This summer, Whole Living is partnering with Wanderlust, an annual festival held in three North American cities that centers around yoga, music, and speakers. It’s a meeting space for people who care about the same things we do at Whole Living: the health of your body and soul, your community, and the earth.
The first of the three weekend-long events began yesterday in the mountains of Vermont. As the magazine’s senior health editor, I get to sweat through some yoga classes, mingle with readers, and hear some amazing talks (yeah, it’s a tough life). I’ll be chronicling my three-day journey here and tweeting from @wholeliving. If my doings don’t convince you to make it to Wanderlust Colorado or Wanderlust California, nothing will!
I spent much of Day One (appropriately) wandering—so what follows are my quick impressions of the things I loved most.
6. The view: I can definitely imagine how this quaint outpost bustles through the winter—it’s dotted with lodges, gear shops, and restaurants, not to mention a few ski lifts. Right now, it looks like someone took a vegetable peeler to the mountain, the runs reduced to grassy strips. Yep, I could do worse for a workspace!
5. Smart, sustainable touches: If only every festival were this green! Timberland’s tent-like pop-up recycling centers far outnumbered trash cans, and Camelbak’s refilling stations (note the pic) meant that anyone carrying a disposable water bottle actually looked stupid. In lieu of plastic wristbands, we snapped on pretty cloth bracelets. Gotta love the little things.
4. Headstands! Everywhere. All the time. I don’t know if this is a sanctioned Wanderlust thing or simply the result of seeing more yogis today than any other day in my life, but I spotted people practicing their headstands all over the place! Any little plot of grass doubles as a base for headstand practice with the help of hands-on friends. I wasn’t quick enough with my iPhone, but I always stopped to stare.
3. The opening-night performance by Quixotic: This dreamy performance-art-meets-dance-meets-gymnastics-meets-really-great-music ensemble wowed the crowd with an unforgettable concert. As musicians whipped up throbbing, expressive melodies, a small handful of performers filled the stage with acrobatics and intense modern dance.
2. The debut of Yoga Votes: The campaign, which launched yesterday, aims to spark higher voter turnout and encourage mindful voting among America’s 20 million yogis.
1. Detox flow yoga with Seane Corn: I expected a fairly typical vinyasa class, but boy, was Corn serious about the detox part! The main component of the class was a long flow of series repeated three times with modifications: Once to expand the organs, once to compress, and once to twist. I’m not sure what my liver thought of it, but I do know my butt felt kicked. Brag alert, though: Toward the end of class, I leaned into my seated forward fold (hamstring stretch) and sunk my forehead right onto my knees. I was there for a few seconds before I realized how amazing this was—usually, I’m lucky if I can get a knuckle over my toes! Maybe it was the two-hour yoga class that preceded it, maybe it was the 90-degree heat, or maybe it was the sweet, sweet mountain air. I can’t wait to get back out there and find out.
From: Win a Ticket to Wanderlust California! | | 7/19/12 at 3:22 pm
[...] summer of al fresco asanas and hiking and concerts is coming to an end, but there’s still a chance to get in on the last [...]