Anahatasana in San Francisco

With nearly as much driving time as hours to spend in the city, we made it San Francisco! Fortunately, we were able to squeeze in a yoga class, too. Bend Yoga, the studio I used to call home when I lived in the City by the Bay, offers a candlight restorative class with massage on Sunday evenings. We thoroughly enjoyed the class, and only wished that it had been 4 or 5 hours longer!

With a grand total of 26 hours in the car roundtrip and a bit of dis-ease to top it off, we also learned quite a lot about car yoga. Perhaps the most fundamental element in the car is the seat. The fine details of a properly aligned seat are as important to a comfortable road trip as strong and balanced feet are to tadasana. This fine-tuned seat requires careful attention that the weight of the body rests directly on the sit bones, distributed evenly from right to left and front to back. Sit tall, finding as much extension through the spine as possible. This stable foundation facilitates extended periods of wakeful meditation and pranayama like ujjayi, kapalabhati, agni sara, and nadi shodhana. It also provides a solid base for marma point exercises that keep the body flexible and energy flowing. Simple exercises involve circling the neck around the spine, and taking gentle circles through the shoulders, wrists, and ankles.

Furthermore, it's important to remember to take rest breaks at regular intervals, and use that opportunity to stretch out those cramped muscles. Use the structures around for support and props, like Scott did for padangusthasana, at left. The bottom line is, whatever the travel situation we find ourselves in, creativity is the driving force behind integrating yoga class, practice, and life.

Next stop for the ICYoga train is Knoxville, TN. The pace of our travels will slow down to a more manageable beast for the next 10 days, so we hope to cultivate even more Yoga on the Go while there. If you have ideas for hot yoga spots in Tennessee, send them to us. We'd love to keep spreading the love!

NAMASTE!