Did I mention it was in the 90s, lasting late into the afternoon?
Thanks to a bunch of friends, I raised $428 for Off the Mat, Into the World. The event in September brought together yoga schools and teachers from all over Salt Lake and Park City and even further south. In the intense heat of an indian summer day, we sweated through 108 sun salutations dedicated to service.
I wrote a list of all my donors, plus my teachers. I set the list on the grass near my mat. I kept looking at that list and dedicated a sun salutation salutation to every person on it. It’s amazing how many people I have to thank. I saw each face and sent them my thanks and love. Even challenging people I sometimes feel I loathe, who I realize are teachers I really need to thank.
These people donated to the cause, and I want to thank them again now:
A view from the mat
Rachel Bates: An awesome woman I met at a SLC Tweetup who has amazing energy. (@r8chelb)
Rachel Burt: A giving friend I also met at a SLC Tweetup. I didn’t realize *both* Rachel Bs contributed until today! (@raychulb)
Rebecca Holt: A mystical gorgeous mermaid poet I met through Tyler.
Tali Koziol: a Twitter #yogadork friend who happens to live in Denver. We had dinner when she came to SLC. Her twitter name says it best: @cupcakemafia. She’s fierce, yet soft as a cupcake. And she’s training to be a yoga teacher. Total inspiration.
Carrie Klaus: Another #yogadork cybershala friend (@veganyogini) who shares my love for Jivamukti and Sharon Gannon music and who always inspires me to be better. It seems impossible that we have never met in person.
Tyler Smith: Ahh. Well. A soul mate on many levels. Dear friend, fellow yogi, lover of kirtan and chanting and so many different kinds of music. Companion on my path.
Peter Yared: A friend from my Silicon Valley days who is now into yoga and is also totally brilliant (he writes a column for Venture Beat). And funny.
Scott Brown: A friend and colleague from the San Jose Mercury News. We worked together over a decade ago. Wow. So honored he donated!
Lori Dickerson: My best friend growing up. I dedicated sun saluations to her and her beautiful daughter Lindsay.
David Morrissey: A funny guy who I kind of met on Twitter when he went to my old town in Puerto Rico, but we really met at his 30th birthday bash (I was just talking about that tequila luge the other day!). He also happens to be the most awesome KRCL DJ with a great show. (@dmorrissey)
Martha Flach: My NYC roommate and guide to life in the West Village, she’s a great teacher of the night life and the home life. She should have her own Martha media empire.
Teresa Elias: One of the coolest of the SLC Twitter crowd who I want to get to know better.
Rebekah Folsom: My first friend I met through my old blog, A Series of Small Failures. Totally rad and awesome. She’s a blogger and soul sister.
Kristy Merrill: Tyler’s sister in law who I am lucky to count as a friend. Amazing photographer. (@ksmerrill)
Also, Terrence, who gave me cash because he’s Canadian and they don’t have credit cards there, or something.
Also, Michele Sander (@dualori), who I am secretly in love with. The best party planner EVAR.
I smiled through the sweat for each one of them. And many others. I thought of each member of the #yogadork tribe that I know (Nancy, Jenny, Angela, Lo, and SO many others), members of my family, a few people that I find challenging, and all my teachers, from Pretzel to Cyndi Lee to Alan Finger to Jennifer Ellen, Mat, Scott, and Jami (local teachers who inspire me), and especially to Demi Langford, who organized the SLC event.
Thanks for helping me raise the third largest amount in SLC. And Thanks to Lululemon for my water bottle!
Everyone got a mala. Wearing it reminds me of the sweat and the love.
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