How to Yoga at Art Basel

How to Yoga at Art Basel

Lululemon Peace of Mind Wrap; Lululemon Free Flow Crop; Lululemon Free To Be Bra Wild

Whilst at Art Basel it only seemed appropriate to do a yoga class. Well, this wasn’t just any yoga class, it was YogArt inside the Wynwood Walls. Chanting, cold-pressed juice, DJ Drez, The Mayapuris, every single influential yoga teacher in Miami, bellinis and sake shots, dancing and sweating, and yes, a few sun salutations. Was it worth waking up at 8am on the Sunday morning after a wicked weekend of yachting and champagne? Just the thought of having missed it makes me feel sad.

That’s the thing with yoga. You only really feel happy to be there when your head hits the mat. The rest of the time it’s a mind game. Shutting out the world, remembering to breathe, trying not to say the word motherfucker when you fall out of bow pose 10 seconds in. Holding triangle. Not collapsing in Chaturanga. Looking at the wildly more flexible person beside you and hating yourself. God forbid someone throws in an unsolicited handstand when everyone else is in pigeon. I never understood that, like, are we supposed to clap?

But for all the reasons I find yoga frustrating, there are about a hundred thousand reasons I absolutely need yoga in my life. The older I get, the more I feel this need for yoga – mentally, physically, spiritually. Yoga saved me a few years ago. Yoga found me when I was only 12 years old at choir camp (Hi, my name is Justine, I was the biggest fucking nerd loser ever). Anyway, the first time I came out of Savasana I’ll never forget the sensation. I felt enlightened. I’ve been practising yoga ever since.

The older I get, the more the outside world doesn’t interest me – the more the spiritual world that yoga opens us up to draws me in. If I could practise yoga every day I think I would be the happiest person in the whole world. The other day I was writing down some 5 year goals (Yup, still a fucking nerd loser) and one of those goals was to practise yoga every single day of my life. Is that realistic?

Another goal: LEARN TO DO A HANDSTAND. Jeez, a headstand, even. Being upside down is out of my comfort zone and you know, I can downward dog and send my head to my toes, open my hips like a boss but in my heart of hearts I know I won’t ever feel like a true yogi until I can pop a squat in the sky while all you other peeps are in standing separate leg pose. It’s like my ultimate pose expression, OK.

Here’s a confession. Learning to do a handstand was one of my goals for 2015. Guess what, I didn’t do it. I got busy. Now it’s December and I’m still upright. So, I’m writing it down here so I can at least be accountable to you guys. I even got some new workout gear at Lululemon to get me jazzed about achieving my goal and I’ve started a Pinterest board dedicated to tips on how to master the handstand. It’s called: Never Gonna Get It. (Maybe it was an omen that song came on while I was touring the new Lululemon store in South Beach – true story).

Negativity aside, I think I can do this. No, I can do this. It’s going to be a long journey and I might break a nail, or worse my neck, in the process but if my second goal is to become a yoga teacher (I dunno, it’s just this calling I’ve been having lately) then I had better master all the poses. And last but not least, to propel my personal yoga journey to a level I never thought possible.

Anyone else here want to learn how to do a handstand and is there anyone here who can teach us?

Yoga outfit yoga blogger sun salutation yoga lululemon fitness blogger cool sports bras yoga sweaters yoga bow pose yoga sun salutation

Check out this cool mix by DJ Drez:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/26370769″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

10 Comments

  1. Seanna
    December 10, 2015 / 12:26 pm

    This is one of the most disturbing posts about yoga I’ve ever read! Maybe you should go back to the basics about mindfulness, concentrating on yourself and what you can do and not comparing yourself negatively or positively to other people in the room.

    I’ve been practicing Bikram for about 7 years and one of the best teachers I’ve had is in her 60s. She definitely hasn’t mastered all the postures (is that even possible???) but her pacing dialogue and corrections are so on point.

    • Justine Iaboni
      December 10, 2015 / 8:33 pm

      LOL I agree – I don’t think I’ll ever master everything, it’s always going to be a work in progress. I just really want to challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone and try to do a handstand.

      As for the comparing with other people etc, I’m only human. Those are the things everyone struggles with in class and you kinda just let those thoughts pass through you but not assign any meaning to them. I just let go of every pose whether good or bad and just be in the moment. It’s always work, though. But rewarding!

      You should’ve seen the instructors in Miami! My goodness. They were like super yogis!

    • Justine Iaboni
      December 10, 2015 / 8:33 pm

      Thank you!! Thanks for stopping by!

  2. December 13, 2015 / 9:31 am

    Yoga teacher and handstand-er right here! Of course, my handstands I totally learned years and years ago in gymnastics. IT was really the only thing that carried over when I started yoga when I was 18/19.

    Not sure if you’ve ever been to restorative, but it’s divine. When I was 18/19 I hated it. Too slow. Not sweaty enough. I wanted Ashtanga and power poses. Now at the ripe ol’ age of 24 I”m like “where are my 30 blocks, bolsters, straps, and eye pillow” :P

    • Justine Iaboni
      December 17, 2015 / 11:06 am

      SO JEALS! lol. I try to do a yin yoga class every week – I love it. I love how slow it is and holding the postures for 5-10 minutes really gets my flexibility going. Well, wait until you hit 30. I take my eye pillow everywhere I go. #truestory.

  3. December 13, 2015 / 10:06 pm

    Yoga teacher here and I haven’t mastered the handstand yet and honestly it’s out of fear (I’m only human after all as you say). I to am like you and would love to do yoga everyday. I was almost at that point when I was living in town but for the last year certain circumstances have brought me to live in the burbs and there aren’t any decent yoga studios here so I just practice at home. Yoga truly feeds my soul and I don’t know what I would do without it.

    • Justine Iaboni
      December 17, 2015 / 11:04 am

      It’s definitely a journey. Just like blogging, the more you accomplish the more you feel you still have to go. I think yoga is always fluid – somedays it gives you a challenge, other days it rewards. I am slowly just forcing myself to go upside down as much as possible. It’s scary but I think with anything in life, the more you do it, the less it scares you! On that note, I’m going to do a few sun salutations right now! xoxoxo J

  4. December 24, 2015 / 10:52 pm

    I can teach you!! (We actually know each other) I spend my days teaching adults (mostly women) how to do handstands, pull-ups or lift really heavy weights. And yes I am qualified to teach ;)
    I wish I had known or read your post earlier. I follow you on IG and love your brand.

    • Justine Iaboni
      December 28, 2015 / 1:19 pm

      Hey Paluna!!! This is amazing news :) I am ready when you are. I really wanna make it a goal for 2016! I’ll send you an email :) xoxo J

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