Last weekend Adrian and I drove down to Austin for our first ever yoga festival together. To give you a little bit of background, I’ve been doing yoga for about 5 years now and have a pretty consistent practice (although I did take about 1 year off when I when I had a high-risk pregnancy). I’ve since gotten back into it and my practice has slowly built back up. Adrian also decided to get into yoga about 3 years ago as he was also looking to get into a new workout routine. We both love going to the Exhale yoga studio here in Dallas and our mats have provided us something to come back to day after day, year after year, as a place to learn more about ourselves. We’ve actually talked about attending a yoga festival or retreat together for some time now so when I heard about Wanderlust coming to Austin for the first time this year, it sounded perfect!
Wanderlust is a 3-day yoga and music experience that started back in 2009. Every year they invite top yoga instructors, world-class DJs, and renowned speakers. I talked to people who came from all over the world to attend this year’s festival (many even attend multiple Wanderlust Festivals in a year!). This year’s Wanderlust lineup featured many notable yoga celebrities such as Seane Corne, Shiva Rea, and MC Yogi.
Upon arriving in Austin on Saturday, Adrian and I decided to try out Seane Corne’s Empower Flow class first thing. The flow led us through a series of sun salutations and weaved in prayers to those less fortunate throughout the poses. Seane has long been an articulate voice for social change (not to mention a rather famous yogi as well) and it was inspiring to hear her messages for justice and relief.
After a quick lunch outside at the Whole Foods food truck, we checked out a True North Alignment session by Leah Cullis, The class started off with everyone gathering together and having people share personal experiences about how they were making efforts to discover and re-align themselves with their true self. Leah then guided us through a rigorous Baptiste-style flow that involved surya namaskar a and b followed by twists and backbends. The structure was similar to those that I go to here in Dallas, so I loved it!
Afterwards, Adrian and I decided to venture into the Kula Market where local vendors and boutiques had set up shop. There were also a few workshops and demonstrations happening throughout the day including Acro Yoga, hula hooping, and aerial yoga.
Aerial yoga provided by Four Elements — always wanted to try this out! |
For our last session at Wanderlust, Adrian and I went to a Elements of Asana session led by Ben Heath and Hilly Flora, with live music provided by DJ Sukha! I absolutely love love love yoga classes with live music as music helps me get into my yoga zone and my practice seems to come alive. The instructors knew an extensive amount of human anatomy and how it corresponds with yoga so it was really interesting for the nerd in me who likes to understand body mechanics. The class concluded with a bit of a workshop on inversions where we learned techniques and tips on how to master the art of flight in yoga. This was probably the favorite part of the class for both me and Adrian as we both have been working on mastering handstands and forearm balances for the past several years.
Ben Heath + Hilly Flora leading Elements of Asana |
Working on my forearm balance (Pincha Mayurasana) |
Adrian working on his handstand (Adho Mukha Vrikshasana) |
There were so many fun events this weekend that we would have like to attend. There were also plenty of outdoor activities including paddleboard yoga, yoga on a boat, and trail runs along Town Lake. Music performances were happening all day long and MC Yogi even had a special concert on Saturday night!
I connected with so many amazing yogis and instructors during my time in Austin and loved the community that the Wanderlust Festival brought together. The experience is unparalleled and I can’t wait for Wanderlust 2014 already!
* Disclosure: Adrian and I were provided media passes to attend Wanderlust Austin. All content and opinions are honest and my own. Thank you so much for supporting my blog and allowing me the opportunity to take part in such amazing experiences!
P.S. In case you missed it:
- Pink Moto + Army Green – Pink and green. Why not?
Fallon Carmichael says
Love this recap! I wanted to go to the Wanderlust in NY this year but didn't make it… after reading this will have to try for next year. Im still fairly new to Yoga… a little under a year of practicing Hot/Bikram style. Seeing your scorpion is so inspiring, one day I hope to do the same…
Great post!!!
Daily Express says
Wow, your yoga skills are ah.may.zing! The aerial yoga looks SO interesting, too. Great photos and recap!
On the Daily Express
WE says
Holy lord! Your balance is off the charts !! Love the recap Kileen..what inspiration you are..shame on me for sitting on my butt and not doing anything…Wow!!
7% Solution says
I knew you practiced, but I had no idea you were so dedicated. It's quite inspiring to me!
libys11 says
wow!! what an amazing event!!! no wonder you both look fit!! seems like you really do yoga so well!! 😀
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respect_the_shoes says
Wow, your strength and balance are awesome! My flexibility is terrible so I've never progressed very far in yoga, so I am jealous of your progress. And the muscle tone on your arms and shoulders are fantastic.
Kileen says
yay! you should definitely check out Wanderlust if it goes to NY! the sessions were all so amazing and it's a great way to get inspired about advancing your yoga practice even more. i have no doubt you'll be doing scorpion in no time. 🙂
Kileen says
thanks Lisa! it's years of hard work. but you'd be amazed at how quickly you can develop your flexibility. my husband couldn't even touch his fingers to his knees when he bent over when he first started yoga. now he can put his palms flat on the floor!
Kileen says
thanks! we both love yoga and the vinyasa style that we do is pretty rigorous!
Kileen says
thank you! <3
Kileen says
thank you! it's all about finding a workout that doesn't seem like work. you gotta enjoy it to stick with it!
analisa says
Wow this is so amazing! I've always wanted to get into yoga, I think you just made me want to start now 🙂
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Kileen says
that's great to hear! i had to hop around to a few different studios before I found one that I liked so you might want to do the same if at first you don't like it! every place and every teacher is different. good luck!
Tosin AK says
Great great pictures!!! Your yoga looks are off the charts!
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Kileen says
thanks Tosin!
Daisy Gem says
WOW achieving those poses are amazing – you nailed them!
-Jenny, DaisyGem
Kileen says
thank you! years of practice. 🙂
Candice says
Great post! Sounds like you and Adrian had an awesome time at Wanderlust! Do you practice Bikram Yoga at all? I was practicing it for a bit, but stopped as the heat started making me break out. I haven't tried any other yoga styles as I felt the heat helped loosen my body, which made it easier for me to stretch. I would love to someday be able to do a handstand pose like you did. I'm sure I would fall flat on my face if I attempted to do it now. Lols!
Kileen says
Hi Candice! I tried a couple of Bikram classes in the past but I didn't like them as much. The classes I took went through a series of 20-30 different postures in a >100-degree room. There was very little transition between the poses and I personally feel like the movement between the poses is what makes Vinyasa yoga so interesting and challenging. I love feeling of flowing and flying instead of just posing, if you know what I mean.
My Vinyasa class that I take actually is in a room that is heated to 88 degrees. It's not as hot as Bikram, but it's definitely hot enough to help me stretch out and get really limber. I know that I can't handle the Bikram heat as I will start to get light-headed and feel like I can't breathe.
I think the key to sticking with a yoga practice (and any workout regimen for that matter) is finding a class and an instructor whose style you like. A well-known teachers that I really love are Kathryn Budig and she has classes on YogaGlo that you can try out (free 30-day trial I think). I did a few classes online when I at home was on maternity leave and wanted to do a little yoga during Dylan's naptime. 🙂
Hope that helps!
Kileen
Candice says
Thanks for the feedback, Kileen! I'll look into Vinyasa classes as an alternative. I really enjoyed Bikram, unfortunately, it didn't agree with my skin. I'll also look into YogaGlo. I like home workouts a lot because you can do it whenever you want. =)
Kileen says
yeah, i can see how the heat can be irritating to skin. definitely do try out YogaGlo as I'm a big fan of their class selections and it's easy to try out different ones to suit your style. let me know how it works out for you! 🙂
Jackson Smith says
A person should attend every yoga festival. As it will only be beneficial for you and no one else. Try to attend a yoga festival alone because once you are with friends, your mind can get diverted. If you are alone then you can give full attention to your body and attain a relaxing state of mind. It will help you to connect to your higher self. Sometimes we get to know a few new Yoga Styles in festivals like these.
Emma says
Valuable information, thanks for sharing!