One WHIRL YogaFest: An annual event for yogis in Pittsburgh

I can’t remember if last year was my first WHIRL YogaFest or the year before… in any event, I attended again this year and was genuinely pleased with the event (despite the heat and the lack of usable toilets).

Beautiful morning: my walk over to Point State Park
Beautiful morning: my walk over to Point State Park

I woke up with a massive headache (day two of it, in fact), but a little extra coffee seemed to keep it at bay — at least long enough to walk over. I guess the excitement of the event was enough of an alarm clock, as I was up early enough to walk to the event, grab another coffee and granola bar (a delicious homemade one from Chateau Cafe), and attend the 7:30 a.m. session.

Up before the fountain!
Up before the fountain!

Session #1 (7:30 a.m.): Salty Power Flow, which was a super-intense start to my day. I loved it (even if I didn’t really connect with the instructor).

Session #2 (9 a.m.): Pure Barre. This was an intro class of sorts, and no bars, obviously. But I didn’t really like it. Like, at all. I’d rather do regular old ballet.

Session #3 (11 a.m.): Another Power Flow — Claire Bear was this session’s instructor. I was straight in the sun for this one, and not happy. I really wish that WHIRL would get larger tents for each space, considering the time of year they plan for this event. Or at least a tent that is a resting space for those of us who want to get out of the sun for a minute or 20.

IMG_1210

Between sessions, I snacked and shopped through the many vendor booths. It’s really nice that there were so many gluten-free options for me (even though I missed having my cheesy scrambled eggs from Marty’s Market like last year). I mean, I had my choice of three different scones, so… winning! As I mentioned in my weekly training update, the vendors are always amazing, so I came home with quite a bit of free swag (aerie really upholds a standard of being so generous and inspiring). I also purchased two tanks and seriously eye-balled those Pittsburgh print leggings (how awesome were they?!).

The heat and sun took over again though. I had to drop into my office downtown real quick (which was a much-welcome source of air-conditioning) and still had to walk home. And then I decided to go to the country club and sit by the pool (but mostly in the pool) for the rest of the afternoon while the boyfriend golfed.

Too much sun and so much fun!
Too much sun and so much fun! (In my new aerie tank.)

Needless to say, I had a BIT too much sun on Saturday. But overall, I’m glad that YogaFest ended up being on such a beautiful day (didn’t it rain a ridiculous amount, like, two years ago?).