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Wanderlust, in book form

Billed as a Modern Yogi's Guide to Discovering Your Best Self, festival co-founder Jeff Krasno's new workbook takes his passions to the world
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Writing Wanderlust Co-founder Jeff Krasno's new book means you can take the popular festival home with you. Photo BY Raffaella Dice/Wanderlust

Jeff Krasno, co-founder of the Wanderlust yoga festival series, has put the experience of self-discovery into book form.

Wanderlust: A Modern Yogi's Guide to Discovering Your Best Self was published in May. Like the festivals, the book aims to bridge the connection between yoga, the practice, with yoga, the lifestyle.

The book provides history and information on yoga and meditation, and is set up in eight chapters, each individually designed to address an aspect of self-actualization, whether it be creativity, finding your heart or community, or learning how to be centred.

There are dozens of contributors, and it is set up as a workbook so that readers can write in their thoughts and plans, too.

In his introduction, Krasno calls it "a recipe book for living."

In the run up to Wanderlust Whistler in late July, Krasno told Pique the story behind the book's creation.

Pique: How has the book been received?

Jeff Krasno: I don't really watch the sales like maybe I should (he laughs). Actually it has been a really liberating and lovely process for me. I have almost no ego associated with it, which is unusual because I have a lot of ego associated with many things I do.

If a lot of people buy it and get something from it I will be thrilled. I can really practice my best Buddhist self with it... There is a very lengthy process to do this and I am happy to have my evenings and weekends back, or at least my daughters' soccer games.

Pique: How long did it take?JK: From the moment of conception to delivery about three pregnancies, two-and-a-half years.Pique: Through the process of writing it, did you see the need for it solidify?

JK: Like all birthing processes, you become pretty attached to it. It was overall a very enjoyable process and it's not that far afield from the festivals themselves, this notion that is a container of ideas and practices all geared around the notion of trying to help people cultivate their best selves and find their True North.

The book just happens to be able to live beyond four days at a time. One of the things we love about the book is that it is so visual. In some ways it contains the first chapter of our mission as a company.

Pique: It is surprising that Wanderlust is only six years old.

JK: I feel like I have rings like a tree around me. I live inside of it and it's my whole family, my kids grew up in it and my wife is very involved in it. There is not much else that we do.

When I'm not here in the office, we're making dinner for the friends who work here and talking about ideas. It is one life. There is no separation between work, colleague and friends — and that is wonderful.

We are living a holistic life about process. It is practise, practise, practise. In the book we say you don't find your True North and then get off the train. Those moments of flow are your coordinates and journey. I'm lucky to be able to find that intersection point between what I love to do and what I am good at.

Pique: The workbook book format is interesting. It is a practical living tool.

JK: The idea that this book can live in your life and you can write in it, it is actionable, a guidebook. We play with that navigational compass. Wanderlust is external travel but internal travel is a metaphor all the time.

We really did not want it to be a coffee table book where you looked at the pictures. We always knew that we wanted to make it interactive... In the festival it is cool to book all these different people and you get a cauldron of diverse ideas. It doesn't matter if there isn't a common through thread. The festival is cool and wild and crazy. You tap into something and you discover a gem of wisdom that resonates with you.

But with the book, we really did have to find the thread. When you have 70 contributors that is not easy. We wanted each contribution to have the same feel and not seem like a bunch of different articles.

Pique: Who would you say the book is for?

JK: Wanderlust is a bit like a gateway drug for the yoga lifestyle. We are very accessible... I think that's the role we can play... we have a voice that speaks to younger people who are just in the prime in their lives.

I think we have a role to play in helping to shape the future. We can bring some of these ideas that we're passionate about into some kind of broader, mainstream culture. It's not just us, it is tons of things.

But if you look at what yoga and meditation was a generation ago — it was like my goofy aunt with a crystal. Out there. But now, virtually every CEO is meditating. It's starting to be in the mainstream culture. People are just bursting, craving it. It is starting to be framed it ways that are more actionable and can address many of the issues of our time.

Wanderlust Whistler takes place from July 30 to Aug. 3. For more information visit www.wanderlust.com/festivals/whistler.