Traveling Gurus

Traveling Gurus

Recently Returned From Wanderlust

This year, Gurus is hitting up more events than ever before.  We just got back from Wanderlust 108 events in Kansas City and Seattle - and both were a blast!  Every time we go to a new yoga festival in the US, we are blown away by the incredible people with whom we are blessed to meet and share the day. 

Our Marketing Manager just returned home from from the Wanderlust 108 event in the picturesque Lake Samammish Park in Issaquah, Washington, and we had loverly ladies working the 108 in Berkely Riverfront Park in Kansas City.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hello.  We enjoyed meeting you and getting to spend some of your love filled day with you. 

Gurus loves to attend these events because they are filled with smiling yogis and yoginis who love meet new people and learn about our sustainable products and conservation efforts.  We shared countless laughs and had just an awesome time.  If you stopped by our tent and grabbed any of our gear or a wish bracelet, be sure to take @ilovegurus in your photos so that we can like and share them. 

Check out these posts from Wanderlusters we met at the recent 108 events: 

@Chrisloredo137 striking a pose in Washington

@jennydschloz sharing her Wish Bracelet in Kansas City

@heidi.moore1 with her beautiful smile and Wish Bracelet in Kansas City

@angeliniyogini is building a stack with her new Wish Bracelet in Kansas City

Matching Wish Bracelets with @akinse34 in Kansas City

The Loverly @shaunagerminiani in Kansas City

We're Still Going!

Did you miss us at any of the recent events we've attended? Don't worry, we're still headed to lots more events this year.  Get in touch with us and let us know where you are going to be so that we can try to meet you there. 

Namaste Away From Plastic

Namaste Away From Plastic

With canvas totes from Gurus

Did you know that, despite your efforts to recycle your plastic grocery bags, they actually cause quite a headache for recycling plants.  One bag, getting caught in just the right spot in a conveyor belt, or one of the many moving mechanisms, can take down the entire system.  

Hey guys! It's Maggie, Marketing Manager for Gurus.  I've had the chance to walk the catwalks of a Waste Management facility in Philadelphia, and talk to the guys who run it.  They hate plastic bags.  Think Jim Carry as the Grinch, standing there hating the whos alphabetically - but replace every name with plastic bags.  From the bags you carry your fruits and veggies in, to those that tote your groceries home, and even those from your favorite stores, they all cause major problems during the recycling process.  Some of them can't even be recycled.  

So what can you do? 

Shout "namaste" and stay away from plastic bags, with the Namaste Tote from Gurus. Our canvas totes are printed with water based inks, which makes them an environmentally friendly solution to carry home your groceries, goods and gear.  

I keep this adorable little tote at the ready - in my car for those impromptu trips to Aldi.  Whether I'm stopping in for a few essentials, or know I'm going to come out with a haul, sustainable options are a must.  If we do not tell commercial retailers that we want something different, something better, they'll keep tucking along like it's business as usual.  

Every bag that you don't use is a vote against plastic.  Every time you put an apple, pomegranate, or passion fruit into your canvas tote instead of a plastic bag, people will take notice.  You're actions can be the conversation starter that inspires someone else to start living sustainably too.  The weather might be warming up, but we're out to create a snowball effect and save the planet. 

Join us, and take a stand for something we can all believe in.  Namaste away from plastic, and choose sustainable, alternatives.  Grab more Gurus gear and support our Kickstarter. 

Gurus Means Sustainability

A Name You Can Trust

Gurus Means Sustainability

When we travel around to festivals, attend or sponsor yoga events, people love to get their hands on our gear.  They love to touch, feel and literally smell our products.  And it's no surprise to us!

Gurus strives to use all natural materials in our products.  It's just one way that we show that how we're with earth.  We go through an extensive search for the materials that we select for our sandals, yoga mats and blocks, and other gear.  Our founder Prem, has traveled far and wide in search of the right materials, from the right farms to make sure that we deliver the right product for you. 

This means that there is no strong smell that you get with other, more synthetic products.  With all of our gear, you get a product that supports you, looks as good as it feels and that you can trust. 

Finding the natural materials though, isn't where our hard work ends.  These farms must also use sustainable farming practices in the harvesting of the materials.  We refuse to be the cause of deforestation, soil erosion and the myriad of detrimental impacts that other farming and harvesting methods can have. 

Gurus partners with an organization called Trees for the Future, plant a tree for every product purchased, meaning that we put back more natural resources than we use in our products.  This nonprofit also works to teach sustainable farming practices in the regions where they are planting their trees, further extending the impact that our products make. 

Gurus means sustainability, for the trees that we tap, for the farms with whom we work, all the way to the factories that produce our gear.  Our founder has personally visited the factories to make sure that we are supporting fair trade, workers rights, and to avoid horrible practices like child labor.  

Support our Kickstarter for our latest campaign - #ImWithEarth and help us take our mission as high as the tree tops. 

I'm With Earth, Are You?

I'm With Earth

Are you?

We've Just Launched our Latest Kickstarter!  Our #ImWithEarth campaign is just getting starter, with this Kickstarter being our very first step towards improving the condition of the world that we are lucky enough to call home. 

#ImWithEarth is not a political campaign, but society call to action.  It's time that we opened our eyes and took a look at what was happening to the Earth.  It's time that we do something to stop the harm being caused to the most vital necessity.  Join Gurus, and stand with Earth.  

1. Support our Kickstarter. 

In doing so, you'll gain access to sustainably made gear from Gurus.  We offer all natural rubber sandals, thoughtful threads, natural yoga gear and more.  By supporting our Kickstarter and making a pledge, you are putting your money where you mouth is - and showing those you meet on the street, in the coffee shop, or on the bus during your commute, that all of our actions matter. 

2. Reflect.

Take a look at your life, and be mindful of what you buy, or throw away on a daily basis.  The items that we purchase, directly affect the things that we throw away.  Is there another option that we can choose? Might we recycle something that we've otherwise thrown away? Can we walk or take a bike or bus to complete one of our recurring errands? All of the little choices that you make can add up to one heck of a difference. 

3. Learn

There's always something to learn, especially when it comes to products, packaging, recycling and environmental impact.  We can't sit here and say that what we do doesn't matter because other countries offset our actions any longer.  We can't say that it's too expensive to make positive choices.  The choices are ours to make, and the time to make them is now. 

Here's a link to our Kickstarter - so that you can join us, and pledge to stand with our Mother Earth. 

Self-Owned Business Women by Courtney Parnell

Self-Owned Business Women

By: Courtney Parnell

Courtney Parnell has found her passion and her home in starting her own business, and in doing so, ignite the passions of others through Limitless SUP Yoga. 

Would you believe me, if I told you that I went from being a stay at home mom for seven years, to owning two businesses, with four different locations in two different states, all within a two year period? Probably not, at least not if I didn’t have the credentials to show for it.  

Thanks to social media platforms and the internet you can easily scroll through my feed or google my name to see my personal growth and success. It didn’t come easy. I can assure you of that. In fact, it was one big chaotic swirling ball of fire, filled with every emotional roller coaster you could possibly think of. But it was my ball of fire and I was bound and determined to harness its energy no matter what it took, and let me just share with you the truth… it took every last breath in me to come full circle and make it successful and at the very end I nearly gave up.

Thankfully through it all I acquired a team which helped lift a ton of weight a newly young business woman is destined to feel. A team came directly to me without me ever having to reach out, which was one of the first moments I knew I had something good. Some of them had good intentions and are still with me to this day and others, not so much.

The First Lesson I Learned:

Who is there for you and who is there for themselves and the best piece of advice I received from my most appreciated mentor is this: “No employee is better than a bad employee.”

Others wanted what I had for themselves even though it wasn’t their path they did everything in their power to make believe it was. Now, I have a soft heart and wanted to share my company with others, but the minute I let them into my ball of fire and showed them its possibilities, was the minute they began draining me and showing their true colors. After months of allowing their presence in my business I began realizing as did those closest to me, that they were the reason majority of the chaos was happening. I removed them and it’s been smooth sailing since.

The Second Lesson: Having a pure Heart

I’ve formulated a way to turn my passion into my lifestyle and make a living off of it so of course others are going to be after it as well, but the difference between me and them? Having a pure heart. My intentions were set for growth and community. I want us all to become limitless together so I work from sun up to sundown every single day making that possibility come to life. I put in the time -blood sweat and tears- hard work –never ending hours and travels- and consistency –compassion loyalty and happiness to each of our partners- to build my platform and now I own and operate three successful locations in three major cities in Texas with the launch of our fourth location coming in May 2017.

It’s a handful to type and a mouthful to say, but it was my vision, and I brought it to life along with the ability to provide yoga teachers across the country with teaching opportunities and ways to make a decent income off of it. I never wanted it all for myself, but what I do ask for is loyalty from those I share it with and in our mission statement I created for my first company and the one I have been speaking of, Limitless SUP Yoga LLC, it states as follows: “We are a yogi business, not a business yogi. Our practice, our happiness will always come first and therefore we will always succeed.” This statement came from another business partnership I was meddling in over a project that has taken three years to seal the deal. This individual I was potentially launching my idea with looked at me and said “you’re a yogi business and I’m a business yogi” and he wasn’t even a yogi. He was trying to take the reigns on my concept and put me down a peg or two so he could have the upper hand and I ended up turning it down and walking away from a $3,500.00 investment building my own studio background for the website subscription I wanted to launch.

It wasn’t the right time and I damn sure wasn’t about to go into business with some who called himself a business yogi, and wasn’t even a yogi. Which leads us into my second business, Courtney Parnell Yoga LLC.

A Quick Recap:

Limitless SUP Yoga came first because I was sought out by the largest paddle board maker in the world, SUP ATX, and we broke a world record together for largest yoga class on water with 173 yogis at sunrise on my 26th birthday. It launched me internationally as one of the only known paddle board yoga instructors in the SUP yoga capital of the world, Austin, TX. I was put at the top of every google search result and received students from across the country traveling to Austin; which is why this company took first priority. It took me a year to fully develop Limitless with our partners and I’m happy to announce we’re going into our second season with our first SUP YTT in March. You can check out all the details on our website if you are interested in becoming a paddle board yoga instructor. Also, if you take our teacher training we provide the option to contract with our team. Not a bad deal if you ask us!

Now that I have created a company which can grow a community, it is finally time to share how I went from having absolutely nothing to creating my own career in a corporate driven world and becoming a successful woman entrepreneur in a two year timeframe. It began with a passion five years ago that changed my life, opened my vision to a world of possibilities and gave me the strength and knowledge I have today to share with like-minded souls seeking a way to fulfill their true purpose in life. It’s simple really, but I can repeat words over and over and over again and drain my own energy breaking down your walls to see the light on the other side or I can show you virtually how you can manifest and breathe your dreams to life. Which is exactly what Courtney Parnell Yoga LLC is all about.

You Can Do It Too

I am creating a channel –a website subscription using the 8 limbs of yoga to open your mind and stimulate your brain. I want to show you that what you seek is truly seeking you and my dharma, my personal purpose in life is to help you build the bridge you are needing to get to the other side, the forbidden side of everything you have ever been told growing up that doesn’t matter. We’ve all be shunned underneath a rug and taught in schools and by our parents things we are “suppose” to do rather than what we feel and know deep down inside what our soul is seeking.

The unknown, the doubt and anxiety is present but there are ways to overcome these obstacles with patience, persistence and control. A mantra I used to make it through my tunnels of darkness that has led me to my brightest light and this is only a glimpse of the tools I have received that I will be sharing with all of you. What it will all come down to is you. Are you ready to build your bridge and cross over onto the next journey of your life where your happiness is what matters the most? Are you ready to let go of the things holding you back from your truest power and how far are you willing to let your heart lead you? Only time will tell and I’m grateful to have reached a point in my personal life and career to build this platform for all of you. It will be the hardest journey you’ve ever endured but it’s time you found your own ball of fire. I’m here for you, fully committed to becoming the voice of encouragement to help you build your bridge and begin taking the first steps to crossing it. All you will need to do is put in the time. The hard work and the consistency to bringing your dreams to life and living them to the absolute fullest. Join me in March 2017 for the launch of Courtney Parnell Yoga to begin your own journey.

It’s been waiting for you.

Finding Time in a Busy Schedule - Gurus Ambassador Amanda Cordaro

Finding Time in a Busy Schedule

Making time for yourself and the things that make you happy

Gurus Ambassador Amanda Cordaro shares her personal thoughts and advice on making time for yourself.

We're all guilty of being busy. But are we too busy to enjoy life? If you have been following me on Instagram, then you know I'm devoted to finding time for the things that make me happy. I started my journey to inner peace back in April. The hardest part of my journey has been learning to put happiness on the top of my priority list.

How do we put a yoga session above the pile of clean clothes waiting to be put away? Well I've come up with a personal list of chores and errands that need immediate attention while the rest can wait. 

Root Deeper, Fly Higher and Find Stability with the Gurus Cork Yoga Block

Root Deeper, Fly Higher, and Find Stability

In Your Yoga Postures, with the Gurus Cork Yoga Block

Every so often during a yoga class, you'll hear the teacher call out to "grab a block for this pose".  Yoga blocks are great tools that can help make postures easier, or make that next level of the pose possible for you.  If you don't have the Gurus all natural cork yoga block, you need to grab one for yourself today.  And you're in luck, because through the end of this month, all cork yoga mats come with a free cork yoga block from Gurus. 

What makes the Gurus Cork Yoga Block Different? 

It's made by Gurus.  Seriously, it's make by people who practice yoga, for people who practice yoga.  We want the very best aids to help in our yoga practice, and spent the time to develop a block that was unique.  

We stand on, not by our blocks

The Gurus Cork Yoga Block is a light weight but sturdy little thing.  You can literally stand on your block, to make accessing postures like crow a bit easier.  Have you tried standing on a foam block before? They can be a bit flexible under your full weight, making balancing a bit tricky.  The Gurus Cork Yoga Block is a sturdy support that you can feel confident using. 

Get a grip

Because our cork yoga blocks are made from an all natural and sustainably sourced cork material, you can feel strong and confident in your grip on our blocks.  Cork repels moisture, rather than letting is sit between you and the block.  This makes your grip on our blocks while you're sweating even stronger.  So go ahead, wipe the sweat off your forehead, and reach for our blocks.  

Sustainable

For every purchase, Gurus plants a tree to help make sure that we are replenishing the natural materials that we use to make our products.  The cork and rubber is also sustainably sourced, to make sure that come this time next year, that tree we harvested from is still standing.  Sustainability, along with durability is at the heart of everything that we do. 

Don't just believe us - listen to our ambassadors who use the block in their practice

Sandra Thornburg 
"I highly recommend the Gurus cork yoga block.  Not only is it great for modifications, it is awesome for variations and sturdy enough to assist in weight-bearing exercises.  Plus, I always feel great using a product that is eco-friendly." 

Carlee Benear
"The block was so much more than I expected.  It is sturdy and I can place confidence in it like I would myself.  A great match for beginner, intermediate and advanced practice, it's got you covered."

Win Free Gear and Plant a Tree - Gurus Tree Pose Tuesday

Win Free Gear and Plant a Tree

Gurus Tree Pose Tuesday

It's Tuesday - which means that Gurus is hosting another exciting Instagram competition.  This isn't your average giveaway or social media challenge.  We're serious about having fun and doing good.  So join us an enter the contest on our @ilovegurus account. 

Gurus Tree Pose Tuesday is a contest meant to inspire people to go green and further our mission to plant trees all over the world.  We'll plant a tree for every entry, every week.  Gurus Tree Pose Tuesday is a fun way to plant a tree and enter for a chance to win free gear.  We'll pick one winner every week.  

How to enter:

1. Like our Instagram Account. 
2. Snap a Photo in Vrkasana or Tree Pose
3. Tag @ilovegurus and use the hashtag #gurustpt
4. Tag two friends to participate as well

We work with an organization called Trees for the Future, to plant trees and teach sustainable farming practices in parts of the world that have seen heavy deforestation. With their efforts, we can be sure to not only replace the resources that we're drawing upon to make our natural products, but make a positive impact in the world and upon struggling economies, and upon the environment.

Challenge your friends and together you can plant a whole forrest!

Cork is the New Mat

Cork Is The New Mat

And this year, you deserve an all natural cork yoga mat. 

Not all yoga mats are created the same.  Gurus Roots Yoga Mat is an all natural cork and rubber bottom yoga mat that is malleable, durable and grip-able.  And while it is washable, the cork's natural antimicrobial and antibacterial properties means that you won't need to spend money on mat cleaners any more.  

Rugged and Durable

While we believe all people are created equal, yoga mats are not.  The Roots Cork Yoga Mat from Gurus is made to last.  We've torture tested our mats, playing with our dogs on the mats, practicing in the pouring rain in the mountains on our mats.  And they've held up incredibly well. 

All Natural

The cork and rubber in our mats is naturally sourced, meaning our cork yoga mats are chemical free.  You won't be greeted by a synthetic smell every chaturanga dandasana when you're on our Roots Mat.  

Grip-able

Quite possibly one of our favorite features of this mat (how can choose though?) is that our mats actually grip better with moisture.  While other mats magically turn into a slip and slide as you start sweating, the Roots Yoga Mat from Gurus holds firm.  Like we mentioned before, we've even practiced on this mat n the pouring rain and it held us like a dream. 

This makes our yoga mats perfect for heated studio classes, hot sunny days, or those who just sweat a good bit...you're not alone. 

Cool As A Cucumber

The cork doesn't absorb heat in the sun, which makes it ideal for taking your practice outdoors.  While dark rubber mats can become hot to the touch and make your yoga uncomfortable, our cork yoga mat is cool as cucumber.  Feel free to take your mat to Wanderlust, or to your backyard and enjoy the great outdoors. 

Supportive

The added layer of rubber underneath the mat not only makes the cork yoga mat more flexible, it adds a supportive layer, cushioning joints in kneeling postures, and making it great for partner or acro yoga.  

Dual Sided

Not sweating a ton, or just miss the feel of a rubber mat? You can easily flip our all natural mat over and use the rubber side for a bit.  This is great for yin yoga classes, or during gentle warmups.  

Gurus, Gourds, and Gandhi Hoodies - Gurus Gets ready for Fall

Gurus, Gourds and Gandhi Hoodies

Gurus Gets Ready for Fall

Fall is here, and depending on where you live, you might already be feeling the colder temperatures.  If so, you might find yourself wearing your Gurus sandals a bit less, and reaching for warmer clothing options.  We've got you covered, with the much anticipated Gandhi for President hoodie! 

The light weight hoodie is every bit as soft as our other thoughtful threads, and printed with the same water based ink for sustainability.  This means that you can look and feel great while wearing it.  

The Gandhi for President is the first in our line of hoodies, so be sure to check back and catch what comes next.  These hoodies are great to wear to and from the yoga studio, and even while warming up.  They also make the perfect accessory for running errands or meeting with friends.  And each one is so comfortable that you'll want to wear it just lounging around the house. 

Gandhi for President is a trademarked campaign that Gurus is running to call to mind the peaceful achievements and activism of the Indian hero, Mahatma Gandhi.