Wanderlust Diary: Day 1 - Lauren Schwaiger

Wanderlust Austin : Day 1

AcroYoga : The High Life

I was so excited to get my first day of the festival started and can’t think of a better way to have kicked it all off with some AcroYoga. This was my first experience with AcroYoga and I totally loved it! Really awesome workshopped class with Chelsey Korus and Matt Giordano out of NYC and local, Austin acroyogis Mateo & Dani. Chelsey & Matt opened the class with some standard yoga and core work to get us warmed up and from here we broke out into groups of 4 to learn the fun stuff!!

C: Connection
P: Patience
R: Receptivity

… These all come together to build Trust. Theses are the tools they gave us to use and apply towards our AcroYoga practice. I loved this. This is something that can be used not only in your yoga practice but a wonderful, positive reminder in our daily lives. Aim to connect with more people, (a simple smile, make eye contact, pay someone a compliment, give someone a hug) Have patience (with yourself & others) and try to be just a little more open & receptive. I’m sure these are things that each and every one of us can work on.

Chelsey & Matt showing the group how its done! They made all of this look so simple!

Just another cool shot showing us how to get into the pose.

Going in for it! This move requires you to flex the hell out of your foot and hook it around your partners neck as they go into a “neck lock”.

So much fun!

A million thank you’s to Mateo Daniel for doing this lift with me! Such a crazy, awesome feeling to be lifted up like this! They were trying to get me to bring my arms back but it was all I could do in the moment to even release my death grip from Mateo’s wrists!

Here is Chelsey doing the same lift, only much more beautifully & gracefully.

Core Power Yoga : Open Your Heart

Taught by Brendan Bell from Core Power Yoga, a local yoga studio in Austin. He opened the class by having everyone turn around and give the person next to you a compliment following up with not only how nice it is to compliment someone but also how hard it is for many to truly receive a compliment.

He taught a tough vinyasa flow with a ton of core (think: planks, boat, bicycle) worked into the practice. Hints the name, Core Power Yoga. I had 30 minutes til my next and final class for the day.

With Brendan & another instructor from the Core Power Studio.

Power Hour

I had the chance to take class again with Chelsey Korus. Chelsey began class with a little lecture and shared this quote…”Misalignment is not a possibility, It is a certainty”. Going on to speak about how we may be misaligned physically (an injury, a muscular imbalance, etc…) and also how cyclical life is and that at some point we are going to find ourselves misaligned on our path and in our journey through life. It is up to not only ourselves, but our family/friends/loved ones/community to help us find our way back.

Chelsey led us through an awesome & challenging flow all while the amazing & talented DJ Sukha was spinning music live. I can’t even explain to you what an incredible experience this was. DJ Sukha actually created a custom playlist/set especially for Chelsey. There were some really, really beautiful moments created thru yoga & music that I am so deeply grateful for.

What I Wore:

I didn’t know what to expect on Day 1, so I laid out two fun Lulu combos! Coral Wunder Unders with a yellow/white stripe tank and Royal Blue bottoms with Hot Pink top!

I went with the Coral & Stripes and winded up never getting too sweaty and didn’t have to change out of this.

Love this together!

After 4 hours of yoga, I was in need of a shower & some food! Took a quick shower and headed down to the hotel’s Cafe. I wanted to get in a little blog post/check in before leaving the hotel so I ordered this little salad to hold me over until I headed out to explore Austin and find some yummy eats. Mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, strawberries & a big ball of fried goat cheese on top! #ilovegoatcheese So good!

Ran up to my room, dropped my iPad and headed back out. I wandered around a bit before I landed at a really great spot, Searsucker. Cool vibe & decore and an even better menu!

Mahi “Drunken”
Excellent Mahi Mahi dish w/ drunken Cherries, smoked almonds & rosemary. Side of Brussels Sprouts + Walnuts. The menu said they were fried but they honestly looked & tasted roasted. Enjoyed this tasty martini w Cucumber Vodka, St. Germaine & lime.