Strike a pose

As most of you know, yoga is my escape, my freedom, and the only thing that keeps my mind balanced. My yoga buddy, Kimberly, is an avid traveler like we are, and she started a fun "tradition" of striking a yoga pose in unique locations. I've been watching her do this for awhile, and on our latest trip, I thought it would be fun to take advantage of the beautiful locations we were visiting and "strike a pose" as well whenever the environment moved me. We were, afterall, traveling to some pretty incredible locations where being one with nature would be an easy transition and feel rather "natural."

My first inspiration came when we were at Lake Bled in Slovenia.  It was a quiet, yet beautiful day on the lake.  When we got to the island, I saw fantastic backdrops everywhere I looked.  I knew I had to give it a try.  These were my first EVER strike a pose moments...

The next day hiking down Vitgar Gorge about 4 kilometers from Lake Bled, I found myself in a place where the beauty was so overwhelming I literally had to catch my breath at every turn.  Could you possibly imagine a better place to "strike a pose"?

 

My family might not be into yoga as much as I am, but they definitely enjoy it, and they certainly see me practicing yoga a lot at home.  I thought it would be equally as fun to see if they'd like to find some inspiration for a couple poses as well.  After seeing me in side plank, little r decided he needed to have some fun, too.  Arm balances aren't really his thing, but he has his own way of becoming one with nature.  Man, I just love this kid...

 

Here are a couple more photos of us striking a pose on the island in the middle of Lake Bled.  Little r is my sweet yogini... It's pretty incredible to harness all that crazy boy energy.  

And then, of course, Big R had to join in the fun as well.  Plivitce Lakes in Croatia does that to people. There were perfect locations to inspire a little yoga everywhere we looked. His wheel pose is so stinking awesome!

 

This last photo is my favorite yoga picture from our adventure.  The pose couldn't be more simple. I'm literally in a comfortable seated position with Baby C asleep on my chest.  The surrounding environment is so incredibly serene.  I look like I'm taking a deep breath and I have a sense of happiness on my face.  This isn't a fancy arm balance or tree pose or anything even remotely fancy, but I love how this picture captures the essence of exactly how I was feeling at that very moment.  Life was so peaceful.  I feel like I could look at this picture and escape to that moment anytime I need a break from a hectic day.

I hope we remember to look for inspiration and "strike a pose" on our future adventures.  It was SO much fun.  We were able to get so many interesting and crazy stares from people as we posed or as tourists watched me crash my arm balances or waited not to interrupt Big R's wheel pose near a waterfall.  But it was pretty freaking cool, and we got some really fun photos to remember our trip.