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It’s a special crowd that’s attracted to a yoga retreat that combines daily yoga practice, surfing, slacklining, AcroYoga, Thai Massage, climbing, Kirtan, Tai chi and dance parties. Looking back on that shopping list of activities I have no idea how we did it all and could still stand up (and dance) on the last day/night. Resembling an adult yoga summer camp, Redefining Balance lived up to it’s name once again exposing students to a variety of modalities of balance allowing them to take their yoga practice off the mat and all over a tropical paradise.

Held in Rincon, Puerto Rico this retreat was like a magnet for truly adventuresome, creative and lighthearted individuals who knew how to have a great time while pushing their own personal limits of balance. The sleepy surf town of Rincon graciously welcomed over 25 students who were willing to take their yoga practice onto surf boards, slacklines, each other’s feet, rock climbs and even onto the dance floor as we had our resident DJ Sinton Vignos spinning several house parties as well as a private late night dance party up at our friend’s local shop the uncharted studio.

Joined for the second year in a row by my dear friend, talented photographer and fellow AcroYoga co-teacher, Kadri Kurgun we assessed the strengths of the group and decided to start them out on the first day with more advanced AcroYoga poses which we then took into full on higher level acrobatics in the shallow waters of Jobos beach – ideal for splash friendly bail outs and fancy dismounts.

Slackline workshops tuned students in to their stealth ninja balancing skills through practicing yoga poses on 1” thick webbing set up in a range of lengths and heights between trees. With a foundation of slacklining, Acro and yoga, students were in good balancing shape to make the transition to surfing and climbing as we took the practice to new surfaces. Groups of 6-9 students would paddle out with our amazing surf instructors to learn the ways of the waves and what it’s like to apply the balance, flexibility and strength of a yoga practice to a moving surface gliding across the water. Similarly the transition to rock climbing brought the practice to a vertical dimension and helped many students conquer an initial fear of heights that was rewarded with an amazing view of the beach at sunset when they got to the top. We were super fortunate to have Danny anchored in at the top taking amazing pics of everyone climbing up and then posing with the setting sun as a back drop.

And as many of us were blessed with bruises, scrapes and entire body soreness from our days in the water, on the rock, flying, slacking and everything else we were balancing on, we were grateful for the down tempo vibe of the Thai Massage classes, Tai Chi and kirtan to help restore us and highlight the calmer side of finding balance. When the Bomba sunset session party gathered mid-week we were all excited to learn a bit more from the local instructors Leslie & Randy about the traditional dance and drumming form of Puerto Rico. Gathered at the lighthouse amongst a web of slacklines, people flying, musical instruments and food we all played up until sunset and then gathered to learn a bit of the dance steps and rhythms associated with Bomba. Once all of us started to let go of inhibitions and just move to the beats the result was a crazy fun dance & drumming party that kept us out for hours well into the dark.

It didn’t take long for friendships to form and I’m excited to see when and where we will all cross paths again. As this was only the second year doing this retreat we all feel the bar was set pretty high by the crew who came out this year. I look forward to offering the retreat again in 2013 as well as expanding it to new locations… stay tuned.

Special thanks to my dear friends Kadri Kurgun, Sinton Vignos and Ryan Martin for their beautiful images and helping hold it down in the water, on the land and in the air. For more information and to check out pictures from the retreat visit ‘Redefining Balance’ on Facebook.

Happy slacking/acroing/surfing/climbing and balancing in your own favorite ways…

~Adi Carter, Yogaslacker

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Functional Apparel for the Unconventional Spirit

Check out the prAna Ambassadors

Join Us On Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo & YouTube

Functional Apparel for the Unconventional Spirit

Check out the prAna Ambassadors

Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

Join Us On Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo & YouTube

Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

Join Us On Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo & YouTube

Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

Join Us On Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo & YouTube

Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

Join Us On Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo & YouTube

Some thought it could never be done. Others questioned what we would teach and why? But despite the non-believers, YogaSlackers went forth and delivered the first ever official teacher training, probably one of the most vigorous and diversified out there, with great success. This marked the first time that all of the original YogaSlackers from across the country were in attendance to share their stories, skills and craziness in the same place and same time and witness the transformation of the next generation of slackers into jedi ninja warriors of balance, acro and adventure skills. And get ready… as the next generation of YS teachers are fierce, super fierce!

The 10 day training offered students a vigorous schedule of yoga, slacklining, daily conditioning (Harder, Faster, Stronger anyone?), advanced acrobatics drills and partner work. With our friend Stacey holding it down in the kitchen and offering super nutritious meals and snacks we were all able to go strong through the 15 hr days of training, conditioning and practice teaching, oh yeah, and doing a 7 hour adventure race including mountain biking, trekking and rappelling through a really fun course taking us to Mexico and back. The adventure race experience was offered about half way through (when most trainings probably would have offered a rest day) and everyone rocked it- perhaps in part due to the 40 minutes of hardcore YogaSlackers unique conditioning circuits every day indoors and on the slacklines.

One of the greatest parts of the location at Liberty Advance (a super awesome and creative retreat center located in the desert just an hour outside of San Diego) was the freedom to build and develop the ultimate slackline experience.

We set up over 15 locations for daily practice slacklining and practice teaching as well as a rodeo line – a super slack slackline that dips down in the middle creating a ton of swing back and forth, a 60 ft long line, 170 ft super long line and probably everyone’s favorite- the water line set up across the Liberty Advance pool (see video below).

Through daily practice on these various lines the YogaSlackers teachers developed some of the most well rounded slackline skills and abilities of anyone we know. With advanced acrobatic conditioning drills, calibrations and flows in the afternoon the teachers worked with each other to push their abilities in basing, flying and communication as they developed muscles unique to balance and co-ordination so as to also parallel the work done on the line.

There was also an arts & crafts portion of the training composed of making outfits out of a slackline keeping in mind the YogaSlackers motto “it’s not a thong” as a key element to the design process.

Thankfully the hot tub (with optional late night sing alongs) eased tired muscles, as did the spontaneous dance parties, late night movie sessions with “slacker stack” cuddling as everyone piled on the floor and couches under whatever yoga props we could find. Some of us displayed true slacker form and continued to sleep on the floor all through the night until the next morning and it’s good to know that the essential slacker skill of floor crashing resonates well with the group.

As I look back on the training it is definitely with a bit of sadness that it is all over. Watching these students transform into super strong ambassadors of slack I realize how privileged YogaSlackers is to have these 23 rock stars going back into the “real” world to share the practice along side us. We started teaching yoga on the slackline simply because we found it super fun (and super addictive)…I don’t think any of us imagined it would come to this and this teacher training surpassed our wildest dreams. The experience of meeting and working with everyone is worth more than words and the memories will stay strong for generations to come. We wish them all well and look forward to spreading the slackage to new heights in the upcoming months and years.

May you go forth and prosper in the name of slack!

-Adi & and the YS crew: Jason, Sam, Chelsey, Dan, Paige, Paul

And BIG THANKS to our amazing sponsors for supplying product (especially caffeinated and high energy product!) to keep the students and teachers going through the 10 days…big ups to:

Raw Revolution, Steaz, Sambazon, Power to Go, U Hydration & nuun, Java Juice, coco hydro, tarma, hydroflask, Ellsworth bikes (for bringing out super sick mountain bikes for students to demo on the adventure race course) and prAna- a company that believed in YogaSlackers from the very start and supported the journey even when it was just a dream…thanks for helping us to make it an ever changing awesome reality!

YogaSlackers – slacking for a better world

Photo credits: Sam Salwei / YogaSlackers, Ryan Martin, Ariel Mihic, Laura Miles, Ron Avitzur

Update:

Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

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prAna,

I wish that I could write a thank you great enough for the clothes you manufacture. I started out roughly 13 years ago in climbing. A few years later (I dont recall how) I found me a pair of stretch zions. Since then I have been stuck on prAna and even influenced by the different sports that prAna markets their clothing to. I became a slack liner and have even dabbled in the art of Yoga.

While working at City Rock in Colorado Springs I had the great opportunity to let interested clients know that if they were going to get into climbing prAna sells the best clothing. I stayed in the hospital in a pair of sutras through my father’s ordeal with cancer. Hospitals can be an uncomfortable place but I never felt that way while wearing those pants. Now I work as a counselor for 4-5 year old children who are social and cognitively behind. Running around the playground is impossible in blue jeans but the stretch of the lycra in the pants really helps for bending and moving. All of these different parts to my story say this. I didnt have to worry about the clothes I was wearing. This gives me time to focus on my tasks, dreams, and desires. To me that says so much and for this reason I wanted to take the time to say thank you. I know my life would be of a lesser state/quality without the clothing that you passionately craft.

Keep Smiling,

~Jonathan Seubold

Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

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Last week at the Natural Products Expo West, Dean and ‘Whisper Dog’ were on site at the Flora trade show booth meeting customers and talking about the benefits of Udo’s oil.  Dean’s been using the oil as a dietary supplement and has seen huge benefits in his strength, recovery time and injury prevention.

“Udo’s Oil is an organic blend of plant-sourced oils designed to supply the ideal ratio of Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids. It contains all the good fats you need”

~Dean Potter

Dean built an adjustable steel frame to set up a portable slack line, where he introduced slack lining to many show attendees and played around a bit too. Check out the video of Dean’s shortest slack line set up to date…

UPDATE: Check out this video of Dean and Scott Jurek teaching Amy Purdy how to slackline! As far as we know Amy is the first double amputee ever to get up on a line!

… and here’s another one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-9JLEB4qA8

Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.

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