UPDATE 7/17/11: This is really happening! The route so far brings us to the Pacific West Coast to start – Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, CA Coast, Carson City, Vegas, Grand Canyon, who knows in between. Where should we stop? Where can we yoga, crash, refuel? We still need your help!
It’s the summer of love! And yoga! Here we go…
Call us crazy, but we’ve got the Yoga Fest bug! After hitting up Hanuman in Boulder and Wanderlust in VT we’re ready to hit the road and cruise across country stopping off to take yoga in your town, doling out #yogadork paraphernalia and hugs along the way en route to our West Coast destination of Wanderlust Tahoe. It’s The Great American YogaDork Road Trip! Why take the easy route when we can take our time visiting all the greatest yoga America has to offer? JOIN US!
THE BIG IDEA:
YogaDork is hitting the road (hopefully! for real!) setting off cross country to practice, observe, experience yoga in your town, city, studio – tweeting, taking pics, shooting videos and posting about it along the way.
BUT, in order to make this trippin’ dream come true, we need your help! Since this is still in the seedling stage we’re putting out the call for sponsors, tips and suggestions on how to make this happen. Time is short! We’ll set sail the last week of July-ish and our last stop will be Lake Tahoe for Wanderlust (July 28-31) which we means we’ve got just a few weeks to wrangle all the details.
Who wants in?
Wishlist of what we need in order of importance:
- Vehicle – hybrid if we can. trying to stay as eco as possible on this journey of life. Toyota Prius, Nissan Leaf, other hybrid car companies, we’re all ears.
- Lodging – a place to crash or tips on where to stay along the route (tbd)
- Suggestions! Where should the YD roadtripper stop? please suggest yoga studios, sites, cafes, vegan hot spots (cupcakes and chai to refuel!) Feel free to post on our facebook page or tweet at us!
What we’ll do along the way:
Photos, videos, tweets, posts about the entire experience. We will have a professional photographer/co-pilot extraordinaire on board the yogadork enterprise so expect some awesome shots to capture the journey. We’re fully prepared for Yoga Americana documentary style.
SUPPORT OFF THE MAT!
FROM Photog J.T. Liss:
In the spirit of photography for social change, 25% of any photo from the trip will be donated to Off the Mat, Into the World, a non-profit using yoga to inspire conscious, sustainable activism, and ignite grassroots social change. OTM is truly special because they not only raise money for relief efforts in needed areas, but also take action by initiating local and global service projects.
Again I thank you for all of your support! Every little bit will help in making this voyage of photography, yoga, and service, a reality.
J.T. (jtlissphotography on facebook, tumblr)
Have a studio we should hit up in your neck of the woods? Tell us!
Care to chip in for gas, snacks, or late-nite motel crashes? Every little bit counts!
Stay tuned!
——
Earlier…
You should stop in Campbell/San Jose CA and check out some Unata Aerial yoga!
I agree with Lorianna, check out Aerial Yoga – it rocks! If you need a crash pad, email me. We have a room (if you don’t mind an air mattress), and we also have an aerial yoga sling in our house just for fun! We are 15 minutes from 2 studios that offer Aerial.
We might be able to swing that! 🙂
Lorien, whereabouts do you live? We might need a crash sling!
I suggest checking out Ray of Light in Elkhart, Indiana. It’s a holistic health center, but they offer several yoga classes…would that count for a visit? The instructors are great – and I love how they decorated the studio – I want to share the yoga love 🙂
Come to Seattle and you can stay at the Thompson farm! Fresh eggs every morning. 😉
we’re coming to Seattle!! We’ll be there Sat or Sunday
You should stop in leafy central Illinois to check out Urbana! Amara Yoga and Arts is a fabulous, bright, welcoming studio with a vibrant yogi community. Right next door is our Urbana food co-op, with delicious veggie lunch options, and our Saturday morning farmer’s market (same area as the studio) can’t be beat. Also around the corner is a great wine bar! I see the makings of a gorgeous summer Saturday!
I second Lyndi’s vote! Come to Seattle you’re welcome to stay in my spare room. We can definitely yoga hop around the city! I highly recommend Spira Power Yoga, Shakti Vinyasa Yoga, 8 Limbs. Oh! We also have Stand Up Paddleboarding Yoga classes on the lake that look awesome. There’s a delicious raw and vegan restaurant called Chaco Canyon! as well as a vegan pizza place called Pizza Pi!
Third vote for Seattle! Come slackline at the beach and yoga it up with Kinetic Vigilantes before we head down to Wanderlust also!
If you are leaving early enough, come up and see me in Telluride CO for the Telluride Yoga Festival July 14-17th. It’s a long haul for me, coming from SC, but should be an amazing yoga gathering! Sorry I missed you at Wanderlust VT, would have loved to meet you, love your blog!
Not sure if you’re heading to Southern California, but I have family in San Diego and LA (I’m currently living in NYC but my family loves to host people – and do yoga!) that would happily take you in for a night or two and show you some great yoga and vegan treats!! Good luck and can’t wait to re
oops! somehow that got cut off…but can’t wait to read about the journey and hope you can make it to SoCal!!
So, Admin, you’re Vegan ? Props to you !!
You at least get it, that a Yogi has to be vegetarian ( that pesky Ahimsa clause, you know ).
I’m a life-long vegetarian, on my way to Vegan. I’m almost done with dairy ( black coffee does too taste good !). Now, looking for non-leather athletic-shoes.
During my regular health check-up, my doctor said that my LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) was so low, it was off the charts. He quizzed me about that, and when he learned that I was a lifelong vegetarian, he slapped the side of his head and went, “Of course !”
I’m a “veganist” in Kathy Freston’s language…basically I do it the best I can without being psycho! I really don’t think it’s that hard most of the time and I love the mindfulness (like in yoga!) that it cultivates.
There are just so many reasons to be vegan — health being a huge one. I actually started when my mom did about 9 months ago…she did it because of early heart disease and it has hugely improved her bad cholesterol levels (as you know!) and reduced the partial blockage. And she’s learned to make so many amazing vegan dishes that I’ve just come to love eating this way!! I’d definitely support anyone trying to go vegan. Plus, yoga couldn’t be a better spiritual counterpart to this way of sustainable consumption.
Anyhow, good luck to you, Chris, and reach out if you’re ever in San Diego and my mom will feed you 🙂
Thanks, Kara ! Sounds good to me !
If you swing through the Denver/Boulder CO area… you have to stop at Samadhi Center for Yoga in Denver… and OM Time! I don’t live there anymore, but Samadhi is my favorite yoga studio in the world.
Stop by Milwaukee and you can stay in my guest rooms. There’s beautiful parks along Lake Michigan for outdoor yoga, plenty of yoga studios and veggie eats.
if you come to New Jersey be sure to stop in at Synergy Hot Yoga in Fir Haven! It’s amazing! Not too far away from that is Good Karma Cafe which is all vegan and simply wonderful!
We’d love to see you at Down Dog Yoga. Three locations in the VA/DC/MD area!
In Indianapolis hit up Flourish for hot yoga with Amy and Cityoga.
Said it on facebook and I’ll say it again here: Iowa City Iowa, is right on your way! We’ve got so many yoga studios, you couldn’t possibly visit them all, and a great vegan cafe with cupcakes AND vegan chai. Our downtown is super cool and literary and liberal and everybody is all about yoga in these parts. Nearby Cedar Rapids is just minutes away and has a fantastic Anusara studio, and John Friend himself is visiting there in September. If JF can visit us, then certainly YD can visit us, right? Am I right?
Come check out Columbus, OH! We can do a yoga tour of the city and give the midwest yoga scene some love!
Hey, come to PORTLAND, OREGON! Lots of yoga and probably the most vegan-friendly city in the country.
You’re coming from NY, right? Hit up the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA for some class asana, pranayama, and meditation. The grounds are beautiful and the vegetarian meals they serve are fabulous.
If you come through Chicago I have many MANY recommendations: aerial yoga (at Tai Chi Center Chicago), acro yoga (at Nature Yoga), a good sweat fest at Niyama in Wilmette, IL, and of course, Moksha Yoga in LoSquare & Riverwest. Come visit!
Are you coming through Texas? Austin is a mecca for yoga. There’s also a yogic jewel in the little city of Waco – Infinity Pilates and Yoga.
I’ll await the world tour 🙂 shout when you get to England!
If you end up driving through Ohio (which is pretty much what people do, as opposed to driving TO Ohio), please feel free to contact me and I’ll do my best to link you up with yoga folks where ever you need. Columbus, in particular, has a thriving yoga scene. Have a great time, and remember, the joy is in the journey!
Claudia
Come to the small town of Centreville,MD and visit Every Body Yoga. Our town was settled in 1690 and has approximately 2,000 people. But we have a wonderful yoga studio and have created a thriving yoga community. We are on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, a haven from the hustle and bustle of the Mid Atlantic, yet just an hour from DC/Baltimore/Wilmington. Come enjoy some of the Chesapeake Bay’s finest Blue Crabs. There is always a place to stay in this hospitable, historic town.
Come to the southland! Lots of FANTASTIC yoga happening in Savannah, Chattanooga, all over Florida, and good ol’ New Orleans 🙂 You know yogis, they’ll hook ya up with lodging wherever you go! A good point of contact to get in touch with the southeastern yoga hub is the website Namaste Ya’ll (namasteyall.org) – Kendall and Brantley (dynamic hubby and wife duo) are a fantastic resource!
Thank you all so much for your suggestions and tips and generosity!
Due to time and money we’re road tripping all over the west coast (rather than across from east to west). East coast, midwest and the south, we’ll see you next time! Promise.
Expect YD to pop up in Portland, Seattle, San Fran, Reno, Vegas, Grand Canyon, up the CA coast and all the best stops in between. And Wanderlust Tahoe of course.
We could still use some help in plotting the trip, where to yoga and savasana (places to sleep!) and how to keep ourselves charged up on the road (best places for pausing and noshing).
We’re so excited to share this journey with you. Keep the suggestions coming!
DORK!
Where are you staying for Wanderlust? We have GOT to meet.
i’ll definitely see you at wanderlust tahoe in less than two weeks! and if you stop by LA, give me a holler and i’ll hook you up with all kinds of yoga and vegetarian/vegan food — ok, so maybe i won’t be buying because i’m low on funds, but i can at least point you in the right direction 🙂
I was going to mention that you should go to my teacher’s studio in Chicago, which was one of the first studios to open in Chicago in the mid-80s — the real deal: he doesn’t sell yoga sh*t. it’s just yoga.
but since no Midwest, oh well….;)
check out Janice Gates’ Yoga Garden in Fairfax, CA and Patricia Sullivan in Marin….
Thanks Linda, will do! We should be swinging through that area somewhere halfway into the trip.
Midwest soon…I’m itchin.
In Portland do yoga at The Bhaktishop and Amrita; eat at the Blossoming Lotus!
Hi! Of course you have a place to stay in Cleveland:). And then you van brag about stating in the same yogi suite as the famous yogis you’ll see at Wanderlust, ha. Would love to meet you in person:)
What a fab idea. Love! Can’t wait to see all the posts. More importantly though, when is YD doing a road trip “down under” to Australia? Lots of Yoga Dorks here.
You have a place to stay in Milwaukee. (Beautiful city. Lot’s of Yoga. Kind of on the way.)
Bob and Jane
we’d love to have you stop by our studio in southeast pdx & take some classes (on us)!
Come to Scotland – make it an international fly-drive experience – next year you could invite others to join you for part or all of the trip – it sounds great fun!