This is an oversight.
One of many.

This one is big because it promotes a certain kind of willful ignorance that I simply cannot bear to live with. Honestly, can you?

It’s not so much that I feel a typical pride for what makes a US national holiday, it’s noticing that this type of willful ignorance is so big, so blatant, that now we go about our days blind to our country’s painful history, still not equating that freedom from being enslaved never equaled freedom from oppression.

Black History is American History.

Juneteenth is a day that commemorates African American freedom. While this date has numerous significance, it became an official state holiday in Texas on Jan 1, 1980 - 4 years before I was born. Marked Juneteenth by African American state legislator Al Edwards, this was the first emancipation celebration to receive official state recognition. 1980. 4 years before I was born.

Recognizing this day, Freedom Day, as a national holiday would ensure that younger generations and future leaders will not make this oversight. It will also ensure that we, as a nation and a globe, acknowledge not only the history but more so, the inherent value of a healthy education system as well as the indispensable necessity of actively and aggressively dismantling systemic racism.

Juneteenth is already recognized as a ceremonial holiday in 47 of the 50 US States and District Of Columbia.

If we are taught that public holidays are to signal importance and reflect the values we hold dear… educate yourself and contribute your voice by signing the petition to make Juneteenth a national holiday at http://chng.it/fDCQ9Jdgnd.

From Texas with love,
Adriene

The post From Texas With Love - JUNETEENTH appeared first on Yoga With Adriene.

If this is your first time joining us for a community theme, welcome!

From February through December each year, we come together as a community around a theme for the month. The practices selected support your exploration of the theme, whether you are taking on the whole month or dropping in throughout the month.

The practices on the calendar are free and are all available on the Yoga With Adriene YouTube channel. When we include membership practices on the calendar, they are noted as FWFG practices and we also include alternate free YouTube practices on those days for those who are not members.

For February, our community theme is KISS.

A month to focus on unconditional love.
Loving gestures one can do for oneself.
Loving gestures one can do for others.
A kiss - a small gesture that goes a long way.
Kiss the sky.
Kiss what doesn’t serve goodbye.

Join us for February as we explore unconditional love, starting with ourselves. Use this month to let go of something that no longer serves you or maybe dig into the idea of unconditional self love. Make out. What does it mean to love ourselves unconditionally? Explore how little loving gestures, like little kisses, can go a long way.

Take this time to care for yourself so that in turn, you can care for others well.

Share your experiences with the Kula and the community with #ywaKISS.

Be sure to subscribe to the Yoga With Adriene YouTube channel, if you haven’t already! This is the #1 way to support the YWA free calendar and the new free YouTube videos.

Connect with @adrienelouise and @fwfglife on IG.

Invite someone to join you! Take on the whole 29 days or drop in with ease, whenever you like.

Here’s what else you need to know:

• Here is your free playlist on the YouTube channel that you can follow each day for the whole month.
• Here is your playlist for the month on the FWFG membership. It is also located in the Community Monthly Themes section.
• Follow along with the calendar every day or drop in throughout the month. Find what feels good and keep practicing!
• The Find What Feels Good membership FWFG app is available in the App Store and Google Play Store for mobile devices. The app is also available for your television with Apple TV, Roku, and FireTV. Or you can access it on the web at www.FWFG.com.

The post What do I do after the 30 Day Yoga Journey? appeared first on Yoga With Adriene.

Please enjoy this friendly plant guide from friend, fellow female entrepreneur, and plant queen, Candice - of TROPIC OF CAPRICORN!

The post A Quick Guide to the plants of YWA! appeared first on Yoga With Adriene.

Hello, Find What Feels Good Members!

Adriene here, coming at you with an exciting announcement! 

For the past several months, we have been crafting an updated membership experience for you on the app and the website. We heard your feedback and took that into consideration as we built this new and improved membership space for us to share. I think you are really going to love it. 

Our new membership home can now be found at www.fwfg.com. Add this to your bookmarks, my dear. This is where we will continue to create, to explore, practice and go deeper, together. 

The invites to the new membership site started rolling out yesterday and the updated apps are on their way! The FWFG app will be available on iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, Android, Roku, and FireTV as soon as the updated apps are released by the App Store, Play Store, Roku, and Amazon. 

A few tips to help you with the transition over into the new and improved space.

If you already have the FWFG app, you don’t need to look for a new app. Just watch for the update alert for the app you have, then update the app once that update appears in your app store. 

The app updates are rolling out according to the new release schedules that Apple, Android, Roku, and Amazon have in place. It might take a couple of days but the apps are built and on their way to you. More email invites will roll out as the app updates are released. Thank you for being patient. I AM LEARNING SO MUCH!

A few things about the new membership that we think you’re going to love:

• Improved streaming quality!
• Improved functionality of site and app!
• New FILTERS that you can apply to the SEARCH function to help you find a specific type of video! Browse by category or search through every FWFG and YWA video ever recorded to filter the results by duration, level, posture, and more. 
• New to this upgrade: PAY PAL, Y’ALL! We now are able to accept PayPal for both the website and the app.
• Improved Support help. Your friends here at YWA/FWFG are now handling all your support questions. Really, I got your back. From here on out, one of my personal pals will be on the other end to assist you with all of your FWFG Membership questions or needs. On that note, please continue to be patient with us as we all settle into this new platform and get everyone transitioned over to the new platform. 
• You’ll still be able to add your favorite videos to your own list. Just click “Add to Favorites”. This replaces “My List.” 
• You will still be able to sync videos to the app to play when you are offline.
• The Monthly Yoga Playlist is now “Community Monthly Themes”. Each month will now appear there instead of being replaced each month with the new playlist. Participate in real-time with the global community, or if a particular theme is speaking to you - you can now access any monthly calendar playlist theme, anytime!

If you already received your email invite, we encourage you to go ahead and log in on a computer or browser on your mobile device, take a quick sec to set up your new password, and explore the site. Then as the apps are released, you will be able to download the update, log in, and enjoy the app.

Please note, if you initially subscribed through the app, your email invites will be sent as soon as the app updates are released. This part is out of my control as I am, sadly, not the queen of the APP world! I know it’s hard to wait when you hear other members exploring the new site, but soon we’ll have you in there too. No friend left behind! 

Okay, I think that is it for now. This is a big moment for us, and as always, I am just so very grateful to be able to create and share space with you in this way. Thank you so much for being here. I mean it. 

Don’t forget! As a member, you get FIRST access to our announcements, events, retreats, and trainings. (TRAININGS ARE COMING!) Plus you receive 20% off in the FWFG shop year-round!

Finally, your monthly contribution as a member contributes to the lives of other human beings. Your commitment to FWFG Yoga helps keep the Yoga With Adriene Youtube channel alive! Together we can help provide accessible, consistent, high-quality free yoga and make it available for all.

Thank you. See you in the NEW FWFG space!

Yours, 
Adriene

PS: Looking for support? Have questions? Please reach out to us at help.fwfg.com.

The post New FWFG Space! appeared first on Yoga With Adriene.

I’ve taught in private gyms, the YMCA, studios, homes, hotels, museums, and schools. It wasn’t till I moved to a regular teaching gig at our local professional theatre lobby/art gallery that I really started to unpack. In this space I was not glued to anything but showing up twice a week and offering affordable donation based yoga to serve others in a big way. I had fun. Did my best. I was blessed to have the freedom to play and fail many times over. A community developed. 

JUMP to… a growing Austin. Growing so fast that each time I come home from travels I have to blink twice to recognize certain street corners that have long been the same my whole life. 

Just about around the time that the Yoga With Adriene YouTube channel started to transform into a business (something we could have never imagined really, not the way it has turned out anyway.), I started to notice more folks from out of town attending my classes in the gallery at Salvage Vanguard Theatre. It blew me away to meet folks who had once practiced with me online, now, in person, in my hometown, all smiles, sweat, stories - genuine connection. Again… community.

However, as Austin continued growing at rapid pace, a time came in which the East Side Theatre could no longer afford the massive warehouse space on Manor Rd.

Along with the loss of an impactful art hub - this meant my practice and the diverse community of folks who were committed to gathering weekly in that space were soon out of a home.

I got sad.

Then one day, after a positive pep talk from my business partner and after dreaming and scheming on what to do, and believe me we talked about every option, I sent a note to Rey Cardenas. 

Rey was someone in the yoga community that I had felt like was a long lost friend when I met him for an event rental for SXSW. Not only did this person feel like family, but the studio in which he was leading also felt familiar. A place where you could kick your chanclas off in the lobby and make yourself right at home.

I had also noticed that his studio was fostering high level practitioners and teachers - some in which I had grown up with and already admired. I saw they were doing this while also offering classes at a donation rate. And I lit up.

I noticed this during a time when the cost of yoga and wellness was starting to rocket. I noticed this at a time in which the YWA mission was really starting to form and become much larger than the simple YouTube channel Chris and I set out to experiment with. 

High quality free yoga for as many people as possible is our mission. So to see the sign on the window of E. 6th street that read Absurdly High Quality Donation Based Yoga I wondered, could we be pals?

Rey Cardenas, co-owner of Practice Yoga Austin, first welcomed us into the space for a SXSW event - one where I said I would do it only if I got to pick the space, wanting it to feel warm and like Austin, my hometown, not like a cold conference room. I also wanted the money to go to a local studio, vs a corporate biz. We catered the event with local handmade breakfast tacos right in the studio lobby. I remember meeting Rey in person for the first time that morning when, with such confidence and kindness, he tossed me the studio keys to play host, as if the space were my own.

From there Rey and I took the time to sit down and connect. We were looking for ways to support each other in the ventures we were creating with our communities, but we found ourselves fast friends, with good communication and a lot in common! Before I knew it, I had a place to invite my community to practice. Rey even gave me his prime time class spot and within the year I was teaching Monday, Wednesday, and Saturdays. 

In the years that I was at the studio I enjoyed the authentic energy of both the teachers and the students. I loved the systems put in place to make everyone feel both empowered and cared for.

When once I taught class for a single person or two that showed up, now my classes at PYA started to spill over into the restaurant and bar across the street. I took a break to pause, evaluate, to tour, and to nurture meaningful projects. I stayed in contact with Rey and his co-founder Struan Vaz, the three of us sitting down to discuss the earth and the sky, the current climate of yoga, and why we do what we do. We agreed to remain inquisitive and open to any and all ways in which we might be stronger, working together in the business of yoga - vs the common competitiveness that comes with rapid growth. Camaraderie over competition. 

Community.

I currently teach once a month in Austin, but we know we need a place to get cozy any day of the week. We know we are overdue to hold space for FWFG special events and future trainings. And we know people want to come to Austin to experience the magic of group practice. 

We are still holding space at Fair Market each month, in collaboration with Bunkhouse Hotels, and this particular gathering always feels at its core like a true celebration of community. 

But the time has come and I am a little moved with honest gratitude to even type this…

After many years of friendship, generosity, conversation, collaboration, learning together, and asking the big dang questions - together… it is with great and humble joy that I announce a merge, a hug, an intertwine of happy spirits in the Austin Yoga Community. 

On the eve of the studio’s sixth birthday, I am honored to return to Practice Yoga Austin to join Rey Cardenas and Struan Vaz as co-owners of the studio. 

May this be just one more sign of the power of yoga and community. May this partnership be blessed, held accountable, and spread accessible tools to many individuals to live well, be healthy and tap into their innate goodness.

And may it inspire you, dear reader, to know and feel, you belong and you are welcome, and we mean it. 

Any day, any time. 

Namaste, 

Adriene

Come visit at: https://practiceyogaaustin.com/

The post Roots Intertwine - Austin Yoga And Beyond. appeared first on Yoga With Adriene.

We are always interested in finding ways that everyone can feel welcome and always excited by opportunities we can create digitally to help you connect to what feels good!

Not everyone is able to attend that in person retreat and we don’t want to leave anyone out. We lovingly created this free at-home retreat built around the same theme as the retreat at Omega. 

We will be gathering together around the globe and in the comfort of our own homes for the “Reclaim Your Center YWA At-home Retreat” on August 9-11. And…we would love for you to join us!

Practices

Each day of the retreat begins with a morning yoga practice and morning meditation and ends with an evening yoga practice. All these practices are free videos on the Yoga with Adriene YouTube channel. 

Journal Prompts

There are also journal prompts for each day. These prompts are an opportunity to spend a little time each day writing about whatever the journal prompt brings to mind and perhaps whatever your practice brings up for you too. The journal prompts can also be used as a focus or intention for the day. 

Nature Activities 

Rounding our day each day is a nature activity. These suggested activities are invitations to spend a little time connecting with nature while connecting to your center.

Connect with Community

Share your weekend at-home retreat with the YWA community by using #ywahomeretreat. 

Carve out time and space on your calendar and join us on August 9-11 for this free at-home weekend retreat. 3 days. It could be the perfect remedy. Let’s do this! 

The post Reclaim Your Center At-home Retreat appeared first on Yoga With Adriene.

Join me and people all over the world as we practice UP YOUR CONNECT! Share a video or image with #fwfgIYD and be sure to include where you are from!

Here's how it works.

On Friday, June 21st, 2019, roll out your mat at home and practice along with the Up Your Connect practice. This free practice is found on both the YouTube channel and on the FWFG Yoga membership.

Then share a video or image and tag it with #fwfgiyd. It can be a picture of you or maybe a video of your practice. Be sure to include where you are from too so we can see how yoga connects us around the world.

The magic of these coordinated practices is knowing that whenever you are practicing someone else is practicing alongside you in their own home too.

This free practice, Up Your Connect, is already on the YouTube channel and on the membership for members, and anyone can participate from their own home by simply rolling out their mat and following the Up Your Connect practice anytime on Friday, June 21st. Don't worry about the timezones. Just roll out your mat on June 21st and know that somewhere around the world someone else is practicing with you in spirit.

You ready to Up Your Connect?!

The post Up Your Connect - International Yoga Day Global Community Practice appeared first on Yoga With Adriene.

We prioritized the learning, a way of going with the flow... but also a principle I quickly recognized we both share and advocate for. “Just show up,” you know? What I didn’t know is that in less than a year's time I would be hosting people from all over the world with my new Venezuelan comrades in Mexico City.

I could have never guessed that I would get to work with some of the smartest and kindest people I’ve met to date. People who are patient, creative, and passionate about life. And what I should have guessed is that it would attract people who would show up to learn - only to teach me a great deal... and open my heart.

We are all students.

We are all teachers.

We are all leaders.

We are all followers. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Without taking the time to look at yourself, it will be impossible to truly see another. Particularly someone who doesn’t look like your reflection or speak your main language.

I love this picture for many reasons, but mostly because it makes me think about how important it is for us to take a look at the past and intentionally bridge worlds in the present to influence and contribute to the future.

If you have ever had an inkling to politely pause the rigamarole to learn more about yourself - come play. It turns out that it is true: Our differences melt away when we actively find things that unite us.

Adriene & Sonia

Looking Ahead

Our Yoga & Spanish Journey is one of a kind. We are proud of it, and if the stars align, we will do it again.

You’re invited. We hope you join us.

Sign up for the FWFG x FLUENZ updates!

Namaste. Gracias. Aho! Amen.

The post FWFG + Fluenz appeared first on Yoga With Adriene.