I woke Sunday morning with yoga on my mind, and a feeling of joy and anticipation for the day ahead. I taught a morning vinyasa class to an energized group of yogis that left me inspired to get on my own mat A.S.A.P. From there, I raced off to join the tribe of local yogis gathering for a shared purpose of community through the love of yoga at Wanderlust 108. Wanderlust 108 is the world’s ONLY Mindful Triathlon that combines a walk/run 5k, yoga and meditation session.
I arrived at Marymoor Park and was immediately welcomed by a sea of beautiful yogis. Many of them on their mats in a field mindfully listening to MC Yogi guide them through a powerful asana practice while flowing to the rhythms pouring out courtesy of DJ Taz Rashid. Before joining them, I stood observing as they flowed together like colorful waves from pose to pose, a sense of home and belonging washed over me. I was ready to join my brothers and sisters.
The morning began at 9:00am with a 5K walk/run, the start of the event’s Triathlon. Yogis wore their sneakers and took off to warm their bodies and deepen their breath. This was followed by a number of activities open to all, which included suspended AIReal Yoga, Slacklining, Barre3, AcroYoga, Hooping, and artistic Tribal Marking and Movement with Amir Magal. These activities remained available throughout the day until the event’s conclusion. I was impressed by the variety of ways we could explore the body through movement. No Wanderlust event would be the complete without the creative and colorful tribal markings decorating many of the attendees.
Part 2 of the Triathlon was a two-part yoga class taught by MC Yogi and Chelsey Korus. The message was Love and that coming from love will not only heal us individually, but can heal the world in the process. They guided us to encourage and embrace our neighbors through breath and connected movement. I could see the timid nature of a reserved yogi fall away as their neighbor encouraged them to come closer and be supported as family. I could feel the same embrace and support taking place throughout the crowd. The session closed with a unified Om where we sat with our hands touching the back of the heart of the neighbor on either side of us. Love, was in the air.
Part 3 of the Triathlon was a meditation session guided by the Buddhist meditation teacher, Dave Smith. He began by speaking about his work bringing meditation and mindfulness practices to at-risk youth, inmates in prisons, addiction treatment facilities, youth detention centers. He also touched on his experience as a youth with a troubled mind and heart.
He began the meditation and I was immediately overwhelmed, in a good way. He encouraged us to grant ourselves forgiveness, kindness, and compassion and in this moment I realized how little I had been giving myself of each lately. I am so good at giving it to others, but wasn’t leaving enough for me. He guided us to quiet ourselves, come to our breath, look within ourselves, and be there in present time. As we sat or laid comfortably, we could feel the cool breeze wash across our faces. The sun warmed us as it brightly beamed down between moments of cloud cover. As the minutes passed, my monkey mind would bring in plans, thoughts, and worries, and each time I diligently returned to being present with breath and experiencing my body. Definitely not the easiest thing I did that day, but definitely one of the most rewarding.
Once the mediation session concluded, I walked around exploring the pop-up village, which offered a number of food and beverage options from some of the community’s favorite brands. Health-Aid Kombucha offered tastings in the Kombucha Garden, while Vita Coco, Oatmega, Brew Dr. Kombucha, KeVita, dr. Praeger’s, Kashi, and Coconut Bliss offered samples of their delicious products. The village also offered jewelry and apparel vendors allowing attendees to shop for mementos of their experience, and gifts for friends and loved ones.
An overarching theme I found with this event was charity and healing. Wanderlust encouraged attendees to download their Charity Miles app where every step of the 5K would translate into donated money to their charity of the participant’s choice. Organizations like Yoga Behind Bars were also present to educating the community of their cause. Many of the partnered vendors were also collecting donations for various causes.
Seattle Wanderlust 108 encouraged community through play, love of self and all living beings, and compassion to help heal the world of suffering. I left Marymoor Park with a heart filled with gratitude for being present and a deeper love for the Seattle yoga community.
Namaste.
Images by Sukha Design & Photographer Danielle Sack.
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Julee LOVES working with students one-on-one not only with the physical asana practice, but also in developing pranayama (breath), meditation, and mindfulness techniques for living a calmer, more grounded, stress-less life. More info on group classes and private sessions with Julee at Voluminous Life Yoga.
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