Team YS- Looking forward to Patagonia Race and back on the Abu Dhabi Race

Chelsey here-
With the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 3 weeks  behind us and the Wenger Patagonia Expedition a month ahead of us, we don't know if the hardest is ahead of us.... or behind. We are extremely blessed to have the opportunity to travel and explore both places, and in all actuality- the two races couldn't be more different from each other. However, in every race we do, we always learn a lesson (or five or six) that can be easily translated to future races (and very often life in general!). In Abu Dhabi, we learned how much the mind comes into play. As a slackline and acroyoga teacher, I am constantly trying to wipe fear out my students psyche. I find myself telling them that the reason they are falling off the slack line or can't “get that pose” is because of the way they approach it- with fear and doubt in themselves, or an ego that needs the validation (I know this all to well from my personal experiences). Once fear and lack of confidence gets into my psyche, it is hard to push past it. In many ways this is what happened to our team during this race. We lost confidence in ourselves.

Luckily we didn't experience this feeling all at once, but I saw it happen to myself and some of the guys at different times throughout the race.

As Jason mentioned in an earlier post, depression and doubt hit Daniel and I at the same time. At the end of the first day of racing, we found ourselves in 30^th place. After having such an awesome season back in the states, we came to Abu Dhabi feeling pretty prepared and I was personally extremely ready to unleash some fury! All this deflated that first night. I wasn't hungry despite the long day, I was too full of fear and doubt to gorge myself on all the good food. Daniel didn't have this problem (he will probably eat even when he is dead), but I could sense his disappointment during his very quiet dinner.

The next day we had a mountain run into a long bike up to the top of the famous mountain - Jebel Heifet. Once there, an even longer mountain run/climb section would take us the 3000 ft back down to the valley and then all the way back up to the top. Despite this sort of technical terrain being one of our major strengths, I was not excited. Andy was excited enough for both of us, hooking me on a bungee tow system and setting a blistering pace across the jagged terrain. When we got to the bikes- our beast of a biker Daniel was not feeling it. Usually we can all count on him to be the pace setter/motivator and even help tow the slowest of us up the hill. “It's all in your head Daniel, you got this, ” I said. “Yeah, well, in my head you are a bad ass too.” Ouch.

We got up the hill, at what seemed like a snails pace - but by the time we got into the mountains, it seemed like our spirits and legs were back. We struggled in frustration to pass many of slower teams during the tricky sections, and when our chance finally came our team motivated as one. Calling on our years of experience in the mountains we made a bold route choice and bounded and climbed down a steep section, passing 7 full teams in under a two minutes. We ended that day with a much better time and attitude.

Andy's breakdown came in the desert. He was convinced that we were not going to make it to the last mandatory checkpoint in time. He had hit his wall and didn't see the point of going on. It was a difficult scene as Andy, a brilliant physics grad student lost the ability to do simple math and swore over and over again that given our current pace there was no possible way to reach the end before the cutoff. We had a bit of a team blow out in the shade of a tiny bush, and never came to a consensus, but we had no choice but to continue on. We kept on in silence, pushing the pace as hard as we could and made it to the finish line with 2 hours to spare.

It wasn't until hours later, that Andy even realized that he had been so far off in his simple calculations.

We ended up finishing the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge in 14^th place. We were the top American team. Our goal was top ten, but it's just another reason to make an appearance next year. Even though stage racing isn't our teams strong point- we have come to realize that competing in them only makes us stronger, smarter and more humble- which is always a good thing.

In the end, one of the most powerful lessons I learned (again) was how important communication is – especially with people that are the closest to me. Being able to say sorry, being open with one another and most importantly- being able to laugh at myself and the others makes a strong foundation for relationships to grow on. We have seen teams crumble over the simplest arguments, and always thought we were beyond that. Not so. We nearly imploded several times, and it was due to fear, ego, mis-communication, and taking our closest friends/teammates for granted.

Back in the hotel (fed and rested), we took the time to have an honest shakedown – talking openly with constructive feedback for each other and the team. We plan to try to make it a regular discussion, but on the off chance that we forget, no worries. In a month, we'd be in the Patagonian wilderness, and these big races tend to force a lot of honesty...

Chose your own adventure...

On some days it seems like I could flip a coin and decide to keep on traveling, living like a vagabond and partaking in some of the greatest experiences with amazing people around the world...or I could find a nice place to settle, buy some land, set up a yurt with a garden, have a family, dogs, horses etc. and live a happily rooted existence. There is no doubt in my mind that I could be happy in either scenario and as my climbing partner graciously pointed out to me the other day, before getting on a steeply graded 5.12 climb:

"you don't have to do anything... but it is up to you to chose your own adventure"

I chose to climb, having never been on a climb more difficult than a 5.11 in my one and a half years of climbing experience (the grades start at 5.0 and increase in difficulty, typically up to 5.13 with occasional routes in the 5.14, 5.15, 5.16 grade). The climb, or "adventure" was amazingly challenging, especially with the altitude in Colorado taking a nasty hold on my breath. Somehow I managed to get through it, resting in the ledges and off-width areas after pulling moves that I never imagined my body could do. It was a choice and I'm glad I took it, not giving into fear which often tells us we shouldn't or can't.

The best advice I ever got came early on when I was 7 years old and my dad told me:

"your time is the most valuable thing you've got. Use it wisely and enjoy it while you've got it"

"Wisely" is up for debate as many people would question why someone might give up financial income, job security, material possessions and worst of all move out of an apartment in NYC with cheap rent to pursue teaching yoga in all forms around the world. Despite the fears that come with this lifestyle (usually financial or being left stranded without a place to stay) I can say that the choice to live this nomadic lifestyle of service, devotion and adventure has left me extremely fulfilled.

Every morning I wake up excited for what each day brings and who I might encounter as I travel to new as well as familiar places. Teaching yoga, especially slacklining and AcroYoga, has introduced me to the most amazing people with whom I have shared phenomenal experiences and adventures with in all shapes and forms. And at the end of the day I rest my head knowing that ultimately I love what I do and the life I feel so privileged to live- even when there is sacrifice...and there is sometimes a lot of sacrifice, usually in the financial and relationship department. Regardless of income, I feel incredibly blessed and privileged to have the choice to live this way and be happy. It seems that happiness is the biggest choice we must all learn to make and it occurs independent of excessive wealth, although having some money in the bank can definitely help.

In these moments, when I freak out about finances or where I am supposed to stay in an unfamiliar setting, or what to do after my car is totaled in an accident...I first try to identify the fear in the equation. It's the same fear that popped up when I decided to stop working as a graphic designer full time to teach yoga instead, as it seemed more fulfilling. This fear popped up when I gave away all of my stuff and moved out of my apartment of 7 years and into my car which then got totaled in an accident. This fear plagued me when I decided to move to Japan, a country where I knew no one and commited to teach yoga for 3 months. And this is the same fear that holds me back from trying new things like climbing more difficult grades or surfing bigger waves.

This fear tries to rationalize with me, presenting arguments as to why taking a chance, or an adventure, might not make any sense at all. My mind babbles on and on making up excuses to plead its case of resistance and for many people my choice to go beyond these voices still might not make sense. But in the end I chose to go with my heart as I know that I would rather find out, even if I have to learn the hard way, what could be rather than sit back and wonder what I missed out on. Every time I take fear on, I learn something new about myself, and this to me is living. Opportunities are rare, and regret is a poison that sits in our hearts when we allow something to pass us by.

So for the meantime, or at least until I actually chose to flip a coin and commit to it, I will continue on this path and trust in the process. If health, happiness and the company of good people doing great things continue to bless me on this journey then I will persevere with the belief that I have chosen the right adventure for this point in my life.

And if the time comes to throw down roots, then I will always have the experiences and lessons learned stored inside to remind me that all great adventures begin when we chose to take a chance on something different.

-Adi Carter

Team YogaSlackers

Slacking for a better World

Combat Yoga?

So the title "Combat Yoga" leaves much to the imagination...

and given that the YogaSlackers are usually associated with pushing the physical boundaries of human potential, especially balance, I thought I would do our team proud and accept the challenge to teach "Combat Yoga" to the US Marines and NAVY stationed at Yokosuka while I was in Japan...here's the story and hopefully it brings the tune of "Done Stop Believing" into your ears although it would be pretty cool if we could sink songs with blogs...perhaps next time!

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One of my greatest pleasures as a traveling yoga teacher is the opportunity to teach people who may not often get exposure to a yoga practice. While in Japan my amazing student and dear friend Karri arranged for me to come out to the Yokosuka U.S. Naval base to teach an intense, 6am yoga class for the US Marines and Navy stationed there. Allegedly this had been tried before when a teacher taught a class called "warrior yoga" and it was not intense enough so there were rumors that yoga was lame.

Karri suggested that I "show them what it can be like" and she promoted the class as "combat yoga" and told people that it would make them more prepared to fight...I wasn't exactly sure how to teach "combat yoga" but thought that I could always scream "drop and give me 20" if things got out of hand.

Not wanting to shame them or make them feel week or inflexible I presented a vigorous vinyasa flow sequence with lots of core work all prefaced with the disclaimer "in Yoga you don't have to do anything but you will not get anywhere if you are lazy". And although the class started off with a lot of joking about the legitimacy of this "work out" and laughs on their part as we "warmed up" the students were soon sweating and even shaking as they commited to holding poses and breathing deep to get through it. Over the course of the hour long class nobody in the room gave up. I could see the gears in their heads turning as their commitment to the practice kept them going even as we moved faster and deeper, the temperature in the room rising a good 10 degrees. They sweat, moved, breathed and even danced a bit to a playlist made just for the occasion and featuring "Eye of the Tiger", "Sweet Child of Mine", "Don't Stop Believing", "Harder, Faster, Better, Stronger" and finally "Tolerance" by Michael Franti. The mood was great and the morale high- I couldn't have asked for more, especially from students who initially doubted the practice.

At the end they were wiped and collapsed with a thud into shavasana followed by a brief meditation. As they wearily stood up after class there were smiles on their faces like little kids as they commented on how great they felt and started to ask questions about where they could find more "combat yoga". After we said good-byes a very tall and young looking boy came up to me and asked if he could talk to me outside. We walked out of the room and sat down out of hearing range from his colleagues at which point he said:

"There is something to this yoga. I have never felt so relaxed as I did in that pose shavasana. For the past 3 years I have had so much trouble sleeping and I don't like what I see in my head. How does this yoga work and how can I find that relaxation again?"

He followed by telling me about the nightmares that keep him up every night and his fears of war and fighting. I started to cry but choked it back and held space for him knowing that I had no idea what sort of training he had been through or what he would face. My response was this:

"Just remember that every acomplishment you made today and whenever you practice is your own work. You can practice as often as you need to and take it with you wherever you go...but you must practice and set an intention and you will find what you seek"

He listened and thanked me as he ran off to a second round of PT or Physical Training, something they do every morning in the Marines to stay in shape and prepare for combat. I wondered where he would go and what he would have to do, praying that going to war was not in his future and hoping that he had found a practice to help him cope if it was.

Outtakes from Upcoming Yoga DVD - the Discipline series

Just going through some footage during the start of Post Production for the new YogaSlackers DVD - the Discipline Series. Found some fun b-roll footage and put together three clips of some basic instruction on variations for 3 arm balances. It was pretty scary on the rock, as just out of frame in the front was a 15-foot drop into a rocky wash. Ah the things we do for film. It was certainly a focused shoot, but not a relaxing one. There is a good wipeout at the end of clip #3. And different music. None of this is the actual DVD soundtrack....