Intentions of a #RoadYogi

On January 1st of this year, I spent the day in slight recovery from a spontaneous night in Denver with my yoga bestie Reace Daniel. I called all of my closest loved ones, practiced and taught yoga at Samadhi and ended the evening watching the movie documentary, Minimalism. At the end of the film, I was immediately inspired to embrace my own role in consumerism and work towards a more minimalistic livelihood.

At that moment, I knew this year would be special.

In yoga, we study the 8-limbed path where 2 of the limbs are the Yamas (how to serve yourself) and Niyamas (how to serve others); basically tenets of ways to integrate yoga in your life. One of the Yamas, Aparigraha, means non-possessiveness or non-grasping; to let go of worldly possessions. This principle inspired me to sell all of my furniture, to go on the road and really get to know this country in a greater way. One of the Niyamas, Isvara Pranidhana, is all about devotion or the connection to service or offering. Over the last few years, I have felt so blessed to connect with so many like minded yogis in Colorado but I knew there was a larger audience outside of the yoga bubble I needed to meet. I yearned to connect with the yoga community at large and discover how we could all be of service to the rest of the country together.

9 years ago, I moved to Colorado. I was really obsessed with going green, focused on a vegetarian-based diet and ready to immerse myself in the Colorado yoga community. Almost a decade later, not much has changed. I try to consume less, eat a plant-based diet and am 100% committed to my role as a yoga teacher, mentor and student in the yoga community.

Luckily, most of the country has made smarter choices as well. With the advance of smart technologies, we no longer print out emails. Reusable bags, coffee mugs and water bottles are more commonplace and investments in renewables and electric vehicles are saving us from the overuse of fossil fuels. Yet, our world is in a state of turmoil with corruption, nuclear war and climate change. But unless you’re living under a rock, those issues are obvious and apparent.

Once we received the shocking news of last year’s election, I knew I had an opportunity to serve our country in a greater way. My intention has always been to help the yoga industry and yoga community thrive. I wanted to bring my offering to a wider audience and upon realizing this vision, I knew there was only one way to make it happen, to…

DO IT NOW!

So, that is the story of my #RoadYogi adventure began. Mostly inspired by the minimalist movement and a deep desire for increased awareness of our society, I made moves to be on the road. I moved out of my studio apartment in Uptown Denver on June 1st, kept some stuff in storage and purchased a teardrop trailer to be new home away from home. Over the last 2 months, I’ve spent numerous nights sleeping in my teardrop, Stout, many evenings staying with friends across the country and when necessary, a few special nights crashing in hotels and Air BnBs. It has been a whirlwind and I’m finally ready to share my personal journey with you.

Over the next few weeks, I will blog about every city I visited on this adventure and every community I connected with. I will highlight my experiences and lessons learned and will share the best yoga studios, coffee shops and watering holes you can find across this great nation.

Subscribe to my blog below so you won’t miss a thing or follow along on social media. No matter what, please know how much of an impact you can make each and every damn day.

With love and reverence for you and this beautiful and fragile planet we call home,

Denelle