We're doing yoga. We're in the mountains. It rocks. Hence, it's called: Yoga Rocks the Mountain, a yoga and music festival in Snowmass, Colorado. I've taken to calling it "Snowmasana" for the next couple days. You can too.
Is there anything better than yoga outside?
Tonight's kick off evening class featured two teachers and a live musician. If you look closely, you might recognize Dave Romanelli, who's here to present his Yoga for Foodies experience.
Yoga "lifts" us.
A mini om gal.
(L to R): Event organizer, Josh Behrman, yoga teacher Amy Baker, musician Cameron Williams, and yoga teacher Aaron King.
Packing for a yoga trip takes discretion. On one hand, you want to feel liberated from worldly possessions and the trappings of your daily routine, such as work clothes, makeup, and constrictive footwear. On the other hand, you need to pack for optimal peace and happiness. Let's face it; being exposed to the elements, insects, or funky yoga B.O., for example, can hinder your meditating mojo.
Here are the items that top my packing list as I prepare for my next yoga adventure, the Yoga Rocks the Mountain festival in Snowmass, CO.
Active Wear & Gear:
Apparel for asana
Apparel & footwear for non-asana activities & chilling out
All natural snacks for airports & road trips (such as Lara Bars and YogaEarth nutrition products*)
Little Luxuries:
Eye mask and/or ear plugs
Dr. Bonners soap (it's all natural, multi-purpose and can be used as body/face wash, shampoo, and laundry detergent if you need to hand wash clothes on the road)
Essential oil (I bought geranium while teaching in France last year, and it is luscious! Lavender is calming; peppermint stimulating)
Yoga Rocks the Mountain* kicks off on Friday, July 16, featuring topnotch teachers such as David Romanelli, fellow Baptiste alum Lisa Black, Dharma Mittra protege Mike Matsumura . . . ., and R.R. Shakti, among others. Musical performances, too, will draw flying yogis like me, arriving by air, and driving yogis from nearby cities and states via road trip. Accommodations range from local campgrounds to the swish Viceroy Snowmass, which means yogi attire at the festival will surely run the gamut from Bear Grylls-in-the-outback to hippie haute couture. Anything goes, yogis! Start packing and get your asana to Snowmass!
Safe travels & light luggage,
Om Gal
*Disclosure: Rebecca is on the advisory board of YogaEarth and a partner of the Yoga Rocks the Mountain festival.
"The universe is exceedingly generous. When a farmer sows one seed, a plant comes forth that produces thousands of seeds. If you desire abundance, be like the farmer and first give up something. Whatever you receive, keep a portion for yourself and share a portion with others. By establishing yourself in the flow of generosity, whatever you give will come back manyfold."
My apologies for the sparse posts of late. I am currently away at a yoga and meditation center called Kripalu, creating my own little retreat with plenty of yoga, vegetables, and quiet moments for writing (some of my favorite things). Right now, I'm in the center's Solarium awaiting sunrise; the only sounds are the tapping of my laptop keys and whistling Berkshire wind outside. Just now the sky started turning from black to navy blue to azure.
I promise I'll return to the blogosphere in full force soon, with plenty of new inspiration to share. Until then, I thought I'd pass along a snapshot from the halls of Kripalu (above). Really, what more is there to say than that?
Many blessings to you as you bid farewell to another year and set your own authentic intentions for 2010.
Admittedly, I'm not super tech-savvy. I like technology. I blog. I tweet. I joined Facebook (after much kicking and screaming). I do LOVE texting; it's my preferred form of communication. Nevertheless, I always find myself playing catch up with various advances in technology. For example, I just bought an iPod shuffle, only to discover two weeks later that Apple released a brand new version that talks to you. I'm now rocking a vintage shuffle. In Apple years, two weeks might as well be the 80s. It's the equivalent of me running around Newton with a Walkman. (Kids, ask your parents about "Walkmans" some day).
Among my latest techie tasks is the ability to track analytics for this site, so I know when certain posts attract more traffic, which sites refer the most visitors, and how many minutes you all spend browsing through my thoughts on yoga and Pinkberry yogurt and such.
And, do you want to know which post generated the single most traffic last month? Aren't you just a little bit curious? It was the one about my baby brother. (Thank you so much for perpetuating the sibling rivalry, people). Now, I don't have any analytics relating to WHY this might be the case, but I suspect it's a result of our om gal readers, who might be a tad smitten with Reece. I just don't have the technology to back up that claim . . . yet. Instead, I have a video of us being dorks in New York City last weekend. Scratch that. I'm being a dork. The gals will likely find Reece as, uh, interesting as they did last month.
Rebecca Pacheco photographed in Boston by Jonathan Pozniak for Lululemon
Welcome, Om Guys & Gals!
Rebecca Pacheco is a writer and yogi who began practicing yoga at the age of 16 and teaching at the age of 20. For the past decade, she has worked with students of all levels, including beginners and experienced yogis. She has appeared in national ad campaigns for Reebok, Ryka, and New Balance and taught at an internationally-renowned yoga studio. The World According to Om Gal is her creation and your new favorite hOMepage.
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