I’m asking for your help today – if you can contribute a few seconds of your time, it will help me spread the joy of yoga! I’d love it if you could head over to http://bit.ly/voteforyoga to watch a short video, and if you like it, give it a vote.
This video is the combined dream of Stephanie Spence and me, one that we hatched when we met for the first time last year. We want to travel across the United States and teach yoga to as many people as we can to help spread the word about the healing and transformational benefits of yoga and meditation. Our classes will be open to the public, but we’re aiming to have as many of them as we can nearby military bases so we can reach current military personnel, their families, and veterans. If we can get the classes on a beach or outdoors, all the better!
We have submitted our video into the Ford Fusion Energi Ultimate Road Trip Adventure contest. If we win, we’ll get the opportunity to take a road trip in a new Ford Fusion Energi and be filmed for a reality TV show. This hybrid car is super fuel efficient, so we should be able to hit quite a few cities and reach countless yogis. The car has a state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery pack and electric motor with a gasoline engine ad with a full take of gas and when fully charged, the driving range is an EPA-estimated 620 miles (electric and gas combined). Yowza – that is awesome!
When I heard about the contest, Stephanie was the first person I called, and we jumped at the opportunity to use this vehicle (pun intended) to help us give legs to our idea.
So how did this grand plan come about? It’s actually a fun story! Stephanie and I initially met through following each other on Twitter. We have quite a bit in common – we’re both avid social media mavens and bloggers, yoga teachers, writers, and loving life in our 50s. When I was heading to Phoenix last year, I reached out to Stephanie for the scoop on the local yoga studios I should visit, and she led me to my very first wall yoga class and even took the time to interview me for her Tales of the Traveling Yogini series (soon to be a bestselling book)!
After hanging out together on a yoga wall, we had coffee, confessed our mutual desire to combine our passions for yoga, travel, and adventure, and vowed to someday find a way to take our road trip.
Not only do we believe we will win this contest, we’re also hopeful that Ford will continue to sponsor us so we can keep these free yoga and meditation classes going long past the time the designated prize budget runs out.
If you really, really like the sound of our project, please go back a couple of times – or every day until September 30 – and vote again and again! After you watch the video there is the opportunity to get bonus votes by watching videos about the Ford C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi hybrid automobiles, so if you have a few extra moments to get the bonus votes for us, that would be awesome and greatly appreciated.
Sending out big hugs and thanks for your time and help in making this dream and ultimate yoga road trip a beautiful reality! I’m putting it out there into the universe and BELIEVING!!
The deadline to vote is September 30, 2013…click here to watch the video and VOTE! If you really, really like it, share it with your friends as well so we can get even more support to offer FREE yoga classes.
I randomly subscribed to your blog awhile ago and will admit I just kind of lurk in the shadows. Love that you’re from Ohio (moved from northern Ohio to Phoenix last yr). Then I saw this post. Not only is it an awesome idea but I met Stephanie Spence at the Sedona Yoga Festival this past year. What a crazy small world. Voted! Good luck!
Thanks Heidi – wow – that is cool that you met Stephanie as well! We appreciate your support 🙂
You’ve got my vote! My nephew is stationed at the Naval Hospital in Pensacola, FL – hope you make it there!
Carrie:
I hope we make it to Pensacola to meet your nephew too! My nephew is in the Marines and is stationed in Washington D.C.! Thanks for your vote and support!
Namaste,
Maria
Maria,
You continue to inspire me……..you motivated me to actually teach after I obtained my 200 RYT and was full of fear and now you continue to inspire me to keep going with my yoga. At 53 and still not very flexible, I get a little intimidated by the youngsters and gumby’s in this profession. You continue to show me that it’s all about passion! Thank you and good luck, I’ll continue to vote for you each day. If you ever get close to Virginia (Richmond/Virginia Beach) area, please let me know! Hope our paths cross one day, Teresa
Hi Maria!
What a cool project. I totally had the same idea about a road trip! I love how you’re integrating military bases – as a military spouse I see firsthand how much its needed and how much it helps.
So funny, after reading the comments I can contribute to the small world. Just today I found out about the Sedona Yoga Festival – I’m moving to Tucson in a month for our next stint of training – before being permanently stationed in Washington D.C.! My partner is in the Air Force.
Best of luck! I’ll be following along and if you come to a base near me, I’d love to help rally the crowds anyway I can 🙂
With gratitude,
ashley
Ashley – we will definitely call on you for help! Good luck with your move and you should connect with Stephanie when you get to Arizona!