Off the Mat is a recurring series on YBC® where I share what's going on in my life, well, off the yoga mat.

Well I blinked and May came and went, so here we are on the first of June and I thought I'd share an update on what's been going on in my life off the yoga mat.

At the end of April, I went to Italy for our yoga retreat in Bolzano. It was a fantastic week (here's our vlog recap) with an equally incredible group of people. Unsurprisingly, I ate #allthefood and loved every minute of it.

The best part, though, was getting to spend so much time with Lauren, YBC's® Marketing and Events Director. We all work remotely, for the most part, at YBC®, so it's always special when we get to hang in person. I was so thankful to have Lauren for this trip. It was a solid two week trip and pretty much everything that could go wrong, did. I got really sick, left my phone in an uber with no way to get in touch with the driver, I left the cord for my speaker in Germany, we got lost multiple times with no nav system - but Lauren just has the absolute best attitude in pretty much all situations and man does that make such a difference!

I did a bit of shopping while in Europe. I got this Rimowa (pronounced: rim-ova) luggage in Germany, where it's about 30% cheaper, and then if you don't screw up and check your bag ahead of time, you can get your VAT back. I was in serious need of upgrading my luggage, and while Rimowa's stuff is pricey, the reviews are out of the world, and so far I am loving it. It glides like butter on all surfaces, whether you're rolling it down cobblestone streets (which I did to get from the Rimowa store to my car in Munich), on carpeting or without in an airport. I also was a fan of the bright red color. Basically, I've had this fantasy of buying the world's ugliest luggage so no one will steal my crap at the airport. I haven't found an ugly luggage bag yet, but this bright red is pretty unique and I'll be covering it with stickers over the next few years to add to the "NOT YOURS" vibe I'm going for. :)

I'm always trying to challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone, so when Year of the X offered a spot at their entrepreneurial festival, I agreed, despite my fears of not really speaking much German, nor really understanding how it would all work. I agreed to do a chair yoga practice, but when I arrived, there were long benches instead of chairs. People were in jeans and casual businesswear, rather than yoga clothes, and for a split second I panicked. But then I just adjusted on the fly, which is something I am becoming more and more comfortable doing. I wound up just doing a talk and then showing a few different easy movements you can do on a bench, and then did a guided meditation and some breathing exercises to reduce stress in the workplace. You can see the whole thing here. Before all that, I did media, which you can see in the pic above. I loathe doing media because I'm just not that good at speaking on the fly. I put in a lot of filler phrases and words (ie: you know what I mean, um, er, uh, so, like). Like I said, though, I'm always trying to improve and grow, so I said yes to the media interview and just did my best.

For Mother's Day, we went over to my mom's for breakfast. I made blueberry pancakes and my mom served a quiche. For gift giving lately, I've been loving putting together a basket of little things - favorite snacks, tea, beauty products like face masks, and books. I put one together for my mom, including this book, Educated, which I'd heard about on NPR's Fresh Air podcast. I haven't read it, but my mom loved it and has been lending it out to her sisters.

In May, I went to Nashville to lead a yoga workshop (you can see the full vlog here). While there, I saw that one of the students had her copy of Namaslay spiral bound for even easier access! We specifically chose the binding that we did because it has flaps on either side to help keep your spot, and to ensure it would lay flat while you practice, but it does need to sort of be pressed down a bit in order to lay flat, so I thought this spiral binding was genius! The best part is that she said it costs less than $10 at Staples! After sharing it on YBCevents instagram Stories, one of our Yoga Teacher Trainees had the same done to hers, so I screenshotted it (above) to share with you all.

Another cool thing I did this past month was try Cryotherapy for the first time. It wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be (I hate the cold!), and I'd like to go a few more times to really see lasting benefits. I vlogged about my experience here.

In May, I also went to Michigan for a full day yoga immersion workshop. It was a really quick trip (about 35 hours) and I documented it all here. As you'll see in the video, it was also a pretty emotional trip, as I got to visit with my dog, who spends half his time out there and half with me in Connecticut.

And that about brings us up to date. There is so much going on right now and I've got a very full plate but I'm pretty happy and calm about it all. We're in the early stages of developing our new app, which will launch in August, so I am working really hard with the team to dot all the i's and cross all the t's so it's perfect for you guys.

I'm super excited about Season 2 of Namaslay with YogaByCandace® - our podcast. The first episode goes live this coming Monday, so be sure you're subscribed via Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

In addition, I'm working nonstop on trying to solidify the teacher training curriculum for our Thailand yoga teacher training which is coming up in July, and our Tennessee yoga teacher training, which will be happening in late August. It is a lot of work, and to be honest, a lot of pressure, because I just want to get it right. I want to help develop confident, competent, strong teachers who know how to market themselves as well as they know how to teach a solid class. I'm on the right track, but I'll feel a lot better once we get going with the training. You can learn more about our trainees here, and follow them along with NamaslayYTT on instagram for more.

This weekend, I'm headed to New Jersey to lead an intuitive movement yoga workshop, and then I'm done teaching until I go abroad this summer! The summer trip is going to be intense - Thailand for four weeks, Oman for a week after, and then Santorini for a week after that. For the first time, I'm more excited than I am anxious! Thanks for being along for the ride!

Off the Mat: June

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