#RoadYogi Recap-Tahoe

#RoadYogi Recap-Tahoe

Ahh, Tahoe. You are so damn beautiful. Ponderosa Pines, White Firs and Quaking Aspen trees surround the most picturesque blue lake that caused me to fall in love and make the move to the bay area. Even though Lake Tahoe is essentially a 3-hour drive from San Francisco, it will definitely be my mountain refuge from the city by the bay. With world-renowned ski areas, cute mountain towns and great people, I know I’ll be frequenting Tahoe quite a bit in my new CA life.

Read on for why I fell in love with Tahoe and what caused me to make the move out west.

BEER: Tahoe Mountain Brewing Co.

While driving to my AirBnB in Tahoe City, I passed Tahoe Mountain Brewing Company. I emailed the owner, Aaron, a few months prior to see if we could organize an event together and although scheduling didn’t work out, he was still open to meeting with me while I was in town.

Upon entry to the Tahoe City tap room, I immediately felt so welcome. Aaron let me sample a few of their beers on tap and I even got to take a few back with me. The following day, I enjoyed a Paddle Board Pale Ale along the shores of Lake Tahoe and in that moment, I knew it was time for a move out west. Thanks for the inspiration and the tasty Pale Ale Tahoe!

YOGA: Wanderlust Yoga

Wanderlust Yoga hosts festivals all around the world but also owns a few yoga studios in Austin, TX, Hollywood, CA and Squaw Valley. I stayed in Tahoe a few days after the Wanderlust Yoga Festival was over and attended a few classes at the local Squaw Valley resort. It was a much needed refuge after a busy and fun-filled weekend working for the festival.

HIGHLIGHT: Wanderlust Festival

While organizing numerous Après Yoga events around the country, I applied for a Section Manager role at the 9th annual Wanderlust Yoga Festival in Squaw Valley. In July 2015, I held the same position at Wanderlust Snowmass-Aspen and had the fortunate privilege to assist my teacher Gina at Wanderlust Squaw that same summer. I had an absolute blast at both festivals that year and was excited for the opportunity to connect with more like-minded yogis in California. Since so much of my #RoadYogi tour was still up in the air at that time, I also knew it would be smart to guarantee some income while on the road. I was hired almost immediately and made plans to host a few events in Reno, Sacramento and San Francisco around that time.

Upon arrival, I learned that I was scheduled to manage events at The Quiet Place, a studio space set in a grassy meadow far away from all the hustle and bustle of the main festival and home to most of the meditation classes throughout the weekend. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason and there was most certainly a reason I was immersed in all that good spiritual energy that weekend. Just off a 13-hour drive from Cheyenne, WY to Reno, NV, a mindful and meditative weekend was exactly what I needed.

Meditation greats like David Ji and Tracee Stanley hosted most of the classes and they were both so gracious and kind to me and my volunteers throughout the entire weekend. Even though I was mostly on the entire weekend, I had the chance to take two vinyasa classes with the founder of Wanderlust Festival, Schuyler Grant and even enjoyed a yin practice one evening. Since my favorite sake brand, TYKU, sponsored this year’s festival, I even had the chance to hang out with my TYKU sake crew and enjoyed some tasty libations Après Yoga!

Wanderlust Festival celebrates 10 years at Squaw next summer so my big harry audacious goal is to actually be a part of the presenter line up next year. Doing my best to manifest that into reality but actually need to apply to make it happen. Putting it out there now so wish me luck!