Over the weekend I taught my very first travel yoga workshop. It’s been a goal of mine for many years but to be completely honest, I doubted myself and my ability to do it SO much that I was never proactive about booking any. And being the marketing director for a studio, I know how much goes into hosting out of town teachers and recruiting students for the workshops. Even though I’ve asked you guys several times where you’d like for me to come teach, I made up a million excuses for not following through and making it happen.
Funny how we tend to be our own worst enemies in this way, you know? It’s like, “I WANT THIS THING…but oh shit I’m scared to put it out there.” The fear of failure is real even when you have tons of tools for dealing with these kinds of thoughts in a more positive way.
All that to say, when the owner of Studio B Power Yoga reached out to me earlier this year about teaching a spring workshop, I couldn’t say no. It felt like a sign that it was finally time to face my fears and make it happen.
I’m so glad I did. It was the most incredible weekend and I left Harrisburg with a full heart, many new meaningful connections and the belief that I can not only do this thing but do it in a way that helps people.
Here’s a complete recap of my very first travel yoga weekend workshop. Brace yourselves, it’s a long one!
Friday
I was on the fence about whether to fly or drive. The flights were really expensive and I’d have to rent a car. The drive was 7 hours. I ended up driving and it was a good decision. The drive was absolutely gorgeous. The majority of the trip was through Virginia on I-81 and the mountain and farm scenery was breathtaking. It left me wanting to plan a trip to the Virginia mountains this summer or early fall.
I took off around 7:30 a.m. and packed all the food I’d need for the trip there. I snacked on pita chips, ate this leftover kale salad with hummus and an apple.
My Friday night session didn’t begin until 6 but I wanted to give myself plenty of time for the drive in case traffic was bad. Luckily, the trip was easy and I arrived at my hotel around 3:15 p.m. I checked in and booked it down to the gym to move my body after 7+ hours of sitting. I had one of those awesome runs where everything felt easy and good (probably because I was coming off of 8 days without running!). I did five super sweaty miles of tempo works, hills and sprints. It also helped me run off some of the nerves. 😉
I was warmly welcomed at the studio. On Friday night I did a 30-minute lecture and a 90-minute flow. We were all kind of getting used to each other on Friday night. They were getting to know me and I was trying to learn their yoga language. It’s always interesting to learn how different studios cue poses and what they call postures. Class was awesome and super sweaty. The best compliment I got was one yogi who shared, “that felt like an amazing hot yoga class and therapy all at the same time.” 🙂
I was feeling the drive + the run + 2 hours of teaching and left the studio wiped out. I stopped by a restaurant near my hotel to grab dinner to go. I had a glass of wine while I waited.
Back in my hotel room I devoured this cedar plank salmon with potatoes and veggies, showered and headed straight to bed.
Saturday
Despite how tired I was, I didn’t sleep great on Friday night. Regardless, I woke up on Saturday morning feeling energetic and ready for the day. I got a quick strength workout in at the hotel gym and then ate breakfast while I reviewed the material I was going to teach that day.
Oatmeal from the hotel breakfast with sliced banana, raisins, chia seeds and peanut butter. I packed the chia seeds and pb.
Our Saturday morning session went from 9-11 a.m. and was focused on heart opening and back bending. We did all sorts of partner prep before getting into the backbends.
We wrapped up the session working on drop backs.
Almost everyone in the group joined us for lunch at Mellow Minded Cafe. I had a salad with mixed greens, berries, goat feta, dried cranberries, crushed walnuts and poppyseed vinaigrette.
I couldn’t choose between the carrot cake cupcake or the molasses cookie for dessert so I got both. It was a good call. I ate the cupcake later that night and it was to die for.
From 2-4 p.m. I taught inversions and arm balances. I didn’t get any pictures of it because I was so focused on teaching but it’s always one of my most favorite workshops to teach. I wrapped up the day teaching yoga for runners from 4:30-6 p.m. It was mostly focused on ball rolling and restorative deep stretch. We ended with legs up the wall.
I headed back to the hotel to shower and then met my dad’s cousin and her daughter (who are my cousins too but I always feel like I should call my dad’s cousin my aunt…she certainly feels like one!) for dinner. They were SO sweet to come and support me. It felt so good to have family there. We met at Gabriella’s for Italian. I had the most delicious veal dish with eggplant, roasted red peppers, cheese and tomato sauce. Thank you Fran and Christine for dinner! 🙂
Sunday
There was no getting up early to workout on Sunday. I was so tired! I enjoyed sleeping in a bit and then lounging before I had to teach.
I had a mix of granola, sliced banana, chia seeds and peanut butter for breakfast.
I taught a 90 minute master class on Sunday morning that tied together everything we had learned throughout the course of the weekend. Here’s a time lapse that the studio shared of the class.
There were big sweaty hugs all around after the class.
With the Studio B teachers and students.
My cousins! <3
The biggest thanks to this girl for hosting me. If you live in the Central Pennsylvania area, please go check out Studio B Power Yoga. I am so proud of Brittany for her tenacity in going for her goals and opening not only one studio but for expanding and opening a second. She has one location in Annville and one in Harrisburg. Tell your friends!
After a quick shower and pack up back at the hotel, I drove into downtown Harrisburg to meet Brittany for brunch and a debriefing at the Millworks. We started with virgin bloody marys. They were spicy, just the way I like them!
For brunch I had the ancient grains salad with a poached egg. I also ordered a biscuit on the side after seeing quite a few of them pass by our table. So fluffy and tasty. We had a great time chatting and I’m hoping to host Brittany in Charlotte this summer to check out our studio!
Seven hours later I was home with these fur babies. I listened to Sophia Kinsella’s new book, My Not So Perfect Life, on the way up and back and it was the perfect easy listen for the road trip and it actually had a great message about the comparison trap.
That wraps up the weekend. Time to plan the next one! 🙂
Have you ever taken a yoga workshop weekend?
Bloody mary or mimosa?
Fellow yogis…talk to me about inversions and backbends. How do you feel about them? Any current goals?
