3 Sentences From Philly’s Wanderlust 108 That Are Worth Remembering

Wanderlust 108 Philly | Photo by Adjua Fisher

This weekend, hundreds and hundreds of folks decked out in yoga pants took over the Navy Yard for Philly’s first Wanderlust 108 fest, a “mindful triathlon” that works in a noncompetitive 5K, a yoga dance party and a meditation session.

It was quite the sight to see and the entire experience will definitely be stored in my memory bank, but there were a few sentences that came out of the mouths of the yogis and meditation guru leading the event that truly made a mark on brain. For the rest of the weekend, they kept popping into my mind as motivational mantras — and if you follow Be Well Philly’s Instagram, you know we love us some motivational mantras — and I figured, despite the cheese factor, I would share them with you all. Because let’s face it: We could all use a motivational mantra every now and then. (Or, er, every single day.) Check them out below.

1. “The church is inside of you.” 

There was a yoga dance party at Wanderlust 108. Yes, it was weird. Because dancing in front of hundreds of other humans in broad daylight without the liquid courage of at least one spicy margarita just feels plain weird. (It’s the truth!) But it was also really awesome to see so many people who didn’t know each other let loose and have fun without worrying about how absurd they looked. During this yoga dance party, MC YOGI, who led the yoga session whilst rapping (I’m telling you, it was weird and awesome all at the same time), said this sentence: “The church is inside of you.” He’s an MC. Metaphors are part of his shtick and I’m not entirely sure what he meant by this, but to me, it meant that — regardless of your religious beliefs — you shouldn’t dare forget to worship your mind and body.

This is something we all forget to do all the time. So, see what I mean by this sentence being one worth remembering?

2. “This is what it is right now.”

This one came from — you guessed it! — the meditation guru, Noah Levine, who took the stage at the end of the 75-minute yoga session for a 30-minute guided meditation session. At the beginning of this 30-minute meditation session, it started to rain. And midway through, it started to pour. Levine repeated throughout the meditation session a sentence like “This is what it is right now” a number of times. At that moment, this helped me to grasp the fact that, while, yes, rain droplets were smacking me in the face right then, rain wouldn’t be smacking me in the face forever. In other words, it helped me to accept the reality of the situation and to not flee for shelter at the first sense of discomfort.

Pretty sure I’ll be referencing this sentence at least once a day, whether it’s real or metaphorical rain that’s making me uncomfortable. (Side note: I have already repeated this to three people today, because it’s Monday and Monday’s are like one long 24-hour stretch of straight discomfort.)

3. “Dedicate your practice to someone.”

This one, more a practice than a mantra, came from Lauren Imparato, author and yoga instructor, who took the stage after MC YOGI for the second portion of the yoga shindig. At the beginning of the yoga session, she talked a bit about change and how change is the only constant in life, yadda, yadda, yadda. Then, she did something that I have never seen a yoga instructor do: She told us to think of someone in our life who is going through a big change and to dedicate our practice that day to that person.

It’s so easy when you’re doing something that is so personal like yoga to let yourself off the hook when it comes to a tough pose. But every time Imparato knew we were struggling a bit, she would say, “Do this for them.” And I felt myself push harder every time she repeated that. It was a really interesting way to make us all feel accountable and cognizant of how hard we were pushing ourselves, and while it’s not a mantra, it is a technique that I will probably employ at later points in my life. Because real talk: I can get pretty lazy when I know no one’s watching. (Can’t we all?)

Like what you’re reading? Stay in touch with Be Well Philly—here’s how:

• Like Be Well Philly on Facebook
• Follow Be Well Philly on Twitter
• Follow Be Well Philly on Pinterest
• Get the Be Well Philly Newsletter