TWWI News
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The Women’s Wilderness Institute is constantly leading, evolving, and reaching new goals. We have lots to tell you, so check back often to hear about the latest events on our calendar or read our frequently updated news.
12.17.08Winter Workout Wisdom One of our favorite ways to beat the winter blues is exercising outside. Whether you like to hike, bike, run, ski, snowshoe or snowboard, integrate these tips for staying toasty and inspired to make the most of winter fun.We tapped the collective brains of experts from The Women's Wilderness Institute and Fitness for Living about preparing, both physically and mentally for outdoor activities as the mercury drops.
The essentials for any winter outing:
- Hydrate.
- Regulate your body temperature.
- Ditch the damp clothes ASAP.
- Cool down and stretch.
- Protect your extremities - hands, feet and head.
Sustained Sports Savvy: tips for longer trips
- Don't over dress.
- Bring the 10 essentials.
- Keep your cool if you get lost or confused.
- Be observant and aware.
- Take a course and learn new skills.
Aerobic Activity Acumen: advice for staying warm while moving fast
- Consider wind chill when preparing to go out.
- Warm up slowly. up.
- Modify your exercise expectations.
- Stay safe in icy conditions.
- If you get chilled, get indoors quickly.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, read the full article with details about each of these 15 winter exercise essentials.
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12.4.08Marketing DirectorOur search is on for one amazing individual whose combined marketing expertise and passion for The Women's Wilderness Institute will drive communication about our groundbreaking and impactful programs. This highly skilled and experienced professional will lead the strategy, development and execution of all marketing, communications, media and public relations for The Women's Wilderness Institute.The application deadline for this position has passed.
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12.1.08Double Your Donation DollarsSpecial Matching Grant until December 2008A group of Foundations and individuals have joined together to create a pool of dollars for a challenge grant. Until December 31, 2008, any donation you make to The Women's Wilderness Institute will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to an amount of $19,000! Many thanks to the Argosy and Brett Foundations, the Triton Fund, and Leadership Donors Liz Armstrong, Louisa Jornayvaz, Brad Armstrong and Julie Dolin for this generous matching gift! To be a part of this exciting challenge and help us reach our goal, please donate online today or call us at 303.938.9191.
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11.19.08Moving Mountains 2008 a great success!With the beautiful backdrop of the mountains just west of Denver, folks enjoyed great food, conversation and an informative lecture and discussion with Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D. With a great mix of support from teachers, students, parents and other members of the community - 150 enthusiastic guests in all - there was certainly lots of lively discussion! Jean engaged the audience with her thought provoking comments on today's media and the commercialization of our youth.Thanks to everyone for making our Moving Mountains 2008 a special evening and for supporting The Women's Widerness Institute! The evening's success can be attributed to our committed Board Members, our helpful volunteers and all the guests in attendance! Click here to read more about this fantastic event!
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11.7.08Marketing Internship We're looking for one outstanding individual to join our team and make a big difference getting the word out about The Women's Wilderness Institute. This fast-paced, diverse job is an unbeatable opportunity to learn about marketing practices and tactics for a small, and quickly growing, nonprofit. You'll have tons of opportunity to put your talents and enthusiasm to good work, planning our biggest annual fundraiser, Gear & Cheer, publicizing our wide range of summer courses, managing our volunteer Street Team and much more. If you are passionate about our mission, have prior applicable experience and excel at juggling lots of interesting projects with keen attention to detail, we'd love to hear from you! This position has been filled ~ thank you for your interest and check back next year.
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10.8.08A New Look for TWWI Welcome to our new website! Do you love what you see? We sure do. We've been strategizing for several months, laying the foundation for a site that will be easier for you to use, and chock full of new photos and interesting information about The Women's Wilderness Institute as we celebrate our 10th Anniversary.
Please help us in extending a mountain's worth of grattitude to the talented web designers at Civic Pixel, a company that specializes in creating sustainable websites, brand identities and print materials for organizations dedicated to positive change. It's been a true pleasure to work with folks who believe so deeply in what we do at TWWI, and who are such amazingly accomplished web professionals. Thank you Brian, Sharee and Jackie for taking on this project with incredible love and dedication.
And, we'd be delighted to hear from you, members of the Women's Wilderness community. We welcome any feedback with regard to what you like, what's hard to find, anything you'd like to share. Please send your comments to Wendy, our marketing director.
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8.10.08Ten Years of Strong Girls and Strong Women Contribute to a Better WorldSomething feels a little different in The Women's Wilderness Institute office this morning. Our storage room is filled with drying tents, sleeping bags slated for the laundromat and leftover s'mores ingredients. It's quieter than usual around here, but it's a day of celebration! Our final 2008 Girls' Wilderness Course came home last night, filling our world with the smiles and stories of ten teenage girls overflowing with pride and self-confidence.
2008 was TWWI's tenth season of wilderness courses for girls. Originally called, Girlz in the Wood, the program has grown from serving 17 girls in 1998 to welcoming 117 in this summer, over 50% of whom received some level of need-based financial aid. To read more about TWWI's growth over the years, check out our timeline. Click here to read letters from some of the girls who attended Girls ' Wilderness courses this summer.
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8.2.08Paddle, Pose, Relax & Refresh Paddle, Pose, Relax and Refresh for 5 days on the Green River with Women's Wilderness and The Yoga Workshop. Our yoga trips receive rave reviews every summer! Folks really enjoy the rejuvenating combination of daily yoga practice and stunning wilderness studios. Join us September 10-14 for a Green River Yoga Retreat with superstar instructor, Martha Griffin from The Yoga Workshop, returning for her second year with TWWI. Cliffnotes spoke with Martha between a family canoe retreat in Canada and training for her next triathlon.
Cliffnotes: How did you connect with yoga and why do you love it so much?
Martha Griffin: I've always prioritized my play time. I run, hike, bike, ski, all great ways to enjoy the wilderness and work up tight, tense muscles. Yoga's been my antidote, it's helped me open my muscles, alleviate pain and take my training to new levels, both physically and emotionally. I've been teaching for 15 years and I love doing yoga outdoors-it adds a whole new level of mental flexibility and creativity.
CN: What's your personal approach to yoga?
MG: To me, yoga is a moving meditation. It's just such a beautiful, therapeutic, centering practice. I think the more you challenge yourself, the deeper the inner connections. You might be working into a pose that's difficult on the outside but the effort is driven by a quiet inner place in the mind. Yoga is simultaneously peaceful and vigorous; the more you put into your practice the more relaxing it become.
CN: Tell us about your teaching style
MG: I like to flow with what the group needs. I bring students into their personal yoga by coaching them through the moves, helping them connect with the physical side of the poses so they can really focus on what they're doing. I try to keep it simple. I also love to work with breath and how it affects posture.
CN: What's your favorite pose?
MG: Janu Sirsasana, it's a seated forward fold, where one knee drops off to the side. It's been the saving grace for my over-wrought hamstrings and so rewarding because when I started, hamstring stretches were really rough. Now, I just melt into my muscles, one at time.
CN: How will the group feel after the retreat?
MG: Oh, we'll be smiling, feeling rejuvenated, refreshed, oh, and perhaps a little grimy.
Click here for more information on the Green River Yoga Retreat September 14-20 and to read Martha’s bio.