” at but it won’t be the same as your mother sending you to your room.

After our first class, some of us were bitten by the CrossFit bug and couldn’t wait to go back, for others, once was more than enough. We could all agree that we had created stories about what CrossFit was and, in most cases, had been proven wrong. Are you a CrossFit junkie? What other myths need busting when it comes to the CrossFit world?

want more?

• not convinced yet? More on CrossFit
• how CrossFit rolls in New Jersey
• change up your routine. Try a new way to sweat

Magazine: Nylon

Book: Catch 22

lululemon shirt: 5 Year T

Way to sweat: The Grouse Grind!

Website: Ted.com

Tech gadget: BlackBerry / Kindle

Way to spend a Sunday morning: Reading coffee table books from Taschen's at my shack on the Sunshine Coast of BC.

Restaurant: Cin Cin, Vancouver.

New fitness trend: Crossfit

Way to get motivated: Looking at my wife!

Place to unroll your yoga mat: Sunshine Coast, BC

Way to celebrate: Kissing and hugging!

Yoga move: Breath. Focusing on breathing = living in the moment.

Chip and his family last summer at Salutation Nation in San Diego.

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?

At lululemon athletica, building dreams is what we are all about. We are constantly encouraged to set career, personal and health goals. We sit down with each other over coffee, set goals that are important to us and commit to putting them on paper.

Dreams don't build themselves!

Prior to working with lululemon athletica, I had my own field of dreams:

• 1983: I started visualizing that I would be a marine mammal trainer. I worked, trained and swam with marine mammals for 15 years. Check!

• 1989: I started visualizing that I would do an Ironman Triathlon. I am a 4x Ironman triathlete. Check!

• 2009: I started visualizing that I would go to Graduate School at the University of Texas-San Antonio and receive my Master's Degree in Kinesiology. I have just completed my first semester. Check!

• 2010: I started visualizing myself at the CrossFit Games in California.I will be going to the Regional CrossFit competition in Fort Worth, TX with the RiverCity CrossFit Team from San Antonio. Will I be able to check this off my field of dreams? I will let you know after May 30th!*

Jennifer wearing Run: Speed Shorts

What is your field of dreams?

* editor's note: Jennifer wrote this post before heading to the Regional CrossFit competition on May 29th. We have since followed up with her to check in after the event:
"We did not make it to the 2010 CrossFit Games in California in July. While I am a bit bummed about it, there is always next year and I learned so much about myself as a person and as an athlete - physically, mentally and spiritually!"

The ladies at Crossfit!

The Summit Showroom in New Jersey is embracing CrossFit! Our ambassador, Karianne Dickson recently placed first in her division at the New York/New Jersey CrossFit Sectionals. A novice like myself couldn’t ask for a more motivational instructor to lead the introductory Ramp Class. My friend Jill and I started the month long course with Karianne on Monday April 6th. Our goal is to leverage CrossFit conditioning to gain a competitive edge when we run the Morristown Half Marathon on May 16th. We will be at on ramp twice a week with Karianne and are committed to the program and embracing the Paleo diet to further enhance our performance.

In our Northern New Jersey community CrossFit is steadily growing in to the next big movement in fitness. Once a dedicated newcomer gets involved, the workout is addictive!

The vibe that New Jersey CrossFitters generate is spirited, supportive and competitive in the healthiest of ways. They often travel in packs and the energy is palpable. You might run in to a few munching on a handful of nuts in our showroom, drinking a paleo friendly coffee with a splash of heavy cream at Starbucks, or picking their kids up at school with that tell-a-tale 4 pack peeking out from under their run swiftly tech top. Although CrossFitters are committed to the athletic benefits of the Paleolithic diet, this cool crowd is not afraid to indulge in a few Paleo Margaritas on occasion.

Not surprisingly, the entourage of women at CrossFit Morristown look fabulous! If eliminating sugar, grains and dairy from my diet while squatting and doing burpees will get me that glow and shape, then count me in!

Have you tried Crossfit?

Colours from our new palette have started brightening up our online shop and our stores and showrooms. Want to figure out which colour might be right for you? Choose the closest answer to each question below to find your seasonal colour personality.

1. my favourite way to sweat is:

a) I work out often and I like to sweat hard. I'm competitive.
b) I stick to what works for me, whether it’s running every Saturday morning or hitting the gym after work.
c) Variety is the spice of life. The latest fitness trend? I've tried it.

2. you’re the first one in the yoga studio. where do you place your mat?

a) I head to the front of the class!
b) To the left or right of center, and a little back.
c) Wherever I find space for my mat.

3. when i travel, i:

a) Forfeit guidebook advice and rely on conversations with locals and other travellers to shape my agenda.
b) Spend hours reading online before going to my destination so I don’t miss anything while I’m there and can get the best rates and deals in advance.
c) Take my guidebook to read on the plane, along with a mix of literary fiction and a top non-fiction bestseller.

4. the manifesto line that speaks to me the most:

a) Do one thing a day that scares you.
b) Don’t trust that an old age pension will be sufficient
c) Creativity is maximized when you’re living in the moment.

the results

If you answered:

Mostly As: you are Tang Light

Tang Light is adventurous, bold, enthusiastic, daring, competitive. You may enjoy Crossfit or any activity where you sweat hard. Shop all Tang Light >>

Mostly Bs: You are Chirp

Chirp is organized, dependable, calm, loyal, supportive, easy going, a team player. You like exercise routines, whether its running every Wednesday or hitting up the same yoga class on Saturday mornings. Shop all Chirp >>

Mostly Cs: You are Lagoon

Lagoon is open-minded, creative, and balanced with a "go with the flow" attitude. You like trying new classes. Zumba? Pole-dancing? Tree yoga? They all sound like fun to you - at least once! Shop all Lagoon >>

Did you receive a balanced number of answers? You might be interested in March Checkmate - it's a combo of our spring colour sampler!

What's your seasonal colour personality? Do you think it's in line with what you're all about?